Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 506 Inauguration Ceremony (4000-word long chapter)
The fiery month, the end of June.

Having just weathered one upheaval and catastrophe after another, the Ministry of Magic, like the June weather, radiates a vibrant life force.

Today marks the first day since the official establishment of the Magical League of Great Britain.

The first General Secretary of the British Magic Federation will also be sworn in today.

Soon, in less than a few hours, Connelly Fudge, this nice guy, will seize the highest power in the world of British wizards.

It was 8:15 a.m. on June 28, 1996, three hours and forty-five minutes before Connelly Fudge's inauguration ceremony was to begin.

But now the Ministry of Magic's main hall has been renovated and is filled with colorful flowers.

These flowers weren't arranged neatly; rather, they appeared everywhere in the Ministry of Magic's main hall as if they had grown wildly—

Some grow from the corners where the ground meets the wall, some grow on perfectly vertical and smooth glass, and some grow upside down, seemingly defying gravity or the natural growth patterns of plants. They generally grow downwards from the ceiling or the bottom of a second-floor platform.

These flowers seemed to be enchanted, emitting an extremely rich fragrance. They swayed in the Ministry of Magic, where there should be no wind, as if they were alive or possessed their own vibrant consciousness, welcoming every visitor who emerged from the green flames of FiloNet.

As Harry emerged from the Floo Network of the Ministry of Magic with Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shackleberry, and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, he was immediately choked by the rich floral scent in the Ministry's Great Hall and sneezed three times.

Harry rubbed his nose in exasperation; he absolutely hated the strong floral scent here.

He knew that Sirius, who had turned into a big black dog, felt the same way, because ever since they entered the Ministry of Magic's hall, Sirius had been anxiously wagging his tail and lying in a corner, very human-like, covering his nose with his two front paws.

To avoid attracting attention, all members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived in shifts.

The first to arrive were Shackle Kingsley, Alastor Moody, and Sirius Black, who had turned into a big black dog. It seemed quite reasonable for an Auror who had been suspended and a retired former Auror leader to appear together.

Then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and the rest of the Weasley family, emerged one by one from the Floo Network. Everyone knew that Harry was very close to the Weasley family, and it would be strange if they didn't appear together during the summer holidays.

Remus Lupin, disguised as a werewolf wizard, mingled with a group of wizards or other strange magical creatures coming from Knockturn Alley and arrived at the Ministry of Magic together—

Remslupin could also gather intelligence while he was at it.

This is easy—

Thanks to Gilderoy Lockhart's earlier book, "Harry Potter and the Godfather Who Escaped," Remus Lupin is a well-known figure among werewolf wizards and Knockturn Alley wizards.

Especially considering that Lupin was one of the few werewolf wizards who had received a proper Hogwarts education.

As soon as Lupin emerged from the green flames, he joined the group of werewolf wizards in Knockturn Alley, chatting casually. He didn't greet the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, only nodding slightly when he saw Harry, which he considered a greeting, pretending not to know him.

Having been warned beforehand, Harry didn't greet Lupin first. Instead, he, Ron, and Hermione wandered around like three curious children, looking here and there.

This is the condition Harry agreed to last night.

The other members of the Order of the Phoenix can bring Harry and his friends to Cornelius Fudge's inauguration ceremony, but on the condition that Harry pretends not to know or be familiar with the others once he enters the venue, and that he does not interfere with the actions of the other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Although Harry found this somewhat baffling, he agreed.

“Look, my God!” Ron exclaimed, pointing to the four long dining tables in front of them. “They’ve actually prepared food!”

Harry and Hermione looked in the direction Ron was pointing—

Sure enough, right in front of them, the security checkpoint that used to lead into the Ministry of Magic had been replaced with an archway made of flowers. From the archway, four long and wide dining tables extended outwards, laden with a dazzling array of food.

"It's delicious!" Ron quickened his pace, picked up a piece of cake and put it in his mouth, then picked up a small piece of foie gras skewered on a golden-brown bread. "This is delicious too!"

"Delicious?" Hermione looked at Ron in disbelief. "You just drank two big bowls of milk porridge for breakfast, and Mrs. Weasley even made you a beef sandwich! How could you eat that?"

"Try it," Ron shrugged, picked up the plate of foie gras bread, and placed it in front of Harry and Hermione, saying indistinctly, "It's really delicious."

Hermione rolled her eyes, while Harry shook his head to indicate that he had no appetite.

Ron had no choice but to put the plate back on the table. After putting it back, he picked up two pieces of foie gras cake and followed Harry and Ron, eating as he walked.

“Tierra should be ahead,” Hermione said. “She shouldn’t be too far from Cornelius Fudge. To be precise, Cornelius Fudge probably wouldn’t dare stray too far from Tierra right now.”

Harry nodded in agreement with Hermione, then pulled a gift wrapped in colored paper from the seamless extension pouch hanging at his waist.

“Today is Tierra’s birthday,” Harry said. “I hope he likes our gifts.”

“Hmm.” Hermione also took out a gift from her own seamless extension bag. “His birthday always happened to coincide with summer vacation. Hmm. It happened again this time, but luckily we’re both attending Cornelius Fudge’s inauguration ceremony today.”

Ron wiped the oil off his hands and pulled a gift from the invisible extension pouch at his waist—

However, the seamless extension pouch around Ron's waist looked much bigger and uglier than Harry's and Hermione's.

Normally, the Seamless Extension Charm is learned in the second semester of sixth grade. Only then will underage students be able to make their own Seamless Extension Bags or transform the inside of a suitcase into a mobile animal world.

However, after summer vacation started, Sirius Black saw that Harry was really bored, so he taught Harry and Ron how to make a seamless extension bag in advance.

Hermione had already mastered the basics after attending Tierra's Dumbledore's Army tutoring class last semester, but she had been busy preparing for the OWLs exam and guarding against Umbridge, so she hadn't had the time or the mood to make one.

She was furious when she learned that Harry and Ron had broken the rules by using magic during the summer holidays.

Even after Sirius explained that the magical traces could only detect magical activity within a 500-mile radius of an underage wizard, and that the traces were almost ineffective if other adult wizards were nearby, Hermione still couldn't calm her anger.

Her anger subsided a little after she spent a few days at number twelve Grimmauld Place and, not to be outdone, created a seamless extension bag herself.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked towards the inauguration ceremony stage, observing the halls of the Ministry of Magic as they went—

Completely different from their previous visits, when the obsidian and dark gold decorations were understated and reserved, the Ministry of Magic's main hall today was predominantly bright red with gold accents, and adorned with layers of vibrant, dazzling, bright red curtains.

The enormous curtain was skillfully embroidered with countless bizarre and distorted characters and pictures that occupied most of the curtain with golden silk thread.

These paintings are also drawn with gold thread, and each one is different.

On the outermost layer, closest to the Floo Network, a massive curtain depicts a group of house-elves. However, unlike real house-elves, these elves are neatly dressed in wizard robes, holding wizard wands. Apart from their large, round eyes and pointed noses, they resemble miniature wizards. The house-elves on the curtain converse with each other and occasionally look around with curious eyes. But whenever someone looks at the curtain, the house-elves outlined in gold thread on the red curtain quickly look away, then smile politely and humbly. Some even remove their wizard hats and bow gently—a bow completely different from the way house-elves bow as slaves. The house-elves on the curtain are polite, restrained, and proud, expressing their respect as independent individuals to the wizards outside the picture.

Hermione's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the curtain, and her steps gradually slowed.

“That’s wonderful,” Hermione said softly, a hint of joy in her voice that she herself didn’t realize. “This is how house-elves should be. They’re no different from us after all—”

“Nothing is different!” a sharp, untimely voice interrupted Hermione.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked in the direction of the sound—

A tall, thin boy with light blond hair and a receding hairline stood behind them, staring at them with anger and disgust.

“As expected, Mudbloods, like house-elves, are both races destined to be slaves,” the boy said.

“Draco Malfoy,” Hermione said, not angry, but in a tone so calm it was almost indifferent, “I really hope to see you at school next semester.”

After saying that, Hermione looked at Draco Malfoy with a pitying gaze.

Draco, his face flushed red, glared fiercely at Hermione. "Don't get too cocky, Mudblood! I'll make you pay!"

After saying that, Draco Malfoy turned around angrily and left immediately.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged puzzled glances, seemingly unable to figure out what Malfoy was up to.

They shrugged, puzzled, and continued to move closer to the podium where Connery Fudge was about to deliver his inaugural address.

I saw a second, enormous curtain.

The curtain depicts a group of robust centaurs galloping across a vast wilderness.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at the centaurs behind the curtain, the centaurs stopped running, raised their hands, waved enthusiastically at the three of them, and then continued running.

The next image shows a ferocious werewolf.

When Harry and his friends looked at the werewolf, the werewolf stopped its frenzied actions and gradually shrank, turning back into a normal human wizard.

The next curtain depicts a group of vampires—

They look like humans, but their pointed ears and long, thin fangs give them away.

Each vampire on the curtain holds a parasol, avoiding the sunlight described in the painting, and sits on the lawn and green space for a tea party.

Whenever someone looks at them, they will gently raise their cups of black tea or small pieces of cake in acknowledgment.

After seeing the curtain, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked around in unison, seemingly trying to see if any vampires were attending today's inauguration ceremony. However, their gazes were quickly lost in the bustling, chaotic crowd—

There are just too many people today.

The three continued walking forward.

The curtain in front was also decorated with giants, orcs, mermaids, and other magical creatures with near-human intelligence.

On a curtain in front of the stage, a group of wizards were depicted.

Men, women, old and young, stood amidst countless instruments, books, and magical items. Several people seemed to be engaged in a heated discussion, unmoved by the gazes of many on them, continuing their enthusiastic debate.

“Look, Tierra!” Harry said, pointing to the last curtain.

Hermione and Ron also looked over carefully—

They discovered that the young man behind the curtain was Tiera.

“And Dumbledore, Nicholas Flamel, Mrs. Wu Wu, Slytherin, and the other two wizards from that day,” Hermione added.

“Hmm,” Harry said, then glanced frequently toward the podium.

“Where’s Tyella?” Harry asked curiously. “I saw Cornelius Fudge, but where’s Tyella?”

"Harry!" Harry heard someone calling him at that moment.

Harry turned around—

I saw a kind-looking old man with a white beard—

That's Dumbledore.

There was also a kind-faced but stern lady—

That's Professor McGonagall.

Also present were Hagrid, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Trelawney, Mrs. Hodge, Mrs. Pince—basically all the Hogwarts professors except for the dormitory supervisor Fitch and Snape.

"Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise, "What brings you here?"

“We have to come and see Cornelius Fudge’s inauguration, don’t we?” Dumbledore said with a smile, then his voice suddenly lowered. “Actually, we all know whose inauguration it is.”

"So Tierra is coming back too?" Harry asked.

“Of course,” Dumbledore replied. “He arrived a while ago and is currently backstage making preparations. He’ll be there when the inauguration officially begins at 11:30. What, do you need to see him?”

“Oh no, no, there is,” Harry said. “It’s his birthday today, and we want to give him a present and wish him a happy birthday.”

“He will receive it,” Dumbledore said after a moment of silence, then sighed. “He will receive it.”

(End of this chapter)