Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

Huck turned to Henry and smiled at him.

"So you see, my first impression of the magical world was a lady who could bring teacups to life and a gerbil that left its mark on my important cabinet documents."

"Mongolian gerbil," he added.

Humphrey added aptly, "The follow-up communication after that meeting went very smoothly. Ms. Bagno explained the basic framework of the International Secrecy Act to us in detail and assured us that the Ministry of Magic would not interfere in Muggle affairs. Of course, in exchange, we could not publicly acknowledge the existence of the wizarding world, which was a perfect win-win arrangement."

"Until last year," Huck shook his head.

"Last year?" Henry asked.

Huck sighed and looked at Humphrey: "Humphrey, you explain?"

Humphrey cleared his throat. "Your Highness, in 1990, there was a change of Minister of Magic. Mr. Cornelius Fudge succeeded Ms. Bagnore. As is customary, the new Minister also needs to visit the Prime Minister to reaffirm the confidentiality agreement. That time—"

“That time,” Huck continued, “it was someone who notified me beforehand—to be precise, it was the figure in that dirty little oil painting in the corner who notified me. I was in my study looking at a document about coal mine subsidies when the painting suddenly started talking, which startled me.”

Bernard added quietly from behind, "Mr. Fudge seems to have asked it to inform you in advance that he will be making a formal visit via FlooNet at eight o'clock that evening. The painting also instructs you to empty the fireplace and not leave any clutter there."

“Yes, empty the fireplace.” Huck nodded, turning to Henry. “So I had Bernard move all the grills out of the fireplace and clean it up. At eight o’clock sharp, Mr. Fudge came out of the green fire right on time—thankfully, he didn’t step in any soot, which is commendable.”

“Mr. Fudge,” Humphrey continued, “was the Minister for Magic at the time, and has been in office for over a year. From the perspective of Muggle-wizard relations, his style of performing his duties differs somewhat from that of Ms. Bagnore.”

Huck laughed out loud: "Humphrey, just say it straight, he talks too much and never gets to the point."

Bernard added later: "Last year, after Mr. Fudge came out of the fireplace, he spent a full four minutes explaining to the Prime Minister the principles of Floo. This included, but was not limited to: how to light Floo powder, how to clearly pronounce the name of the destination, and where one might appear if the name of a place was mispronounced—his example being, 'If someone wants to go to Nottingham but pronounces it as Norfolk, they might appear on a fishing boat in the middle of the North Sea.'"

"He mentioned the fishing boat twice," Huck said expressionlessly. "Twice."

Henry couldn't help but chuckle: "So he's very talkative?"

"Talkative?" Huck raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness, do you know how long the longest I've ever spoken to the President of the United States was? Thirty-five minutes. Mr. Fudge's visit lasted an hour and twenty minutes—at least an hour of which was him talking unilaterally."

"And the topics were very broad," Humphrey continued, "from the latest models of flying brooms to the preparations for the Quidditch World Cup, to his concerns about the growing number of students at Hogwarts, and he even brought a bag of magical sweets as a gift—"

"That candy," Huck interrupted him, "Humphrey, do you remember that candy?"

"I remember it vividly, Prime Minister." Humphrey smiled mysteriously.

“Your Highness,” Huck turned to Henry, “he brought a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. You know, those little jelly beans, each with a different flavor. He said it’s the best way for a Muggle prime minister to experience the wizarding world, and then he let me try one right there.”

Henry suppressed a laugh: "Did you try it?"

"I tried it." Huck's expression became complicated. "I thought it was diplomatic etiquette, and I couldn't refuse. So I closed my eyes and picked one—guess what it tasted like?"

"Uh... strawberry?"

"Snot," Huck said expressionlessly. "I ate a snot-flavored jelly." Mr. Fudge laughed and said, "What a lucky guy, that's a rare flavor."

Bernard whispered, "Since then, the Prime Minister has never touched any candy from the wizarding world again."

"Bernard is right," Huck nodded. "Now I avoid colorful candies whenever I see them."

Humphrey cleared his throat, steer the conversation back on track: "From an administrative communication perspective, Mr. Fudge's style is indeed different from his predecessor's. During Ms. Bagno's tenure, the former Cabinet Secretary, Sir Arnold Robinson, established a regular information exchange mechanism with the Ministry of Magic. The Ministry would send an owl with a briefing every month, covering major events that could affect the Muggle world, such as magical creature escapes or large-scale magical accidents. These briefings were concise, contained just the right amount of information, and were very practical."

"And now?" Henry asked softly.

"Now he only shows up at 10 Downing Street without prior notice when he feels it's necessary to contact us," Harker said expressionlessly. "Since he became Minister for Magic, he has been completely out of touch. The last time he came to 10 Downing Street was to inform us about your enrollment at Hogwarts, which led to a series of emergency consultations."

"Yes," Humphrey continued, "We believe that His Highness's status is special and that a squad of guards should be sent to accompany him into Diagon Alley for shopping; but Mr. Fudge said that the fewer people who know the secrets of the wizarding world, the better, so he recommended to us the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore—said to be the most powerful wizard in the world—to lead you into Diagon Alley."

"We have also consulted His Majesty on this matter." Hark bowed slightly to Elizabeth. "His Majesty seems to know something about Headmaster Dumbledore, and she believes that Headmaster Dumbledore is perfectly capable of handling the security work."

Elizabeth nodded slightly: "Around 1980, during the tenure of your predecessor, Mr. Herbert Atwell, a large-scale war took place in the wizarding world. One side called themselves the Death Eaters, and their leader was a dark wizard who called himself Voldemort."

At this point, Henry clearly noticed that Huck's lips trembled slightly, and he glanced at Humphrey almost imperceptibly.

"Ultimately, under the leadership of Headmaster Dumbledore, the war ended in defeat for the Death Eaters." Elizabeth smiled gently. "As far as I know, the dark wizard who called himself Voldemort was so powerful that many wizards dared not call him by his name, but he still feared Headmaster Dumbledore's strength and dared not confront him directly."

Hack picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it back.

His gaze shifted back and forth between Elizabeth and Henry, as if he were processing the meaning of what he had just said.

Humphrey and Bernard, on the other hand, both revealed meaningful smiles.