The slacker professor at Hogwarts

Chapter 139 Wizard Council

Chapter 139 Wizard Council

Lockhart was approached by Fudge again three days later on Friday night.

The two traveled to Yorkshire in northeast England via a fireplace, where they needed to obtain Lockhart's formal recognition as a Merman and his official position as Lord of the Bloodline Hall.

There's an interesting question: if even the Minister of Magic can't manage the Department of Mysteries, one of the seven divisions of the Ministry of Magic, then who should appoint the members of this department, and whose will should the management follow?

The answer is actually quite obvious—the Wizard Council, which historically established the Department of Mysteries.

"This is a big misconception. Many people think that the Wizarding Council was the predecessor of the Ministry of Magic, but that's not the case."

"The Ministry of Magic is a wizarding administration department established under the guidance of the International Wizarding Confederation and based on the 'International Wizarding Confederation Secrecy Law'. It merely replaced the functions of the Wizarding Council, rather than transforming the Wizarding Council into the Ministry of Magic."

Fudge and Lockhart emerged from the fireplace, gestured to the club bar next door to register, and then waited for a special carriage to take them to their destination.

"The changes brought about by the Secrecy Act in that era were revolutionary, stipulating that wizards could not live with Muggles, had to stay away from Muggles, and completely go underground—"

Fudge ordered two low-alcohol drinks from the bartender, handed one to Lockhart, took a sip, and continued, "The Ministry of Magic is mainly responsible for this. It was established based on the Statute of Secrets and maintains the existence of the Statute of Secrets. That's why many people find that the scope of the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction is defined according to the borders of the Muggle kingdom."

Lockhart was amazed; he had had similar doubts before, but he never expected it to be for this reason.

"The Wizarding Council was not like this when it was founded. The boundaries between them were very vague. The full name of the Wizarding Council we are going to now is the 'English Alliance Wizarding Council,' which governs Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and even a wizarding tribe in the Arctic."

Fudge shrugged. "The Wizarding Council can never overlap with the Ministry of Magic. That's the fundamental reason. No matter how powerful the International Wizarding Federation is, it can't completely dismantle an organization that is united by magic as its core ideology."

"Of course, don't overestimate them. The Ministry of Magic is the powerful department with legislative, executive, and judicial powers!"

On this point, however, it differs from what Ms. Mellors told Lockhart. Ms. Mellors firmly believed that the Ministry of Magic was merely an intermediary in wizarding society.

Of course, when it comes to a higher level, Ms. Melis has nothing to say about the International Wizarding Federation, which is an organization that spans the entire global wizarding community, without exception.

After a short while, an old man wearing a pointed, crooked wizard's hat came over and led them into a dark carriage without any windows.

After getting in the car, Fudge continued to talk about this topic.

"In fact, the Wizarding Council is in a very awkward position right now, and many people realize that it is destined to be eliminated by the times."

Seeing that Lockhart seemed interested in this information, he happily went on to elaborate on the details, "Ancient wizards lived among Muggles, and you can even hear of some witches becoming queens."

"But with the formal establishment of the Law of Secrets, and the creation of armed organizations such as the Auror Offices and prisons like Azkaban by the Ministries of Magic in various countries, wizards had to begin to change their lifestyles and establish wizarding communities and villages."

"If you are interested in this, you can read 'The History of Magic' by the famous historian of magic, Bathilda Baghatt, which has a detailed introduction."

Bathilda Baghatt, Lockhart knew this witch.

She lived in Godric's Hollow, was a neighbor of the Dumbledore family, and had always had a good relationship with Albus Dumbledore.

She was also Gellert Grindelwald's great-aunt. When Gellert went to stay at his great-aunt's house, it was Bathilda Baghatt who introduced the two young people.

Lockhart was quickly drawn back into Fudge's story: "Before the Law of Secrets, wizards and Muggles lived together. After the Law of Secrets, wizards formed their own communities and villages. Many people cannot imagine the impact such a social upheaval would have on a system like the Wizarding Council."

Fudge chuckled. "The Malfoy family was once very opposed to the Secret Service Act because wizards were forced to live together."

This deprived these twenty-eight sacred pure-blood families of the opportunity to become wizarding nobles, ultimately forcing them to become dependent on the system constructed by the Ministry of Magic. Regardless of their actual influence, they were all trapped within this framework.

"The ancient pure-blood wizard families, and even the so-called sacred twenty-eight pure-blood families, these groups that should have represented the most powerful influence of wizards, have now become their own little circle of pure-blood families."

"Can you understand the meaning of this change? The Wizard Council, which originally represented wizards, has become the last bastion of ancient pure-blood families. It has slowly degenerated into a small circle and can no longer represent the collective will of wizarding society."

"The wheels of time keep turning, and the Ministry of Magic will eventually completely absorb an organization like the Wizarding Council."

When talking about the times, Fuki had many reflections.

He looked at Lockhart, whose figure was vaguely visible in the darkness, and asked, "From what I just said, have you noticed any enormous problem emerging in our time?"

Lockhart fell into thought, and Fudge did not urge him.

He was waiting for an answer to determine Lockhart's future position: whether he could be given another push to reach a higher level of influence, or whether he should be provided with more resources to pave the way for him to enter the halls of magic.

"Muggle wizards?" Lockhart was uncertain, but then he thought of this: "With more and more Muggle wizards appearing, their family members, who are also Muggles, will know of their existence. In a way, wizards have returned to the mixed-race state they were in before the Act of Secrecy!"

"Furthermore, it is difficult for the Ministry of Magic to require these Muggle wizards to leave their families and live in wizarding communities or villages."

"Yes!" Fudge exclaimed, "That's exactly it!"

Lockhart actually had another answer: Voldemort. This powerful figure's proposal would obviously receive the full support of the Wizarding Council, allowing them to reclaim the glory of the pure-blood family.

But this was clearly an untouchable slide in front of the Minister of Magic.

"The era has presented the Wizarding Council with a chance to break the deadlock. If they can solve this problem, perhaps the Wizarding Council will once again become the mainstream of the era, and the Ministry of Magic will only become their subordinate agency."

Fudge said this in a very sarcastic tone, with a strangely mocking smile on his face, "But we all know that's impossible. They hate Muggle wizards so much. You'll find out when you go there that there isn't a single Muggle wizard."

"They can only barely accept mixed-race people, but even that's just a reluctant choice. All the important seats that have any influence are occupied by pure-bloods."

"hey-hey·--"

In the darkness, he no longer concealed his schadenfreude, "I estimate that in a few more years, they may not be able to gather enough pure-blood seats."

Lockhart made no comment. In the social civilization of his previous life, people had long since transcended the level of bloodline issues. The history was so long that anyone you asked on the street would have an ancestor with some kind of name or title.

People only ask about pedigree when buying cats or dogs.

"Oh, let's get back to our original topic." Fudge finally felt that saying these words was a bit too informal, so he coughed a few times and said seriously, "This is the fundamental reason why they would agree to my placing a chief Murderer in the Bloodline Hall of the Department of Mysteries."

"They need you, you know? In fact, it's not that you need their approval; they actually want someone to restart the Bloodline Hall's research more than we do."

This is actually a very interesting topic.

Regardless of the nature of an organization, it is first and foremost composed of individual members, and the fundamental demands of these members are what truly reflect what the organization will support.

The "English League Wizarding Council" is very mysterious; most wizards and commoners have never even heard of this organization, but its members are well-known figures.

The carriage soon arrived at an ancient castle.

The atmosphere here doesn't seem serious; the pre-meeting atmosphere is more like a club gathering, with everyone chatting in small groups, holding wine glasses or snacks.

Fudge began to take Lockhart to get acquainted with the key figures, and with his power as Minister of Magic, he could almost completely bypass those numerous but actually dispensable roles.

But Lockhart actually discovered that he knew most of the members he was supposed to meet.

The current Speaker of the Wizarding Council (the person responsible for presiding over meetings) is Barty Crouch the Elder.

Lockhart last met this man when Kingsley took him for a chat. He had a good impression of him. Old Barty was a mature bureaucrat who knew how to be humble and gentle and knew how to maintain the dignity of both sides.

Giving someone dignity is the greatest respect, and everyone will be happy to maintain Old Batistuta's dignity.

The others are all too familiar to me.

Lucius Malfoy, Arthur Weasley, Alge Longbottom (Neville's uncle), Garrick Ollivander (owner of a wand shop and a British wizarding weapons monopoly), Mr. Borgin (owner of Borgin & Burke, a highly influential figure among the dark wizarding community in Knockturn Alley), and Tom Abbott (owner of the Leaky Cauldron).

All of the above come from the Holy Twenty-Eight Pureblood Families, and they all have one very significant thing in common—they are the parents of Professor Lockhart's students.

Thanks to Lockhart's dedicated teaching, his "fairytale romantic adventures" have effectively and significantly improved the children's abilities, and the parents are generally grateful to Lockhart.

Then there are other pure-blood families outside the Twenty-Eight Clans, the most familiar of whom is Mr. Urquhart, a representative of the pure-blood family group that chooses a global route to manage family influence.

There are too many people from different factions and political lines.

In fact, the world is not just divided into "pro-Muggle" and "pure-blood supremacists". Among the groups that advocate exploring the mysteries of magic, Ms. Melos, one of the main seats in the Wizarding Council, is the most respected representative.

This group doesn't care about pure-blooded Muggles. Wizards who can't walk the path of magic are no different from Muggles in their eyes.

There's a saying in the Western context: "The gifts that fate bestows always come with a price."

But for someone like Lockhart, whose cultural genes from his past life still flow in his veins, his understanding of the world has always been dialectical.

It should also have another interpretation: that the gifts you bestow upon the fate of others and the fate of the world have already secretly paid for you.

Of course, once people receive rewards and wealth, they have to collect them.

This process of receiving payment may be the reason why human life is still full of meaning, even though fate influences everything.

Since his transmigration, Lockhart has gradually come to where he is today, from integrating into the lives of wizards to now standing on equal footing in high society. His dedication to the young wizards at the magic school and his interactions with various figures have brought him the richest rewards.

However, thinking about everything from a "social" perspective inevitably made him feel less comfortable.

Lockhart prefers to examine things from a magical perspective. He believes that magic permeates every corner of a wizard's life, and that by walking the sacred path of magic, life will naturally blossom with its own better aspects.

Ding ding ding! Elder Barty Crouch of the Wizarding Council tapped his glass, silencing the gathering, and said loudly, "

Ladies and gentlemen, the topic of today's gathering is:

He waved his arms vigorously, gesturing to Lockhart in the crowd, "A hero of the Ministry of Magic!"

Boom~

Suddenly, a large amount of flames burst forth from the fireplace beneath the massive, gilded stone wall behind him. The flames rapidly climbed upwards and instantly covered the entire wall. Within the flames, the image of Lockhart casting "Thunderstorm Mountain Fire" appeared like a scene from a movie.

Everyone stared in shock at the scene before them.

To be honest, even though Fudge had watched it several times, he was still filled with excitement when he looked up at the images on the wall again.

magic!

Only magic!

This is the eternal topic of wizards!

Even seasoned politicians whose hearts have long been corrupted by power and self-interest, upon witnessing the magnificent spectacle of magic unfolding, would still feel a deep longing for the beauty of magic from the bottom of their hearts.

"Let's welcome...!" Old Barty Crouch shouted, "The Magic Master Gilderoy Lockhart!"

Boom~

Suddenly, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause. Several younger members shouted Lockhart's name with the same excitement they felt for an idol. This enthusiasm quickly spread to those around them, and soon, the shouts seemed to merge into a torrent.

"Gidero Lockhart!"

"Gidero Lockhart!"

"Gidero Lockhart!"