Homecoming from Hogwarts

Luna quietly floated down from the bed, looked back at the mother and daughter sleeping on the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief.

They didn't know yet that they had just walked on the brink of life and death.

Luna brushed back the golden hair that was falling in front of her eyes and looked out the window. She saw the green grass on the mountain that had been cleansed by the rain swaying like water plants under the soft moonlight.

The sound of the whistling wind and the rustling of the grass leaves enveloped the top of the mountain, giving people a sense of ultimate tranquility.

Luna walked to the potted plant, took off her wand, and then changed into jeans and a T-shirt.

"Dad, Dad--"

In the studio on the second floor, a strange printer spit out color pages one by one, with the smell of ink. The clicking sound of the mechanical parts meshing is noisy, but if you listen to it for a long time, it will make you drowsy.

Luna gently shook the shoulders of Mr. Lovegood, who was lying on the desk.

"What, Luna?"

Mr. Lovegood called out his daughter's name before he even opened his eyes, and when he noticed Luna's clothes, he slightly widened his silver eyes, which were the same as Luna's.

"Are you going out?"

"I'm going to see Professor Blaine."

Luna said.

"Is it?"

Mr. Lovegood looked at the sky outside.

"Can't you write to him, Luna? He'll probably be up by the time the owl brings the letter, so he'll be there in time to see it."

Luna said nothing, but just blinked at her father.

"Oh, urgent matter."

Mr. Lovegood understood it immediately without even asking what it was.

With Luna's help, he put his hands on the table and tried to stand up. He staggered a few steps in front of the desk, scratching the white hair that piled up like weeds on his head.

"Amosta Blaine, such a busy man. Let me think about it. Maybe I can only try my luck at the Ministry of Magic. OK, I'll go change my clothes."

"I'll go by myself, Dad—"

Luna shook her head.

"I need you to watch Egwene and Bona."

"Yes--"

Mr. Lovegood grunted. His eyes became brighter as he became more conscious.
"Then we can use the Floo cafe, but our fireplace can't be directly connected. Oh, let's try our luck and bet that my acquaintance in the Transportation Department is on duty tonight-"

The father and daughter went downstairs, and Mr. Lovegood threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fireplace and then stuck his head in it.

Luna looked at the yard through the kitchen window in a trance.

"It's done--"

After a moment, Mr. Lovegood withdrew his head.

"Eric said that you can use the fireplace to get to the Ministry of Magic, but it's best to come back before dawn. He said that it's not as easy to use the back door as before. After the news of the establishment of the Supervisory Department spread, everyone has begun to pay attention to the department's code of conduct.

Oh, by the way, I checked for you, Brian is currently chatting with the goblin in the office."

"Thank you, Dad--"

Luna raised her head and said to Mr. Lovegood who was dozing off,
"You can go back to bed and rest, Dad. I will help you keep an eye on the printer when I come back. Oh, and before you go to bed, you'd better cast some warning magic at the door to prevent a Crumple-Horned Snorkle from smelling the horn you collected and breaking into the Ministry of Magic!"

After saying that, Luna ignored her surprised father and stepped into the warm fire.

Amos Tower's office at the Ministry of Magic mirrors the style of his office at Hogwarts.

It was so simple that the wrinkles on old Bana's face smoothed out a little after he walked into the office with the sign "British Wizarding Development Committee".

A plain desk piled with documents, a camp bed behind a curtain, a few high-backed soft chairs and a low-legged coffee table, and only a huge "square table" covered with black cloth in the middle of the office. The whole room looked like a warehouse that had just been cleaned.

"No one's going to say anything about you adding a few more pieces of furniture to your office, Mr. Blaine—"

After being shocked, Old Bana shook his head and smiled bitterly.
“You don’t have to act like that.”

"It's hard to say, Bana--"

Amostas, who had been working non-stop for many days and nights, did not look tired at all, but the occasional gleam in his eyes was even more intimidating.

He led Bana to the 'reception area', then turned to the fireplace to make tea, smiling.

"The Daily Prophet published an article the day before yesterday, criticizing some of my recent actions, including my confiscation of the coffers of those Death Eaters.
And leading the Ministry of Magic to reach an agreement with you to jointly develop and build on the site of Diagon Alley and impose punitive fines on some closed workshops are all ways to make money for myself, so I'd better behave in a clean manner in front of people."

"You could just tell them to shut up, couldn't you?"

Old Bana took the teacup from Amosta and leaned forward.
"Even the Ministry of Magic, led by Fudge, has the power to order the Daily Prophet to shut up."

"I have to get people talking, Barna"

Amosta shook his head and laughed.

"Minister Bones' criticism of Voldemort's demagoguery in many public occasions was not actually intended to restore the glory of pure-blood wizards or to allow wizards to hold their heads high in front of Muggles, but was simply to realize his lie of personal dictatorship.
Well, at this time, if it were to come out that the Ministry of Magic was suppressing public opinion, it would be like slapping itself in the face."

Old Bana pursed his lips, looking undeniable.

"So--"

Amosta waved his wand and produced several trays of refreshments on the coffee table.

After the two exchanged views on the tea Amosstar served to his guests and the craftsmanship of the house-elves serving the Ministry of Magic, Amosstar leaned back in his chair.

Smiling at old Bana, who seemed determined to test his patience, Amosta said,
"How about coming in, Bana? ​​I mean, I think your relocation plan shouldn't encounter too much resistance, right?"

"You're asking a question that you already know the answer to, Mr. Blaine—"

As Amosta expected, the old goblin immediately began his performance.

It sighs and groans,

"We issued a brief statement that we were planning to transfer some of our operations from Paris to London, which caused a strong backlash from the French Ministry of Magic. They seemed to have guessed that we were planning to move our headquarters to London as well.

You know, the French Ministry of Magic is unlikely to approve of this, we mean a lot of tax revenue and jobs to them there, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent strikers to block our door and prevent us from leaving."

"You can protest to the International Confederation of Wizards against the infringement of the French Ministry of Magic. I believe that Hope will make a fair judgment—"

Amosta smiled and said, like a ball of soft cotton, he silently dissolved old Bana's first punch.

"International Confederation of Wizards"

Old Bana's dark green face darkened, and he shook his head.
"This is a very serious topic for all parties. Mr. Brian, you know that there are many business exchanges between Britain and France. If the migration of goblins is not handled properly, it is very likely to affect the original cooperation between you and further aggravate the current high unemployment rate in the British wizarding world!"

Amosta raised his teacup towards Bana as an apology for the joke.

"I have always said—"

Amosta refilled their teacups with water, his smile faded slightly.

"It takes patience to do things, Barna.
The French people's concerns and reactions are reasonable. I also do not advocate further severing the friendly cooperation between the official and unofficial wizarding communities of Britain and France under the current severe situation in the European wizarding community. Therefore, it is indeed necessary to give the French Ministry of Magic an explanation that can appease their anxiety. "

"Forgive my lack of wisdom, Mr. Blaine—"

Old Bana frowned.
"We have already said that we will only transfer part of the business"

"Of course that won't fool the French, old Barna..."

Amosta pointed to the square table in the middle of his office while holding a cup of tea.
"Gringotts has reached a cooperation with the British Ministry of Magic and provided a huge amount of financial support for the reconstruction of Diagon Alley. Isn't it reasonable to build a Gringotts branch with better specifications and more comprehensive functions to manage this huge investment?"

(End of this chapter)