Chapter 374: Safety check

It was the British Ministry of Magic, and Ivan was here for the first time.

Dumbledore and Sirius had not yet arrived. Green flames glowed from time to time in the golden fireplace, and he was crowded by a stream of people coming out of the chimney.

They were all Ministry workers, dressed in dejected, morning looks, walking meteorically toward a set of golden doors at the end of the hallway.

Ivan noticed some of them carrying piles of parchment, others carrying battered briefcases, and others reading newspapers as they walked to find out the news that happened yesterday in the Wizarding World.

Most of the newspapers were "Daily the Prophet," but not all. Ivan was delighted to see that many people had 'Hogwarts Magic'.

Under Professor Lupin's chairmanship, the newspaper Ivan had created had developed rapidly, with a hidden circulation that rivaled 'The Daily the Prophet'.

With the help of Nick almost decapitated, they had their own sources of information. If Ivan could publish the Dark Mark that appeared last night in the Forbidden Forest, no one would have any newspaper in hand except 'Hogwarts Magic'!

It would be absolutely a great achievement, beyond everyone's imagination.

As the most widely circulated newspaper in the wizarding world, no one had challenged the dominance of 'The Daily Prophet' for centuries.

...

At the front, halfway down the hallway, was a fountain.

A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool.

The tallest of them all was of a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointed straight up in the air.

Surrounding him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin and a house elf. The witch huddled next to the wizard. The centaur, elf and house elf gazed adoringly at the witch and wizard.

Bright streams of water flew from the ends of the two wands, the tip of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat and each of the house elf's ears, so that the hiss of falling water added to the pops and cracks of the Apparatus and the clatter of the footsteps of hundreds of witches and wizards.

Ivan felt that his eyes were not enough. He followed the crowd to the central fountain.

He saw many silver and bronze coins glinting at him from the bottom of the fountain.

A small, stained sign next to it read, All proceeds from the Magical Brothers Fountain will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Ailments and Injuries.

Although this group of statues were vivid, they were not at all realistic.

According to Ivan's knowledge of centaurs and elves, unless they fell under the Imperius Curse or were severely hit on the head, they would never look so adoringly at human wizards. As for house elves, they buried their heads under their feet most prominently.

Just as Ivan was looking at the statues with interest, a bored man's voice sounded behind him. "Boy, where are you from?"

A poorly shaven wizard in peacock blue robes approached Ivan.

Behind him was a small wooden desk, above which hung a sign that read "SECURITY".

"I have something to do at the Ministry of Magic." Ivan replied briefly.

He wasn't sure if he was going to name Dumbledore, Sirius, or Fudge. If he told the security wizard the truth, and that he was coming to see the Minister of Magic for permission to enter Azkaban, would he think he was crazy?

"Something to do?!" The security wizard narrowed his eyes and said doubtfully, "A young wizard of your age can't come here at will without the company of an adult, do you have a wand? show it to me!"

This guy was so annoying that Ivan even wanted to pull out his wand and give him an Imperius Curse.

Then he remembered that he couldn't use advanced magic at the moment.

However, he could still do a little Full Body Curse.

"Ivan, what are you doing here?" At that moment, Mr. Weasley suddenly appeared with an Apparition, not far away in tattered wizarding robes.

He looked at Ivan with surprise and waved a hand at the suspicious guard on the side. "Hang on, Eric! I know this guy. He's a friend of my son's."

"Arthur, you know him?" The security wizard, like a balloon, lost his breath and returned to his former lifeless appearance. "Very well, then..."

"Good morning, Mr. Weasley!" Ivan explained. "I'm here with Dumbledore and Sirius. I've just come from the Red Flu, and they'll be there in a minute."

"Along with them, what happened at Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Weasley.

Ivan hadn't answered yet, and there was a sudden commotion on the other side of the golden room.

Dumbledore and Sirius, who had just emerged from the fireplace, were recognized almost instantly.

Many wizards screamed and ran over, and the room was a mess.

Both were major celebrities in the wizarding world and had many admirers. Dumbledore, widely recognized as the best wizard in the world, had been in seclusion at Hogwarts for the past few years, rarely making public appearances, and adult wizards rarely had the opportunity to meet him.

And of course Sirius, since his acquittal, had assumed the position of professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and had had no contact with the outside world.

The truth about his escape and what happened 20 years ago was a hot topic in the public eye, and had yet to fade.

Everyone was full of curiosity about Sirius, waiting to see him in person, and some more fanatical ones even asked for his autograph.

"It looks like they'll be there for a while. Let's not stand here foolishly. We can go ahead and wait." Mr. Weasley led Ivan over to the security wizard. "Eric, we're going inside. You can look for Ivan."

The wizard, Eric, gave a distracted, not at all alert response as he questioned Ivan. His eyes always looked down the hall. He looked like he wanted to go see Dumbledore and Sirius.

"Come this way!" he muttered. Eric held up a long golden wand, thin and flexible like a car antenna, and passed it in front of and behind Ivan.

"Okay, magic wand!" He put down the golden instrument and held out his hand.

If anyone from outside wanted to enter the Ministry of Magic, it was a security check that had to be carried out. No one could be an exception. Ivan handed over his wand.

The wizard dropped it on a strange metal instrument, which looked something like a set of scales with a single plate.

It began to vibrate slightly. A narrow strip of parchment sped out of an opening in the base.

Eric tore this off and read what was written on it.

"Fourteen and a half inches, vine wood, has been in use for two years, core is..." Eric stopped and frowned at the note in his hand.

"Is there a problem?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"No, you can come in!" Eric handed the wand back to Ivan.

There he patted the instrument, whispering, "Damn, this thing must be broken. The core of the wand detected is an unknown substance."