The teacher's office fell into a long silence.

Cornelius Fudge stood dumbly by the door, his gaze shifting between Hermione and Dumbledore with a mixture of astonishment and suspicion.

Professor McGonagall remained standing to Dumbledore's right, her brow furrowed, thoughtfully observing the young witch.

With the revelation of Hermione's true identity, the conflict that had occurred in the Transfiguration classroom naturally ceased to matter—perhaps somewhat regrettably, but there was an undeniable difference between a Muggle-born witch attacking a professor and a Dark Lord's daughter displaying a little temper.

Bones, Greengrass, and the other wizards present stared at Hermione in surprise.

"If you intend to leave directly, Madam Umbridge," Lucius Malfoy said, "then, regrettably, for the sake of the magical world and to prevent Hogwarts' peace from being threatened, I may have to make a decision. You are free to make the decision you deem correct; I—I will adhere to the interests of the majority."

There was no hint of threat in Lucius's voice; it sounded merely like a statement.

However, Umbridge's almost ferocious expression of rage clearly didn't see it that way; she now had a wand pointed at her back.

"Good, good, Malfoy! Mr. Lucius Malfoy!"

Umbridge trembled with anger, took a step forward, turned her head to look at the middle-aged wizard, and said through gritted teeth.

"I have always believed that the Malfoy family is a staunch supporter and ally of the Ministry of Magic. I have always respected the views of ancient pure-blood families. Perhaps we may have disagreements on some current political choices, but I mostly tend to consider your feelings. However, if the Malfoy family, or rather the Hogwarts Board of Governors, intends to rely on this respect to command or even threaten the Ministry of Magic—"

"I have no intention of offending you," Lucius Malfoy said. "If you sign the agreement, we will remain allies."

Umbridge seemed unable to think of how to respond or decide, and a flash of malice crossed her face.

Unlike the other wizards, who were merely present, she, who had directly clashed with the "Dark Lord's daughter," was clearly not so easily reconciled—although Umbridge still did not know why Hermione was so hostile towards her, she knew that the young witch was definitely a ruthless character as well.

If the curse attack in the Transfiguration classroom could be explained as emotional, then the spell from earlier was a blatant deterrent.

However, the current situation clearly left Umbridge with no room to hesitate.

If she showed even a slight reluctance or hesitation, perhaps before Dumbledore's side could act, the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors would cast spells on her first—in addition to Lucius, who had switched sides at the speed of light, Amelia Bones and others had drawn their wands at some point.

Compared to verbal agreement, sacrificing an opponent as a pledge of allegiance was undoubtedly the most powerful way to express one's stance.

Finally, Umbridge spoke, her voice becoming dry.

"Of course, I will sign, and I agree with this approach, but how do we ensure that there are no dangers in this contract—"

"It's obvious—"

Lucius Malfoy strode forward and signed his name on the contract without the slightest hesitation.

He was even faster than Professor McGonagall.

After signing his name, Lucius turned to look at Umbridge, his expression regaining its usual composure.

"With Professor Dumbledore's strength and wisdom, he has no need to resort to such methods… The dense clauses are not meant to become shackles that bind us, but rather to mitigate risks as much as possible and clarify the requirements—moreover, Professor Dumbledore and Miss Cassel have already shown sincerity by taking great risks. In this situation, I don't think there is much to doubt."

In the past two years, Death Eaters and dark forces had begun to make subtle noises in the British magical world.

As a "social butterfly" among pure-blood magical families, Lucius Malfoy had vaguely heard many rumors—the Dark Lord seemed to be active abroad, and there were corresponding plans in the British magical world, which was clearly not good news for him.

If Voldemort really returned, his first step would inevitably be to gather his scattered followers.

Before that, Lucius Malfoy had no way to escape the predicament except to wait anxiously for the outcome.

However… after tonight, he seemed to have found a second path to protect his family in the chaos.

Even eleven years ago, when Voldemort's arrogance was at its peak in the British magical world, he had only gathered werewolves, Dementors, and giant tribes among his followers; the true wizard followers were not many: apart from the Death Eaters who had the Dark Mark branded on their bodies by Voldemort himself, others were more likely to wear black robes and masks, following behind them doing evil, without much organized resistance or long-term plans.

However, Gellert Grindelwald and the Saints of half a century ago were clearly completely different.

Both advocated wizard supremacy and revered bloodline power. One was missing and lived in fear like a gutter rat; the other was like a sword of Damocles hanging over the magical world, able to openly confront the Ministry of Magic even from thousands of miles away.

For Lucius Malfoy, this multiple-choice question was almost a no-brainer.

"Madam Umbridge, I must remind you that this entire crisis was caused by you."

Lucius Malfoy said righteously, without any embarrassment, under Professor McGonagall's increasingly strange gaze.

"The Hogwarts Board of Governors, the Malfoy family, and even the gentlemen of the Ministry of Magic, all our efforts are aimed at providing students with a better and safer learning environment, not a basis for you to act arbitrarily. Moreover, you may have confused one point. The reason why we came to Hogwarts today is not to help you punish a lovely child, but to discuss some more important decisions—"

Lucius paused and nodded slightly to the other governors, as well as Cornelius Fudge and others.

"Sorry, I may be a little impatient, but I think… perhaps we have wasted too much time on some unimportant matters. The situation inside Hogwarts should be discussed and resolved by the headmaster and professors, not the Board of Governors. Shall we get back on track as soon as possible?"

"Oh, yes, yes. Hell—we almost forgot the main business."

Cornelius Fudge spun his bowler hat in his hands and said with a sudden realization.

At the same time, in addition to Umbridge, the other wizards also echoed Lucius's offer.

As the youngest member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, Lucius Malfoy's fence-sitting behavior was a bit awkward and embarrassing, but his actions undoubtedly saved the other wizards. After sacrificing his personal dignity, the tense atmosphere in the teacher's office eased in an instant.

As for the magical contract, everyone simply checked it a few times and signed their names after dispelling their doubts.

Perhaps they were not as good as Dumbledore in terms of magic power and experience, but they could still identify some basic curses and magical traps.

As Lucius Malfoy said, the core content of this contract was the magical constraint based on those clauses, and the magic of the entire contract was as simple as it could be. Therefore, as long as they adhered to those confidentiality clauses, this agreement would have no impact on them.

It must be said that human nature is a very wonderful thing—repeating the actions of others seems to be an instinct.

After Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius Fudge, and others signed the agreement in turn, they did not feel offended.

On the contrary, this wonderful situation of sharing secrets with Albus Dumbledore made everyone feel a sense of pride:

The peace of the magical world was in their hands, and they were the only ones in the world who knew Hermione's true identity.

"Huh? Professor Dumbledore, what do you mean by this?"

Cornelius Fudge widened his eyes and looked at the original parchment contract in his hand in confusion.

After the last person signed his name, Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped it lightly on the contract, then rolled up this "top secret" important document and stuffed it into Fudge's hand, instead of taking it back for storage as the Minister of Magic imagined.

"I am just an old wizard trapped in the school, Cornelius."

Dumbledore smiled gently, raised his hand and patted Fudge on the shoulder, and said with a smile.

"Logically, this important magical agreement should be kept by the Ministry of Magic—I have cast a spell on it, and if someone leaks the secret, his name will turn a dazzling red in the first instance, so you can react immediately.

"I think you said something very right before. I'm old and should try to give more trust to young people."

"The future of the magical world belongs to you. Are you willing to take on more responsibility from now on?"

"It's an honor, Professor Dumbledore!"

Cornelius Fudge puffed out his chest, his face full of pleasant smiles, and quickly stuffed the magical agreement into his coat pocket.

You see, the purpose of weakening Dumbledore's prestige was ultimately to consolidate Fudge's own position—if Dumbledore was willing to show more support and actively give him more management rights, then Cornelius Fudge would not have to continue with the original plan.

As for Dolores Umbridge…

Ever since she led the werewolf operation, her position in Fudge's eyes had undergone a subtle change.

As the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, Umbridge's path to promotion was almost at its end. Even if she had always been very respectful, Cornelius Fudge knew that the only reward that could truly attract this woman was the position of Minister of Magic.

And from the looks of it, Hogwarts was clearly a very suitable place to solve his troubles.

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Yay!