Hogwarts Homecoming

"The price of dragon's blood is increasing, the price of floo powder is increasing, the price of potion ingredients is increasing, the price of everything related to magic is increasing, oh. It feels like Galleons have depreciated, but the salary of the Ministry has not moved! "

When a middle-aged witch with silver-gray hair passed by Lucius, he complained angrily to his companions,

“I really hope our beloved minister can do something to improve this situation!”

"You're dreaming, Lisa—"

The witch's companion huffed and spoke lazily, and then the two walked away from the fireplace and disappeared into the bustling reception hall.

Similar complaints were heard from time to time, but Lucius's face was expressionless, and he took steps to join the crowd of people rubbing shoulders.

The current business environment in the European wizarding world is not good. Lucius Malfoy has a clear idea of ​​how this happened.

Ordinary people in the wizarding world are still struggling with the daily necessities of life; most departments of the Ministry of Magic are struggling to deal with the increasingly severe security situation in the wizarding world; and the top brass are busy wrestling with Hogwarts; quite a few are like the Malfoy family. The families that control the lifeblood of the magical world and run industries that are closely related to the daily lives of wizards are busy opening up territories for the Dark Lord.

Before the Dark Lord returned to the magical world, he and his wife Narcissa spent most of the year traveling to companies and workshops belonging to the Malfoy family in various European countries.

He is busy setting development goals for the company and workshops, looking for ways and means to expand production capacity and suppress costs, looking for more sincere raw material suppliers, and establishing good relations with politicians in various countries to achieve the purpose of opening up new markets. It can be said that he is similar to Mal Although families like the Fu family control the magic world, they also support it.

There was a long queue before the elevator stopped. Lucius's indifferent gray eyes were staring at the floor instructions on the door, and a feeling of depression was building up in his heart.

Ding--

When the elevator arrived, Lucius slowly followed the queue and squirmed forward. When it was his turn, the elevator car was almost full, but he was still trying to watch the crowd in the elevator hall.

Arthur frowned and looked a little surprised at Lucius, who seemed to be distracted and didn't seem to pay attention to him at all. He hesitated for a moment and let Percy, who was nervous for the next conversation, look into the elevator car. Squeeze, leaving room for Lucius.

The elevator went up level by level, but Lucius's mood was sinking.

When a businessman reaches a certain level, it is necessary to pay attention to the political situation.

Although the Ministry of Magic is promoting that the British wizarding community is still singing and dancing, everything is business as usual. But in other countries, businessmen with a certain social status have sensed that something is wrong in the British magic world.

The market has lost confidence in the British wizarding community. Businessmen from other countries have become more cautious in doing business with local British families and pay more attention to cash flow. Industries under the names of families similar to Malfoy's are reducing production. This series of The reasons have created the current situation.

Just like the last civil war in the British wizarding world.

At that time, he was keen on following the cruel and cruel dreams of the Dark Lord. Only when he came back to his senses did he realize that the Malfoy family had suffered heavy losses in the war.

"The first floor, the minister's office, including the logistics department of the minister's office——"

A cold female voice sounded in the elevator car, which woke Lucius up. When he came back to his senses, he was surprised to find that there were not many people in the crowded elevator car - in fact, there were only Arthur Weasley and him. A son is staring at him.

Subconsciously, a mean smile appeared on Lucius's lips, and he was about to say something sarcastic, but before he spoke, he remembered his true position. Standing with the Weasley family, the scum of the pure-blood family, this matter It's really shameful to think about it.

The sneer at the corner of Lucius's mouth disappeared, and the words that came to his mouth were swallowed by him again. He nodded invisibly to Arthur and his son with an ugly face,

"Good morning"

Arthur's eyes suddenly widened, as if he heard Charlie Cannon winning the Quidditch World Cup. He stared at Lucius Malfoy in disbelief, almost thinking he heard the wrong sound, and the nervous Percy also Showed surprise.

"Hello, ahem, Lucius"

The change in Lucius's attitude made Arthur, who was ready to retort, find no way to vent his momentum. He blushed and coughed a few times.

"Are you also here to see the minister?"

"That's right."

Resisting the shame of having a normal conversation with Arthur Weasley, Lucius pursed his lips and nodded.

The three of them walked out of the elevator together and walked towards the minister's office. The corridor, which was not long, was as long as running around the Quidditch pitch ten times. All three of them felt unbearable pain.

As he got closer to the minister's office, Percy's breathing gradually became heavier, his fists in his sleeves were clenched, and his uninspired eyes, which were accentuated by dark circles, began to move. He whispered,

"Dad, the minister will agree--"

Percy stumbled and said, but Mr. Weasley glanced at the back of Lucius's head warily and gently interrupted his son's words.

"Don't worry, Percy, we'll make things clear to the Minister."

Arthur Weasley comes to Fudge about his son. What delightful misfortune has happened to his son?

Lucius couldn't help but think, but he knew Arthur Weasley wouldn't say a word if he asked.

"You go first, Lucius—"

Three people gathered in front of the door of the minister's office. Mr. Weasley did not want Lucius Malfoy to be present when he was talking to Fudge, so he took a step back and gave Malfoy the opportunity to knock on the door.

Lucius's lips twisted, and he nodded towards Arthur Weasley. This polite move surprised Arthur Weasley even more.

Du, du, du—

Lucius then knocked on the door.

Boom, boom, boom——

"Don't bother, the minister isn't in his office—"

The nearby logistics office heard a knock on the door and poked his head out.

"--Isaac, do you know where the minister is? Is he out?"

Arthur raised his brows. He patted Percy's shoulder, who was afraid of becoming disappointed, and asked gently.

"Oh, it's Arthur--"

The middle-aged wizard named Isaac also appeared from the door.

"You came to see the Minister, right? He lost his temper twenty minutes ago, threw something, and then ran to see Ms. Umbridge angrily. "Dolores, where are you? I have to talk to you as soon as possible!"

Isaac shrugged, perfectly imitating Fudge's anger when he shouted.

"Oh, thank you--"

Arthur said a little surprised,

"So, do you know why the minister is so angry?"

"You'll have to find out for yourself, Arthur--"

Isaac blinked his curious eyes and said enthusiastically

"If you find out, don't forget to share it with me!"

"Oh, I will-"

After hesitating, Arthur nodded.

Immediately, Arthur looked at Lucius, who was a little dazed, and said cautiously

"Looks like we have to change places."

They returned to the elevator hall again. While waiting for the elevator, Percy wiped the sweat from his forehead and swallowed the dry foam in his mouth.

"Dad, would it be better for us to talk to the minister about this at another time?"

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Percy. I've already said that it's not your fault at all. The ministry's decision was wrong."

Arthur said both gently and sternly.

The three people took the elevator down to another floor, passed through the tense and busy office hall, and arrived at Dolores Umbridge's office.

"Since Dumbledore has made it clear that he refuses, let's legislate it, Cornelius--"

A voice of suppressed excitement came from the office,

"I will speak to Piers as soon as possible, and he will support your decision, but the wizards of the Wizengamotley need to be interviewed by you personally, Minister. We must do this as soon as possible, because once we start to act, we must Someone will tell Dumbledore and Brian!"