The Return to Hogwarts

Chapter 547 Visiting the Ministry of Magic

2023-10-21

Ministry of Magic, Minister's office on the first basement floor.

On weekdays, the corridor outside the Minister's office is always crowded with Ministry of Magic employees who need to report on various matters and get signatures. This situation was particularly exaggerated in the days following the Quidditch attack, with people making reports stretching from Fudge's office door all the way to the elevator lobby.

The same thing happened today. Early in the morning, the minister's office door, which should have been open to welcome guests, was tightly shut. Even Senior Minister Dolores Umbridge was unable to get the door open.

The employees queuing outside were buzzing with discussion, asking around what major case the group from the Auror office had rushed in for.

The atmosphere was equally tense inside the luxurious minister's office.

Sirius had been arguing with Dexter all morning about Remus, completely ignoring his superior. Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror office owner, kept giving him a cold stare, and Kingsley's attempts to ease the tension, which were also made there, all failed.

"That despicable scoundrel!"

Excited, Dexter's stiff, gray hair seemed to stand on end as if electrocuted. His wizard's robes were stretched taut by his strong body. He glared at Sirius, shouting almost a roar.

“I saw through it long ago. He’s trying to use underhanded tactics to fight the department’s investigation, isn’t he? And you, Blake, you’ve been protecting him all along. You’re trying to buy time!”

"Watch your mouth, you big idiot!"

Sirius Black's gray eyes gleamed coldly, his tone as icy as his gaze.

"There is no evidence to prove that Remus is guilty. Perhaps he was just there by accident. Also, I must emphasize that even if Remus does have a problem, he has the right to receive treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries before being consulted by the Reception Department!"

"absurd!"

If they weren't in the minister's office, Dexter might have already pulled out his wand and given this equally heinous fellow, who had only narrowly escaped trial, a good whack. In his eyes, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were birds of a feather.

One of them spent over a decade in Azkaban, while the other...

"The law is meant to protect wizards!" Delilah said through gritted teeth, "not for those filthy, lowly werewolves!"

If the atmosphere in the office just now was like a pot of boiling oil, then Deli's unrestrained remarks were like pouring a bucket of cold water into that pot of hot oil, causing it to explode instantly.

Without a word, Sirius Black pulled his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at Dexter's eyes.

“Apologize!” Sirius gasped. “Otherwise, I’ll let you stay at St. Mungo’s for a few days too, Dexter!”

“Compared to St. Mungo—” Dexter drew his wand without backing down, “I’d much rather send you back to Azkaban!”

Just as their argument was about to escalate into a duel, Rufus Scrimgeour, the superior of both Dexter and Sirius, suddenly straightened up. His lion-like orange-yellow eyes shone with a menacing light, and his voice roared like a lion's pre-attack screech.

"What do you want to do!"

Rufus Scrimgeour took two steps to stand between the two men facing off.

"Do you want to blow up the minister's office for the sake of one criminal?!"

Upon hearing this, Sirius immediately turned his angry gaze toward Scrimgeour, while Dexter's rugged eyes revealed a hint of barely perceptible smugness. On the other side, Kingsley also narrowed his eyes, not wanting to openly express his stance, he glanced discreetly at Fudge, who was sitting behind him in his office, frowning and with a somewhat unfocused look in his eyes.

Throughout the morning, Connelly Fudge was in a similar state. He listened to both sides' opinions for a while, then stopped paying attention to what they were arguing about and instead fell into his own deep thought.

This is quite unusual, isn't it? This conflict is happening in his own office, and the minister is acting as if he doesn't care at all. What is he planning?

"Put down your wand, Sirius—"

Unable to fathom the minister's thoughts, Kingsley could only focus his energy on resolving the conflict.

"Nobody wants to see you and your colleagues fighting in the minister's office, Sirius!"

Kingsley emphasized the word 'nobody,' assuming Sirius would understand his implication. However, the angry Sirius paid no attention to what Kingsley was saying; he was focused on defending his friend. Rufus, on the other hand, noticed Kingsley's subtle tactic and gave him a sharp look.

"minister!"

Just then, the office door, which had been quiet for a while, was knocked on again. The person outside was practically pounding on the door, and their voice was filled with excitement.

"Are you there, Minister?"

After nearly two months, Sirius had become quite familiar with the people in the department, and he immediately recognized that this was Dirk Claysway, the young new director of the Fairy Liaison Office.

This person had a fairly good relationship with Sirius. It wasn't that Sirius actively developed the relationship; rather, Dirk approached him himself. He greatly admired Amostella, who was also from Slytherin. So, on days when Sirius wasn't out on field missions, Dirk Clydeway would visit Sirius to talk about Amostella.

Hearing Dirk's excited voice, Sirius's brow twitched slightly, and he finally slowly lowered his wand.

"There's someone you need to see, Minister!"

Dirk continued to bang on the door, not receiving a response.

"I'm handling something, Dirk!"

Through the door, Fudge snapped irritably, "If it's convenient, you can have the visitor get a number from Dolores and then wait in line outside!"

The knocking outside stopped for only a second before it started again, and Dirk yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Are you sure, Minister? It's Mr. Blaine—Amosta Blaine is right outside the door!"

Sirius's eyes widened suddenly. The anger on his face and the pressure he had been under for the past two days vanished. He was about to go and open the door when a stern look appeared on his face, and the creature cleverly took a step to the side, blocking his way.

"Amosta?"

Fudge also looked relieved, but this expression only lasted a few seconds before his expression tightened again.

"Ahem-"

Fudge lifted his buttocks halfway up and then lowered them back down, feigning a few coughs.

"Okay, Dirk, you can bring him in!"

Rufus Scrimgeour and Delilah exchanged a glance, their faces instantly darkening.

"what's wrong?"

As Amosta entered the office, he saw Rufus Scrimgeour and his unfortunate Auror staring at him with grim expressions, while Sirius looked at him with relief in his eyes, and Kingsley gave him a friendly smile.

Amosta could sense the tense atmosphere in the office without much effort, and he could also roughly guess what had just happened in the office—Sirius and Dexter still had their wands in their hands!

As for the reasons for the conflict, there's no need to elaborate.

However, Amosta still looked bewildered. He glanced at Cornell Fudge at the desk and asked in a surprised tone,

"Am I arriving at the wrong time, Minister?"

"Of course not--"

Fudge gave an awkward smile.

“We were just talking about ordinary work, Amosta--”

Chapter 548 The Changes No One Was Aware Of

2023-10-21

"I'm sorry, Minister, perhaps I've arrived at the wrong time—"

Amosta stopped in the middle of the office and looked at everyone's expressions. Everyone in the office noticed the obvious confusion on Amosta's face.

"Perhaps I can wait outside for a while until you finish dealing with the emergency."

Amosta's feigned confusion was so deceptive that even Sirius and Fudge were somewhat baffled as to what was wrong with him. Fudge stared intently into Amosta Blaine's distinctive pale purple eyes and tentatively asked,

"Don't you know what happened, Amosta?"

"What?" Amosta frowned, glancing at Fudge before turning to Sirius with the same certainty. "What happened that involves me?"

"Oh, actually... cough cough—"

Fudge hesitated, then took a deep breath and smiled.

“It’s nothing, Amosta. We were just discussing a mission for Rufus’s department. Come on, have a seat, Amosta. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are visiting Hogwarts next week. I thought you were as busy as I am!”

"You guessed perfectly, Minister—"

Amostella pretended not to see Sirius's questioning look, chuckled, and resumed walking, ignoring Rufus and Kingsley, and sat down opposite Fudge.

"These past few days have been really hectic, but there's something urgent that I think I need to let you know—"

"Oh, really?"

Upon hearing this, Fudge's expression became slightly awkward. After thinking for a moment, he gestured for the people from the Auror's office to sit down at the conference table, let out a slight sigh, and then asked,

"Could it be that there's some trouble in preparing for the championship?"

"Everything is going well, Minister. For the first Triwizard Tournament in centuries, please trust me and Headmaster Dumbledore; Hogwarts won't make any mistakes. Actually, well, let me tell you something personal first—"

Amosta smiled shyly, took an application form from his pocket, and placed it in front of Fudge.

"As you know, Minister, my salary at Hogwarts is hardly enough to support my magical research, so I'm planning to open my own alchemy workshop to produce a new gadget I recently invented. I'd like to ask you to pull some strings and see if it can get approved as soon as possible."

Amosta smiled shyly.

"I have no choice but to do this; I'm afraid my funds won't last much longer."

A brief silence fell over the office as everyone stared at Amosta in astonishment. Rufus's bright yellow pupils twitched violently, his brows furrowing deeply. What was going on? Wasn't Amosta Blaine here about Remus Lupin?

Sirius was about to get up the moment he came to his senses, but Kingsley kicked him hard under the table, which made him more patient. However, he still stared at Amostella's profile with a look of disbelief, unable to believe his ears.

Over the years, Cornelius Fudge had met countless people who sought his help through connections, but he never imagined that Amosta Blaine would actually come to him for gold. This surprised Fudge, but also brought him a sense of relief.

"Morning Star Learning Machine (Type 94)"

Fudge's previously wary expression relaxed considerably. He picked up the application Amosta had submitted, glanced at it, and asked with interest,