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The two had just arrived at Fudge's office and were about to knock on the door when a plump figure suddenly blocked their way.
Kasenhis looked down at the toad-like woman with bulging eyes, and above her head, in his mind, a floating question mark slowly popped up.
"Oh, Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Kasenhis—do you have an appointment? I do apologize for stopping you, but this is my job, and I simply cannot allow unimportant people and matters to interrupt the Minister's very important work," the pink-clad woman said, smiling sickeningly sweetly.
"Our business is extremely important, Umbridge."
"Oh… but who's to say?" Umbridge shrugged her shoulders in an exaggerated motion.
"Who is this woman?" Kasenhis turned to Dumbledore, not bothering to lower his voice in the slightest, speaking bluntly right in front of her.
"Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, at your service." Umbridge introduced herself with a smirk.
"Oh… If the Ministry is hiring people like you, then it's on a fast track to ruin."
Umbridge's forehead twitched, though her already wrinkled face didn't look much different.
Kasenhis simply reached out and pushed her aside, stepping forward to open the office door.
Umbridge's face turned an ugly shade of purple as she shouted, "This is the sacred and untouchable Ministry of Magic, not your Hogwarts office!"
"Oh." Kasenhis responded—completely expressionless—as he kept moving.
Kasenhis let out a casual "Oh." and pushed open the Minister's office door without hesitation.
"Ah… Professor Kasenhis, and Dumbledore. What brings you both here today?" Fudge, seated at his desk and inspecting a cigar, took one second to register their arrival before plastering on a smile.
"Minister, these two intruded into your office without an appointment, without even knocking! You should have the Aurors—"
"Umbridge, please close the door on your way out." Fudge cut her off mid-sentence.
"I said, close the door on your way out."
"Close the doo—… Oh! Of course, Minister, as you wish!"
For a moment, Umbridge looked stunned, but she quickly switched to a flattering smile, obediently closing the door behind her.
"Take a look at this, Fudge."
Dumbledore sat down unceremoniously, dropping the sealed envelope right in front of the Minister.
Fudge opened it, pulled out a single photograph, and nearly fell out of his chair.
After barely managing to go through the rest of the contents, he shuddered and asked, "What is all this?"
"A private Muggle laboratory conducting human experiments on wizards behind the scenes."
"What about the lab? And were any wizards rescued?" Fudge asked.
"The lab is gone—I blew it up. Seventeen survivors were rescued; they're at St. Mungo's now," Kasenhis replied.
"Oh… well, if the lab has already been destroyed… then I suppose they've paid the price for what they did. So maybe this matter can just—"
Fudge was mid-sentence when Dumbledore sat up slightly straighter.
Fudge sighed, looking at him with clear frustration. "This is self-inflicted humiliation, Dumbledore."
"You and I both know what the Statute of Secrecy is about. We even explicitly state in textbooks that its purpose is to protect wizards. But these captured wizards did not follow the Secrecy laws, which led to them being caught by Muggles. In a certain sense, this is simply the consequence of not following the rules," Fudge said bitterly.
"If you continue to do nothing, then we will go around you and take this matter directly to the Muggle Prime Minister," Dumbledore said, eyes lowered.
"Directly to the Prime Minister? And then what? Do you think I was joking when I said this is self-inflicted humiliation?
You, with your long life, have seen firsthand what Muggle destructive power truly means.
Even Grindelwald's Fiendfyre, powerful enough to devastate all of Paris, was still just one man's magic.
Meanwhile, the Muggles? They have entire stockpiles of weapons just as powerful as that.
Even the Four Founders of Hogwarts, as strong as they were, had to avoid conflict with Muggles wielding simple pitchforks and arrows, retreating into hiding to build Hogwarts.
Does the Dark Lord's Killing Curse even compare to a Muggle's cheap copper bullet, worth only a few pence?"
Fudge exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Apologies, I raised my voice…"
"But what I'm truly worried about is what happens when Muggles realize one of their labs was blown up by wizards. Dumbledore, you don't understand politics."
Fudge spoke with visible frustration.
"So, you're not planning to do anything about this?" Kasenhis asked, sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed.
"Professor Kasenhis, you lived in the Muggle world. Dumbledore is old and senile—he doesn't understand, but you should know exactly what kind of people Muggles are.
Don't be fooled by their suits and ties, by how they pretend to be civilized. If—and I mean if—Muggles and wizards ever go to war, they will immediately revert to being nothing but wild animals!"
"The Dark Lord—Voldemort—as terrifying as he is, would look like nothing more than a fresh recruit in comparison to the absolute slaughter that happens in Muggle wars.
You might think I'm just a foolish politician, but when it comes to understanding Muggles, I have never dared to be complacent—not for a single second.
Even Hogwarts' own Muggle Studies professor, Charity Burbage, doesn't know more about them than I do!" Fudge spoke rapidly, his tone heated.
"…So this is your answer?" Kasenhis said flatly.
"The Statute of Secrecy wasn't built easily. For centuries, wizards—powerful wizards—have tried to overthrow it.
Yet, when they failed, we never knew if they were defeated by some so-called hero…"
Fudge glanced at Dumbledore.
"…or if they had simply seen the true horror of Muggles and, after weighing their options, chose to uphold the Statute themselves."
With his triple-layered historical analysis, plus a cold psychological breakdown, Fudge ripped away the wizards' last remaining illusions about their place in the world.
The two of them left the Ministry, stepping onto a Muggle street.
The early winter air was chilly, but Kasenhis still felt uncomfortably warm, so he unbuttoned the top of his shirt.
Fudge wasn't going to be of any help.
Kasenhis had expected this, but it still left a sickening feeling in his gut.
"Are you still going?" Dumbledore asked.
"No rush. I want to have a milkshake first." Dumbledore looked toward a nearby bubble tea shop.
"…Dumbledore, at a time , even if you pull this kind of nonsense, I'm not going to find it funny… Your sense of humor should be used at a more appropriate moment." Kasenhis said, speechless.
"But sugar intake is a necessary human need."
Dumbledore used British pounds to buy two cups of steaming hot milkshake, then handed one to Kasenhis.
"The political route won't work. That means we'll have to handle this the wizarding way."
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