Chapter 285

"We can't just sit idle and let the Death Eaters spread rumors," Harry mused. "But what can we do…?"

"I think we should return the book to Hermione first," Ron said. "Give it back to her before Herbology and ask her for some ideas."

"That works," Harry nodded. Their relationship with Hermione was delicate now, but asking her to think things through was still fine.

During Herbology, Hermione seemed distracted. As soon as class ended, she rushed over to Harry and Ron and said seriously, "I think your concerns are valid—I've thought of several solutions."

Harry and Ron exchanged a surprised glance. Hermione's mind was truly sharp.

"First, we can guess where the Death Eaters will start spreading rumors," Hermione said confidently. "In terms of credibility, the Daily Prophet is clearly the best option. So if they have ambiguous evidence, they'll publish it in the Daily Prophet—but if they have no evidence, just a logically consistent ghost story, they might choose the Quibbler instead."

"That means, no matter which method they choose, we can counter with the other side," Harry nodded in deep agreement. "We have both evidence and ghost stories."

"Then we need to consider what rumors the Death Eaters will use to attack Dumbledore. Perhaps we can steer the nature of the issue toward something less serious," Hermione continued. "For example, if the Death Eaters claim Dumbledore formed the Order to rule Muggles, we can say he only wanted to become Minister of Magic."

"If the rumor is too hard to handle, we release an even more explosive story to shift public attention elsewhere," Harry added. "That's also a very useful tactic."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed. "I have another idea: if the Death Eaters' rumor itself has a flaw, we can immediately deny it and expose their scheme. That way, even if they later find new ways to smear Dumbledore, people won't believe them so easily."

After a brief silence, Harry nodded and said, "That's a thorough suggestion. Thank you, Hermione."

"There's one more thing," Hermione smiled. "Luna—her father is the editor of the Quibbler. You could start by reaching out through Luna and alerting the Quibbler side."

Ron's expression was noticeably uneasy, but he said nothing. Harry watched Hermione leave. He didn't tell Ron or Hermione about Donald Fontroy's entanglements with Tianchao—it would help nothing and only cause chaos.

"Let me figure out who I need to contact," Harry muttered, counting on his fingers as he walked. "First, definitely Sirius. Second, it would be best if Sirius could contact Albus's brother. Even if he won't reveal the truth, he must at least fabricate a flawless lie."

"About Aurelius?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Harry said, now curious himself. If Albus's brother refused to admit the goat business, how would he spin the story?

"Oh right, Luna and her father too," Harry continued calculating. "Actually, I should contact Rita Skeeter as well—if we need to publish an explosive story, we must find her first."

Early Wednesday morning, Sirius's reply and the latest issue of the Daily Prophet flew into Harry's hands. Sirius wanted to talk first and asked Harry to meet him at the edge of the Forbidden Forest at noon. Ron, meanwhile, read the paper; judging by the pace of the serialized column, it would take four to five more days for all the book's content to be published, and the Death Eaters' next move would soon follow.

Harry suddenly felt the situation wasn't as urgent. Four to five days covered the next weekend—and the two meetings scheduled for it. He could learn what rumors the Death Eaters planned to spread at their meeting, and prepare Albus's brother at the Order's meeting.

At noon, Harry hurried to the edge of the Forbidden Forest after lunch. Sirius, in dog form, crouched on a fallen tree trunk, his glossy black fur gleaming in the sunlight, looking majestic.

After leading Harry a short distance into the forest, he suddenly shifted back into his long-coated form. Then Sirius asked seriously, "Harry, I've read the book you mentioned. What do you think the Death Eaters will target?"

"Without doubt, the White House's setup is Aurelius," Harry said. "But Zhang Qiu investigated and found that while Aurelius's origins are bizarre, they're unlikely to damage Albus's reputation. So I think they're more likely to go after Grindelwald."

"Go after Grindelwald?" Sirius rubbed his chin. "But even if Grindelwald's past is exposed, what difference would it make? The Order already knows all that. No matter how the Death Eaters twist it, they can't hurt them."

The Order was more steadfast than Harry had thought—good news.

"I think Aurelius is precisely the Death Eaters' most sinister move," Sirius said. "They want to force us, in defense of Albus Dumbledore's reputation, to pressure Albus's brother into revealing what he's always refused to speak of. Compared to the deceased Albus, Albus's brother—who's still active in the Order—is far more important. Think: if the Order is seen forcing an elder to expose his private affairs, can we still maintain unity and loyalty? Aren't we breaking the very justice we claim to uphold?"

"You're right—I hadn't noticed that," Harry said humbly. "No wonder you're my godfather—you see right through the conspiracy."

"It's not a conspiracy," Sirius said sternly. "It's an open strategy. They'll fabricate a filthy, vicious rumor that slanders Albus. If Albus's brother doesn't come forward to clear his name, he becomes a coward who commits vile acts but dares not admit them. And Albus becomes a hypocrite who shields his brother."

"The Death Eaters have abandoned honor. They know Voldemort is a selfish, brutal dictator. But worse than him? A dictator who's full of lies, hypocritical, selfish, and cold," Sirius analyzed. "Their rumor will strive to paint Dumbledore as exactly that."

"And we can't stop the rumor from being published," Harry said, troubled. "That's exactly what they want."

"Yes, very tricky," Sirius frowned in displeasure.

"Let's first try to find logical or evidentiary flaws to make the rumor collapse on its own," Harry summarized Hermione's suggestions. "If that fails, we either steer public opinion, or release another explosive story to divert attention."

"Do you know of any explosive story?" Sirius asked. "I think people who survived the Tardis explosion won't be easily distracted."

After a long bout of thought, Harry suddenly understood. He hurried to say, "We nearly forgot—the Death Eaters are spreading rumors to shake the Order's members so they can infiltrate. So whether we steer the rumor or release an explosive story, we only need to target the Order—we don't have to convince the general public."

"So the explosive story could be the diary," Sirius nodded. "And for steering the rumor…"

"People rallied around Dumbledore to fight the Death Eaters," Harry said. "So even if they smear his private life, we don't care. The only thing that matters is that no one thinks Dumbledore is a hypocrite, and no Order member believes he formed the Order for power."

"If the Death Eaters don't understand this," Sirius suddenly grinned wickedly, "we can directly shift the topic to Dumbledore's private life. Then no matter how hard they try, it won't affect the Order."

If rumors truly attacked Dumbledore's private life, Order members might laugh it off—but how would the general public react? Harry felt a quiet unease.

Having endured many storms, Harry didn't just consider the Death Eaters' moves—he knew foreign powers were circling the British magical world, ready to interfere in its internal affairs. The White House had already revealed its stance: though not directly spreading rumors, it was actively steering the conversation toward that direction and letting the Death Eaters exploit it.

William hoped to buy off Order members after they lost faith. That was an interesting question: would bought-off Order members side with the Death Eaters, or with the Magical Congress? Clearly, the latter offered far greater gains and easier recruitment. Now Harry had to consider another matter: what would Yanayev do?

On the surface, Dumbledore's reputation meant nothing to the Kremlin. But they might notice the White House's moves—and that would make sense. Yet Harry clearly realized Yanayev's ultimate goal was to eliminate the deterrent power of powerful wizards and provoke a war between the Order and the Death Eaters across the European continent. What if a bought-off Order member let the ring fall into their hands?

Even worse—he could launch the ring into deep space aboard a spacecraft. Voldemort would lose all hope of resurrection, and the balance of power between the Order and the Death Eaters would vanish. Everything would unfold exactly as Yanayev desired.

Thinking of this, Harry sneered. The ring was already destroyed. If Yanayev truly did this, he'd gain nothing—and lose the last British wizard willing to side with the Soviets.