Hogwarts Asylum

Friday, April 9.

In astrology, Friday and the number 13 both represent bad luck. If two unfortunate dates overlap, it will be considered a very bad day, so everyone calls this day - Black Friday.

For some Londoners, this day is indeed not a good day, because today, there is news that Prime Minister Major is convening the cabinet to discuss whether to delink the pound from the German mark. News from Downing in Westminster The word spread from the mouth of the cleaner at the door of No. 10 Street.

Ordinary people may not realize what this news means, but those financial practitioners and political brokers in suits know all too well what the consequences will be if this bill is passed.

On the east side of St. Paul's Cathedral, this is a block composed of various bright and tall office buildings. There is another name here, called One Square Mile, because this block covers an area of ​​1 square mile, but Londoners , or in other words, Londoners who live and work here prefer to call it its official name - the Financial City.

In the southeast corner of the Financial City, in an office overlooking half of London standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, several people who looked like elites in their dress were anxiously waiting by the phone, waiting for an incoming call. Each of them grabbed a pen and paper. , ready to record the content of the phone call at any time. On the desk, there are a dozen open folders stacked together. From the headers on the files, it can be seen that this stack is all about a person named Michael O'Loughlin. This company entrusted more than a dozen people to handle business documents separately.

"Oh!"

The office door hit the wall, and a man in a white shirt who was so smart that his forehead was shining rushed in, and the door slammed shut again.

"How are you? Have you contacted our crazy Mr.?" A man smarter than the white shirt said first.

The panting white shirt directly handed over an email without saying a word, and walked straight to the water dispenser and poured water down his throat.

Sitting on the office chair, the man in the gray suit, who was the calmest and had the highest status, opened the envelope with trembling hands and unfolded the letter. After a while, he put the letter back on the table, leaned back, and slumped in the chair. superior.

After the letter was circulated among everyone, a series of comments echoed in the office.

"As expected of Mr. Crazy."

"This is big news that affects him for hundreds of millions of pounds. Is he really indifferent?"

"If I had dared to sell all my houses two years ago and spend millions to go crazy and leverage short the ruble, then I would probably, maybe, maybe, maybe, I would also be in this state."

"Are you sure this letter is really his handwriting?"

"At least there's nothing wrong with the handwriting."

"Smith, where did you get this letter?"

The white shirt lying on the sofa heard someone calling him and quickly replied: "It's the address that Mr. O'Loughlin left before, in front of the record store on Charing Cross Street. A lady gave it to me. She said , Mr. O'Loughlin is not convenient to see people recently."

"Could it be that he was arrested?"

"It's impossible. We checked before. He is a formal researcher at the Institute of Psychology at King's College. He has a very good reputation, has no bad habits, and has contacts with many high-ranking officials."

"Hasn't he resigned?"

"Is the point about his job? It's about his network!"

There was silence in the office.

After a long time, someone spoke again.

"Is anyone following?"

The man in the gray suit quickly stopped the discussion in this direction. He clapped his hands and said: "Okay, gentlemen, remember, this is not only the largest contract in our company's history, it is also a confidentiality agreement! You should know what the confidentiality agreement means. , If you want to spend the rest of your life in jail and then live on the streets, you can contact your clients now."

“Then can we call the bet ourselves?”

"Shut up, Brown, you have become more and more 'active' recently. Maybe we should discuss your treatment for the next quarter?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hunter." Brown lowered his head.

The office fell into silence again, and after a while, everyone started talking.

"As expected of Mr. Crazy."

……

The Ministry of Magic, for Fudge, today is not a smooth day either. The Liberal Party is again clamoring to release some people with less serious crimes from Azkaban. This is something they will initiate almost every once in a while. Fudge was already used to the suggestion, and it could only be regarded as a minor problem.

What makes Fudge most unhappy is a bill submitted by the Republican Party. The content of the bill is to revise the "Secrecy Act".

This is the most troublesome.

In the past, members of the Liberal Party often proposed repealing the Secrecy Act, but in the end they dropped the proposal because everyone knew that was impossible.

After all, the full name of the "Statue of Secrecy" is the "International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy". If you want to cancel this law, you must first convince representatives from the Ministry of Magic in various countries, and then you must also convince a group of wizards headed by Dumbledore who have gained power through prestige. .

This is difficult, because it is the instinct of those in high positions to be conservative, not to mention that everyone actually knows what liberal people are thinking.

Members of the Liberal Party often spread discussions among lower-level wizards about who the "Statutory of Secrecy" protects, whether the "Statutory of Secrecy" is the culprit that restricts the development of the magical world, etc., but the Ministry of Magic has never discussed this. Keep this matter in mind, because no matter what the low-level wizards think, as long as the "Secret Law" is still there, they have to abide by it.

But this time, the usually docile Republicans are taking the lead, and they are not demanding the abolition of the Secrecy Act, but rather a revision!

This makes Fudge very embarrassed. Emotionally speaking, Fudge actually doesn't mind. After all, there will be a lot of exchanges of interests during the reconstruction process. Fudge can definitely make a lot of money. But reason tells Fudge that this bill cannot be submitted to International Confederation of Wizards, because once the Statute of Secrecy begins to be formally revised during his term, he will become a disgrace to the Conservative Party.

The consequences of this can be imagined. Without the support of people from the largest political party in the wizarding world, Fudge will not be able to sit in the position of Minister of Magic for long, even if Dumbledore stands behind him, not to mention that Fudge recently contacted Dumbledore The frequency has decreased, and Dumbledore should have noticed Fudge's thoughts.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

The office door was pushed open a small crack, and Rufus stepped in. He looked around and shouted, "Minister Fudge——"

This was the signal that Fudge and his nephew agreed upon after reading the letter on Monday. Once Rufus came in, he would call "Minister Fudge" very formally, instead of simply "Minister" or "Uncle". Something like that means another anonymous letter is coming.