"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and register your wand at the security desk."
"Straight ahead, the security desk is at the far end of the Atrium..."
The red telephone booth groaned with the metallic screech of friction as it began its descent. Melvin stepped out of the booth, the cool female voice wishing him a pleasant day still echoing in his ears.
He stepped into the splendid, golden Atrium. The peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with glittering golden symbols that shifted and changed constantly. The dark wood floor was polished to a mirror-like shine, and the surrounding walls were jet-black and glossy, made of materials that looked expensive and luxurious.
In the middle of the hall stood the pure gold Fountain of Magical Brethren. Statues of a noble wizard and witch stood in the center, surrounded by a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf, all gazing up at them with looks of adoration. Water sprayed from the tips of the wizards' wands, the centaur's arrow, the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears, splashing merrily into the pool below.
Passing wizards would occasionally stop by the fountain and toss coins at the statues, supposedly a ritual for good luck.
The bottom of the pool was littered with glittering Silver Sickles and Bronze Knuts.
"All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren are donated to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."
Melvin glanced at the smudged sign nearby and couldn't help but pause in thought.
Pure gold statues, a fountain built right in front of the Ministry's main hall... they had to hire people daily to count the coins and pay alchemists to regularly maintain the fountain's base. The cost of this fountain statue was probably tens of thousands of Galleons.
He was slightly curious: if they only relied on the coins collected from the pool for donations, how many years would it take to break even on the cost?
With Head Healer Herbert Spring's pragmatic personality, he would probably have preferred they just donate the gold directly to St. Mungo's, right?
"..."
Tonks approached from behind, ready to pat Melvin on the shoulder. But just as she raised her hand, she was spotted, so she could only grin and wave instead:
"Melvin! You're here?"
"Why are you the one welcoming me? Are you rotating through departments again? I remember the Minister's Office invited me for professional advice on Muggle Studies."
Melvin and Tonks walked side-by-side into the Atrium. They didn't linger long at the front desk; he picked up a temporary visitor badge and headed straight for the lifts.
"I've passed all my Auror qualification tests with high marks in every subject. Why would I go back to rotation? Madam Bones is acting as Minister while still serving as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so she commandeered me as an assistant..."
Tonks spoke in a brisk, cheerful tone: "Madam Bones wasn't used to the staff left over from the previous administration. She's still more accustomed to the clean, efficient style of an Auror."
Turning right at the reception, they soon arrived at the lift waiting area, a spacious circular hall.
There were at least twenty lifts here, separated by exquisite golden grilles. Although the maintenance and cleaning were impeccable, leaving them looking as good as new, the design was a bit outdated.
According to Wright, his father had designed them based on some high-rise buildings in London, dating back over a hundred years.
Melvin and Tonks stepped into a spacious-looking lift and waited for the gate to open. Soon, others crowded in: an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries stood quietly in the corner; an executioner from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures stood with a gloomy expression, silent; and a special staff member from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
"Mr. Cornelius Fudge?" Melvin greeted in surprise.
Short and stout, with a bald spot on his crown and sparse, graying hair on the sides, he wore the plain robes of a regular employee, tied with a bright red neckerchief.
"..."
I should have waited for the next lift.
It was all that Unspeakable's fault for taking the corner spot, leaving him nowhere to hide.
Fudge sighed inwardly at his bad luck, but forced a strained smile onto his face, pretending to be unbothered as he greeted him:
"Professor Levent, haven't seen you in a while. I've been looking forward to the new program on the Shadow-Mirror, but it never seems to come. I hope to hear good news by Easter."
"It's already in preparation."
Melvin exchanged a few pleasantries, acting as if he had completely forgotten their past grievances. But he soon turned his head to look at Tonks with a questioning gaze.
Tonks didn't care about saving Fudge's face at all—they were equals now: "Umbridge and Fudge had no substantive criminal evidence against them. While hateful, they were only removed from their positions in the Minister's Office. They aren't at retirement age yet and are still Ministry employees. Other departments weren't willing to take them, so Fudge had to go back to the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes as a filing clerk, and Umbridge shamelessly crawled back to the Improper Use of Magic Office."
"..."
The eyes in the lift were all focused on him, but Fudge kept staring at the button panel, his face betraying no emotion.
The thick skin he had developed over the years dealing with those pure-bloods—this was the only lingering quality of the former Minister of Magic.
"Level Seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and Ludicrous Patents Office..."
The lift fell silent, with only the cool female voice echoing.
"Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation... Level Five, Department of International Magical Cooperation... Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures..."
The lift doors opened and closed repeatedly, paper airplanes flying in and out, until they finally reached the third floor.
"...Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, incorporating the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters, and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."
Fudge let out a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He left the lift without looking back, his steps hurried, almost fleeing, as if the people behind him were more terrifying than Dementors.
"Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, incorporating the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services."
They were close to the surface now. Above them was the Minister's Office. Almost all the other employees had left, leaving only Melvin and Tonks in the lift. Just as they were quietly waiting for the lift to close again, a hand with pink fingernail polish suddenly grabbed the grate.
"Wait! Levent!"
The former Senior Undersecretary, now a mere clerk, Dolores Umbridge stopped the lift and poked her head in.
Her face, once merely flabby, now looked even more haggard and aged. Her short hair, neglected, looked a bit messy. She wore plain uniform robes with a Ministry badge pinned to her chest, missing her usual velvet bow accessory.
At first glance, the witch seemed much more normal, but a hidden madness still flickered in her eyes.
"Levent! I know it was you and Dumbledore behind the removal resolution! I have to get back to the Minister's Office! I'm going to run for Minister!"
Seeing Melvin frown slightly and reach for the door-close button, Umbridge grew more anxious, her voice becoming even more shrill: "I have leverage on you! I know about your unlicensed Apparition, and I found evidence!"
Melvin looked at the hysterical expression on her face, paused for a moment, and glanced at Tonks, who was watching the show. He signaled for the Auror to do her duty and kick her out.
Tonks sighed, a look of regret in her eyes—she hadn't seen enough of the drama yet.
How could a weak office witch like Umbridge be a match for an Auror? She was easily shoved back, but she continued to scream regardless: "I know your other secrets too! You have to listen to me! Gringotts... the Lestrange family vault..."
"Wait."
Melvin suddenly stopped Tonks. He looked at the repulsive, toad-like witch, showing a look of interest for the first time, a faint smile curling his lips:
"You know what? I've changed my mind. Maybe we should have a good chat."
Umbridge looked ecstatic. She was just about to speak when she suddenly remembered something. She adjusted her collar, seemingly trying to regain the posture of a Senior Undersecretary.
She cleared her throat and squeezed out a sickeningly sweet, girlish voice: "Then it's settled. I will write to you!"
Ding...
With the obstruction gone, the lift finally closed.
Paper airplanes circled the top of the lift. Tonks glanced at the young professor, opened her mouth, closed it again, and after repeating this a few times, finally couldn't hold back:
"That woman Umbridge has no bottom line. She'll do anything to climb up. No matter what information she has, don't believe a word she says!"
"Yeah, don't worry."
"I'm serious. After she was removed, the Law Enforcement Department conducted a comprehensive investigation on her, only to find that she's full of lies. She proclaims everywhere that she's a blood relative of the Selwyn family, a pure-blood, but she's actually a half-blood.
"Her mother was a Muggle. She even refused to acknowledge her own father just because Orford was a maintenance worker at the Ministry.
"She claims to have a phobia of 'part-humans,' but that's just her excuse for looking down on other species.
"She even tried to seduce her superiors several times, hoping to marry a backer and gain political resources..."
Tonks listed her offenses indignantly; she was extremely contemptuous of this kind of pure-blood supremacy behavior.
"I'm serious too. Don't worry, Tonks. It's just some business regarding the club."
Melvin smiled and said softly, "I think a personality like Umbridge's is very suitable for certain special jobs. It just so happens that an old friend of mine is preparing to open new business overseas. Perhaps Umbridge would be willing to leave the Ministry and accept a fresh, exciting job with a substantial income."
"..."
Tonks looked at the young professor suspiciously. She felt like there was a hidden meaning in his words, something he wasn't saying.
"Level One, Minister of Magic and Support Staff." The cool female voice in the lift sounded again.
...
Five minutes later, Minister's Office.
Tonks pushed open the door, and Melvin followed her in. He found that people were already waiting in the office: Scrimgeour, Crouch, and Madam Bones were sitting around a round table.
It was a warm, bright room. There were obvious marks on the floor near the walls, as if a carpet that had been there for a long time had been removed, leaving a clear boundary between old and new.
Bookshelves lined the walls, piled high with stacks of documents. The cover pages were marked with dates, all sent over in the last few days from different departments.
"Professor Levent." Madam Bones was the first to stand up. The group came over and shook hands in turn.
"Has the Muggle government discovered the wizarding world? Are we going to war? I really can't think of any other reason worth the Acting Minister and two high-ranking officials specifically inviting an ordinary professor." Melvin sat down at the table, and Madam Bones handed him a cup of black tea.
"The Department of Sports is preparing for the Quidditch World Cup final. We heard from Bagman about the cooperation agreement between the Mirror Club and the Committee. It's very novel, very promising. We never thought we could do things that way before."
Madam Bones explained: "After removing Fudge and Umbridge, Madam Marchbanks came to me for a very enlightening conversation. She told me that Muggle things are changing the wizarding world. This is the trend of the times; this is the future of wizards..."
She paused briefly: "As Acting Minister, I naturally can't believe it entirely, but I have witnessed with my own eyes what changes the Shadow-Mirror has brought to the British wizarding world. So I thought, perhaps I should listen to the opinion of a professional. What do you say, Professor Levent?"
Hearing the inquiry from the Acting Minister, Melvin pondered for a moment.
If nothing unexpected happened, Madam Bones would be the next Minister. Excluding the unstable factor of Voldemort, and considering her ability and age, the position of Ministry leader wouldn't change much for the next decade.
This conversation might influence the policy direction of the Ministry for a long time to come.
"Then... what about the Statute of Secrecy?" Melvin asked tentatively.
Madam Bones was very patient: "As a founding member of the International Confederation of Wizards, the British Ministry of Magic has always been committed to maintaining stability in the wizarding world, ensuring we move on the right path, and uniting wizards from other countries. The Statute of Secrecy was enacted and implemented by the Ministry's predecessors and has lasted for four hundred years. If it no longer meets our needs, perhaps appropriate changes should be made."
"You want to abolish the Statute of Secrecy?" Melvin felt she was being too radical.
"No, not abolish. I know wizards can't be exposed to Muggle vision yet. I mean, we can appropriately loosen the restrictions." Madam Bones weighed her words carefully: "For example, communication and cooperation with the Muggle government."
"Muggle government... communication and cooperation?" Melvin was genuinely surprised now.
"Professor, you should know that every Minister of Magic has a talk with the Muggle Prime Minister. It's considered a handover ritual."
The people present weren't surprised. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had compiled a lot of information on the Prime Minister. Several Aurors were planted in Buckingham Palace, and Kingsley had even infiltrated 10 Downing Street, drawing a generous salary every month.
"Because of Peter's prison break and Fudge's removal, I will be having a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister."
Madam Bones pointed to a portrait on the wall, an oil painting of an ugly man, with steps behind him leading to another frame: "I don't have any thoughts of abolishing the Statute of Secrecy in the short term, but perhaps we can start some preliminary cooperation with them. Cooperation that benefits both sides—business dealings, knowledge exchange, or something else."
She looked straight into Melvin's eyes, her gaze full of sincerity and earnestness:
"Professor Levent, I need your advice."
Melvin raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Glad to be of service."