Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 29 Political Donations and Whistleblowing

"Minister Millison, it's a pleasure to see you still looking radiant."

The Ministry of Magic, the Minister's office—this was Murphy's first time in this place.

"Mr. Murphy Darkholm?" Milison Bagno looked at the young man before him. "I don't recall ever meeting him before."

If you've seen this handsome young man before, you should remember him quite well.

"Ah, I worked briefly at the pest counseling center and saw you a few times from afar, but I was just a junior employee at the time, so you naturally wouldn't have noticed me."

Upon hearing that the person was a former employee of the Ministry of Magic, Milison's attitude softened considerably. After all, they were once one of their own, which was much better than a complete stranger who had appeared out of nowhere.

"I heard from Umbridge that you have something important that requires my approval? She's come to me several times to ask. Tell me, what is it?"

Getting a direct meeting with the Minister of Magic was no easy task, so Murphy approached Umbridge, the pink toad, and through a generous financial offensive—about six hundred Galleons—persuaded her to introduce him to the Minister.

Murphy, who had bought the meeting opportunity for 600 Galleons, would not waste it. He immediately brought up a topic that would definitely attract Millison's attention: "In fact, I understand that the department's financial situation is rather tight right now. I just happened to inherit a sum of money recently. Thinking of the care and support I received from you and the other managers in the department, I feel obligated to share some of the pressure on the department."

Millison was immediately intrigued. "You mean..."

"Yes, I plan to donate 50,000 Galleons to the ministry to help resolve its recent financial difficulties."

"Fifty thousand Galleons!"

Milison was so excited he almost stood up.

Very good!

The ministry's financial problems have been giving her a real headache lately. On the one hand, after many people from the major pure-blood families were captured and imprisoned in Azkaban, their support for the ministry, along with that of the families associated with them, has been decreasing year by year. On the other hand, various magical disasters have frequently occurred in different regions over the past two years, causing expenditures to continue to rise.

Now, the department is so poor that it has been unable to pay salaries for two or three months.

Milison has been under a lot of pressure lately.

Especially considering that next year is an election year, the pressure is even greater.

After all, who would choose someone who can't even pay salaries to be a minister?

Now, with these 50,000 Galleons, it's enough for her to deal with the complaints that are about to boil over in the ministry.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Murphy! You are a truly generous gentleman!"

"It's what I should do, Minister," Murphy said modestly. "In fact, I also plan to provide the Ministry with a sum of money every year to support its work. The Ministry of Magic has always worked silently for wizards throughout England. Without your hard work, where would our happy and peaceful life come from?"

"This, this is really..."

Millison was deeply moved; what a wonderful person he was!

She had heard countless slanders, accusing the Ministry of Magic of abusing its power and the Minister of Magic of being a mere figurehead. But look at this gentleman—how righteous he is! He not only recognized our value but also provided substantial assistance!

If all wizards in Britain were as grateful as this gentleman, what couldn't they accomplish?

My great British wizards, why should we worry about not being able to lead the world again?

"You are truly insightful!" Millison exclaimed. "We will all remember your help to the Ministry of Magic!"

"No need for that, it's just the duty of an ordinary citizen," Murphy replied with utmost humility, showing no sign of taking credit.

"However, there might be a little troublesome part in donating this money."

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Milison asked.

It concerns 50,000 Galleons, long-term donations, and, more importantly, his re-election next year; Milison has to take it seriously.

"As I just mentioned, I recently received an inheritance. In fact, not long ago I was just a poor young man. Although I saw the difficulties in the department, I was powerless to help."

Murphy began his story.

"But about a month ago, my mother's maternal grandfather, Sir Alsace, who lived in France, passed away and bequeathed all his property and a mine to my mother and me."

"It was with this money that I decided to put my long-held idea into practice and prepare to do something for the ministry."

"However, because my great-grandfather distrusted fairies during his lifetime, most of his wealth was stored in the form of gold, which made the inheritance of my estate very troublesome. I had to open another account and exchange the gold for Galleons at an extremely unfair rate in order to legally own those assets."

"However, even so, the greedy fairies were unwilling to let me get them smoothly. Not long ago, they sent me a notice, arbitrarily freezing my account and claiming that they would no longer provide me with services until I could prove the source of my funds."

"In fact, they're accusing me of stealing my money from their vault, or from Muggles, and that Bowgrod wants to swallow my money!"

"What? This..." Milison looked at Murphy in surprise, assessing the truthfulness of the other party's words.

"Minister Milison, I implore you to help me. If I can get my assets back, in addition to my donation to the ministry, I am willing to give you an extra 10,000 Galleons as a token of my gratitude."

"This...isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Ten thousand Galleons isn't a huge amount, less than her annual salary. But it's still a considerable sum, enough to make her happy.

"This is just a small token of my gratitude to my friend. You helped me, and I can't even express my thanks? That's unreasonable!"

Murphy spoke with righteous indignation and utmost sincerity, as if he were not offering bribes but making a martyr's vow.

"This..." Milison hesitated, as Gringotts goblins were not easy to deal with.

"Of course, if it really is difficult, I don't want to put you in a difficult position. But in that case, I might have no choice but to move to France, and those donations would have to stay with the French Ministry of Magic..."

What?! Giving money to the French?!

No, absolutely not!

"No, how can we let a gentleman like you be stranded in a foreign land! Don't worry about this, I will issue a ministerial order to Gringotts to explain the source of your funds, and you will definitely have your assets back within two days!"

Fuck Gringotts!

Should we help those greedy demons instead of this generous gentleman?

Gringotts has never donated to the Ministry of Magic!

After freezing Murphy's vault, they will pocket every single coin, leaving not a single one for the Ministry of Magic!

"But Bogorod..."

"That greedy fairy dared to commit such a despicable act! I will have the Aurors arrest him!"

"Really? Thank you so much!" Murphy said, taking a bag out of his pocket and handing it to Millison. "It's just a small gift, please accept it."

After Murphy left the office, Millison opened the seamless stretch bag and took a look.

Good heavens, a full thousand Galleons!

Milison's liking for Murphy grew significantly.

"Murphy Darkholm, what a kind gentleman!"

……

Having secured the minister's favor, Murphy spent the next two days visiting several Ministry of Magic officials, mostly Wizengamor inquisitors who could influence verdicts.

After looking around, Murphy found Scrinker, the Auror's office director.

"Chief Scrimgeour, I want to report Lucius Malfoy."

The old lion frowned, his face serious. "Murphy? What are you reporting?"

"I'm reporting Lucius Malfoy for being a Death Eater! He's carrying out Voldemort's resurrection plan!"

(End of this chapter)