Hogwarts Card System Chapter 226

Chapter 225: The Phoenix Order, Born from Fire?

It was said that Dumbledore had a Phoenix Order, which had played a significant role in the fight against Voldemort.

Although there had been no news of it for many years, most people believed that this secret society had not disappeared with Voldemort, but was still operating in the shadows.

Now it seemed that, at least, these people in front of them were all members!

Fudge carefully scrutinized the newcomers, intending to remember them all for future special attention.

However, what he didn’t know was that among the Ministry of Magic personnel he led, there were also many members of the Phoenix Order.

For example, Kingsley Shacklebolt, a member of the Shacklebolt family and one of the Auror captains, was standing beside him.

This man was a member of the Phoenix Order, having joined since childhood, and was very close to Arthur Weasley, though most people didn’t know it.

Ted had noticed this when he dealt with the Undetectable Extension Charm permissions for the shop a while ago—although they pretended to be mere colleagues and not very familiar, the feeling of being old friends was unmistakable to Ted.

He remembered that this person later became the Minister for Magic at the end of the story.

Then there was Amelia Bones, a woman whose expression was always serious, much like an angry Professor McGonagall.

This lady’s brother, Edgar Bones, was an original member of the Phoenix Order, and later his entire family was murdered by Death Eaters.

She remained unmarried her whole life, holding onto this hatred, and was irreconcilably opposed to Death Eaters and Voldemort. So, although she hadn’t joined the Phoenix Order, she was definitely a potential ally of Dumbledore.

Moreover, she was currently the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the most powerful candidate for the next Minister for Magic. There was a very high probability that the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would win the ministerial election.

In the original story, during Harry’s sixth year, she was about to be elected Minister when Voldemort personally killed her—to clear the way for his own candidate.

In addition, there was a young girl in the Auror team, Nymphadora Tonks, who later also joined the Phoenix Order. She was also Sirius Black’s great-niece.

Let’s just say, it was normal for Fudge, as a political creature, to feel anxious and wary of someone like Dumbledore, who could flip the table at any moment.

Look at this not-so-large British wizarding world; it was basically completely infiltrated by the connections of the greatest white wizard of this century!

Of course, the more important reason was that Fudge himself was truly incompetent and had no notable achievements.

Because he was so aware of his own capabilities, he lacked confidence, which made him overly anxious and wary, treating Dumbledore as an imaginary enemy.

Even though he knew he was no match, he still couldn’t control himself.

By this time, the sun had already set.

Magical lighting, torches, and bonfires were all lit, making the small temporary camp quite bright.

Due to the haste, various supply boxes were messy, and there weren’t many tents, so everyone was sitting outside chatting.

Only Fudge, Amelia, and Kingsley represented the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Moody represented the Phoenix Order, three dwarves, three gnomes, and the horned giant Ironhoof, who had rushed over from Decamond, a total of 13 people, attended the meeting in the largest tent to discuss the matter.

“Are you saying that the entire UK might suffer a catastrophe because of this?!” Fudge’s voice suddenly rose, causing nearby wizards to hear him.

The Aurors and Hit-Wizards from the Ministry of Magic exchanged glances, wondering what their patchwork Minister was so startled about.

Inside the tent, the gnome master craftsman Geltok pushed up his glasses. “Oh no, Mr. Minister, you misunderstood my meaning.”

Fudge breathed a sigh of relief and tugged at his tie.

“I mean, if we fail or ignore it, the entire Europe will soon suffer a catastrophe. We have calculated that with the current growth curve of fire magic… if this ‘fire gate’ cannot be contained, in three months at most, this place will become a boiling lake of lava.”

“A few more months, and Scotland and England will be completely separated—geographically. This could eventually lead to the sinking of the British Isles and devastating ecological damage to the entire Europe!”

“Uh~” Fudge’s eyes nearly popped out, shocked, fearful, and a little skeptical—you’re not lying to me, are you?!

In reality, it might be even worse. Ted had seen the data collected by the gnomes’ magical devices, and felt that three months was overly optimistic.

This exponential growth, and the geological disasters caused by drastic environmental changes in the middle and late stages, would lead to a sudden and precipitous acceleration in the later stages.

It was still unknown how much the opposite world would permeate this side, but at least the British Isles being broken into two halves, with a huge volcano and lava zone in the middle, was inevitable.

The worse possibility was direct connection with underwater volcanoes here, which might really destroy all of Europe!

…

Outside the tent, Sirius Black was chatting with Ted.

He truly admired Ted: powerful, intelligent, humorous, friendly, good with classmates, adventurous, and very mature… the virtues were endless.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, this was truly his ideal type when he was young—don’t misunderstand, it was the kind of person Sirius wanted to become when he was at school.

It felt like a collection of the virtues of all four houses, a pure heir of Hogwarts!

He was truly an object of envy!

He pulled Ted over and introduced him to the Phoenix Order members outside, especially his closest friend, Remus Lupin.

“Wow, allow me to make a grand introduction!”

Sirius comically straightened his clothes. “This is Remus, my dearest friend! Mr. Remus John Lupin~”

“Moony of the Marauders~” he whispered, covering his face with his hand.

He already knew that the Marauder’s Map was now in Ted’s hands, and he was very happy to see such a legacy, even having a few drinks because of it.

“Hello, Mr. Lupin.” Ted shook Lupin’s hand.

And the moment they shook hands, he felt a strange sensation.

It felt like… the feeling the [Wild (Green)] card gave him!

That’s right, the material cards, or rather, the ingredient cards that dropped from werewolves gave him this feeling.

Lupin also seemed to sense something, quickly letting go of his hand and smiling nervously.

Sirius didn’t notice this, still excitedly introducing Ted: “For some reason, Lupin is now working as a… what’s it called, among Muggles?”

“Detective! Private detective.” Mrs. Olivia interjected, defending her husband.

“Ah, right! Anyway, he specializes in investigating many strange things, sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?” Sirius looked very interested.

Lupin smiled. “Thanks to your funding, I was able to open a detective agency.”

Sirius waved his hand; these things were trivial to him.

Ted thoughtfully glanced at Lupin and said, “Perhaps it’s a bit presumptuous. But just as your relationship with Mr. Lupin, Sirius, is, my relationship with Hali and Neville is the same. You are all… (Phoenix Order members)”

Ted glanced towards the tent. “So I won’t beat around the bush.”

Sirius, after all, wasn’t stupid, and he understood the implied meaning. He patted Ted’s shoulder. “Just say it. Remus is just like me.”

Ted nodded. “I wonder if you’ve been following the last two issues of Potions Ponderings?”

Sirius and Lupin looked a bit confused: What’s that?

Mrs. Olivia, on the other hand, spoke up. “It’s a professional magazine circulated within a small circle of potioneers, recording some cutting-edge potion developments and conjectures in the field.”

She smiled at Ted. “I’m a herbalist, so I’m somewhat familiar with it. But you, how did you come across Potions Ponderings?”

“Oh, for that, we have to thank our amiable Professor Snape~” Ted said with a smile.

“Pfft~” Sirius couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Ted spread his hands. “At least our Professor Snape’s potion skills are quite brilliant. Under his excellent tutelage, my potion skills are also quite decent. Because I have some creative ideas in certain formulas, I’ve published some articles in Potions Ponderings and have connections with some of the authors…”

Ted looked at Lupin. “Among them, a potion master named Damocles Belby, after several years of research, developed a new potion called the Wolfsbane Potion.”

Upon hearing the name of the potion, all three were startled.

Ted continued, “This potion allows werewolves to retain their sanity on the night of the full moon, although…”

“That! That…” An agitated Lupin took several breaths to calm himself before continuing, “That Mr. Belby, how can I contact him?”

Now all three knew that Ted had discovered Lupin was a werewolf the moment they met. Although they didn’t know how he did it—he had also revealed news that left Lupin unable to remain calm.

At this moment, a young girl not far away was straining her ears, trying to hear what the four of them were talking about, it sounded so lively.

But a cautious person like Ted would usually cast a Silencing Charm at such times, making it impossible for others to eavesdrop.

Yes, this girl was Tonks.

She was Ted’s senior. The year Ted and his classmates entered Hogwarts, she was a seventh-year intern, the only “recent graduate” that year to be assessed and accepted as an Auror trainee.

Because she was a Metamorphmagus.

Unlike Professor McGonagall, who could transform into a specific animal as an Animagus, a Metamorphmagus could change their facial features, hair color, and even body shape without magic or potions, transforming into another person’s appearance.

She was probably going to be officially confirmed this year.

(End of Chapter)