From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Yes, Fudge completely understood what his assistant meant.

The last attack on the Ministry of Magic was because there weren't enough people left in the Ministry. If everyone stayed in the Ministry for lunch, even if some of them left, the Ministry's security would be able to fill the gap.

Secondly, if the department provides good enough meals, that's also a benefit for employees—regardless of how touched everyone will be or how long it can last, just getting through this period is a victory, and providing benefits is never a bad thing.

Third, dining with Ministry of Magic staff in the dining hall would naturally make them more familiar with him, which is also a way to increase employee morale—or rather, a way to make it more difficult for them to stage a coup.

"Um…"

He hesitated for a moment, feigning hesitation, then said, "What you said makes some sense. How about you go to Hogwarts this week to recruit a new chef?"

This is a lucrative position—it's a reward for his assistant's outstanding performance.

It's quite good that they came up with such a feasible solution during this difficult time. As for public opinion, the priority is for the Aurors not to rebel.

“That won’t do, Minister, you have to go yourself,” the assistant shook his head rapidly, as if he had drunk some strange magic potion. “If I go, I’ll probably make enemies with the Aurors. The new cafeteria has to be delicious!”

Fudge paused, almost forgetting that if he hadn't personally overseen the process, who knew what kind of food the chefs would produce? Some people couldn't even distinguish between salt and sugar before joining the company…

"Alright, but we can't just recruit chefs. It'll sound too bad if word gets out. Go tell the logistics department how many more positions we can recruit this time, and do it all together, make it a proper comprehensive recruitment drive."

"Yes, Minister!"

The assistant, who had already anticipated the change to a full-scale recruitment, nodded, then closed the door and quickly ran towards the logistics department on the same floor—he didn't know how many people would be crammed in this time, but he estimated that the cafeteria would be able to do a decent job.

-

"recruitment?"

William, who had just finished class, was summoned to the office by a child sent by Professor McGonagall. "Is the minister coming in person?"

He looked at Professor McGonagall with curiosity, and began to wonder to himself.

Fudge usually comes to see Dumbledore, but Dumbledore isn't here today—could it be that Professor McGonagall, in order to appease Fudge, conspired with Dumbledore to take over the headmaster's position and get busy reorganizing the school's internal affairs, thus losing the strategy of threatening the Minister of Magic?

It's not impossible—Fudge will definitely face less pressure after Professor McGonagall takes office, and there won't be much chaos on campus.

Although it may seem a bit chaotic, upon closer examination, it could be an effective way to ease tensions…

'Perhaps it can even deceive the Dark Lord across the ocean!'

Thinking about this, William even secretly applauded the plan—except for one flaw: it seemed that in Ifamoni's case, the principal was changed first, and then the new principal took office…

But it's not a big problem, it can be solved...

Professor McGonagall clearly hadn't expected the Head of the Self-Defense Office to have already planned so much. "Anyway, in order to alleviate this year's employment pressure, the Ministry has decided to increase the number of students admitted to the Ministry of Magic to reduce the unemployment rate among new students, so we need to cooperate well in this recruitment..."

'Is it really a job posting?'

Seeing that Professor McGonagall's expression didn't seem to indicate that she had other plans, William had no choice but to stop imagining where Dumbledore would go after losing his job.

"We will strictly check all visitors to ensure everything proceeds safely and orderly—however, if possible, I would like to increase staff to specifically look after the twins, as they are about to graduate!"

William spoke very seriously about what seemed like a somewhat outrageous topic, but after a moment's thought, Professor McGonagall immediately approved his request.

“Okay, this is necessary. If you need someone, talk to them in advance and I will arrange the class rescheduling.”

“That’s unnecessary, Professor McGonagall,” William shook his head decisively. “If possible, I would like Mr. Arthur to take charge of part of the recruitment process…”

After learning the number of students the Ministry of Magic would be recruiting for this recruitment fair, William decided to use his ultimate weapon—there were simply too many students to recruit, so he absolutely could not allow the recruitment to go awry.

"Arthur?"

Professor McGonagall immediately realized who William was referring to as Arthur, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

This supervisor was indeed incredibly reassuring, and considering the safety aspect, she thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring it up when discussing it with Fudge...

-

"recruitment?"

“Yes, Minister Fouché has decided to upgrade our office, and we need to bring in two young people.”

During dinner at the Weasley family's house, Mr. Arthur proudly spoke to his wife.

"Wow, honey, you're amazing."

“I’ve said it before—we are the ones who protect the stability of the magical world. The more chaotic it is, the more we must prevent the misuse of magic, especially when it comes to Muggle items, we must be extra careful.”

"Also, I personally recruited the new interns. This time, I'm determined to hire two interns who are interested in this field; the two of us in the office are simply too busy..."

"You're not going to give other people face anymore?"

"I'll consider it a little, but it still has to be according to my preferences—besides, there are so many openings this time!"

“Hmm,” Mrs. Weasley nodded, “as long as you promise not to bring them to our garage to do any of that weird alterations.”

"Haha... Jasmine, what are you saying..."

Mr. Weasley's forehead was beaded with sweat. "Besides, we've recruited quite a few people this time, so we need to write to Fred and George to inquire about their future plans."

He usually respects his children's career choices, and he was very supportive of their plan to open a shop—but the situation is different now…

-

"recruitment!"

"It's a huge job fair, supposedly the biggest one in recent years. The Ministry of Magic needs to hire a lot of people!"

The newly issued notice attracted the attention of a bunch of seventh graders. They only had one last big exam left, and the exam wasn't actually that difficult, so they were naturally more concerned about the recruitment.

Aside from the students who had already decided on their future career paths, most people didn't dislike working at the Ministry of Magic—otherwise, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't claim that more than half of its staff couldn't even cast the Ironclad Charm.

In the past, there were few people recruited, but many with connections. Apart from the most outstanding students, no one dared to consider this position. This year, the number of recruits has increased dramatically, so naturally, some people are eager to try it out—it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, what if they succeed?

Thus, William witnessed something quite unusual in his office for the first time.

"Professor, could you provide a copy of the recruitment exam for the Ministry of Magic?"

This incredible request startled William—did these students think he was a fountain of good luck, able to get whatever he wanted?

He'd eaten the Ministry of Magic's free meals before, but recruitment? He was a special recruit from Azkaban when he applied to Hogwarts—besides, the Ministry of Magic had never used any exams before. Apart from the straight-A students and a few prefects, did he really need to analyze how the rest got in?

It wasn't that he wanted to criticize the Ministry of Magic, but based on the Ministry of Magic's practice of recruiting interns in those years, a paper like "My Minister Uncle" could almost guarantee a 100% success rate. What was there to teach about that?

"Don't focus on departments that recruit too few people, or departments that seem to have good career prospects. Avoid positions that aren't too demanding—if you're a class leader, please ignore the previous conditions."

He could only shake his finger and say the above words with a slight smile, "Alright, we're all students from the same school, I can't be biased. If I teach them all once, it's no different from not teaching them at all. Alright, I hope everyone will work hard and study the recruitment requirements carefully. The department will notify the schools two days before the recruitment, and I guarantee you will all get the news as soon as possible."

-

"Are you kidding me?"

Despite the competition from other students, William was able to secure a job offer immediately.

But this thing highlights something outrageous—it recruits a large number of students who are good at cooking?

Does he really think he doesn't know the level of the Ministry of Magic?

Moody had complained about this long ago—the Ministry of Magic's dining halls couldn't even handle the ministry's banquets, and they always had to outsource a lot of things…

To be precise, it involved temporarily hiring chefs from several excellent restaurants in shifts to prepare the food.

Why not recruit a group of excellent chefs?

The salary was relatively low and lacked freedom, the number of positions was limited, but most importantly, one couldn't spend too much on bills—anyway, I don't know which minister had this understanding, but it has continued ever since.

Moreover, the position wasn't actually for a chef—the official title was staff member of the Ministry of Magic's Logistics Department; they just required good cooking skills.

'What's going on? Going to the rear to feast? Aren't you afraid of being exposed and condemned by the public?'

He shook his head, completely baffled by the implications of this action.

But it doesn't matter—he wasn't the one getting scolded, and there are plenty of skilled chefs at Hogwarts.

This recruitment drive is sure to make Hufflepuff students happy—I wouldn't say that all the best cooks are in Hufflepuff, but I'd say that more than 70% are there.

'Only one last question remains—how did this happen? Is it specifically reserved for those with connections, or are they really going to recruit?'

He was genuinely curious—because both of them were absurd.

'Never mind, we'll see when the time comes. Let's wait and see.'

-

"recruitment?"

The Dark Lord glanced at the intelligence report in his hand and almost thought Bertha had made another mistake…

Just as he was filled with doubt, he discovered that the person who came to report the intelligence was not Bertha, but another loyal Death Eater, Bellatrix, who had volunteered to take over the intelligence.

"We've made such a big commotion, and now you're telling me we still haven't been able to contact Barty Jr., while in England, Dumbledore and that Minister of Magic named Fudge are actually conducting a massive recruitment drive?"

“And,” the Dark Lord’s crimson eyes fixed on the job postings, “we’ve got information from the American magical community; they’re hiring chefs?”

"Master, Master, I..."

Bella lowered her head in shame—she now wondered if she had been deceived and received false information.

"Fine," the Dark Lord sighed, "I'll give you one more chance. I want you to keep an eye on Hogwarts. I need concrete intelligence!"

Chapter 585 Recruitment Assessment

"No, they're really here to hire a chef?"

William heard this rather surprising news in the faculty lounge right after class ended.

While he was attending classes after participating in the ceremony to welcome Minister Fudge, the Ministry of Magic's recruitment booth had been set up, and Fudge himself was sitting in the position of recruiting chefs, overseeing the work.

This speaks volumes—although the Ministry of Magic claims this is to bring in talent and increase employment, the fact that Fudge personally oversaw the matter shows that the Ministry genuinely needs some excellent chefs.

Otherwise, this problem can't be explained. You can't say that the Minister of Magic has never eaten or seen anything like this before, and still has to come to Hogwarts to fill his stomach; that would be too disrespectful...

"Let me tell you, William, it was quite a sight! The kitchen was packed with students, and they didn't even have enough cooking utensils!"

Adams beamed – he was a Hufflepuff, and if the Ministry of Magic were serious about recruiting chefs this year, it wouldn't be unreasonable for his house to take 70% of the spots.

"Speaking of which, how is their safety guaranteed?" William asked curiously. "Aren't they afraid of ingesting some kind of poison or something cursed?"

"This is Hogwarts, you're worrying too much, William," Adams waved his hand dismissively. "If you ask me, I'd rather worry about someone using some magical ingredients to create some weird flavor than about poisoning..."

“It’s hard to say…” William gasped. He had seen it before; some Hufflepuffs had tried to make a sweet soup with ice cream—and it was a complete disaster…

“Oh, right,” Adams said, lowering his voice as if remembering something, “lunch will be at our college’s table today. I heard Professor McGonagall say that at noon, dishes from each college will be placed on each college’s table…”

"clear."