Chapter 175: The Pockmarked Ministry of Magic

"Come on, children, it's almost time." Arthur interrupted the children's discussion. "Come over and grab this old boot; everyone must touch it..."

Nine people crowded around the old boot, quietly waiting for Arthur's countdown. Finally, when the number reached one, Harry suddenly felt a hook catch somewhere behind his navel, and then, his whole body was pulled into the air.

When he came to his senses, he realized he had arrived at a different place, with his companions lying on the ground in disarray. On the side, there were two wizards in suits, registering them with quills and parchment.

Arthur chatted with them for a few sentences. When they proudly said how the "Ministry of Magic's unified dress code" was a seamless way to disguise wizards as Muggles, Ivy pointed out inappropriately that Muggles never used quills; they all used ballpoint pens or fountain pens.

This really tore down their facade. Arthur was too embarrassed to continue chatting, so he hurriedly pulled the children to an open space, found a Muggle administrator to rent a camping spot, and then, in a flurry of hands and feet, set up two crooked two-person tents.

The two-person tents had been cast with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and the space inside was very spacious, but for Harry, who had seen the TARDIS, it was nothing very strange. He and Luo En wandered around the campsite under the pretext of picking up firewood.

They saw American rednecks chatting and laughing, saw the glaring portrait of Krum, and saw three African wizards catching a ferret, seemingly intending to roast it to eat.

Of course, what attracted Harry's attention most easily was naturally that very conspicuous tent in the Chinese style, with eaves with four upturned corners on top, covered with tiles. Once you saw it, you would definitely never forget it, and it was also unlikely you would mistake it.

Harry happily pulled Luo En toward there. When they just reached the door, they didn't see Zhang Qiu, but three or four young and beautiful girls, wearing strange but very good-looking clothes, twisting handkerchiefs and standing at the door joking.

They were speaking Chinese, which Harry and Luo En couldn't understand at all, but they still couldn't help staring at the ladies. Those graceful figures and silver-bell-like laughter stirred the hearts of the ignorant teenagers.

Suddenly, a beautiful woman who still had charm walked over from behind, patted Harry and Luo En on the shoulders with a smile, and asked in a very strange accent: "What are you two children doing here?"

"Oh, we're here to find a friend." Luo En said hurriedly. "We're here to find our classmate."

"May I ask if Zhang Qiu lives here?" Harry said politely.

"Of course, you wait a moment, I'll go call her." The woman walked into the tent, swaying in her high heels. Not long after, Zhang Qiu, wearing her Hogwarts school uniform, walked out.

"Harry, Luo En." She said with a smile. "I didn't expect you to find your way here directly."

"Who are they?" Luo En asked, looking a bit lost.

"They are my masters' wives." Zhang Qiu explained. "Don't find it strange; the Chinese Wizarding World allows taking concubines."

"What is a concubine?" Harry was a bit confused.

"It's a lover with a lower status than a wife. My master has seven concubines." Zhang Qiu shrugged. "In other words, I have seven masters' wives."

"That's not hard to understand; when Deng Buliduo was young, there were countless young girls who wanted to be his lovers." Harry said sourly.

"Yes, they are really more beautiful than the last; Zhang Qiu looks like an ugly duckling inside." Luo En was a bit reckless for a moment.

"I'll beat you up sooner or later." Zhang Qiu knocked on his head fiercely, then shouted a few words in Chinese toward the masters' wives, and then signaled Harry and Luo En to go to a corner where no one was around to talk.

Luo En seemed to want to talk about the masters' wives again, but Harry interrupted him in time and turned to ask Zhang Qiu: "Did you find anything in Koldovstoretz?"

"That's Koldovstoretz," Zhang Qiu first corrected Harry's pronunciation, then paused and continued, "What is certain is that their level of magic is much higher than ours, and their research on ritual magic is very profound. But if you ask if there are any discoveries outside of academics, there really aren't any."

"I think it's very strange that the Mysterious Person ordered a wand from Yanayev, intending to use it to kill Deng Buliduo, and Yanayev seems to intend to help him launch the Horcrux into space." Harry said his doubts, and also shared the intelligence. "I can't quite figure out what his plan is."

"But didn't you say Deng Buliduo is immortal?" Luo En interjected. Harry hadn't hidden these things from him.

"Oh right, the Yama Post." Harry asked. "Can the Yama Post really make people immortal?"

"You're overthinking it." Zhang Qiu shook her head. "If a person is killed, they will die; this is an unbreakable truth."

She seemed to have guessed something; Deng Buliduo coming to China was not a secret. "If you say Deng Buliduo was hit by the Yama Post... indeed, this can make him immune to all lethal spells, but if he is killed by physical means, he will still die, only the person who kills him will suffer the backlash of fate."

"So that Soviet wand," Harry recalled Bondarev's explanation, "the principle is actually to emit laser beams, so that Deng Buliduo can be truly killed? The Mysterious Person knew Deng Buliduo's trump card long ago?"

"Hard to say, but you don't need to worry too much." Zhang Qiu took a deep breath. "I also have my trump card. Master told me I can use the Orthodox Descent of the Divine Alliance Talisman once this year, but only once."

"The seventh secret spell?" Luo En couldn't help but cover his mouth. "What is its function?"

"To summon an extremely powerful and uncontrolled magical power; it will follow the will of fate to play its role." Zhang Qiu's face didn't look very good either. "This shows that the development this year may deviate greatly from what fate should look like."

"By the way, there is one more thing I have to ask you." Harry said, weighing his words. "How does China view Tang Tang Nade?"

"Limited cooperation, with precautions." Zhang Qiu sighed. "Master intends to use him."

"Even if he intends to..." Harry was a bit vague, because Luo En's understanding of Tang Tang Nade was still slightly one-sided.

"That's right, even if he really intends to do that, we can only let it be." Zhang Qiu couldn't help but feel a bit angry. "We need to consider his united front value against the Mysterious Person."

Finally, the three children returned to their respective tents somewhat unhappily. They all hoped to hear some inspiring good news from each other, but the result was a discussion about the increasingly severe situation.

On the way back, Harry also saw a line of strong men in black trench coats and black gloves, wearing sunglasses, which attracted his attention—because the leader was his godfather. The two looked at each other and smiled, then passed each other without a word.

While waiting boredly for Mrs. Wei Silai to cook dinner over a campfire, Arthur introduced the passing Ministry of Magic officials to Harry and Luo En with interest.

"That curly-haired wizard is Jim Hacker, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Behind him is Greg Lestrade, the Head of the Auror Office. And behind that? That's Clist, a new Auror, but he seems very capable..."

Harry knew that almost all the Aurors had been lost in the previous Azkaban riot. No wonder a newcomer could walk so proudly beside the Department Head and the Office Head.

"That's a member of the Committee on Experimental Charms; the one in the suit is the team leader, Danholm, and the one in the red dress is Jane. What they say most often is 'Have you tried Finite Incantatem'..."

"Dad, who are the three men behind them?" Luo En interrupted him.

"I don't know, I rarely see them either." Arthur squinted to confirm. "Perhaps I've only heard their voices on the phone."

"Oh, look, that's a member of the Doctor Project." Harry pointed to a person not far away whose scarf was dragging on the ground. "He must be here to carry out a secret mission."

"Once upon a time, their name was the Unspeakables." Arthur shrugged. "Crouch carried out a major reform of the Department of Mysteries, and people say he is the most promising person to become the next Minister..."

"Haha, the most important person at the moment!" Mr. Wei Silai suddenly stood up and waved to a man walking over with big strides. "Leslie!"

Leslie Potts left a deep impression on Harry. When they first met, he was just a burly man with a square-framed glasses and a beard, wearing the black suit uniformly prescribed by the Ministry of Magic, which didn't look special at first glance.

He took out a cigarette case with a smile, and after Arthur refused, he recommended this Muggle cigarette to the children. Finally, with no one to support him, he lit one himself and smoked it happily.

"Arthur, old friend, *cough cough cough cough*," he started coughing after saying a few words. "The weather is much better, isn't it? There must be no *cough cough cough cough*, no clouds tonight. With such good weather, I don't have to do anything... *cough cough*!"

Harry really wanted to persuade him to put down the cigarette.

"Let me introduce everyone." While Leslie was catching his breath, Mr. Wei Silai continued. "This is Leslie Potts, the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Thanks to him, we were able to get such good tickets. Leslie, let me introduce these children to you..."

Almost as soon as Arthur finished reading the children's names, Barty Crouch Sr. suddenly Apparated beside their campfire. He was a man in his fifties, with a straight back, firm movements, and wearing an immaculate gray suit. Harry knew at a glance that he was a qualified politician.

"Leslie, there's something I have to talk to you about immediately, it's very urgent. Oh, Harry." He said. "You come and listen too; it's about the Triwizard Tournament." ===== CHAPTER 176 =====