bioinnovel Chapter 261 Chaos
Chapter 261 Chaos
Chapter 261 Chaos
The Ministry of Magic was in complete chaos at this point.
What happened last night was so surreal, it felt unreal.
A riot at the encampment, suspected to be caused by remnants of the Death Eaters, the Dark Mark of the Children, and the escaped prisoners.
And of course, there's this morning's Daily Prophet.
Thanks to Torita Skeeter and Barnabas Goughfe, the Ministry of Magic seemed to have been transported back to more than fifty years ago, with explosions ringing out incessantly.
People kept sending out howling letters, one after another, red letters exploding like bombs on every floor of the Ministry of Magic, leaving burn marks everywhere.
The International Department of Magical Cooperation, located on the fifth floor, was the hardest hit area by the explosion; even the deputy director's office was not spared.
At this moment, Belvina's office was a mess. The carpet underfoot was scorched with small holes, the documents on the desk were burned to ashes, and wisps of smoke were rising from the desk.
In addition, a dozen or so muffled roars, like thunder, exploded in the office, making everyone's ears ring.
"You've already lost face internationally, why don't you all buy a rope and hang yourselves!"
"With such lax law enforcement, you can even cause trouble at the Quidditch World Cup! You bunch of parasites!"
"The Ministry of Magic should be disbanded immediately, and the country should be returned to those who are capable!"
Belvina rubbed Yu's buzzing ears; these shouts, though noisy, were not entirely without reason.
The highly anticipated Quidditch World Cup turned into a carnival for the remnants of the Death Eaters, and the Ministry of Magic became synonymous with incompetence overnight, losing all face and being condemned by everyone.
"Pay up! My tent was destroyed by thugs! Ministry of Magic, pay up!"
"Refunds! Compensation! The World Cup has been ruined like this; the Ministry of Magic must provide compensation!"
"My tent! A tent with twelve bedrooms and a large bathtub! The Ministry of Magic must compensate me at the original price!"
Belvina waved her wand, and the howling letters in the office vanished instantly. She had a moment of peace before the next wave of howling letters flooded in.
Complaints about World Cup security, denunciations of the Ministry of Magic's incompetence, and demands for compensation from the Ministry of Magic are the central themes of most shout letters. They curse the Ministry of Magic in their hearts as if only in this way can they vent their anger.
Of course, the most important thing is to alleviate the fear in one's heart, the fear of the Dark Mark, and the fear of the Death Eaters.
When the incident occurred last night, most people were only concerned with escaping and did not dare to stop the crowd that caused the riot, nor did they have the courage to stay for even a few more seconds.
It was as if the wands in the Death Eaters' hands were the real wands, while the wands in their hands were just useless fire sticks.
Hours after the riot ended, these people sent a tirade to the Ministry of Magic, hurling insults at its staff, further exacerbating the chaos and making it impossible for the Ministry to continue its normal operations.
Boom boom boom!
A knock came at the door.
Percy Weasley pushed the door open a crack, cautiously poking his head in, followed by his body.
After he squeezed himself into the office, Percy quickly closed the door, but the shouting and yelling from the hallway still reached him.
"Miss Black, what should we do with these—howling letters?" Percy asked, his red hair disheveled, as if he had just had an afro done by Tony the hairdresser.
"Were you blown up by the yelling message?" Belvina went back behind her desk. "It's a shame your hairstyle isn't part of the quirky sisters."
"A chain reaction of explosions, I couldn't dodge it," Percy said mournfully. "A howling letter exploded, a bunch of howling letters were thrown into the air, they exploded in mid-air, and then this is what happened to me."
Percy straightened his messy hair and continued, "I never knew there were so many wizards in Britain. The roaring letters I received this morning alone could fill the Ministry of Magic."
That's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's a true reflection of the Ministry of Magic this morning.
Bright red envelopes can be seen everywhere on every floor, in every department, and in every office.
"Don't pay any attention to those howling letters," Belvina said. "Half of the people who send them are arrogant megalomaniacs, and the other half just want to squeeze money out of the Ministry of Magic. No matter how well we do or how perfect our policies are, they'll still find fault with us."
As she spoke, Belvina opened the drawer of her desk and took out a file folder that she had put away beforehand, containing the files that had not been damaged by the shouting letter.
She continued, "Investigating the scene and apprehending the criminals are the duties of the law enforcement department; we just need to cooperate."
"Most importantly—" she shook the file folder in her hand, "we should do what we're supposed to do."
The file bag slid unimpeded along the messy desk to Percy's feet.
"Regardless of the outcome, the World Cup is over, and we should focus on the three-way championship," Percy said. "I understand."
Belvina sat upright behind her desk, her fingers interlaced, and said, "Percy, have you ever driven Arthur's modified Ford Anglia?"
"No," Percy shook his head. "Fred and George did fly it, though, from the Burrow to Privet Drive and back to the Burrow."
"Have you noticed that a car's windshield is always bigger than its rearview mirror?" Belvina asked. "That's because we always have to look ahead, and the Triwizard Tournament is our path forward."
The Quidditch World Cup is beyond saving, and the Ministry of Magic has completely lost face.
Even if evidence is found to arrest Malfoy and others, the British Ministry of Magic will still be branded with shame.
In that case, it would be better to focus all efforts on the upcoming three-way battle and do everything possible to ensure that the event goes smoothly without any mishaps.
This year's British Ministry of Magic absolutely cannot become a disgrace; Belvina cannot afford to lose face like that!
"You'll represent me in a meeting with the Department of Magical Creature Management and Control and the Department of Magical Transportation to draft a set of regulations," Belvina continued. "If anything goes wrong during the transport of the fire dragon, we can both resign."
"I'll get on it right away," Percy said. "The Triwizard Tournament, plus the Fire Dragon... I'm suddenly starting to regret graduating."
If Percy had graduated a year later, he could have signed up for the Triwizard Tournament.
Although they may not be selected as players for the Goblet of Fire, being a good year student is still an opportunity, whereas graduates don't even have the chance to apply.
"Sometimes we have to admit that luck is also a part of strength," Belvina said. "I wish I were ten years younger to try out the fierce and dangerous fire dragon, the brave young warrior, and the Colosseum."
"By the way, speaking of luck, I immediately thought of Ludo Bagman."
"Bagman?" Belvina asked, still with her arms crossed. "What's wrong with him now? Don't let him cause trouble for the department at this time."
?
Percy said gravely, "In fact, Ludo has already made things worse. Remember what Felix said last night? He said he saw Ludo being cornered in the woods by a bunch of goblins."
"That's right," Belvina nodded. "Didn't Harry and the others run into Bagman in the woods last night?"
"That's right, Ludo—" Percy suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "Ludo borrowed a lot of money from the Fairy, hoping to win it all back in the finals, but he lost it all again. Now he not only can't pay back the money he owes the Fairy, but the people who placed bets with him haven't received their money either."
Whose child cries every night? No gambling addict loses every day.
Ludo Bagman, unfortunately, was a hopeless gambler who lost every day, even losing his pants.
Despite the huge commotion at the campsite last night, Bagman, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, was completely unaware of it.
"No wonder Bagman didn't show up last night; he was being harassed by a fairy demanding a debt," Belvina said. "Being entangled with a debt-collecting fairy, Bagman can only hope for the best."
"Who says otherwise?" Percy sighed. "I heard those fairies wrote to the Fairy Liaison Office, collectively suing Ludo for owing money and not paying it back."
"Our long-fingered friends are not to be trifled with; they even dared to slander Godric Gryffindor. Remember, they claimed Gryffindor stole the Goblin King's sword."
As a top student at Hogwarts, Percy also had a thorough knowledge of the history of magic.
He replied, "I remember, Gryffindor commissioned King Legnac I to forge the sword. After the sword was completed, the goblin king became greedy and wanted to keep it for himself, but he was no match for Gryffindor, so he instead accused Gryffindor of being the thief who stole the goblin sword."
If even the great Godric Gryffindor dares to slander him, who knows what little Ludo Bagman will be tormented by the goblins.
However, Bagman deserved it, since he was unable to repay his debts, especially the debts to the fairies.
"I'm not worried about Bagman's fate, I'm worried about the department protecting him, which will worsen our relationship with the fairies," Belvina said. "Those guys hold grudges."
Even today, the legend of Gryffindor stealing the goblin's sword is still occasionally brought up and recounted by the goblins.
If the Ministry of Magic chooses Ludo Bagman, the Director of Sport, the goblins might hold a grudge against the Ministry, which is not good news.
"Do you need to meet with Mr. Mokrich?" Percy asked.
Cuthbert Mocrech, the current head of the Fairy Liaison Office, has one of his main jobs being to coordinate relations between fairies and wizards.
"No need," Belvina shook her head. "How can we go through official procedures for something like this? Just mention it to Cuthbert privately. That idiot Bagman will get it sooner or later."
These words sent a chill down Percy's spine, and his legs involuntarily tightened, as if he had some unspeakable secret.
"What are you afraid of? They were talking about Bagman, not you," Belvina said reproachfully. "Did you get involved in Bagman's mess too?"
"No, not at all," Percy said. "It's mainly about empathy, about being unable to help myself—I didn't mean to either."
At this point, Percy dared not stay in the office any longer; he felt that Belvina's eyes were hostile.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head to the fourth floor now." Percy said with a forced smile as he backed away.
Just then, there was another knock on the door, and a staff member from the International Department of Magical Cooperation walked into the office.
The man said, "Miss Black, the minister just sent word that he wants to see you."