Chapter 43: The World Through the Eyes of a Conspiracy Theorist

In 1991, at this point in time, Cornelius Fudge had only been Minister for Magic for less than two years. He had yet to establish his own faction or forge the complex web of利益 exchanges with the influential families and powerful wizards across the various departments of the Ministry.

Currently, he needed a heavyweight like Dumbledore to lend him credibility in every possible arena.

Consequently, the moment he received the summons from Hogwarts, he had scurried over, his face wreathed in smiles and radiating an air of affability. It was impossible to foresee that, years later, once his power had expanded and he had come to view Dumbledore as a man of principle who would never break the rules—believing that a "gentleman can be deceived by his own integrity"—he would be shouting at the Headmaster in a rage.

As the saying goes, "accepting favors makes one soft-spoken." Finding himself in a position of needing Dumbledore’s support, Fudge immediately declared to Professor McGonagall that he would do everything in his power to regulate Boggarts, seal off information regarding the incident, and monitor for any further signs of trouble.

The Head of the Department of Mysteries, who had accompanied Fudge to Hogwarts, was far less friendly. He attempted to press for more information, but under Professor McGonagall’s composed and skillful deflection, he gained nothing.

Although the incident was, strictly speaking, quite dangerous, it had been stifled in the cradle, preventing any significant fallout. Since only a perfunctory report had been filed with the Ministry, the Department of Mysteries had no leverage to grasp, no matter how much they might have wanted to intervene.

Having come away empty-handed, the frustrated Head of the Department of Mysteries was dragged away from Hogwarts by Minister Fudge.

On the way back...

"Fudge, this is no trivial matter. Can you justify your conduct as Minister for Magic?" The Department of Mysteries official frowned, his voice sharp with irritation.

"Of course I know it’s not a trivial matter. I’m neither blind nor stupid," Fudge retorted, equally annoyed.

"Then why..."

Fudge cut him off: "Then what would you have me do?"

"The way this was handled is completely inconsistent with the usual style of McGonagall and Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall had previously worked at the Ministry, so Fudge knew something of her, and Dumbledore—his most important backer—was a subject he studied daily.

"Snape? Flitwick? Sprout?" Fudge rattled off the names of the other three heads of house.

"It doesn't fit them either."

"So... do you remember the child who stood behind McGonagall, silent, while we spoke?"

"That prophet?" As a member of the Department of Mysteries, it was impossible for him to overlook wizards with such extraordinary traits. Many exceptionally talented individuals had dedicated files within the Department. They studied the extraordinary, and naturally, they kept a close watch on such figures.

"Exactly. While your Department has a file on him, there is classified information that you cannot access without my authorization as Minister."

"Tell me, why do you think the Middle Eastern magical community didn't capture that prophet who used his gift of foresight to wreak havoc on the battlefield during the Gulf War? Do you realize how difficult it is to suppress the news that an 11-year-old child tore through the lines of a modern army?"

"Was it really just internal infighting? Why couldn't they have captured him first and fought among themselves later, instead of letting a prophet run wild on the battlefield?" A meaningful smile crept across Fudge’s lips.

"We are talking about the Fear Demon, are we not?" the official asked, confused.

"Because the two are highly correlated," Fudge said, abandoning the riddle now that he realized the other man wasn't following. Riddles are pointless if the listener has no intention of guessing.

"Have you read *Ritual Magic: Far More Than Blood Sacrifice*?"

"Of course. That book is foundational to modern magic. The author verified many key theories. Even though it's centuries old, every member of the Department of Mysteries has read it." The book’s status in the wizarding world was akin to the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* from the Han Dynasty; though rarely read by the average person, researchers in the field almost always felt a curiosity to leaf through it.

"Ritual magic is omnipresent. It doesn't even require elaborate setups; human 'belief' alone can forge a vast ritual that affects everyone in the world..." Fudge recited a passage from the book's preface in a low voice.

"That religious pantheon has nearly four billion believers. If the 'belief' of just a few tens of millions could forge countless holy artifacts in ancient times, do you really think no wizard would try to tap into that power?"

The official snorted. "Impossible. No one can harness that kind of power." If the power of faith were so easily exploited, wizards would have long ago used the convenience of magic to create their own churches. Unlike simple belief, the power of faith was not only difficult to harness, but... it was toxic. Even if one managed to forge it into an alchemical object, it would likely trigger countless side effects, and furthermore...

Wait!

He suddenly realized what Fudge had been driving at with such a long-winded explanation.

"You see now? Massive amounts of 'belief' naturally converge into immense power. That little prophet, operating under the title of a religious seer, created 'miracles' along the way. During the Gulf War, whether it was the enemy or his allies, a vast amount of 'faith' was focused on him."

"He is a wizard with magic, which should have made him even more susceptible to such influence, yet no strange phenomena occurred."

"That wasn't the kind of 'hope' one feels for Harry Potter; it was something far more extreme, a much larger, more potent 'faith'."

"Sometimes, the absence of an anomaly is the greatest anomaly of all!"

Fudge paused. "I may not be the most powerful wizard, but sitting in the chair of the Minister for Magic allows me access to a great deal of information."

"Generally speaking, there are three possibilities for his case: either the anomaly is still brewing within him, or he possesses a unique constitution that allows him to avoid negative influences—though who is to say he isn't avoiding the benefits along with them?"

"The third possibility is that his very existence is an anomaly far more terrifying than the faith itself."

"To bring the topic back: if he is the first or third type, this prophet is a nuclear bomb waiting to go off. If he is the second, he becomes an important subject for studying the power of 'faith'."

Minister Fudge stopped walking and turned to look at the official with a grave expression. "Taking all of that as a premise..."

"Now, think again: why didn't the Middle Eastern wizards capture that little prophet? Why did Dumbledore support his innocence at the Wizengamot trial and allow him to enroll at Hogwarts? Why has there been such turmoil in the Middle Eastern magical community lately, and why is Dumbledore currently absent from Britain, having personally traveled there?"

"And as for the matter of the Fear Demon, why did Hogwarts handle it so differently than in the past?"

Because Fudge, currently lacking real power, viewed Dumbledore through the filter of an inferior looking up at a superior, the way an ordinary wizard looks at a powerful one. He had never once considered the possibility that Dumbledore was acting out of compassion for Roger, born of his own past traumas, or that Dumbledore was, at his core, a kind-hearted elder with an extraordinary tolerance for children.

Fudge, who liked to project his own way of thinking onto others, saw conspiracy and calculation in everything. He patted the man on the shoulder and said, "So, don't meddle in everything. Don't dig for the root of every matter."

"When the water is too deep, you must learn to turn a blind eye..." Fudge remarked, sharing his own philosophy of survival.