Chapter 844: Percy's Betrayal (Patreon)

After receiving Lupin’s letter, Evan and Hermione returned to England, the third day after Harry was attacked by the Dementors.

Mr. Weasley and Professor Moody met them at the airport, and the group went straight back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

This was now the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Compared with a month ago, it was a different scene.

All the Weasleys had moved from the Burrow. Besides that, there were many members of the Order of the Phoenix.

From Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny, Evan and Hermione knew about the changes in the last month.

There hadn't been much change in the wizarding world compared with before they left. Harry's story should have been the biggest event recently.

The public opinion was very unfavorable to them, and the Daily Prophet had reported the incident.

The Ministry of Magic was doing its utmost to suppress Dumbledore, using various means, and he had now resigned from all positions except the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

On another front, Sirius wrote a letter from Norway every week. For security reasons, except for informing he was safe and asking everyone to take care of Harry, Sirius didn't say anything else. They didn't know what he was doing there.

It was also unknown how far the communication between Lupin and the werewolves had progressed, he only came back occasionally. Every time, he looked particularly tired, and Evan and Hermione had not seen him for several days after they came back.

In fact, because they were not allowed to join the Order of the Phoenix, Ron and the others did not know much information.

They were not allowed to attend the meetings, Fred and George tried their best to eavesdrop, and the information they received was extremely limited.

They didn’t even know whether they were to pick up Harry or let him stay with the Dursleys.

From them, Evan knew that the biggest change was related to Percy.

When Hermione asked where Percy was, Evan noticed the reactions of the Weasley brothers and sister.

They exchanged darkly significant looks, and Ron said in a tense voice, "You two must never mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad, and tell Harry not to do it when he comes."

“Why?" Hermione looked at him, puzzled.

Ron had grown up several more inches this summer, which made his clothes look one size smaller.

“Because every time Percy’s name is mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he’s holding and Mum starts crying,” said Fred.

“It’s been awful," said Ginny sadly.

“Anyway, I think we’re well shut of him," said George with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face.

“What on earth has happened?" Hermione asked.

Evan probably understood what was going on. Fudge was definitely taking the opportunity to woo Percy. The guy fell to the Ministry without any hesitation.

“It was the first week back after term ended, shortly after the two of you left," said Ron, looking closely at the dusty Evan and Hermione. "We were about to come and join the Order of the Phoenix. Percy came home and told us he’d been promoted."

“How is that possible?" said Hermione, in surprise. "Aren't they investigating Percy?"

In the case of Barty Crouch Sr., Percy had committed a fairly large oversight. He had not made a great success of his first job at the Ministry of Magic, failing to notice that his boss was being controlled by Lord Voldemort.

From a normal point of view, Percy's career in the Ministry of Magic had basically come to an end, and hastily ended before it even started.

While in Egypt, Bill had told Evan that Mrs. Weasley wanted him to help Percy find a job in Gringotts.

Evan also thought that if nothing else worked out, it would be okay for Percy to work in Hogwarts Magic.

After returning this time, he decided to counterattack with the newspaper in public opinion.

“We were also all surprised,” said George, "because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy ought to have realized Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn’t going to complain..."

“So how come they promoted him?"

“That’s exactly what we wondered,” said Ron. "He came home really pleased with himself … even more pleased than usual if you can imagine that … and told Dad he’d been offered a position in Fudge’s own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts… Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Dad to be all impressed, I think."

“Only Dad wasn’t,” said Fred grimly. "Fudge has been storming round the Ministry checking that nobody’s having any contact with Dumbledore. You know, Dumbledore’s name is mud with the Ministry these days."

“Yeah, they all think he’s just making trouble saying You-Know-Who is back." George followed.

“Dad says Fudge has made it clear that anyone who’s in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks,” said Fred. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad. He knows he’s friendly with Dumbledore and that we’re all supporting Dumbledore, and Fudge has always thought Dad’s a bit of weirdo because of his Muggle obsession."

Hermione nodded, probably understanding what was going on, and sat silent beside Evan.

“After Percy announced the news, Dad reckoned Fudge only wanted Percy in his office because he wanted to use him to spy on the family and even Dumbledore."

“Not surprisingly, Percy must have been very reluctant to hear such words," said Evan, very clear about Percy's character.

“Yeah, when he heard what Dad said, he went completely berserk. He said loads of terrible stuff to Dad," Ron paused, and suddenly laughed in a hollow sort of way. "Well, he said he’s been having to struggle against Dad’s lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad has got no ambition and that’s why we’ve always been … you know … not had a lot of money, I mean ... In fact, what he said is quite reasonable..."

Ron couldn't go on, because Ginny made a noise like an angry cat.

“Percy has gone too far," said Hermione incredulously. "How could he say that?"

“And it got worse," Fred continued, "He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore; that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him."

“Does he not know Voldemort is back?" Evan asked.

“He probably knows, but he doesn't care," said George in a mocking tone. "Smart Percy, he said he knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn’t belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He’s living here in London now..."