bacchusnovels Chapter 216 Umbridge
Chapter 216 Umbridge
Chapter 216 Umbridge
"Mr. Phillips." Just as Sean was about to leave, someone suddenly called his name from behind.
He turned his head and saw a slightly overweight, smiling middle-aged man.
Upon seeing Sean turn his head, the middle-aged man quickly took a few steps forward and came to Sean, introducing himself, "Hello, Mr. Phillips, I am John Harvey, assistant to Minister Fudge. Minister Fudge sent me to pick you up."
"Oh, it's Mr. Harvey, hello." Sean replied politely.
"Mr. Phillips, let's go over there then." Harvey said as he led the way, and Sean followed Harvey through the door into a smaller hall. There were at least twenty elevators there, blocked by exquisite gold-plated gates.
With a series of clanging and clattering sounds, an elevator slowly descended in front of them.
The golden gate slid open quietly, and Sean and Harvey followed the crowd into the elevator. Sean noticed several wizards staring at him curiously, and he greeted them with a smile.
The gate slammed shut, the elevator slowly rose, and with a clanging of chains, the woman's voice that Sean had heard in the phone booth rang out again:
"The seventh floor, the Department of Magical Sports, includes the headquarters of the British and Irish Quidditch League, the official Gobstone Club, and the Office of Patents for Comical Products."
The elevator doors opened, and Sean saw a messy corridor with all sorts of Quidditch team posters plastered on the walls, leaning haphazardly.
A wizard carrying a flying broom struggled to squeeze out of the elevator and disappeared into the depths of the corridor.
The door closed again, the elevator swayed slightly and continued to rise, and the female voice announced:
"The sixth floor, the Department of Magical Transportation, includes the Floo Network Administration, the Flying Broomstick Management and Control Bureau, the Portkey Office, and the Apparition Testing Center."
The elevator doors opened again, and four or five wizards stepped out. At the same time, several light purple paper airplanes whizzed into the elevator. Sean looked up and watched them fly slowly overhead, their wings stamped with the Ministry of Magic's seal.
“Those are notes used to pass messages between departments,” Harvey whispered to Sean. “We used to use owls, but the mess was unimaginable—there was poop everywhere on the desks—”
The elevator clattered upwards again, the notes fluttering around the lights hanging from the elevator ceiling.
"The fifth level is the International Magical Cooperation Division, which includes the International Magical Trade Standards Association, the International Office of Magical Law, and the UK branch of the International Wizarding Federation."
The door opened, and two notes flew out with the monks, but then several new notes flew in, flitting around the lights above their heads and making the lights flicker.
"Fourth floor, the Department of Magical Creatures Control, including the offices for beasts, outcasts, and ghosts, the goblin liaison office, and the pest advisory office." "Excuse me, could you please move aside?" a wizard behind him said, stepping out of the elevator, a small group of notes flying out with him.
The elevator doors slammed shut again.
"The third level is the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters, which includes the Reversal of Accidental Magical Events Team, the Memory Deletion Command, and the Muggle Problem Mediation Committee."
Upon reaching this floor, almost everyone left, leaving only Sean, Harvey, and a witch reading a ridiculously long parchment that dragged on the floor inside the elevator.
The elevator swayed slightly as it went up again, and the remaining notes continued to swirl around the light.
Then the door opened, and the voice announced:
"The second level is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, which includes the Office for Prohibiting the Abuse of Magic, the Auror Command, and the Wizengamor Administration."
The witch also went down to this floor.
At this point, only Sean and Harvey remained in the elevator.
The atmosphere became very quiet for a moment.
Harvey wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he said nothing.
The door opened.
After getting off the elevator, this floor was different from the other floors. Its floor was covered with a thick carpet, and all the offices had shiny wooden doors with a small sign on each door displaying the name and job title of the person inside.
Harvey led him to the largest office, with a sign that read "Cornelly Fudge/Minister of Magic".
Harvey knocked lightly twice on the door, and Fudge's signature voice came from inside, "Come in."
Harvey turned the doorknob, pushed open the door, and led Sean inside.
Upon entering, you'll see Fudge sitting behind a large oak desk, with his back to a huge window overlooking the bustling London skyline.
His hair was slightly disheveled, his glasses were slightly slipped down, and several documents were scattered on his desk. A quill pen was stuck diagonally in the ink bottle next to him, as if it were ready to record some important information at any time.
When he saw the two men enter, Fudge smiled and stood up to greet them. "Phillips, welcome to the Ministry of Magic." With that, he walked around the desk and toward Sean.
"Thank you for your invitation, Minister Fudge," Sean replied gently.
Meanwhile, Harvey had quietly left when Minister Fudge got up, leaving the two of them a private space to chat.
"Well done." Fudge smiled and patted Sean on the shoulder.
Although he didn't explicitly say which matter it was, the two of them knew perfectly well.
"But he still came back."
At this point, Fudge sighed softly, "There's nothing we can do about it, Dumbledore..."
Fudge hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject, looking intently at Sean, "I called you here today to give you a task."
"Please speak," Sean replied respectfully.
"I want you to go to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as an advisor to the Minister of Magic," Fudge paused, then continued, "This department is currently headed by Amelia Burns, and she seems to have a good relationship with Dumbledore."
Some things are best left unsaid.
As far as Sean knows, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest department in the Ministry of Magic. As the most important of the many departments, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a combination of police and judicial facilities, and its functions are roughly equivalent to the British Home Office in the Muggle world.
And for such an important department, its director has such a close connection with Dumbledore.
This was clearly unacceptable to Fudge.
Sean's job duties are self-evident.
Is it just Amelia Borns?
If Sean remembers correctly, she should be Susan's aunt.
Does that mean...?
After a moment of quiet contemplation, Sean gracefully bowed to Fudge. "Your will is the will of the Ministry of Magic."
Fudge nodded in satisfaction.
He enjoys talking to intelligent people; it's incredibly convenient.
"Let Harvey take you to your office to familiarize yourself with the environment. He's one of us; if you need any help, just ask him." With that, Fudge pressed the red button on the table.
A short while later, Harvey arrived after hearing the noise.
"Come with me, Mr. Phillips."
As Sean followed Harvey out, he discovered that Harvey's office was right next door, and the nameplate on the door had been changed to his name and title: "Sean Phillips / Advisor to the Minister of Magic."
According to his observation, there are a total of four offices on this floor.
Besides Fudge's, his, and Harvey's offices, there is another office.
Sean squinted at the doorplate above, which read:
Dolores Umbridge / Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic
Umbridge?
Sean recalled what she had done in the original books, and Harry had a very classic comment about her:
Even if she were possessed by Voldemort's Horcruxes, it wouldn't have any effect on him—she's already evil enough.
Just as Sean was thinking, the office door suddenly opened.
A middle-aged woman with a pale face, heavy eye bags, a round face like a clam, and a large mouth walked out. She was short and stout, and her short, brownish-red hair was always adorned with a large, frightening pink bow.
Almost no need to think about it.
The word "pink clam" naturally came to Sean's mind.
It has to be said, the nickname is incredibly fitting. Umbridge's eyes lit up when she saw the two people approaching (especially Sean), and she greeted them, "Mr. Harvey, this is...:"
"Deputy Minister, this is Mr. Phillips, Fudge's newly appointed advisor to the Minister of Magic," Harvey introduced to Sean. "This is Ms. Umbridge, the Deputy Minister of Magic."
"It really is Mr. Phillips. I was wondering who could..." Umbridge extended his hand and greeted Sean warmly.
Sean forced a smile and occasionally chimed in.
As for what Umbridge said, he only heard the first half of it and didn't hear the rest.
In fact, when a large pink clam is talking and shaking its head in front of you, very few people can concentrate on listening to what it is saying.
After a while, having satisfied her vanity, Umbridge turned and swayed away with her water glass in hand, leaving behind a trail of crisp high heels echoing down the corridor.
Sean finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Harvey, somewhat embarrassed, apologized to Sean, saying in a low voice, "Don't mind her, that's just who she is. But she's very capable, we have to admit. Try not to get into conflicts with her."
As they spoke, the two entered Sean's new office.