Bad News Comes in Succession

In August, the mornings in London are already a bit chilly.

Belvina Black stood in Grimmauld Place, genuinely glad she had made the wise decision to leave home. She had worn an extra short jacket.

Beneath the dark short jacket was a matching square-neck knit top, its partially concealed collarbone alluring and mysterious, highlighting her graceful curves. She paired it with blue skinny jeans and black knee-high boots, making her already shapely and long legs appear even more upright than she was as a person.

This outfit is closer to the image of a Muggle beauty in later times, and doesn't look like a witch who should be burned at the stake at all.

Belvina looked around to make sure no Muggles would notice her, then Apparated away from the somewhat dilapidated Grimmauld Place.

After a brief period of darkness and a suffocating feeling, Belvina appeared in the deep halls of the Ministry of Magic, her feet on gleaming dark wooden floors and her head on a ceiling inlaid with glittering gold symbols. The chaotic footsteps of hundreds of wizards and witches blended into a noisy and unpleasant melody in her ears.

Every few seconds, with a soft "poof," a wizard would suddenly emerge from one of the fireplaces on the left. On the right, several people lined up in front of each fireplace, waiting to leave. Others, like Belvina, chose to Apparate to reach the Ministry of Magic.

Regardless of their mode of transportation, everyone wore a uniformly lifeless expression, even Belvina was no exception.

It seems that whether in a wizarding society or a Muggle society, getting up early for work is an extremely painful thing.

Belvina joined the flow of wizards and sorceresses, heading towards the golden door at the end of the hall, where she would take the elevator to the floor where the press office was located.

But before that, there was one more thing Belvina needed to do.

"Good morning, Miss Black." "Miss Black, it's a pleasure to see you." "Miss Black, you're like a vanishing spell; seeing you makes all the unpleasantness of Monday disappear."

Belvina waved politely, smiled and nodded, responding to everyone who greeted her without the slightest hint of perfunctoriness.

"Good morning, Belvina." "Want a coffee together? We can chat about those boring, silent people." "Merlin's beard! You look quite special today."

"Hey, wanna go see Quidditch this weekend? I happen to have a few Wimbledon Hornets tickets. Ludo Bagman, I absolutely adore him, he always seems to have an endless supply of tickets to give away!"

When she meets someone she knows well, Belvina will politely exchange a few pleasantries, and sometimes she will even stop to chat for a while.

This was a scene the reporters could hardly imagine. Belvina was a damned slut in their eyes, yet she was extremely popular within the Ministry of Magic. If there were an internal vote, she would definitely be the center of attention.

Actually, when Belvina first joined the Ministry of Magic, she wasn't the universally loved person she is now. Back then, she suffered a lot of scorn and hardship.

At that time, the purge of the Death Eaters and their followers had only just ended, and Belvina, with her impeccable background, stood out conspicuously, often being gossiped about behind her back.

Of course, the gossipy witches among these wizards only dared to whisper behind people's backs and secretly trip them up; they didn't have the guts to go up to the main figures directly.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Black family suffered heavy losses due to the Black Lord's downfall, they could still protect their last remaining offspring in the fields.

Later, after spending some time together, everyone discovered that Belvina was not as arrogant as the other Blakes; she was approachable and kind.

Moreover, Belvina is highly capable and perceptive; she knows when to curl up like a squid on a hot plate and when to lie down in a way that makes you want to start the meal.

Even if such a person is a relative or a family member of a Death Eater, it's hard not to feel close to them.

Now, Belvina has connections in every department of the Ministry of Magic, from promotions and demotions to weddings and funerals; if she wants to, there's nothing she can't find out.

However, the true quality of these hard-earned connections remains unknown, and before they are put to the test, Belvina is unsure which people are reliable.

Belvina, her face almost frozen from smiling, was pushed and shoved by the crowd as she followed everyone through the golden door into a smaller hall.

With a series of clanging and clattering sounds, an elevator descended. The golden gate slid open gently, and Belvina was once again pushed and shoved into the elevator by the crowd, almost pressed against the back wall.

Belvina secretly decided that she should make a very important suggestion to the Minister—to provide separate elevators for senior officials of the Ministry of Magic, so as to prevent female officials from being crushed to death by their strong colleagues!

Fortunately, that terrible thing didn't happen. A tall, strong figure stood in front of Belvina, like a tank, taking all the damage for her.

"Thanks, John," Belvina continued dramatically. "I can't imagine what Scrimgeour would do without you in the Auror office!"

John Dexter, a man of few words, scratched his short, stiff, gray hair and didn't reply.

As everyone knows, the John family is known for producing outstanding individuals, and Dexter has certainly lived up to John's reputation. A renowned academic prodigy at Hogwarts, Dexter consistently achieved excellent NEWTs grades and, after joining the Ministry of Magic, served in the Auror office, where he distinguished himself.

In Belvina's view, John Dexter's life was nothing short of audacious, as audacious as eating two skewers of large kidneys with some kind of medicinal wine, and also showing off a bowl of super-nutritious turtle soup.

It's unclear whether Belvina will still value Delilah so much after learning about his future invincible legends.

Before the elevator became even more crowded, the gate slammed shut, the car slowly rose, and a cold, female voice announced the arrival of passengers.

"The seventh floor, the Department of Magical Sports, which includes the headquarters of the British and Irish Quidditch League, the official Gobstone Club, and the Office of the Patent for Comical Products."

After a while, the elevator stopped in a messy corridor, with all sorts of Quidditch posters everywhere.

Several wizards struggled to squeeze out, and several others struggled to squeeze in, along with a few light purple paper airplanes bearing the "Ministry of Magic" stamp.

The golden gate slammed shut again, and the elevator clattered upwards once more.

The sixth floor, the Magic Transportation Bureau;

The fifth floor, the International Magic Cooperation Division;

The fourth level, the Department of Magical Creatures Control;

The third level is the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters.

Once they reached this floor, almost everyone had left, and the elevator, which had been crowded just moments before, was now empty except for Belvina and Delilah.

"John, how's the Gringotts thing going? Any progress?" Belvina asked. "If it weren't for that bastard, we could have had a relaxing summer."

Delizi, who was standing in front, shook his head and said, "There's been no progress so far."

"The Gringotts goblins aren't cooperating?" Belvina continued to ask, though she seemed to have no right to say such things. Her attitude towards reporters at the press conference was even worse than the Gringotts goblins' attitude towards wizards.

"Quite the opposite." Dexter's voice was as deep and resonant as his body, giving people a very solid sense of security. "The Gringotts goblins were very cooperative this time, and even took us to see the underground vault that had been raided."

Click.

Splash!

"The second level is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It includes the Department of Prohibition of Magical Abuse, the Auror Command, and the Wizengamor Administration."

John Derek, who had already stepped out of the elevator, suddenly turned back, raised his hand to block the golden gate, and said, "That guy broke into the underground vault, but he didn't take anything from it."

Delis paused, then lowered his voice and continued, "The things in the underground vault were taken before that guy even visited. But the fairy absolutely refuses to tell us what those things were."

With that, Delilah left without looking back, and his figure quickly disappeared down the corridor.

As expected of Harry Potter, the wizarding society has already made such a big fuss as soon as you returned.

Belvina thought to herself as she looked at the golden gate that had closed again.