Chapter 390: With Your Face, You Must Be Able to Be the Minister of Magic (Edited)

Normally, a regular person would consider such a letter as spam, a scam, or a joke, but Amelia Bones, a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Magic, actually believed it!

The reason was simple: the sender had no signature on the letter, but there was a footprint. Experienced Amelia Bones immediately recognized that footprint as a phoenix claw.

The phoenix, in the current magical world, was the symbol of that man.

The meaning behind that footprint was obvious: Albus Dumbledore supported her ascent to Minister for Magic. Amelia Bones was thrilled. She knew perfectly well what role Fudge had played in the Sirius Black case. If this were an isolated incident, she wouldn't care much about Fudge; he would find himself in an uncomfortable position, but as an experienced politician, he would surely find a suitable solution.

The problem was that Fudge was displaying ambitions he shouldn't have. Amelia clearly saw his suspicious moves. It was evident he was trying to eliminate Dumbledore's influence in the magical world.

Amelia thought that if she could notice it, there was no way Dumbledore didn't. If Dumbledore hadn't reacted until now, it was simply because he didn't want to deal with Fudge. Besides, Dumbledore himself was a selfless and unambitious person, and combined with his advanced age, it was understandable that he didn't want to get involved in political matters.

The fact that this time the reaction was so significant clearly indicated that Fudge had crossed a line he shouldn't have.

Fudge was not fit to be Minister for Magic, but if she looked at the entire Ministry of Magic, who else would be more suitable than her? Barty Crouch Sr.? If he didn't have a Death Eater son, he would definitely be a formidable rival. But unfortunately, he did have a Death Eater son. Rufus Scrimgeour? He was a brute, unless Voldemort jumped out of his coffin, he had no chance of becoming Minister for Magic. As for the other high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Magic, none were competent. Could Ludo Bagman and people like him become Ministers for Magic? No, they didn't have the capability.

She controlled the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, her brother was the founder of the Daily Prophet, and she had a good relationship with Dumbledore in private. Any way she looked at it, it was her rightful place to be Minister for Magic.

As the saying goes, officials who don't want to be Ministers for Magic are not good wizards. Amelia was an ambitious witch eager to advance; she felt she could better serve British wizards. Therefore, she was very excited.

At the same time, that old, fat man was becoming annoying to her.

"If you're interested, why don't we meet today at noon at the Hog's Head Inn?"

Reading the last line of the letter, Amelia made a quick decision, tidied her desk, and left her office.

After a while, a person wrapped in a cloak appeared on the main street of Hogsmeade.

The figure in the cloak was none other than Amelia Bones.

She disguised herself very well and arrived in Hogsmeade. Instead of visiting tourist spots like the Three Broomsticks or Zonko's, she followed a small trail next to the post office and arrived at the door of a desolate and dilapidated bar.

On the bar's sign, a decapitated pig's head was drawn, and blood had stained the white cloth covering it.

Amelia pushed the door of the bar and was greeted by a strong smell of lamb meat. She wrinkled her nose beneath her cloak; it had been a long time since she had visited such an unrefined place. But she also recognized that this bar, where all sorts of people gathered, was a good place to plan secret affairs.

The bar wasn't crowded with customers. When they heard the sound of the door, all the patrons turned their heads and glanced at Amelia. However, they just gave her a look and then looked away.

Nothing special. This kind of people wrapped in cloaks could be found at least ten times a day in this bar.

Amelia felt unsure. She didn't know who she should contact! The secret message didn't provide her with a meeting plan! So, tentatively, she found a table and sat down, ordering a butterbeer for herself.

But when she saw the dirty beer mug and an even dirtier rag, she immediately abandoned the idea of taking a sip of beer.

She didn't have to wait long. A person with a strange crown on their head and their face covered by a white mask also entered the bar.

"Two Fire Phoenix cocktails, please," the masked person said as they approached the counter. The voice behind the mask sounded very young.

Upon hearing the words "Fire Phoenix," Amelia immediately raised her head. She knew that the person who had summoned her was probably him.

This masked man was Tom. He had noticed Mrs. Bones's oddity, but instead of acting hastily, he watched the bartender mix vodka, grapefruit juice, and pomegranate syrup, finally adding apple slices decorated like phoenixes on top.

The two cocktails cost Tom the equivalent of ten bottles of butterbeer.

Tom carried the cocktails over to Mrs. Bones, who understood immediately and followed him to a corner of the bar.

Once in the corner, she noticed it was a blind spot where no one could see her, so she removed her hood.

"Please," Tom said as he pushed one of the cocktails towards Amelia Bones. When Amelia removed her hood, Tom observed this high-ranking Ministry of Magic official. She had distinctive facial features, with a square jaw, short gray hair, and wore single-lens glasses.

As Tom observed Amelia, she was also watching him, but unfortunately, Tom's mask completely concealed his face, and she couldn't see his appearance.

Both remained silent and slowly sipped their cocktails.

Finally, Tom took the initiative and started speaking.

"From your appearance, I'm sure you could become Minister for Magic."

Hearing this, Amelia couldn't help but laugh. "You should take another look. You're the first person to praise my appearance."

"It's not necessary. You really have the potential to become Minister for Magic, as long as you complete some insignificant tasks."

Amelia knew this was just a game.

"What insignificant tasks could make me Minister for Magic?" Amelia asked, although she tried to contain her excitement, her fingers tapping incessantly on the table betrayed her mood.

"In due time, Minister Fudge will likely make another mistake. At that point, you must rise up and lead his removal from office. Once he has been ousted, you can effortlessly become the new Minister for Magic."

Amelia felt that the person in front of her was speaking nonsense. Even if she filed an accusation, it wouldn't have any effect on Fudge. Her accusation couldn't overthrow Fudge unless there were external forces involved.

While Amelia and Tom conversed, Fudge also spotted Dumbledore.