allendalepharm Chapter 106 Beast Consulting Office
Chapter 106 Beast Consulting Office
Chapter 106 Beast Consulting Office
Lockhart accompanied Dumbledore to the Ministry of Magic for questioning.
Old Deng remained silent throughout, yet he exerted immense pressure on the officials of the Ministry of Magic.
Fudge watched Dumbledore's retreating figure, looking as if he wanted to ask something but hesitated, eager to inquire whether the Dark Lord had truly been resurrected.
But he clearly couldn't get any answers from Dumbledore.
Old Deng seemed to have no intention of talking to him, and Fudge couldn't say anything in the end. He could only leave with a hint of resentment after Umbridge arrived.
In fact, their interests are aligned in this regard.
Fudge did not want the Dark Lord to actually be resurrected, as this would greatly undermine his position as Minister of Magic. He had to make a strong statement to the outside world that the so-called "resurrection of the Dark Lord" was utter nonsense, even if it meant offending Dumbledore.
Dumbledore also needed the Minister of Magic to make such a statement. As long as the rumor of Voldemort's return was not officially confirmed, the rumors would remain ambiguous, thus preventing the wavering pure-blood families from being forced to take sides. Similarly, Voldemort's supporters of the "pure-blood supremacy" faction would not risk doing anything to show their loyalty to the Dark Lord.
This would buy Dumbledore a lot of valuable time, even if it's just one or two more years.
However, Dumbledore cannot explicitly state in public that Voldemort has not been resurrected, as this would lower the guard of some resistance forces and make it more difficult to organize resistance forces after Voldemort is fully resurrected.
Sometimes, a gray area is needed in the political arena.
This was Lockhart's first time stepping into the political center of the Ministry of Magic. Although the original owner of the body had tried his best to cultivate influence, he had cleverly focused on cultivating social influence rather than political influence.
There are significant differences between these.
The original owner knew that the influence he actively cultivated in society was worthless in the face of political interests. As a low-level half-blood wizard with no background, blindly stepping into this circle would only result in him being devoured alive.
But he was clearly wrong!
Several people stood by the elevator in the Ministry of Magic building and waited. With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and the Ministry of Magic employees, who looked glamorous in other people's eyes, walked out one by one with tired faces. Suddenly, a female employee screamed in surprise.
"Ahhhhh +X"
"Gidero Lockhart!"
"Merlin's beard belongs to Gilderoy Lockhart!"
She was so excited that she rushed over quickly. In fact, not only her, but many people around her also rushed over while shouting.
The two old bureaucrats, Auror leaders Scrimgeour and Corban Yaxley, who had been almost completely ignored, were stunned. They had clearly never seen such a scene in the usually solemn and dignified Ministry of Magic.
Lockhart was stunned!
He had never seen such a scene before and didn't know how to handle it for a moment.
He didn't take out all of the original owner's memories to examine in detail. Not to mention that some of the personal memories were too shocking and sensitive, he had only been in this world for half a year. He didn't even have time to carefully study the magical information in his memories, let alone pay attention to that kind of information.
What should I do?
He panicked, truly. Looking around, he saw witches rushing out from different corners, accompanied by the frantic screams of these people.
He genuinely didn't know what to do.
He had experienced a similar scene at Hogwarts, and he had thought that being popular meant being in that kind of situation.
But that's clearly not the case!
The young wizards at the school are still young, and they always feel a bit pressured by the presence of other professors, but these people in front of them are different.
As more and more people squeezed in, the witches who had been somewhat reserved were all pushed forward. One witch was pushed and cuddled into his arms with a blissful expression. She excitedly screamed and simply grabbed Lockhart's clothes and tried to kiss him, but she was obviously not tall enough, so she could only bite and nibble at him from her toes.
No!
Lockhart was stunned. "Are you crazy? Why are you biting my neck? Who's the werewolf, me or you?"
Wait, whose hand is this?!
No, it seems there's more than one!
Don't reach out!
Don't reach out!
do not!
Lockhart's eyes widened in anger, his face flushed red, as he tried to break free, only to find, to his despair, that more and more people were gathering around him.
He felt as if he were trapped in a horde of zombies, struggling to reach out to the Aurors beside him, screaming in terror, "Help me!"
Aurora Kingsley took a step back with a strange expression, afraid that Lockhart would grab him and drag him into this terrible 'zombie horde'.
He had been working at the Ministry of Magic for several years, but he never imagined that there would be so many crazy witches in the Ministry.
So crazy it's unbelievable.
No wonder his mother told him that he should find a Muggle woman in the future, because witches are all crazy, especially beautiful witches.
He's seen it for himself now.
He even saw a familiar colleague, holding up Lockhart's book, disappearing into the crowd.
"I have no doubt that this charming man would have an easy time running for Minister of Magic," Corban Yaxley teased Scrimgeour with a hint of malice, knowing that Scrimgeour was eager for the position.
Scrimgeour scoffed, unconcerned; idols and politicians were two different things.
Is Lockhart, a peacock-like figure, going to be Minister of Magic?
That would probably be a disaster.
Imagine Lockhart standing on a high platform, waving his hands and saying, "No one knows magic better than me!"
Then the fans and magical employees below screamed and applauded wildly.
Oh!
Merlin's beard!
There couldn't be a worse scene than this!
Influence is a vague but sometimes useful thing, and at least neither Scrimgeour nor Yaxley wanted to appear to be targeting Lockhart at this time.
They'll be torn to shreds by Lockhart's fanatical fans at the Ministry of Magic!
And so, Lockhart was handed over to Auror Kingsley.
Kingsley Shackleton, a member of the Shackleton family, one of the Twenty-Eight Holy Pure-Blood Families, and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, eventually rose to the position of Minister of Magic in the original books. He was an extremely powerful Auror, whose magical abilities were probably on par with those of Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.
He was a very reliable person; Dumbledore, Fudge, Scrimgeour, and even the Muggle Prime Minister trusted him implicitly.
Well, from another perspective, people who are highly recognized by politicians are not the kind of rigid people who stick to rules and regulations.
Lockhart's guess was correct. Kingsley invited him to his office to enjoy an African specialty drink, and the two barely discussed anything about the attack, instead talking about something else entirely.
"Dumbledore wants me to help you get a position at the Ministry of Magic."
Kingsley sat upright on the sofa. Despite his burly appearance, he gave off the aura of a "career elite." "I think we should ask for your opinion."
Lockhart paused, "Why didn't he tell me himself, just now—"
Oh~
He gasped. "The Dumbledore who just appeared was actually a Confusion Charm?"
Kingsley didn't answer the question, but just smiled and said, "He has some things to do, you know."
Go to the Gringotts Bank vault and find Voldemort's Horcrux, the Chalice of Horcrux, I get it.
Lohat nodded, but still found it amazing. He really felt that Dumbledore was right next to him. In fact, Scrimgeour, Yaxley, Umbridge and others were all quite powerful in magic, and there were so many Aurors and Ministry of Magic employees present, yet no one noticed anything amiss. It was terrifying.
At Kingsley's prompting, he picked up his drink, took a sip, and his eyes lit up immediately. "It tastes good."
It has a unique natural aroma, full of the fragrance of ripe fruit.
It felt like drinking a particularly refreshing fruit juice.
"Why should I be listed under the Ministry of Magic?" Lockhart was puzzled by Dumbledore's arrangement.
"Your pets," Kingsley shrugged. "Strictly speaking, keeping these isn't legal, and to avoid being attacked on this basis later, it's best to have a proper explanation."
"Of course, I would prefer that you be registered under a title such as the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Game Range Keeper. It would make you less subject to control. The only problem is that the nominal ownership of those dark magic creatures would then belong to Hogwarts."
Hagrid's eight-eyed giant spider "Aragog" was actually arranged in this way. Kingsley earnestly explained the intricacies of the situation, "We all know that Dumbledore wouldn't really take your pet away."
Lockhart didn't see it that way. What if Hogwarts changed headmasters? He didn't want to end up entangled with a magic school.
"What do you mean by 'temporary assignment' to the Ministry of Magic?" Lockhart asked, frowning. He thought that if he couldn't accept it, he might as well announce that he had released all the magical creatures back into the forest and then hide them in 'sacks'."
"The Beast Consultation Office." Kingsley's expression turned somewhat strange when he mentioned this office. "It's a consultant-type department. It's basically an office used to support scholars from ancient wizarding families. There's no office director, no specific work, and everyone is free to arrange their own work. They receive their salaries and benefits on time every month."
Is this awesome?
Lockhart blinked, quickly searching his mind for information about the office, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.
Coincidentally, this is the office where Newt Scamander used to work at the Ministry of Magic.
The job was so easy that Newt had nothing to do that he started writing his first book, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," and began raising a large number of small animals. Eventually, he found the job so boring that he simply quit.
Interestingly, there was someone Lockhart knew in this office—Lyle Lupin, a dark magic creature expert.
Advisor to the Ministry of Magic.
Of course, there are also some people I can get to know well, such as Cedric's father, Amos Diggory.
"You can think of this department as an arrangement made by the Ministry of Magic as a compromise with the ancient pure-blood families. After all, these experts and scholars are also an extremely valuable asset to the wizarding community."
"But in fact, this department also wields enormous influence."
Kingsley began to explain the overall structure of the Ministry of Magic.
In general, the Ministry of Magic has seven divisions, the most powerful of which is the Division of Magical Law Enforcement, which oversees the Wizengamor Tribunal and the Auror Office, among others. There is also the Division of Mystic Affairs, whose actual authority rests with the Wizarding Council, the predecessor of the International Wizarding Union.
The Department of Magical Creatures Control, one of the Seven Departments, is responsible for all matters related to magical creatures. It has three large advisory offices and a series of teams and departments dedicated to various magical creatures.
In other words, although the Beast Consulting Office has nothing to do, it actually has command authority over the departments that are actually doing real work.
Of course, these are the rules, but whether anyone actually follows them depends on the influence of their family and the individual.
"That sounds good," Lockhart thought, intrigued.
"Are you sure?" Kingsley smiled at him, holding his teacup. "I need to remind you that Dumbledore is using his power to pave the way for you, and there will always be a time when he needs you."
He thought for a moment, then said again, "Especially now that the activities of the mysterious man are becoming increasingly obvious, you will inevitably face dangers similar to today's in the future." (Referring to the Crabbe family's polka dot fish farm incident)
"Yes, I'm sure."
Lockhart smiled broadly, "I heard the call of adventure, full of unknowns and wonders, and I choose to bravely move forward."
Kingsley blinked, suddenly finding the internationally renowned author before him somewhat perplexing.