Chapter 466: Two Issues
Chapter 466: Two Issues
Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room. While other students were busy catching up on their holiday homework, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were engaged in a heated discussion, finalizing the spells they might need for the third task.
"We won't know the specifics of the third task for about a month, but we can't wait until then to start preparing", Hermione told them. Harry noticed she had pulled out her small notebook again, which was filled with ideas and information she had prepared for the second task.
Hermione noticed Harry's gaze and explained, "Some spells are very useful, but we didn't have time to learn them back then. Now they can come in handy."
"What kind of spells?" Ron asked with interest. "I think what we already know should be enough."
"No, it's far from enough", Hermione said seriously. "For example, during the thirty-second Triwizard Tournament, the champions were required to find an invisible beast based on a crude map."
"That doesn't sound dangerous", Ron said. "Invisible beasts aren't very aggressive."
"Oh, the danger doesn't come from the invisible beast, but from other creatures in the mountains. Moreover, the champions spent six weeks exploring the mountains without finding anything, and the judges had to declare them all failures", Hermione explained.
"Six weeks? In the wilderness?" Ron shuddered.
"You can imagine how bad the champions' condition was", Hermione said briefly. "They spent an average of much longer recovering..."
Ron visibly shivered.
"We should definitely be well-prepared", Ron said seriously. "Do you have any good suggestions to avoid getting lost?"
"Wilderness survival skills—Professor Belby taught us about these. How to deal with common dangerous creatures in the wild—Professor Lupin covered that... There are also the amplification charm, alert charm, and direction charm... I think the sharp blade is useful too, for clearing bushes and building temporary shelters... Ron, how's your apparition practice coming along?"
"What?" Ron was taken aback and nervously swallowed.
"Don't look at me like that. You haven't practiced since the end of last year, have you?" Hermione stared at him.
"Oh, uh", Ron stammered, "I managed it twice, remember?"
"That was last year. If you haven't practiced since then..." Hermione looked at him sternly.
"What about you?" Ron couldn't help but ask.
"I've known how to do it for a while", Hermione said, "though I'm not as good as Harry..."
Ron looked dejectedly at her. "So, I have one more task to do? Harry, I need your help, Harry?"
Harry looked up from the book "Famous Wizards and Their Patronuses", his expression drowsy.
"What's wrong with you?" Ron asked curiously.
"Professor told me to practice the Patronus Charm more", Harry yawned.
"Patronus Charm? Why?"
Harry shrugged. "Professor said this spell has a lot of potential."
...
About a week later, the Ministry of Magic began to see more activity as staff members returned to work.
Felix's special training also progressed smoothly. The most advanced Aurors and enforcers had started to try combining fire runic script with the inferno charm. At this stage, the challenge was controlling magic and timing the fusion, which wasn't too difficult for the Ministry's elite.
Kingsley Shacklebolt and Dawlish were the first to succeed. For them, the power of a single spell might not be significant, but they were dealing with an entire magical system.
Everyone valued this rare opportunity, and Felix quietly extended his influence to one of the most important forces in the Ministry of Magic.
Reflecting on his recent experiences, the lunch with Scrimgeour had been uneventful. Scrimgeour didn't mention Ackerley at all; he simply presented Felix with a Ministry of Magic advisor's appointment letter.
"Honorary advisor? What's the point?" Felix asked, flipping through the document. He didn't see any magical contract.
"Additional income and the right to advise and supervise on certain matters", Scrimgeour said enticingly. "If you're considering a political career, this will be a significant credential."
Felix shrugged and accepted it.
One afternoon, Felix explained the concept of 'fluid' runic script to everyone again. Professor Machi Ban approached him and invited him to a meeting.
When Felix entered the meeting room on the second floor of the Ministry of Magic, it was already full of people. They wore deep purple robes with a delicate silver "W" embroidered on the left chest. They all looked at him, some with stern expressions and others with undisguised curiosity.
His gaze quickly swept over the Wizards, pausing briefly on Dumbledore's half-moon glasses and Fudge's dingy green domed hat on the table.
Wizengamot... Felix had a vague idea. He calmly walked to the empty seat beside Professor Machi Ban and leaned in to whisper, "What do you need me to do?"
"Nothing at all!" Professor Machi Ban said loudly, looking across the table. "Dumbledore, can we start?"
"Of course", Dumbledore said cheerfully, while Fudge looked extremely uneasy, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead with a striped handkerchief.
Dumbledore opened a document on the table, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "As the Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, have convened the entire Wizengamot to discuss and vote on Griselda Marchbanks' proposal to decide whether to admit Felix Hep as one of our members."
The Wizards in the room began to murmur.
Felix smiled slightly, leaning back in his chair and waiting quietly. After a few minutes, the murmurs gradually subsided, and Dumbledore spoke again, "Please let the proposer state the reasons."
The diminutive Professor Machi Ban stood up, straightening her slightly hunched back, and said loudly, "Each of you has a file in front of you, so I'll only highlight the key points. Felix Hep has made outstanding contributions in various fields, and he deserves to be one of us!"
"Since taking over the position of Ancient Runes Professor at Hogwarts, Felix Hep has consistently demonstrated exceptional teaching and academic standards. You can see the grades on pages 15 and 16—"
The room was filled with the rustling of pages, followed by a few muffled gasps from the crowd.
"That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible!" Professor Machi Ban said. "Just before this, I and the Vice-President of the Ancient Runes Association, Hestia Vera, conducted an investigation at the school. I can assure you that every piece of information mentioned is true!"
"We trust you wouldn't exaggerate in such matters, Professor Machi Ban", Amelia Bones, who sat next to Fudge, said, her monocle glinting and her voice sonorous and deep. She reassured Professor Machi Ban and then looked at Felix with a probing gaze.
"Shall I continue—Felix Hep has achieved remarkable success in memory therapy. The treatment methods he developed are the most effective for treating memory damage at St. Mungo's, and many patients deemed incurable by healers have recovered. Dorthea Bohame can vouch for this—"
"Cough!" A voice came from the corner, and Dorthea Bohame, the former Head of House at St. Mungo's, said sternly, "I can vouch for it. In fact, the patient data in the file was provided by me."
There was another rustling of pages, but this time no one raised any objections. Felix had earned the Order of Merlin for this contribution, and everyone knew about it; they just wanted to see more details.
The meeting continued—
"Felix Hep quelled the riots at the Quidditch World Cup, restoring the Ministry of Magic's reputation", Professor Machi Ban said loudly, drawing more agreement from the surrounding Wizards. Fudge grimaced and muttered something under his breath.
Professor Machi Ban said loudly, "I saw no recognition for this afterward, and it certainly deserves a Merlin Medal."
Fudge wiped his sweat and was forced to explain, "Well, I believe... at the time, we were busy with the investigation and arresting the Wizards who caused the disturbances. Most of them were from abroad, and we had to handle it carefully to avoid an international incident..."
Professor Machi Ban let out a loud humph.
"Also—recently, the center of public attention, I'm sure you are familiar with it. Felix Hep has shown the new value of Ancient Runes, and we have reason to believe that his contributions are on par with creating an entirely new magical system!"
"Griselda... this matter still needs discussion", Fudge said, fidgeting with the papers in his hands, "I'm not saying no... but it's too early, we need to observe for a few more years..."
Professor Machi Ban ignored him, closing her file and scanning the room with a stern look, "I believe these contributions are more than enough. Now, I have only one question: what reason do we have to reject such a person from joining the Wizengamot?"
The room became even quieter, and they looked around, waiting for others to speak their minds.
At this moment, Amelia Bones looked up from her documents. "I have a few questions for Mr. Felix Hep, purely out of curiosity... They are not directly related to the agenda of this meeting, and they do not affect my agreement to his entry into the Wizengamot."
"Ms. Bones, I am here to answer any questions", Felix said.
"I heard that the Patronus Charm is one of your most skilled spells? You have repelled over a hundred Dementors?"
The surrounding wizards began to murmur, many of them showing admiration.
"That's correct."
"Have you also mastered a spell to destroy Dementors? Is it Ancient Magic?"
"Um, you could say that", Felix nodded slightly, at least the Size-Altering Charm was Ancient Magic.
"Do you know that they are employed by the Ministry of Magic?" Amelia Bones looked at him sternly.
"Yes, I also know that they have lost control more than once", Felix said calmly. "Not counting the two incidents at Hogwarts, similar serious incidents have occurred at Azkaban as well." His words sparked a loud discussion.
"Is that true?" someone whispered.
"It is indeed the case", Ms. Bones agreed. "I have always opposed using Dementors to guard wizard prisons; this practice is no different from—"
"Cough, cough, cough!" Fudge coughed loudly. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are straying from the topic. The use of Dementors as guards for wizard prisons has been in place for centuries. They have performed admirably in most cases, and occasional mistakes are forgivable."
"Admirably? Admirably!?"
Professor Machi Ban glared at Fudge, seemingly eager to argue with him.
Dumbledore timely interjected, "Before we vote, does anyone have any further questions?"
"I have one question", a wizard raised his hand and smiled. "My granddaughter wants to know when the emerald crown from 'Future World' will be on sale?"
Many people chuckled softly.
At this moment, Fudge signaled to a witch, and Dolores Umbridge inwardly groaned. She hesitated for a few seconds but could not resist the temptation of returning to the center of power.
"This is how it is", she spoke in a sugary voice, causing a few people around her to frown. "I have great admiration for Mr. Hep's establishment of 'Future World.' As everyone knows, it has become the largest company in the entire British wizarding world. Currently, it has—let me check the parchment on the table—147 employees?"
"You seem to know more about it than I do, the owner of the company. I appreciate your hard work", Felix said calmly, startling Umbridge into a shiver.
Her face was plastered with a sickly sweet smile. "I'm curious... What do you need so many people for? From what I understand, the company is still actively hiring. At this rate, in another two to three years, 'Future World' will have more employees than the Ministry of Magic..."
"Um", Felix said calmly, "because it hasn't met my expectations yet."
"Expectations? If I may be frank, do you expect it to surpass the Ministry of Magic?"
"I don't particularly care about that", Felix said. "You might have forgotten, Umbridge, 'Future World' isn't the largest company in Britain."
"Pardon? I can't think of any others—"
"Gringotts." Felix uttered a name, and Umbridge's face contorted as if she had been forced to swallow a fly.
The wizards in the meeting room relaxed their expressions.
"I see 'Future World' as an international company. The company's vision has never been limited to one or two countries but extends to every wizarding community around the world", Felix said. "In the places you can't see, all the employees are working towards a common goal."
"And that common goal is...?" Umbridge held her breath.
"It's printed on 'Future World's' promotional materials", Felix said slowly. "It seems you haven't done your homework thoroughly."
Umbridge fell silent.
"Then, let's vote", Dumbledore said, looking around. He raised his hand first.
A few minutes later, the proposal for Felix to join the Wizengamot was unanimously approved.
"Very well", Dumbledore said cheerfully, "then please welcome our new Wizengamot member to take his seat. We will now move on to the second agenda item, which I will present—"
Fudge's face suddenly twitched, not from fear but from anger. He stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes, his fat, thick fingers twisting.
Dumbledore, as if he hadn't noticed, calmly stated his agenda: "Regarding Voldemort's return and the impending Second Wizarding War."
(End of Chapter)
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