Chapter 101: Fudge's Invitation
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"Come in," said the person inside the door.
Tonks pushed open the door, and inside the door was a small auditorium. This auditorium was much smaller than the Hogwarts Great Hall but was luxuriously decorated. The light reflected by the luxurious crystal chandelier at the top dazzled Ethan.
A few people were there in the auditorium. Standing in the middle of the crowd was a squat and stocky man. He was wearing a delicate black suit and a dark green tie. It was Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge.
Also present were Lucius Malfoy, in a dark green velvet robe, and Umbridge, in a fluffy pink cardigan, dressed like a pink toad.
Seeing Ethan entering the door, Fudge's face instantly put on a warm smile, "Mr. Ethan, come here; we've heard the name for a long time." Fudge took the initiative to take two steps forward and shook hands with Ethan.
"Mr. Ethan, your work in Knockturn Alley impressed everyone, especially your heroic rescue of an Auror, which my daughter admired very much, and she kept clamoring for See you!" Fudge patted Ethan's arm enthusiastically.
"Haha, look at me." Fudge suddenly patted his forehead; let's get down to business first.
"Today, you are the protagonist, Ethan. We hold an award ceremony for you. To be awarded the Merlin Order at such a young age, you have a bright future." Fudge's old face had turned into a flower with a smile.
Ethan was a little surprised by Fudge's enthusiasm. Undoubtedly, Fudge was trying to win over him, but Ethan didn't understand why. There might be a lot of twists and turns.
Suddenly, the door of the small auditorium was pushed open again, and Dumbledore stood at the door, smiling and wearing a dark blue robe.
Dumbledore's sudden appearance disturbed Fudge, "Well, Dumbledore, have you received an invitation from the Ministry?"
"Of course, I congratulate Ethan for winning the Second Order of Merlin." Dumbledore shook hands with Ethan warmly as if the previous quarrel didn't exist.
Seeing such a situation, Ethan couldn't say anything. That quarrel was considered rude by Ethan.
"Cornelius, I think there should be a problem with the owl of the Ministry of Magic. I have not received any notice of this award ceremony. Fortunately, I am well informed and know the news of the award ceremony." Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Besides, as the Supreme Mugwump and the headmaster of Hogwarts, it is still necessary for me to attend the award ceremony of the professor at my school."
"Okay, okay, let's get started!" Fudge seemed to want to get out of this situation immediately and quickly announced the start of the ceremony.
Fudge, Ethan, Dumbledore, and Tonks took their seats.
After a while, a witch with short gray hair, a monocle, a vast body, and a square chin walked to the rostrum.
"I am Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; I will host today's award ceremony." The witch's voice was quite serious.
"Witnesses to this ceremony are Minister for Magic Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Supreme Mugwump, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."
Then, she began to talk about the glorious history of the Merlin Order and its meaning. After a while, it was finally time to award the Order.
"I announce that for Ethan's heroic rescue of an Auror in Knockturn Alley and foiling of a conspiracy of a dark wizard gang, the Order of Merlin at this moment confers the Order of Merlin Second Class to Ethan."
Amelia Susan Bones pronounced this line very solemnly.
Ethan came to the stage, and Amelia Susan Bones took a gold medal from the tray before her with a delicate pattern that looked very heavy and a purple ribbon attached.
She handed the medal to Ethan; he bowed slightly and took the medal with both hands.
Immediately after that, the flash flashed repeatedly, and the reporters invited by the Ministry of Magic captured this scene.
Then came the group photo session. Dumbledore had no intention of taking a group photo. According to his words, he would spend a long time with Ethan in the future, and there would be many opportunities for group photos.
Fudge would take such an opportunity. Facing the camera, he smiled and shook hands with Ethan warmly, like a kind elder congratulating his younger generation for their achievements.
"Mr. Ethan! Congratulations on this great honor!" A shrill voice sounded behind Ethan, and Ethan turned around to find that Rita Skeeter spoke.
"Hello, Mr. Ethan; I didn't give a good introduction last time we met. I'm a reporter for the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter." Rita Skeeter faced her with her bright red lips. I would like you to please put on a bright smile.
Ethan looked at Rita Skeeter with some vigilance, and Ethan knew her ability to write white to black.
"Mr. Ethan, as a hero, can you accept my special interview?" Rita blinked her eyes with long eyelashes, and the dark green shorthand quill beside her floated as if ready to eat him up.
Ethan hurriedly wanted to refuse the interview because he knew that no matter what she said, the woman in front of him would misinterpret her words and be completely off-topic.
But then, Fudge bumped Ethan lightly, "Mr. Ethan, listen to me; you can participate in this exclusive interview. Miss Skeeter knows how to write." Then he winked at Ethan and blinked.
Rita Skeeter also gave Ethan a mysterious smile.
"When you found out that an Auror was in distress, what motivated you to come forward?"
"To be honest, I didn't know she was an Auror at that time," Ethan said.
Rita nodded, and her dark green shorthand quill quickly recorded something in the notebook, making a swishing sound.
"When dark wizards besieged you, what did you think in your heart? How did you stand out from the siege?"
"It was dangerous all around at that time. I didn't have time to think about it; I just tried my best to fight," Ethan replied.
Afterward, Rita Skeeter asked Ethan several more questions, and Ethan answered them individually, avoiding all extreme language as much as possible.
"There is one more question. I found out that Miss Tonks you rescued was a young and beautiful witch. Do you have a relationship with her?"
Before Rita Skeeter's question was finished, Fudge, who was on the side, coughed hard.
"I think that's the end of the interview, Miss Skeeter," said Fudge.
Unexpectedly, Rita Skeeter listened to Fudge very much, packed her things, said goodbye to Ethan and Fudge, and left the auditorium.
Dumbledore left when Ethan was being interviewed. Now that the award ceremony is finally over, Ethan also decided to go. He saw Tonks standing at the door of the auditorium waiting for him.
"Mr. Ethan, please wait a moment." Fudge suddenly stopped Ethan.
"As I said earlier, my daughter admires you very much and has always wanted to meet you, so do you have time to attend our family dinner tonight? You two young people must have a lot of topics in common.
Fudge smiled and invited Ethan.
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