The light rain that had been pattering before falling asleep suddenly became violent again in the middle of the night last night, and piercing and shocking thunder struck the undulating black lake, which also caused a lot of pain to the giant squid sleeping in the lake. The ground was frightened, and this big guy made waves in the violent storm. At one time, the lake water reached the high ground of the lawn in the courtyard.
Filch, who discovered this scene during the night patrol, was helpless and had no choice but to take the risk and wake up his immediate boss.
In order to prevent the little wizards who would wake up early tomorrow morning from discovering that Hogwarts Castle had been moved into the water, Amosta had to have a "pleasant" negotiation with the giant squid under the heavy rain. After that, he spent some time repairing the messy embankment. In short, he almost didn't sleep all night.
This noisy night directly caused Amosta's original plan to arrive at the Ministry of Magic before eight o'clock the next morning to come to nothing.
The entire period of March and April may be a disaster that ordinary employees of the Ministry of Magic may never want to look back on.
First, Amosta Brain wiped out the most evil werewolf gang in the UK, then Sirius Black, who escaped from Azkaban, was captured, and finally, Peter, who had been awarded the Order of Merlin First Class, turned out to be a The murderer who betrayed his friends and his trial on the Wizengamot.
In the past, any one of these things would have been enough for people to discuss for a whole year, but now, such a major event affecting the entire European wizarding community has actually happened in just a month or two. It is conceivable that this has caused great harm to the British Ministry of Magic. The officials brought so much unnecessary trouble.
Now that things have finally come to an end, of course, Rufus Scrimgeour and his men are still busy trying to figure out who tampered with the key to Azkaban in the Department of Mysteries, leading to Peter's murder. People are assassinated, but this matter has nothing to do with most officials.
Now, they can go back to their daily, comfortable and busy work.
London's drainage system seemed to have failed to withstand the test of last night's heavy rain. When Amosta, who looked a little tired, appeared in the alley where the phone booth at the entrance to the Ministry of Magic was located, he was surprised to find that the deserted alley was turbid. The water actually reached up to his ankles.
"Oh, no!" Amosta frowned and looked at the 'ocean', "I hope the Ministry of Magic is not flooded."
Although the entrance phone box looked shabby, it was of reliable quality, and Amosta successfully entered the entrance hall of the Ministry of Magic.
Even on normal days, the Ministry of Magic is still extremely noisy, and everyone who appears here has anxiety on their faces and wind in their steps.
The heavy rain seemed to have had some impact on the Ministry of Magic. When Amosta walked out of the fireplace, he saw that many of the fireplaces on the left and right and opposite were empty, and a small group of people were busy trying to stop the rainwater seeping from the wall. The grand hall was a mess.
At this moment, a pale, middle-aged wizard walked out of a working fireplace opposite Amosta. The wizard had two big dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messy. Moreover, he seemed to have just waded through the mud, and a pair of black leather shoes under his feet were wrapped in a layer of mud.
"Can you please stop causing trouble for me, Dirk!"
Tycross, who directed the crew to repair the fireplace, was furious when he looked at the clear series of muddy footprints left on the ground where Creswell walked.
"I've been dealing with things that have nothing to do with me all morning. First the minister's office was flooded, and then the deputy minister's. There are problems everywhere. I've had enough!"
"Let me tell you what's wrong, Wicky!"
Cresway, who was panting, suddenly became energetic. He was panting like an ox and stared at Tycross who was accusing him.
"A heavy rain ruined half a month's hard work. The woodland turned into a swamp. A dozen guys who worked overtime to build the stands were sent to St. Mungo's. I soaked in the heavy rain all night to check the rest. Will the place collapse? I suffered this just to give you a place to put your butt when watching the Quidditch World Cup during the summer vacation. Waikiki, this was not my job in the first place, but now you have to do it because of a little mud. Dot yelled at me!”
"oh--"
Tycros's momentum weakened,
"Thank you for your selfless service, Dirk, I just, um-"
Then, Tecros saw Amosta who was watching the excitement. He didn't recognize who it was for a moment, so he rolled his eyes angrily,
"Please leave quickly, sir. The hall is a mess right now. It is not a place for you to watch a good show."
Amos raised his eyebrows but did not speak, but Cresway suddenly opened his eyes wide. The excitement made the fatigue and resentment disappear from his face. He rushed over in a few steps and held Amos in his hand. tower hand,
"Oh my god, if I didn't admit my mistake - oh, how could I?"
Cresway had a smile on his face and shook Amosta's hand.
"The famous Mr. Blaine, I am your biggest fan!"
"Oh, thanks--"
Amosta smiled restrainedly. He wanted to take his hand back, but the guy named Dirk held his hand tightly and pulled him to the elevator hall on his own initiative.
"Which floor are you going to, Mr. Blaine?"
When the two of them entered the elevator, Cresway diligently pressed the elevator button for him.
"Well -" Amosta pondered for a few seconds, "Actually, I am going to Mr. Crouch's office. I have an appointment with him."
"That's the fifth floor!"
Cresway enthusiastically introduced Amosta to the locations of the various functional departments of the Ministry of Magic.
Along the way, Amosta said little, but this guy named Dirk Cresway introduced himself clearly.
"--I'm also a Slytherin,"
After arriving on the fifth floor, Cresway showed Amosta the location of Crouch's office.
"But when I was at Hogwarts, the dean of this college was still Professor Slughorn. We often wrote letters to discuss the situation. When we were discussing Fenrir Greyback some time ago, he even wrote to me Expressing regret--"
Cresway noticed Amosta's surprised expression and quickly explained,
"To you, Mr. Blaine, not to Greyback, Slughorn thought he should have insisted on retiring later so that he could become your Head of House instead of having Severus Snape Got a bargain!"
"Ho-ho, please convey it to me. I am very grateful for his love."
Amosta smiled and stopped in front of an office door.
"I think I should be somewhere."
"I'll knock on the door for you!"
Cresway failed to understand what Amosta meant. He squeezed in front of Amosta and knocked on the door for him.
"you are late."
This is a very depressing office, not to mention the old-fashioned decoration, which makes people feel like they have returned to the 18th century. Just looking at the neat arrangement of various documents stuffed on the surrounding shelves, it makes people feel... One can feel that the owner of the office is a person who is so rigorous that he almost has a compulsion certificate.
Barty Crouch was standing behind his desk, expressionless, but with strong eyes staring at Creswell and Amosta as they pushed in the door.
"It's not Mr. Blaine's fault!"
Before Amosta could explain the reason, Cresway shouted, filled with righteous indignation,
"To be fair, Mr. Crouch, if the ministry could be more generous and spend some money to repair our infrastructure, the hall wouldn't be a mess now!"
"You know Barty's style, Dirk, he's down to earth."
Barty Crouch is not alone in his office. Ludo Bagman, the director of the Department of Magical Sports and Sports, is also here. There is another person who is crowding with Ludo Bagman on the other side of the office to receive visitors. Ou was discussing something under his breath. It was he who was defending Barty Crouch. Moreover, this man had a suitcase at his feet, and it looked like he was about to go out.
"Oh, Cuthbert?"
Creswell called the man's name,
"Why are you here? Didn't you ask for leave with the minister and prepare to go on vacation?"
"I'm ready for a ride!"
The director of the Goblin Liaison Office and Cresswell's immediate boss kicked the suitcase and said happily,
"I'm going to Paris for a few days. Originally, I planned to use Muggle transportation, but Ludo told me that they were also going to Paris, and I could use the cross-border fireplace in Barty's office together. Barty was very easy to talk to. He agreed immediately!”
From the expression on Barty Crouch's face, Amosta could tell that the biggest reason for his agreement was that he didn't want to be endlessly harassed.
(End of chapter)
