This Hogwarts isn't normal.

At three o'clock in the morning, Snape had searched almost the entire castle, but could not find any clues.

After the six little ones had eaten their fill, they had already quietly returned to the dormitory.

Cedric and Rolf went out and turned left, and it was not difficult for the remaining four to rely on the Marauder's Map.

On this day, Gryffindor still had the most points.

…

…

A few hours later in the morning.

London, Westminster, Whitehall.

At dawn, a man with long, silky blond hair and a satin-like robe appeared on this busy street.

He held the silver snake head of the black cane in his palm, showing elegance and calmness in every step he took.

This is not only the location of many Muggle government departments, but also the hiding place of the Ministry of Magic.

The middle-aged man is tall and slender and looks very handsome.

With his gloomy and pale face, and his outfit, he looked like he was no ordinary person.

However, the strange thing is that the passers-by act like "passers-by" who cannot see the noble dress.

The man also seemed unable to see them and turned into a dirty street with several dilapidated buildings.

The rusty red phone booth in front of him seemed to be where he was going.

He picked up the phone and put it aside, reaching for the dial and dialing the number "".

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and the business you need to handle."

This cold female voice did not come from the microphone, but from the top of the phone booth above the man's head.

"Lucius Malfoy, I have an appointment with Minister Fudge."

"Confirmed." The female voice was no longer cold, and even extra enthusiastic, "Please take the badge.

The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day. "

Lucius didn't go to get the metal badge that popped out of the coin slot.

He waited for a few seconds, and the floor suddenly seemed to be sinking.

The darkness didn't last long.

This section is like a small room in a Muggle elevator, stopping in front of a splendid hall.

Its dark wood floors were polished to a polished finish.

The peacock blue ceiling is inlaid with sparkling golden symbols, which are constantly moving and changing, like a huge high-altitude bulletin board.

There were many gilded fireplaces embedded in the walls on both sides, and people were constantly appearing and disappearing from inside.

The most conspicuous thing in the hall is a pure gold statue fountain.

It has wizards and witches, centaurs, goblins and house elves on it.

Under the influence of magic, water jets are sprayed out from different places on the sculpture.

Lucius walked straight towards the golden door at the end.

He opened the door and walked in. What he saw was more than twenty magic elevators.

Just as he was walking towards the elevator on the far left, a black and white vortex suddenly appeared not far in front of him.

It was accompanied by a rather harsh explosion of air.

As soon as the back of a tall and thin man appeared, Lucius cast his eyes on the sparse back of his head.

He has red hair and his suit is a bit white.

The tall and lanky man turned around subconsciously and gently pushed the glasses on his nose.

"It's you, Malfoy—"

He stepped forward with great interest, "No wonder I was almost late today. It turns out that you, a distinguished guest, are coming to the ministry~"

small book booth

"Come Wes." Lucius looked coldly at his forehead, which was sparser than the back of his head.

His elegance and calmness disappeared in an instant, "You should pay more attention to your body, and don't just care about the children."

The man who was almost the same height as him was none other than the twins and Ron's father, Arthur Weiss.

"Thank you for your kindness."

Arthur lowered his head and glanced at his chest, "Where's your badge, Malfoy?"

Lucius sneered, "When did the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts have the right to question me?"

He raised his hand to push aside Arthur who was blocking the way, "Wes, come on, I don't have time to greet you."

"You'd better be careful."

Arthur tilted his head, his face full of high spirits, "You know about Quirinus Quirrell, right?

I have submitted an application to the ministry to thoroughly investigate all items containing black magic. "

Lucius stopped and turned around, "It's ridiculous. Such a ridiculous application will never be approved."

"Really? Do you really think so?"

His pale face remained unmoved.

"Come Wes, I am innocent and cannot have any collusion with dark forces." After saying that, he turned around and stepped into the elevator.

Arthur stared until the door was completely closed.

"Oh shit, we're really going to be late now!" He hurriedly ran into the second-to-last elevator on the right.

…

…

The Minister of Magic's office is on the ground floor, deeper than the Great Hall.

The style here is very period, and there are several promotional posters on both sides of the corridor.

Each one has a different slogan, but Fudge's big face is on them all.

Lucius stopped in front of the door, adjusted his expression slightly, and then stretched out his hand.

"Knock knock——"

"Come in."

He opened the door and put on a false smile, "Mr. Minister, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me."

Fudge, who was sitting behind the desk, returned the same smile, "Lucius, given the relationship between you and me, no matter how busy I am, I have to meet you first."

He tapped his hands and two cups of hot tea appeared on the table.

"please."

Lucius sat across from him with some restraint, "You're welcome."

He leaned his snake-head cane against the chair, trying to appear non-threatening.

After taking a sip of hot tea, the portrait of the first Minister of Magic, Eurick Gamp, hanging behind him suddenly drooped his head drowsily.

Lucius didn't put down the teacup until the portrait began to snore.

"Minister, don't you think this process is too complicated?"

"This is the rule he set." Fudge turned his head and looked at the portrait. "Only when the guests drink the tea, anything they talk about in the office will not be leaked."

"I know, so I prepared this." Lucius reached for his robe.

"I just need a hint." He took out a palm-sized, but extremely exquisitely crafted small box.

Fudge raised his eyebrows slightly, "Dumbledore is very sure."

Lucius's face changed drastically, but soon returned to normal, "I am very grateful to you, Minister."

Voldemort really appeared, even if it was just Dumbledore's one-sided statement.

"There is one more thing."

"Go ahead." Fudge stopped his right hand hanging above the box.

"What do you think of my previous proposal, Minister?"

Lucius had been here more than half a month ago.

"Is it the same reason as before?" Fudge picked up the small box decisively.

"Let's not talk about whether Dumbledore will assist in the investigation. Just doing this will attract countless criticisms against the Ministry of Magic."

Lucius understood the subtext.

It's not that he can't, but that the benefits have not been achieved.

His pale face once again piled up a hypocritical smile, "I heard that the Ministry's funds are limited recently, and I am a very kind person."

Fudge put away the small box with peace of mind, "I have to think seriously about how to minimize the impact."

On the one hand, it can hit Dumbledore's reputation, and on the other hand, it can also serve as a warning to the magic world.

As the current Minister of Magic, the real reason he refused at the beginning was actually because Lucius was too stingy.

……

……