Chapter 105: The Beast Consulting Office

Chapter 105: The Beast Consulting Office

Lockhart followed Dumbledore to the Ministry of Magic for questioning.

Dumbledore remained silent throughout, yet he exerted immense pressure on the Ministry officials.

Fudge looked at Dumbledore, wanting to ask if the Dark Lord had truly returned, but he clearly wouldn't get any answers from Dumbledore.

Dumbledore seemed uninterested in engaging with him, so Fudge ultimately said nothing. He left with a hint of resentment after Umbridge arrived.

In truth, their interests aligned in this matter.

Fudge desperately hoped the Dark Lord had not truly returned, as this would severely destabilize his position as Minister for Magic. He had to strongly declare publicly that the "Dark Lord's return" was utter nonsense, even if it meant offending Dumbledore.

Dumbledore also needed the Minister for Magic to make such a statement. As long as the news of Voldemort's return wasn't officially confirmed, the rumors would remain ambiguous, preventing those wavering pure-blood families from being forced to pick sides. Similarly, "pure-blood supremacist" Voldemort supporters wouldn't feel compelled to jump out and take risks to prove their loyalty to the Dark Lord.

This could buy Dumbledore much valuable time; even an extra year or two would be excellent.

However, Dumbledore couldn't explicitly state in public that Voldemort had not returned. This would cause some resistance forces to drop their guard and would make it harder to organize counter-forces once Voldemort fully returned.

Sometimes, the political sphere required such grey areas.

This was Lockhart's first time stepping into the Ministry of Magic, the political heart. Although his original self had painstakingly cultivated influence, he had cleverly focused on social influence rather than political influence.

There was a significant distinction here.

The original Lockhart knew that the influence cultivated in society was worthless in the face of political interests. As someone from a humble, half-blood background with no connections, blindly entering this circle would only lead to being devoured whole.

But he was clearly mistaken!

The few of them stood by the Ministry's elevator, waiting. With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and out came the Ministry employees, usually so glamorous in others' eyes, now looking weary. Suddenly, a female employee shrieked in delight.

"Ahhhhhhh! +"

"Gilderoy Lockhart!"

"Merlin's beard, it's Gilderoy Lockhart!"

She was so excited, rushing over. In fact, she wasn't the only one; many others nearby also screamed and rushed forward.

Auror Head Scrimgeour and Corban Yaxley, the two old bureaucrats who were almost completely ignored, were stunned. They had clearly never witnessed such a scene in the usually solemn and dignified Ministry of Magic.

Lockhart was stunned too!

He had never seen a scene like this and, for a moment, didn't know how to handle it.

He hadn't meticulously reviewed all of his original self's memories. Aside from some private memories that were too shocking and sensitive, he had only been transmigrated for half a year. He barely had time to delve into the magical information in the memories, let alone pay attention to this kind of information.

What to do?

He panicked, truly. Looking around, accompanied by the frantic screams, it seemed the entire Ministry building had been alerted, with witches pouring out from different corners.

He genuinely didn't know what to do.

He had experienced similar scenes at Hogwarts, and he thought that was what being popular entailed.

But it clearly wasn't!

The young wizards at school were still children, and they always had some psychological pressure from other professors watching them. But these people in front of him were different.

As more and more people squeezed in, the witches who had initially been somewhat reserved were completely pushed forward. One witch, looking blissfully happy, was shoved into his arms, screaming excitedly and utterly disregarding everything as she tugged at Lockhart's clothes, trying to kiss him. But she clearly wasn't tall enough, so she resorted to biting and gnawing at his neck on tiptoes.

No!

Lockhart was stunned. Are you crazy? Why are you biting my neck? Am I the werewolf or are you?

Wait, whose hand is this?!

No, it seems there's more than one!

Don't touch!

Don't touch me!

Stop!

Lockhart's eyes widened in fury, his face flushed. He wanted to break free but despairingly realized that more and more people were surrounding him.

He felt as if he had fallen into a zombie horde, struggling to reach out to the Aurors nearby, screaming in terror, "Save me!"

Auror Kingsley took a step back, his expression odd, fearing that Lockhart would grab him and drag him into this terrifying 'zombie tide.'

He had worked at the Ministry for some years, but he had never imagined there were so many crazy witches in the Ministry!

So crazy it was unfamiliar.

No wonder his mother told him it was best to find a Muggle woman in the future; witches were crazy, especially pretty witches.

He was witnessing it now.

He even saw a familiar colleague of his, holding Lockhart's book high, swallowed by the crowd.

"I have no doubt that if this charming man were to run for Minister for Magic, he would win effortlessly." Corban Yaxley remarked to Scrimgeour with a hint of malice, knowing that Scrimgeour coveted the Minister's position.

Scrimgeour scoffed, but was unconcerned. Idols and politicians were two different things.

Lockhart, that peacock, as Minister for Magic?

That would probably be a disaster.

Imagine Lockhart standing on a high platform, waving his hands and saying, "No one understands magic better than me!"

And below, his fans and Ministry employees screaming and applauding wildly.

Oh!

Merlin's beard!

There was no picture more awful than that!

Influence was an ephemeral but sometimes very useful thing. At least, Scrimgeour and Yaxley didn't want to appear to be targeting Lockhart at this moment.

They would be torn apart by Lockhart's fervent fans in the Ministry!

Just like that, Lockhart was handed over to Auror Kingsley.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and eventually became Minister for Magic in the original story. He was an extremely powerful Auror, his magical ability probably on par with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape.

He was a very reliable person, trusted by Dumbledore, Fudge, Scrimgeour, and even the Muggle Prime Minister.

Hmm, from another perspective, someone highly recognized by political figures was not the kind of rigid person who strictly adhered to rules.

Lockhart's guess was correct. Kingsley invited him to his office to enjoy an African specialty drink, and throughout their conversation, they barely discussed anything about the attack, instead focusing on another topic.

"Dumbledore hopes I can arrange a position for you at the Ministry of Magic."

Kingsley sat stiffly on the sofa, looking burly but giving off the impression of a "corporate elite." "I believe I should ask for your opinion."

Lockhart paused. "Why didn't he tell me himself? Just now—"

Oh~

He suddenly gasped. "The Dumbledore who just appeared was actually a Confundus Charm?"

Kingsley didn't answer the question, only smiling and saying, "He has some things to do, you know."

To find Voldemort's Horcrux goblet in the Gringotts vault, right, I get it.

Lockhart nodded, but still found it amazing. He had genuinely felt Dumbledore was there, and in fact, Scrimgeour, Yaxley, Umbridge, and others were not weak in magical ability, and there were so many Aurors and Ministry employees present, yet no one had noticed the problem. It was terrifyingly powerful.

At Kingsley's gesture, he picked up the drink and took a sip, his eyes instantly lighting up. "Tastes good."

It had a natural, unique aroma, filled with the fragrance of ripe fruit.

It felt like drinking a particularly refreshing juice.

"Why would I be appointed to a Ministry position?" Lockhart was puzzled by Dumbledore's arrangement.

"Your pets." Kingsley shrugged. "Strictly speaking, keeping them isn't entirely compliant. To prevent anyone from using this against you in the future, it's best to have a proper justification."

"Of course, I'd lean towards you being nominally the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Gamekeeper or something similar. It would give you more freedom. The only issue is that nominal ownership of those dark magical creatures would then belong to Hogwarts."

Hagrid's Acromantula, Aragog, was actually set up this way. Kingsley carefully explained the intricacies. "We all know Dumbledore wouldn't actually take your pets away."

Lockhart didn't see it that way. What if Hogwarts got a new Headmaster? He didn't want to get into a tangled mess with a magical school then.

"And what's the deal with a Ministry position?" Lockhart frowned, asking, thinking that if neither option was acceptable, he would simply declare he had released all his magical creatures back into the wild and hide them using his 'sack cloak.'

"The Beast Consulting Office." When he mentioned this office, Kingsley's expression became a little odd. "It's a consultant department, essentially an office for housing scholars from ancient wizarding families. It has no head of office, no specific duties, everything is arranged freely, and you collect a salary and benefits on time each month."

That good?

Lockhart blinked, quickly searching his memories for information about this office, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Coincidentally, this was the office where Newt Scamander worked when he was at the Ministry of Magic.

This job was so leisurely that Newt, having nothing else to do, started writing his first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and began raising a large number of small animals. Eventually, he found the job too boring and simply resigned.

Interestingly, there was also someone Lockhart knew in this office: Lysander Lupin, a dark magical creatures expert and Ministry consultant.

Of course, there were also other people he could get to know well, such as Amos Diggory, Cedric's father.

"You can view this department as the Ministry's compromise to ancient pure-blood families, an arrangement made because these experts and scholars are also extremely valuable assets to wizarding society."

"But in reality, this department also holds significant influence."

Kingsley began to explain the overall structure of the Ministry of Magic.

In summary, the Ministry of Magic had seven departments, with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement holding the most power, overseeing the Wizengamot and the Auror Office, etc. There was also the Department of Mysteries, whose actual authority belonged to the "International Confederation of Wizards'" predecessor, the "Wizards' Council."

The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, one of the seven departments, was specifically responsible for all matters concerning magical creatures. It had three large consulting offices under it, as well as a series of teams and departments dedicated to various magical creatures.

In other words, while the Beast Consulting Office was leisurely and had no specific duties, it actually held command authority over those legitimate, working departments.

Of course, that was the rule. Whether anyone actually listened depended on the influence of one's family and one's personal influence.

"Sounds good, I suppose." Lockhart was tempted.

"Are you sure?" Kingsley held his teacup, smiling as he looked at Lockhart. "I feel it's necessary to remind you that if Dumbledore paves the way for you by exercising his power, there will always be times when he needs your help."

He thought for a moment, then added, "Especially now, with the Dark Lord's activities becoming increasingly evident, you will inevitably face dangers similar to today's in the future." (Referring to the Crabbe family Flobberworm farm incident)

"Yes, I'm sure."

Lockhart smiled brightly. "I hear the call of adventure, full of the unknown and the wondrous. I choose to bravely press forward."

Kingsley blinked, suddenly finding this internationally renowned author before him rather inscrutable.