Fortunately, Umbridge embodied the definition of a loyal hound. The moment she entered, she began searching the cabin with zealous thoroughness.
She worked tirelessly, hunting for any possible evidence. Her wand tapped tables and chairs while her fingernails scraped beneath bedsheets, searching for hidden letters or documents. Unfortunately for her, Adrian and the others had cleaned everything meticulously.
"You children should return to the castle if there's nothing else," Professor McGonagall hinted, urging their quick departure.
Adrian nodded and prepared to leave, but Umbridge's voice stopped them.
"Wait."
"Minister Fudge, these children happen to be the witnesses mentioned in the report. I believe they might know something relevant," Umbridge said sweetly.
"Umbridge, I remember the incident clearly. Dumbledore has already explained everything thoroughly. The children know very little, they simply discovered clues by accident and reported them," Professor McGonagall said with a frown.
"But I suspect there may be something hidden," Umbridge stepped forward, her broad, sagging face looming close to Adrian and the others. Ron, being nearest, couldn't help backing away several steps. Umbridge ignored this, speaking with a saccharine smile.
"According to our information, someone witnessed a young wizard riding a dragon yesterday."
"That was Seamus's claim. Didn't you inquire at school? He's notorious for being a walking disaster, every spell he attempts explodes. Seamus probably invented the story to get attention," Adrian said calmly.
"Then I'll need to question him further," Umbridge's eyes fixed on Adrian, searching his face for tells.
However, Umbridge was quickly disappointed. Adrian's expression remained completely unchanged.
"Well, Umbridge, perhaps we should investigate elsewhere," Fudge said impatiently. He had no interest in wasting time on some student's fantasy.
In truth, Fudge cared little about the supposed dragon incident.
He'd come personally hoping to catch Dumbledore in some underhanded scheme. If this situation could damage Dumbledore's reputation, so much the better.
Though he admitted Dumbledore had performed "small favors" when Fudge sought the Minister position, since achieving the most powerful post in the wizarding world, Fudge couldn't tolerate anyone remaining above him, especially someone whose words carried more weight than the Minister's own!
This was absolutely intolerable!
When Fudge first became Minister, he'd naively assumed Dumbledore would retire behind the scenes within a few years, or simply die of old age.
But a full decade later, Dumbledore remained alive and sharper than Fudge himself. The Minister suspected that by the time he reached old age, Dumbledore would still be headmaster of Hogwarts.
He knew the greatest white wizard of the century maintained good relations with Nicolas Flamel, life-extending potions were certainly possible.
"I think we should examine the castle's fourth floor. According to some students, they were warned at the start of term that approaching that area would result in a painful death," Umbridge suggested, ever the faithful hound with new ideas.
"Excellent, let's investigate there," Fudge's interest rekindled.
"Fudge, do you truly believe I would hide a dragon in a castle corridor?" Dumbledore, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke.
"Well, I'm just looking... surely no dragon could be hidden there?" Fudge noticed Dumbledore's piercing gaze through his half-moon spectacles. Panic fluttered in his chest, but he maintained a calm facade, unwilling to show weakness.
"I've also shown you the attack site. It was an ordinary assault," Dumbledore continued with increased intensity.
"Hagrid was wounded by magic. The burned area shows traces of a Incedio spell. The unicorn's death resulted from the Killing Curse... There's no evidence Hogwarts houses a dragon or violated Ministry regulations!"
"I understand, but this is a routine Ministry investigation!" Fudge felt his authority challenged like never before, his voice hardening defensively.
Umbridge promptly produced a search warrant, displaying it before Dumbledore.
But Dumbledore didn't look at it. He simply stared at Fudge in silence.
The cramped wooden hut suddenly filled with oppressive pressure, making Harry and the others extremely uncomfortable. They huddled together like scolded children. Even Umbridge found herself unable to speak.
Adrian quietly observed the confrontation, maintaining his position as an interested spectator. This was entirely Dumbledore's doing and had nothing to do with him.
What surprised him was that Dumbledore had used the Philosopher's Stone as bait without the Ministry's knowledge, or perhaps they knew very little.
Considering Fudge's attitude toward Voldemort's return in the original books, Adrian understood somewhat. Fudge didn't want to believe Voldemort lived, let alone use something as precious as the Philosopher's Stone as trap bait.
Even if Fudge had agreed to such a plan, he would have insisted on setting the trap at the Ministry itself, bringing dozens of Aurors to guard it personally.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron lacked Adrian's detached perspective. Fudge's words worried them, they knew perfectly well that a three-headed dog occupied the fourth-floor corridor. They couldn't imagine Minister Fudge's reaction upon encountering Fluffy.
The tense atmosphere persisted until Dumbledore finally broke the silence.
"Of course the Ministry may investigate. There's nothing shameful there," Dumbledore said more gently. After all, Fudge was the Minister of Magic. If possible, he preferred avoiding complete antagonism with the Ministry.
"I assure you this will be the final location we search," Fudge also relaxed, voluntarily backing down.
Dumbledore said nothing more and walked toward the door. His calm, composed demeanor made Fudge question whether his persistence was justified.
But Fudge quickly reinforced his resolve. Dumbledore's previous reaction proved he was definitely hiding something. Thinking this, Fudge winked at Umbridge.