Chapter 388: The Bride Looks Like a Cat (Edited)

"You've been chatting for a long time..." After waking up, Hermione didn't get up on her own. Instead, she cuddled in Tom's arms like a little koala, hugging him. Then, she gently rubbed her head against Tom's chest, like a spoiled kitten, constantly seeking his attention.

Tom wasn't in a hurry to leave; he held Hermione and blew his breath into his palm, then gently rubbed her small, cold hands, trying to warm them up. Soon, Hermione's fingers stopped feeling so cold and transmitted a faint sense of warmth when touched.

After doing all this, Tom quietly enjoyed Hermione's "massage." The scent of shampoo emanated from the tips of her hair, at the same time, it tickled his chin.

After a while, Hermione raised her head, and her eyes sparkled in the dark corridor.

"Can you tell me what you and Dumbledore talked about?" The expression on the girl's face was full of curiosity. She was very intrigued by Tom's plan, so much so that she even used her charms to get information.

Hermione looked at Tom, smiled gently, revealing a row of delicate white teeth. Her little face was full of a thirst for knowledge.

Tom smoothed out Hermione's slightly unruly hair, then lightly touched the tip of her nose with his finger.

"We were discussing how to make you become the Minister of Magic."

"Be serious!" Hermione scolded Tom with her eyes. "Humph, if I become the Minister of Magic, I'll appoint you as my secretary, and you'll work overtime every day."

"That also means working overtime with the Minister."

Hermione didn't know what he was recalling; her face suddenly turned red.

"Don't say that... you two, what exactly did you discuss?" Her voice sounded like a mosquito's buzz.

Tom's hands became restless. He pulled Hermione's nose tip and said, "Dumbledore gave me permission to overthrow Fudge."

Tom's voice wasn't loud, but to Hermione, it sounded like an incredible shock. She couldn't help but shudder, feeling a tingling sensation running through her body.

"Dumbledore agreed to let you overthrow... Fudge, the Minister of Magic? And let go of me!" Hermione was startled. She didn't expect Dumbledore to actually agree to let Tom do that! Such things were supposed to be strictly prohibited, weren't they?

"Let's give it a try," Tom said as he released the tip of Hermione's nose.

"And if we're not successful? Fudge will surely seek revenge, right?" Hermione was thinking long-term. The thought of being hated by a Minister of Magic worried her.

Tom blinked. "I don't think Fudge will blame us immediately."

Hermione looked at him, surprised. "You mean...?"

"Exactly!" Of course, he would do it in Dumbledore's name.

Hermione felt relieved.

But after a while, she started feeling uneasy. She had hoped to be afraid or concerned after hearing this news and persuade Tom to abandon this idea. But in the end, she realized she didn't have those emotions at all. On the contrary, she felt a slight excitement deep down.

But Hermione would never admit it.

It's all Tom's fault! Hermione internally complained about Tom.

"How long are you going to keep hugging me? Let me go!" Hermione's tone turned cold, and she pushed him away forcefully, attempting to stand up. She was so energetic that she almost stumbled a bit. At the same time, she turned abruptly, avoiding Tom's mischievous face.

He definitely acts like a cat! Tom got up helplessly and straightened out Hermione's clothing. At the same time, he patted her on the backside.

When his hand made contact, there was a muffled sound. It was like he was patting a cushion, with a soft and slightly elastic sensation. A cloud of dust rose from the impact.

Hermione was surprised by that pat, and her expression was filled with surprise and anger as she turned back to Tom. But she heard Tom say, "Your pants are dirty; let me dust them off."

Hermione's face turned as red as a tomato. She dodged Tom's second pat and said, "Don't you know magic? There must be a suitable spell for this!"

"Tergeo!" Hermione waved her wand and removed all the dust from her pants. She watched Tom for a while but ultimately didn't say anything. However, when Tom got up from the ground, she gathered all her strength and gave him a slap on the backside.

Bang!

Ouch!

Tom felt his rear go numb.

"Hmph~" Hermione, satisfied with her revenge, happily descended the stairs, closely followed by Tom, who was grimacing.

...

When Fudge returned to the Ministry of Magic, the sun had already set, but he immediately summoned his trusted subordinates, Umbridge, Dawlish, and Kingsley.

"Is Sirius Black innocent?" The three were surprised by this news upon arrival.

"Minister, could you please explain in detail?" Kingsley asked cautiously. As a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he had worked with Sirius for a while, so he was very interested in the fate of his former war companion.

For him, it would be great if Sirius was really innocent.

"Of course, but we still have some things to do. Dolores, please go to the archive and retrieve Black's file from that year. Kingsley, Dawlish, come with me to Hogwarts. We'll arrest Peter together. We can talk as we go." Fudge had regained his composure and was giving orders with determination.

Now, he wanted to have Peter under his control as soon as possible to gain an advantage and catch Crouch off guard, blaming him for everything. Of course, he also needed to obtain the file from the case that year to prevent any unfavorable contents from being revealed. The Ministry of Magic didn't have a tradition of keeping files closed for fifty years.

"Yes, Minister." Umbridge curtsied to Fudge and left. Although Kingsley and Dawlish were a bit confused, they obediently followed Fudge to Hogwarts.

The news of the summons for Fudge's loyalists, of course, reached Dumbledore's ears, and several owls and the Phoenix Patronus flew in all directions from the headmaster's office.

...

Umbridge arrived at the Ministry of Magic's archive. Here, thousands of files were piled up, spanning several centuries.

Fortunately, all the files were sorted by date, so Umbridge remembered when the Sirius case happened and easily found the thin file.

Looking at that thin file, Umbridge was left speechless. Apart from the cover, it seemed like there wasn't much more to it compared to the neighboring files that had hundreds of pages.

If it weren't for the intact seal at the top, she would have thought someone had beaten her to it and removed content from inside.