Chapter 255

The unusually hot summer had begun, and Ton's square, imposing house and lush green lawn were shrouded in a drowsy silence; the servants had gathered in the room before the cellar, setting up a large table to gossip. Only one person remained outside—the manservant Thomas, who was responsible for collecting the Daily Prophet for Young Master Harry from the mailbox.

The pampered Young Master Harry, accompanied by his increasingly cunning little sister, sat calmly in the study, one of the few rooms in Ton's house equipped with air conditioning.

"Look," Harry picked up the newspaper and read intently, "the big one has finally arrived."

Minister for Magic Scrimgeour Resigns in Shame

At the recent Ministry of Magic meeting, former Minister for Magic Scrimgeour admitted that his erroneous appointment of Barty Crouch, a man fiercely hostile to the Dark Lord, as Head of the Department of Mysteries, along with his casual approval of the hastily devised Doctor Project, directly led to the unfortunate death of the greatest wizard of all time, Dumbledore. Scrimgeour concluded that he was unfit to continue serving as Minister for Magic and decided to resign in shame.

Since taking office, Scrimgeour had repeatedly ignored the reasonable opinions of domestic wizards, constantly exacerbating the rift between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, and unconditionally supporting Dumbledore alone—causing severe damage to the Ministry. The Doctor Project, approved by Scrimgeour, not only consumed vast resources long accumulated by the Department of Mysteries but also diverted substantial portions of other departments' legitimate budgets; most Ministry staff were deeply dissatisfied.

After Scrimgeour's resignation, an internal election selected Jim Hacker, former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to temporarily assume the role of Minister for Magic until the Cabinet formally approves the appointment.

Jim Hacker stated that, regarding the political divide between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry must adopt a fair and impartial stance, embrace a pluralistic value theory, synthesize diverse perspectives, and make conflict resolution and issue postponement its core mission; prioritize active dialogue and avoid confrontation; aim for impartial mediation and joint progress; and continuously promote the institutionalization, standardization, and normalization of magical political cooperation.

"Scrimgeour resigned?" Ivy leaned in curiously. "But why is the new Minister for Magic that sausage-seller Hacker? What on earth did he just say?"

"First, Hacker is just trying to appease everyone—he said nothing meaningful," Harry replied. "Second, this is clearly being pushed by the Death Eaters behind the scenes. They need a weak, easily manipulated Minister."

"Third, haven't you noticed that Hogwarts' sausages taste better than Ton's? So he's not entirely useless," Harry added.

"Alright, let's see the rest of the articles. Which angle is Rita going to glorify Harry Potter with today?" Ivy quickly flipped through the second and third pages; many articles inexplicably mentioned Harry, as if they'd been paid to do so.

"She no longer needs to interview me—she can fabricate entire paragraphs from pure imagination, and those people just write based on that," Harry sighed, flipping through the paper. "Things like 'showing extraordinary magical talent from childhood,' 'fearless heroic spirit,' 'student leader,' and so on."

"It's not entirely wrong," Ivy said—and immediately had her head pressed down by Harry, forcing her to face her Transfiguration homework.

But today's newspaper devoted most of its space to personnel changes; on the second page, Harry found this article.

Leslie Potts Appointed Head of the Department of Mysteries and Delivers Important Speech

Following the resignation of former Head of the Department of Mysteries, Barty Crouch, due to illness, former Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games, Leslie Potts, has been reassigned as Head of the Department of Mysteries, while Ludo Bagman has been promoted to Head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games.

Leslie Potts stated that the Department of Mysteries' vital duty is to safeguard the Ministry's secrets, and it must continuously reinforce secrecy awareness across all departments and divisions, rigorously implementing the principle: "If you don't need to see it, don't see it; if you don't need to hear it, don't hear it," ensuring that no Ministry personnel can know any secrets or leak any secrets, promoting the spirit of "three no's"—know nothing, say nothing, acknowledge nothing—and proactively and steadily implementing secrecy measures at their source.

"What is he even talking about?" Ivy leaned in again.

"Brilliant. This man is brilliant," Harry said sarcastically. "If I know nothing, I can't leak anything. I'd love to see if his head is solid all the way through."

"Then what's the point of the Department of Mysteries?" Ivy asked. "If he knows nothing?"

"Because he knows nothing, he doesn't have to do anything. In short, they're just leaving the department vacant to ensure no one else tries to tinker with the Doctor Project or similar schemes," Harry muttered unhappily. "Clearly, they value stability over magical advancement."

Harry flipped further through the news and came across "Ludo Bagman Proposes Strict Investigation into Match-Fixing," which made him laugh out loud.

Next came the promotion of former Head of the Auror Office, Gregor Lestrade, to Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and the promotion of former Auror Jonny English to Head of the Auror Office. They were all on the same chain—mentioned in sequence—and Harry nodded, folded the newspaper, set it aside, and wondered whether he should write a letter to someone.

Should he write to his best friend Ron, or to his godfather Sirius, who currently holds a key position among the Death Eaters under the identity of Regulus, or to Snape, who strives to carry on Dumbledore's great legacy?

But one thing was certain—he could not write to Zhang Qiu, who had long helped him. Last year, to rescue him from the stagnant time, she cast an overly powerful spell and was forced to remain bedridden for a month.

The hot, silent weather, the cool indoor air, and the relief brought by Voldemort's death left Harry feeling drowsy.

Suddenly, a loud, echoing crack rang out—Harry knew that sound well. Someone had Apparated nearby.

Ivy instantly drew her wand, watching the door warily.

"You can't perform magic outside school—you'll be expelled," Harry pressed her hand down. "Besides, it's not dangerous outside."

"Young Master Harry, a visitor has arrived," came the butler Carson's voice from outside. "It's that policeman."

Which policeman? Harry opened the door curiously and found Jonny English struggling with a door—his coat hem was caught in the crack.

"Oh, ha, Harry," he stepped out confidently, a faint smile on his face. "The Minister sent me to pick you up. He needs to read Dumbledore's will, and you need to receive his belongings."

"Will?" Harry blinked. "There's a will?"

"Dumbledore was a man of foresight. He drafted his will three years ago and had it notarized by the Ministry," Jonny said. "Don't you think that's something worth emulating? When you sense even a hint of danger, leave a detailed will and clean up everything you need to."

Harry counted back—three years ago, perhaps when Dumbledore went to retrieve the Resurrection Stone and accidentally triggered the curse. At that time, Dumbledore had already accepted death; leaving a will was perfectly natural.

"Oh, by the way, the Doctor's belongings too," Jonny lowered his voice. "You know which Doctor I mean."

Thinking of the Soviet spy who had disguised himself as young Barty, Harry felt a complex mix of emotions. He orchestrated the horrific finale of the Triwizard Tournament, buried Britain's two most powerful wizards, and destroyed the Ministry's long-standing efforts. Yet, while playing the role of the Doctor, he had genuinely helped Harry—most importantly, in the stagnant time, he had believed Harry was certain to die, and thus revealed all his plans, allowing Harry to improvise and preserve the British wizarding world's deterrent power with a lie about paintings.

Regardless, Harry felt he should go. He stepped forward and grabbed Jonny's arm.

"Ah, and you too, little sister," he pointed to Ivy, who was peering around the doorway. "Dumbledore left something for you too. Come along."

Before Apparating, he raised an eyebrow and casually told the butler Carson: "Dry clean my coat. I'll pick it up tomorrow."

After a dizzying whirl, Harry found himself in a shabby alley. Jonny led them straight toward a red telephone booth.

Seeing the booth, Harry's heart warmed slightly—the Ministry's time machine, the TARDIS, had been modeled after a police telephone box. Its exterior was worn, but inside, it was enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, spacious and elegant, with a staircase leading down to dozens of rooms—guest quarters, a tea room, a swimming pool, and more.

Unfortunately, young Barty tricked the Doctors into blowing it up to freeze time and isolate Death.

Harry was jolted back from memory—this telephone booth, meant to represent the Ministry's face, was just an ordinary, cramped phone booth. Harry was squeezed against the phone equipment, holding his head up with his hands to avoid hitting it, and as Jonny slammed the door shut, Ivy's head popped right out through the broken glass opening.

"Mr. English, are you sure this is the Ministry's entrance? Britain's vital department has an entrance smaller than a public toilet?" Harry snapped.

"Those bureaucrats said: the TARDIS used up the entire nation's budget for all telephone booths for the next two hundred years, so we'll just make do with this one," he struggled to reach the phone. "Unless it breaks, it'll never be repaired. Let me check… too bad—it still works!"

"Didn't you insure the TARDIS?" Ivy asked innocently.