[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-learning-panel":3,"chapter-hogwarts-learning-panel-hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-491":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Hogwarts Learning Panel",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2250729,4210,"Chapter 491: Cornelius Fudge","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-491",491,"\u003Cp>“Can you teach me? Wizard Sean—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry said excitedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Wizard Sean could answer, Mr. Stan came over humming a tune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He casually interrupted their conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He seemed to remember that both Harry and Wizard Sean had paid for hot chocolate, so he carried the chocolate syrup down the narrow aisle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An accident happened just then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car suddenly jumped from Anglesey to Aberdeen, and Stan spilled all the chocolate onto Harry’s pillow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Harry sat stunned, Wizard Sean instinctively guided the spilled chocolate back into the cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s an exquisite wandless charm! Merlin—Mr. Green, truly—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan clapped his hands in front of Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry wanted to say something angry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Neville, sorry, I’ll get you another serving—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan turned to Harry for about a second, then turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Incredible—Mr. Green!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Harry sat down again, grumbling, the wizards in their robes and slippers began descending from the upper deck and leaving the car.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all seemed eager to get off as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, only Harry and Wizard Sean remained as passengers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can I go to London now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, Neville, we’ll talk later—Mr. Green, where are you headed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan asked Wizard Sean as if Harry weren’t there, speaking with deference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re going to London together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry said, as if resigned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s splendid, Neville,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan clapped his hands and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where in London?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finally asked Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Diagon Alley.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right then,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hold on tight—go...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom! They shot past Charing Cross.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry sat up, watching the buildings and benches on the windowside squeeze to one side to make way for the Knight Bus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky was beginning to lighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ernie slammed on the brakes, and the Knight Bus stopped in front of a shabby little pub—the Leaky Cauldron—whose back entrance led to the mysterious passage to Diagon Alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry said to Ernie. He stepped off the steps and helped Stan carry his trunk and Hedwig’s cage onto the sidewalk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry stepped out of the bus first and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Stan ignored Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He still stood at the bus door, staring wide-eyed at the dark entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There you are, Harry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice said. Before Harry could turn, a hand landed on his shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Stan shouted:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good heavens! Ernie, come quick! Come!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry looked up at the hand’s owner—a man with a peculiar appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stranger was short and stout, with messy gray hair and an anxious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His clothing was a bizarre mix:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pinstripe suit, a bright red tie, a long black cloak, and purple pointed boots. Under his arm he carried a dark green top hat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan leapt onto the sidewalk and stood beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you calling Neville, Minister?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked excitedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The short, stout man wore a long striped cloak and looked cold and tired.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Neville?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He frowned and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is Harry Potter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I knew it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time, Stan looked at Harry with solemn eyes—but Harry felt no joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What had Stan just called him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Minister?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What minister?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A terrible premonition stirred in Harry’s mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Stan continued gleefully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ernie! Ernie! Guess who Neville is, Ernie! It’s Harry Potter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, bigwigs never like to reveal their names—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Jia Siting is Mr. Green, and Neville is Harry Potter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I suspected it all along—I saw his scar!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge said impatiently,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m glad the Knight Bus brought Harry, but now I need to enter the Leaky Cauldron with him...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge tightened his grip on Harry’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what Mr. Green?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge was always hypersensitive to names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Green, look—he’s right here—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Stan spoke, a black-haired young wizard stepped down from the Knight Bus’s long staircase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s you—Mr. Green—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry felt the pressure on his shoulder ease, and the “Minister” emitted the most oily, smooth voice Harry had ever heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Wizard Sean’s first time seeing Fudge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Fudge’s first time seeing Wizard Sean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, they had seen each other’s faces in newspapers countless times, but never face to face like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Minister Fudge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean said slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The short, stout man before him squinted as if hearing sweet nothings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, yes, Minister—but these days, being Minister isn’t easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge squinted, his face twisting into a knot,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you, Mr. Green—if you were me, would you take the job?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge had imagined a thousand scenarios of meeting Mr. Green, but never while dealing with an escaped prisoner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mr. Green—that ridiculous title people used for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the alchemists’ old madmen, he was Hermes returned in glory; but to him, Cornelius Fudge, he only recalled the rumor he himself had helped spread—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greatest wizard of the future, surpassing Dumbledore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How thrilling—Dumbledore had a rival, not some madman like Voldemort, but a legitimate wizard raised by the MacGonagall and Prince families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether he liked it or not, the British magical world already had a solid faction of supporters for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, the British magical world had only one famous name: Dumbledore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Fudge?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew well his own name only held weight because of Dumbledore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now things were different—Dumbledore had a rival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His own name would soon matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mr. Green, come with me… To be honest, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge said, shoving Harry into the pub.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wizard Sean followed silently, wondering whether the Minister seemed overly enthusiastic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the door behind the pub, a hunched figure emerged, holding a lantern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Tom, the gaunt, toothless landlord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You found him, Minister!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tom said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What would you like? Beer? Brandy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just a pot of tea,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge replied, squinting at Wizard Sean while still gripping Harry tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Loud scraping and heavy breathing came from behind Wizard Sean—Stan and Ern had reappeared, carrying Harry’s trunk and Hedwig’s cage, gazing around excitedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you tell us who you were, eh, Neville?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan grinned at Harry, while Ern’s owl-like face peered curiously over Stan’s shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Get us a private room, Tom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge said bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry now realized which Minister this was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sadly told Stan and Ern, as Tom led Fudge toward the passage beside the bar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Goodbye, Neville!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stan called out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge pushed Harry through the narrow passage behind Tom’s lantern, into a small private room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tom snapped his fingers; flames burst up in the hearth. He bowed and withdrew from the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sit down, Harry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge pointed to a chair beside the fireplace. Harry sat, though the heat did nothing to stop the goosebumps rising on his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please wait a moment, Mr. Green. I must attend to some matters—soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fudge glanced sideways at Wizard Sean, then fixed his gaze on Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Look at Fudge’s expression—he regarded Wizard Sean with tolerance, but scrutinized Harry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry felt he was finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using magic outside school had surely been blamed on him.\u003C\u002Fp>",1146,"2026-06-19T10:00:42.198Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","54105b6e094a61b1e90eef3542550f02945e2a80630283b36b366710059a2272","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-492","hogwarts-learning-panel-chapter-490",526,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-learning-panel-cover.jpg"]