“So Sirius Black escaped from prison a few days ago.
That’s why everyone’s been rushing around so tensely lately?” Eric looked at the man in front of him, lowered the newspaper in his hands, and asked the question.
It was already late at night.
A group of people sat in the main room of the Leaky Cauldron.
Under the flickering candlelight, the surroundings looked as shabby, dirty, and disorderly as ever.
Apart from Eric, everyone in the pub wore a solemn expression.
It made the atmosphere even more severe.
Tom hadn’t dared neglect the visitors.
The moment they arrived, he had gone upstairs and woken Eric.
Sitting directly opposite Eric now was none other than the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
Accompanying him was an entire squad of well trained Aurors.
As soon as they entered, the Aurors expertly secured every entrance and exit of the Leaky Cauldron, with several drawing their wands immediately.
Once they actually saw Eric, however, the precaution seemed rather unnecessary.
Eric looked completely harmless.
There was even less reason to believe he had anything to do with Black.
Every Auror standing nearby looked exhausted.
Sirius Black’s escape had already forced them through several consecutive days of frantic searching and investigation, leaving them close to the limits of their endurance.
And tonight, while they were on duty, the Minister himself had hurriedly dragged them all to Diagon Alley, claiming that Sirius Black might appear there and had to be captured.
Now, looking at the boy sitting across from Fudge, every one of the Aurors felt utterly speechless.
No matter how they looked at him, he was plainly just a child.
What part of him looked like a Dark wizard?
Even if he really was responsible for the disturbance at Flourish and Blotts, that still wasn’t grounds to arrest him.
It had been an accidental magical incident, and by regulation, it wasn’t even under Auror jurisdiction.
That belonged to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
No witch or wizard had been injured during the incident Eric caused, and no one had reported an emergency to the Ministry.
That was why the Ministry hadn’t received any information about it in the first place.
If anything, that only proved how insignificant the matter really was.
The newspapers had simply caught wind of something unusual and exaggerated it into a sensational story.
Did Fudge think the Auror Office had so much spare manpower that he could deploy them wherever he pleased?
All because of one speculative newspaper article, he had dragged them through the Floo Network to the Leaky Cauldron in the middle of the night.
And apparently he hadn’t considered one rather obvious question.
If the murderous Sirius Black really were here, could a handful of Aurors like them actually capture him?
More likely, they’d simply be delivering themselves straight into his hands.
This was supposedly the man who had blown apart an entire street with a single curse.
At Eric’s question, Fudge wiped the sweat from his face.
“Yes, that’s right.
You’ll be reading about it in tomorrow’s papers anyway.” “We didn’t want to cause widespread panic, but the news has obviously already spread.
There’s no longer much point in keeping it secret.” “Starting tomorrow, Aurors will be stationed throughout Diagon Alley.
Hopefully we’ll capture him soon.” Eric and Fudge were seated at the same table, with one Auror sitting close beside the Minister.
Eric smiled.
“Minister, I assume you already understand that what happened at Flourish and Blotts had absolutely nothing to do with Black.” Fudge’s expression remained stern.
“Yes.
Tom explained everything the moment I arrived.
It was merely a misunderstanding.
The Ministry won’t take any action against you over the incident, Eric.
I may call you Eric, mayn’t I?” Eric nodded.
Only then did Fudge continue.
“We simply have to eliminate every possibility.
After all, you understand, with Black…” “I understand, Minister.” Eric smiled.
If he remembered correctly, Harry Potter should already have inflated his aunt by now, fled the house alone, and boarded the Knight Bus.
He was probably on his way to the Leaky Cauldron at this very moment.
Fudge’s nervousness clearly wasn’t caused by Eric alone.
Harry Potter was the real reason.
As a wizard, Harry himself might not possess any uniquely overwhelming talent, but his reputation carried enormous weight throughout the wizarding world.
Especially with politicians like Fudge.
If anything happened to Harry Potter, Fudge would probably be even more anxious than Dumbledore.
“Then we’ll leave it at that, Eric.
I’m sorry to have disturbed your sleep.” Fudge rose from his seat.
He wore an expensive pinstriped suit beneath his robes, and as he fastened the front, his gaze wasn’t focused on Eric at all.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of genuine apology in his manner.
The Auror beside him stood as well.
Seeing that they were preparing to leave while Eric remained seated, Fudge finally looked over in puzzlement.
“Is there something else, Eric?” Eric smiled.
“Nothing, Minister.
I simply have a feeling that tonight won’t end quite so easily.” Fudge’s mouth twitched.
As though things aren’t chaotic enough already.
Does this boy have to tempt fate?
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately suppressed his irritation and ignored Eric’s remark.
Then he led the Aurors outside.
Eric remained seated exactly where he was.
Silently, he began counting in his head.
A short while later, just as expected, he heard the piercing screech of brakes outside the Leaky Cauldron, followed by a burst of noisy voices.
“Harry!
You’ve arrived, Harry!” That was Fudge.
Several other voices followed.
Eric didn’t bother listening closely.
After a while, Fudge re-entered the pub with a boy slightly older than Eric, Tom accompanying them.
The Aurors remained outside.
“Find us somewhere private to talk, Tom.” Fudge had Harry firmly by the shoulder as he spoke.
Tom nodded, took an oil lamp down from the wall, and headed towards one of the narrow passages deeper inside the pub to lead the way.
“Come along, Harry,” Fudge said.
Harry didn’t move.
Because he had noticed Eric sitting in the main room, smiling and casually waving at both him and Fudge.
From Harry Potter’s perspective, the whole scene was extraordinarily strange.
Harry had been having a terrible day.
He had accidentally used magic to inflate his aunt, packed his belongings and run away from home, only to arrive at the Leaky Cauldron and immediately be intercepted by the Minister for Magic.
And now there was some boy sitting here as though he had specifically been waiting for him, greeting him without the slightest hint of surprise.
Never before had Harry Potter felt that magic was quite so impossible to understand.
Although it was only a small interruption, Harry suddenly had no desire to take another step.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Harry remained rooted to the spot and asked the question in a trembling voice.
Fudge tried to turn him and move him along, but Harry’s small frame had somehow become extraordinarily stubborn.
He refused to budge even a single step.
Still seated, Eric smiled.
“Allow me to explain, Harry.” “The man standing beside you is the current Minister for Magic, Mr Fudge.” “And the reason the Minister is here tonight has everything to do with Sirius Black, and his concern for your safety.” Eric’s smile remained perfectly calm.
“Because it’s quite obvious that Minister Fudge suspects Black is coming for you.” ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 📣 Announcement!📣 I just uploaded another new story, it’s still a Harry Potter fanfiction!
The story is called Harry Potter: I Maxed Out Humanity, Then I Found Magic.
This will be the last Harry Potter fanfiction I upload before I move on to another fandom next week.
If you enjoy Harry Potter fanfiction, don’t forget to check it out!
I hope you enjoy the new story!
⚡✨ CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Hidden_Quill Thank you so much for reading!