Chapter 470: The Declining Empire

After a series of household chores filled with laughter and scolding, Harry celebrated his 17th birthday at the Weasleys’ home. Since the wizarding world considered 17 the age of adulthood, while the Muggle world set it at 18, he had deliberately chosen to spend it at the Burrow—it felt uniquely meaningful. The Weasleys, following wizarding tradition, gifted him a large gold watch. He thanked them and carefully stored the watch in his trunk, intending never to wear it, for the watch would unconsciously remind him of his most humiliating defeat against the Emperor of Chonghuang.

The rest were a teapot, books, a razor, a sweater, chocolate, prank items, and more. He spent some time organizing them, then joined the Weasleys for a massive cake. Afterward, he and Ron sat upright in the living room, waiting for the Prime Minister’s arrival.

At two minutes past one, Huck and Kingsley Apparated to the front door of the Burrow. Though Huck himself was a wizard, Kingsley faithfully carried out his duty to protect the Prime Minister—it was his job and his honor. Huck had chosen him over Johnny English as the Prime Minister’s bodyguard, proving who was truly the top agent in the Auror Office.

Huck’s face bore a trace of gloom as he hurried into the living room and sighed, “Gentlemen, you have no idea what a mess the Conservatives have left us!”

Harry and Ron were taken aback by this opening remark and sat stunned.

While they exchanged glances, Huck launched into a torrent: “Forget the appalling unemployment and economic decline, forget the humiliating Treaty of Ma Guan—just look at the burning issues: Scotland and Wales are on the verge of rebellion, yet he’s still collecting bribes and having affairs. I’ve spent the entire year cleaning up after him!”

“What treaty?” Harry didn’t understand the abbreviation.

“The Maastricht Treaty—also called the European Union Treaty. It sold off our judicial sovereignty clean, and at least half our diplomatic, border, and monetary sovereignty too. It’s utterly disgraceful.”

Harry maintained an objective stance: “Our relationship with the European continent is still delicate, Prime Minister. I suggest you consider this from multiple angles.”

“Alright, let’s set those aside for now. My main purpose today is to invite you both to intern at Whitehall. We’ll chat casually while I figure out what positions suit you.” Huck said seriously, “We all know seventh year at Hogwarts is for internships and job hunting. I assume you’ll likely intern at the Ministry of Magic—but honestly, Harry, I think you’d be better off going straight to the source.”

“When I first moved from the Ministry to Downing Street, I went through a terribly difficult time. There were countless things I’d never imagined or understood—I had to learn everything from scratch. So if, in the future, we choose more wizards as Prime Ministers to manage both worlds, the best approach is to pick wizards of Muggle origin—though wizards will surely object. What I hope for is pure-blood or half-blood wizards to first acclimate to the Muggle world.”

Ron’s attitude toward the Muggle world was fear born of ignorance. Without hesitation, he asked, “Why us? Why go to the Muggle world?”

“Ah, I knew it.” Huck sighed. “Most wizards reject this idea, thinking that as long as they follow the Statute of Secrecy, they can live comfortably in the wizarding world. But I only realized after becoming Prime Minister that the wizarding world is far more fragile than we imagined—and the Statute of Secrecy is practically meaningless. In a way, it’s only a secrecy law for the lower classes; for the elite, it’s more like a peace agreement.”

Harry had vaguely sensed this, for Sir Crowley was, in a sense, half a Muggle elite—and he clearly knew of wizards and the wizarding world.

“Mr. Weasley, have you never wondered where all the things you eat, wear, and use every day come from?” Huck asked, addressing both Ron and Arthur.

“From Diagon Alley, or grown ourselves,” Ron answered naturally.

“Yes—but where do the things in Diagon Alley come from? Look at this sofa you’re sitting on: it’s made of a wooden frame, springs, cotton padding, and fabric. Have you ever considered who maintains the forests, cuts the timber, and builds the frame? Who mines the ore, smelts it into metal, and shapes it into springs? Who tends the cotton fields, harvests the cotton, and processes it into padding? Who weaves the fabric, dyes it, and embroiders it?”

Ron had the answer in his mind—he knew Huck meant the Muggles did all this—but he dismissed it: “Oh, well, wizards can do all that too.”

“Yes, wizards can—but the entire production chain for one sofa requires nearly seven hundred people. Even with magic, you’d still need at least four hundred. The entire graduating class of Hogwarts in a year wouldn’t be enough to make one sofa. Think about all the other products.”

Ron fell completely silent.

“The truth is, the vast majority of shops in Diagon Alley rely heavily on importing goods and raw materials from the Muggle world. Over eighty percent of the wizarding world’s food and spices are purchased from the Muggle world. If we were to cut ties completely, wizards’ living standards would regress to the Middle Ages—or worse. No one could accept that.” Huck concluded. “Our connection to the Muggle world is far tighter than you realize.”

“And the two worlds rise and fall together. If the Muggle world suffers upheaval, even without something as catastrophic as nuclear winter—just economic downturn or decline in light industry—Diagon Alley’s costs for Muggle goods will rise, and wizarding prices will follow. I know your family struggles financially. Have you ever considered that the Conservatives bear primary responsibility for this?”

Ron thought deeply, and began to feel it personally.

“But now the problem is, Yanayev has fully mobilized the wizarding world’s power. We can either sit back and watch him gain ever-greater advantages, eventually losing this Cold War alongside our foolish allies—or we can muster all our strength and resist him simultaneously in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, even defeat him, surpass him, and restore the true glory of the British Empire.”

Harry gave an awkward smile. “Well, before this, Dumbledore and Snape were indeed doing this—we’ve kept him well contained in the wizarding world.”

“But in the Muggle world, we’re collapsing step by step,” Huck urged. “I believe you have the ability and experience to replicate your success in the wizarding world.”

“How are we collapsing?” Harry frowned. “Our domestic situation is sluggish, but we haven’t lost anything internationally, have we?”

"We've almost entirely lost control of Europe—and now Europe controls us," Huck explained patiently. "Yanayev initially only wanted to boost domestic light industry through increased trade, but this unexpectedly improved his relations with European nations. He further opened market economies to his Eastern European satellite states, solving his own people's livelihood problems and beginning to exert greater influence over Europe. Had it not been for this, I wouldn't be so furious about the EU. But whether they admit it or not, nearly half of the EU now lies under Yanayev's covert control."

“What if the future trend is for the U.S. and the USSR to divide the world? Where does Britain stand in such a future? Harry, I must tell you frankly: if not for your transcendent status in the global wizarding world, we’d already have nearly become a U.S. missile base.”

Here, the Prime Minister eagerly seized Harry’s hand. “Mr. Potter, don’t you want to use the weight of the wizarding world to explore a third path in the Cold War? To completely break free from NATO, rely on your own strength to establish an inviolable deterrent, and become a de facto privileged neutral state—playing an unprecedented grand-scale offshore balancing act across the U.S., the USSR, and the entire world?”

Harry felt uncomfortable with this gesture. It sounded as if a single top-tier wizarding force could mask all other military weaknesses—somewhat delusional.

“Look, we already have autonomous strategic deterrence. With your extraordinary wizarding power, we wouldn’t need to spend nearly 300 million pounds annually maintaining a nuclear weapon we barely use. That money could go toward strengthening our conventional arms and enhancing soldiers’ combat effectiveness—a real defense reform!”

“Besides, the Trident is aging. A new one would cost four billion—and we’d pay the Americans!” Huck spread his hands dramatically. “Want me to convert that into Galleons?”

“We could really…” Ron had been calculating since the 300 million figure, “save the country that much money?”

“No,” Harry doused him with cold water. “Prime Minister, you’re being overly optimistic. Extraordinary wizarding power cannot fully replace nuclear deterrence. Yanayev could easily find multiple ways to try to counter it—whether we can withstand him remains uncertain. Conversely, the Trident has been proven immune to Yanayev’s attempts to crack it. Canceling it now would be extremely unwise.”

“Excellent, Harry. From your words, I hear your deep concern and thorough consideration for this nation’s future. I’ve decided your internship positions.” Huck said seriously. “Given your significance in the Muggle world lies primarily in your role as a novel asymmetric strategic deterrent, I invite you both to intern at the Ministry of Defense. Harry Potter, you will serve as Deputy Chief of Defense Staff. Ron Weasley, you will be Assistant Deputy Chief of Defense Staff. How does that sound?”

“You call this an internship?” Harry found it all too surreal. “And I haven’t even decided yet.”

“No problem—you can visit your school first, or check out the Ministry of Magic.” Huck handed him a business card. “When you’ve made your decision, please call this number anytime.”