The Ministers of Magic

After the holiday, the castle became very deserted overnight. The students who stayed on campus all huddled in their respective lounges, occupying the spots closest to the fireplace.

The same goes for Belvina; aside from going to the edge of the Forbidden Forest to "extort" Hagrid, she almost never left the castle.

It's worth mentioning that the act of "extorting" the hunting ground guards was quite fruitful; they not only received a large piece of ham, but also a few free-range chickens.

This way, Belvina won't have to bother the house-elves anymore, nor will she have to bother with the owls. The round-faced, chubby chicken is better suited for medicinal purposes; stewing it with mushrooms is unnecessary.

In addition, Paul Bernard's alchemical research made great progress, and he took the time to show Belvina and Bassheda his half-finished work—a life-size doll about three feet tall.

The three-foot-tall puppet can move along a pre-set route, clearing some obstacles and is quite resistant to impact, effectively reducing casualties among those who break the curse. Its biggest drawback is that it is not intelligent enough and requires a wizard to control it.

Listening to Paul's vision for dolls, Belvina became even more eager to enter the medical device industry. Building another doll supply store next to the future bathhouse in Diagon Alley and accepting custom orders was not out of the question.

Unfortunately, Paul once again rejected Belvina's grand business plan, believing that the Muggle Studies professor was beyond redemption.

On Christmas Day, Belvina reluctantly got out of bed late in the afternoon, and despite being an adult, there were still gifts on the corner of her bed.

The most eye-catching gift came from Bassheda, who gave her a dress and a set of matching jewelry.

The two seemed to be on the same wavelength; Belvina had also given her an outfit, but Belvina's gift couldn't be worn outside unless Bassheda wanted to be Superman. Because the outfit was very sexy lingerie…

Paul also sent a gift: a doll the size of a palm, designed to look exactly like Belvina; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a scaled-down version.

Belvina, lying on the bed, felt very fortunate that she had also prepared a gift for Paul: a well-organized alchemy journal.

The last package on the corner of the bed was from Kreacher; it would likely contain a large amount of snacks and treats. It wasn't exactly a Christmas gift, but rather a monthly token of Kreacher's care and concern.

Belvina rolled over and lay on her back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

She only sat up abruptly when she felt sleepy again, picked up the dress that Basilda had given her, and walked toward the dressing mirror. A thin strip of parchment fell out from the pile of gifts.

Belvina stood barefoot on the soft carpet, holding up her dress to measure its size.

This is a white long dress adorned with pink flowers. It fits perfectly, but it's not suitable for this season. I'll have to wait until the weather is better before I can wear it.

After tidying up and putting the dress away, Belvina picked up the thin note that had fallen to the ground. The words on it were long and thin, and slightly slanted; it was Dumbledore's handwriting.

The two had corresponded about the Muggle Studies class during the summer, so Belvina recognized the principal's handwriting.

The note read: 3 PM, abandoned classroom on the fifth floor.

I already woke up late, and after spacing out for a while, there wasn't much time left until 3 p.m. on the note.

Belvina quickly started washing up, hurriedly changed her clothes, wearing a turtleneck cashmere sweater, trousers, and a long trench coat, looking simple and neat.

After doing all that, she quickly ate a piece of cake and hurriedly left the lounge.

Fortunately, Belvina's lounge was on the fifth floor, and she quickly made her way to the long-abandoned classroom.

The classroom door was ajar. Belvina knocked, but no one answered, so she pushed the door open and went inside.

Many tables and chairs were piled up against the wall, and there was an overturned trash can on the ground. Inside the trash can was a very impressive mirror that reached the ceiling. It had a gorgeous gold frame and was supported by two claw-shaped feet.

Dumbledore stood in front of the mirror, ignoring Belvina's knocking and her deliberately heavier footsteps.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I'm late," Belvina said. Regardless of whether Dumbledore was her superior, it was impolite to keep an old man waiting.

"No, I'm too early." Dumbledore then turned around. "You seem to really like the way Muggles dress."

Belvina walked toward Dumbledore and the mirror, saying, "I do prefer the Muggle style to wizard robes and cloaks; it's simple and convenient."

At this moment, Belvina noticed a line of letters engraved on the top of the mirror: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohs i (You are the one who thirsts deep within my heart, but you are not the one who shows me).

Clearly, the mirror in front of Dumbledore was a magic mirror. If he had called Belvina over just for an ordinary mirror, Belvina would have suspected that it wasn't Christmas but April Fools' Day.

"You noticed those letters too. I'm not showing you your face, but your desires," Dumbledore said. "This is my final trap, the Mirror of Erised."

Belvina stepped forward to stand beside Dumbledore, looked at the mirror, and said, "Do I need to recite any spell on it?"

The answer is, of course, no, because Belvina has discovered the magic of the Mirror of Eris. She sees herself in the mirror, but it is not herself.

The person in the magic mirror looked exactly like Belvina, but the clothes she was wearing were completely different from Belvina's; the person in the mirror was wearing the white dress she had just received.

"What did you see?"

"I saw myself," Belvina chuckled. "Probably because I just said to myself, 'Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?'"

"I thought you'd see yourself as a minister, or a headmaster," Dumbledore joked, "or a wardrobe full of beautiful clothes?"

Belvina didn't reply, and the image reflected in the magic mirror changed—Bassheda appeared, wearing the gift Belvina had given her!

Holy crap, Merlin luncheon meat!

This must not be revealed to Dumbledore under any circumstances, otherwise Belvina will have to consider moving to another country.

"I'm not very interested in the ministerial position; it's too dangerous." Belvina continued rambling, refusing to mention that she saw Basilda in the mirror—it was too embarrassing, too mortifying.

She continued, "Do you remember Maximilian Claude, who died mysteriously during his term, and Venusia Quirkley, who also died in an accident, and Nobby Richie, a Muggle-born man, who had to step down due to a mysterious illness?"

"Why not say Faris Spavian?" Dumbledore said with a smile. "He served as minister for nearly forty years, the longest-serving one, and he was 147 years old when he left office."

Why don't you mention that Spavan was already 109 years old when he became Minister of Magic?

Incidentally, the Act on Reasonable Restraint of Underage Wizards was passed by Minister Spaven in 1875, and he was also the one who saved the Leaky Cauldron at the end of the 19th century.

"Then you must remember that Minister Spaven was almost kicked to death by a centaur, and he also received death threats from radicals for his reforms to Quidditch."

Belvina knew all the bizarre stories of the past Ministers of Magic by heart, and it was through this knowledge that she was able to get through one boring and tedious class after another in the history of magic.

Professor Binns's classes were full of dry, uninforming material; they were so dry I couldn't swallow a word of it.

"Ah, people always have to pay the price for their actions," Dumbledore said. "Sparvin is the best example; the centaur's assassination attempt was because he was disrespectful first. Of course, such behavior is not to be encouraged."

The centaur's assassination attempt on the Minister of Magic was entirely due to a joke Spawn told about centaurs. The proud centaur felt insulted and delivered a flying kick to him.

Dumbledore continued, "If the Minister of Magic is too dangerous, how about the Headmaster of Hogwarts? There's nothing more gratifying than seeing the students safely back at school."

Belvina looked up at Dumbledore beside her with suspicion. Had the old man taken the wrong medicine today, or had he forgotten to take his medicine? Why was he suddenly talking about the future?

"Don't you think we've gone too far off topic? Back in the Ministry of Magic, I was just a minor head of the Public Press Office, and at the university, I was merely a professor of an elective course. Minister or Headmaster, what chance did I have?"

"You always seem to underestimate yourself; you are one of the most powerful witches in this land."

Dumbledore looked at the Mirror of Erised again, watching the people in the mirror leave him one by one, and he breathed a long sigh of relief as if he had taken off his armor.

"You flatter me," Belvina said softly, ignoring Dumbledore's sudden relaxation. "I'm just a nobody, and that's why I've been thrown into Hogwarts."

Nothing lasts forever; someone will eventually replace Belvina and become Cornelius Fudge's confidante. Then Belvina's power will diminish; she'll just be a witch after all.

Not quite right, perhaps... a powerful witch?

"Hogwarts is good, Belvina. It's quiet enough, and there's plenty of time to clear your mind," Dumbledore said. "Sometimes, a proper rest is necessary to go further."

As Dumbledore spoke, he turned and left, leaving Belvina alone to face the terrifying Mirror of Erised.

What exactly does the old man mean by saying all this nonsense?

Belvina felt a headache coming on and desperately needed food to recharge.