Chapter 71: An Interlude in the Editorial Office of The Golden Cauldron

"Editor-in-Chief, another paper has been submitted."

"Save it to the archives for now. The new issue is about to finish its layout; we don't have time to look at new papers."

The Editor-in-Chief was a middle-aged man in his fifties, slightly stout, wearing a loose robe. His sparse hair spiraled on top of his head like an abstract painting. He held a black pipe in his mouth, and whenever he spoke, the pipe would bob slightly, emitting wisps of smoke.

"Editor-in-Chief, I think it would be best if you took a look at this paper."

Looking at the parchment handed to him by his subordinate, the Editor-in-Chief frowned and hesitated. He glanced at the editor under him. This young man had been trained by the Editor-in-Chief himself, and he knew he wasn't the type to act without reason. His insistence must have a cause.

Taking the paper, the Editor-in-Chief immediately opened it and began reading. As he read, his slightly furrowed brow relaxed. "It modifies the Forgetfulness Potion's formula and process, greatly shortening the brewing time. It's a rather good paper. A shame it only modifies the Forgetfulness Potion. If it were a more widely used potion, this paper could have made the front page."

The quality of the paper was quite good, fully qualifying it to appear in The Golden Cauldron. Of course, it was just "qualified"; its quality wasn't enough to make the journal's staff view it with any special distinction. It was simply one of many qualified papers in the long history of The Golden Cauldron.

"A qualified paper. Store it in the archives. If there's space in the next issue, or the one after that, it can be included as one of the articles."

"Editor-in-Chief, please look again."

"Look at what? What's wrong with you today?"

"Look at the address and signature."

Frowning, the Editor-in-Chief turned the paper to the front page, looked at the address and signature on it, and read it out loud involuntarily.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Slytherin, Sean Bulstrode!?" Suddenly looking up, the Editor-in-Chief looked at the young editor and asked in disbelief, "A paper written by a student from Hogwarts? A sixth or seventh-year? To be able to write a paper and send it to The Golden Cauldron before graduating is quite an achievement."

Periodicals in the magical world were still somewhat different from those in the Muggle world.

For example, magical journals all had signature magic woven into them, so there were no issues like plagiarism or fighting over author credit. The Golden Cauldron would actively display the real name and origin of the paper's author, so the editors never worried about anyone trying any tricks.

"Editor-in-Chief, look at his surname."

"Surname?" The Editor-in-Chief lowered his head to look, saw Sean's surname, and was startled at first, then took a sharp breath. "Bulstrode? That Bulstrode? I remember that only two children from the Bulstrode family entered Hogwarts this generation, and they both just started this year. So, this paper was written by a first-year student? How is that possible!"

"Editor-in-Chief, I investigated earlier. This Sean Bulstrode is indeed the child from that Bulstrode family, and he's the son of the Bulstrode family's Squib son that caused a bit of a stir recently."

"The Bulstrode family…"

Muttering to himself, the Editor-in-Chief took the pipe from his mouth, tapped it lightly, then put it back in his mouth and took a deep puff. Wisps of white smoke drifted out of his nostrils and dispersed into the air.

After thinking for a while, the Editor-in-Chief looked at the young editor and said, "Use our snowy owl to contact Mr. Bulstrode and ask him if he needs us to take care of this Sean Bulstrode."

The young editor was stunned when he heard this, clearly not understanding why his Editor-in-Chief would suddenly make such a move.

Seeing the expression on the face of the subordinate he had personally trained, the Editor-in-Chief couldn't help but kick him lightly on the leg and said in a low voice, "You blockhead, you don't know the truth behind the rumors, and neither do I."

"Mr. Bulstrode is one of the most well-connected men in the Wizengamot. He usually seems low-key, but if he really wants to do something, no one can say they can suppress him. If this was his direct grandson, that would be one thing, but this grandson… We need to ask clearly!"

"Editor-in-Chief, we are The Golden Cauldron. Shouldn't academics come first?"

Looking at the serious expression on the young editor's face, the Editor-in-Chief's mouth twitched slightly, wishing he could kick him again. However, since the other party was someone he had trained himself, the Editor-in-Chief still explained seriously, "Academics are certainly first, but beyond academics, we must also consider how to keep The Golden Cauldron alive."

"Without the support of the Wizengamot, without the funds they allocate, do you think The Golden Cauldron could survive? The most generous author stipends in all of Europe—do you think those come for free?"

"To take a step back, if this Sean Bulstrode's paper were of the highest caliber, making significant contributions to the development of the magical world, even if Mr. Bulstrode himself objected, we would still publish it."

"But currently, his paper, to be frank, is just a paper qualified to appear in The Golden Cauldron. Whether it's included or not won't have a significant impact on the development of the magical world. For a paper like this, we naturally need to consider more. Understand?"

Nodding, the young editor said, "I understand, but I still maintain that The Golden Cauldron should be a purely academic journal. But I understand your choice."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work! Contact Mr. Bulstrode immediately!"

Receiving his Editor-in-Chief's order, the young editor immediately wrote a respectfully worded letter and sent it using the journal's own snowy owl.

Coincidentally, or perhaps intentionally, during the days The Golden Cauldron was preparing for layout and printing, Gavin made a rare trip to the Wizengamot to have tea with some old friends. The snowy owl flew around inside the Ministry of Magic, where both the editorial department and the Wizengamot offices were located. It successfully found Gavin having tea and delivered the letter.

Opening the letter, looking at the pile of words that seemed like congratulations but were actually inquiries and probes, Gavin took out a pen, wrote a few words on it, and chuckled. "Always playing these little tricks."

Handing the letter back to the snowy owl, Gavin picked up his teacup and took a sip, feeling relaxed and pleased.

Upon receiving the reply, the young editor immediately handed the letter to the Editor-in-Chief.

Looking at the few words on the letter in his hand, a smile appeared on the Editor-in-Chief's face. Then he immediately said sternly to the young editor, "Rearrange the layout immediately! The layout must be finished before the printing time arrives. Add this paper about improving the Forgetfulness Potion, place it in a secondary position, and be sure to emphasize his identity as a first-year Hogwarts student!"

"Understood!"

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