A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 581 The Second Person to Know

In her Geneva apartment, Eleanor leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze sweeping across the workspace.

Her gaze finally settled on Charles, and she made no attempt to hide her anger, saying irritably, "You're really quite leisurely."

Charles didn't even look up, intently fiddling with a device in front of him made of a metal frame and wires, a prototype robot without a trace of magic.

The apartment was quiet, with only the occasional soft crackling of the electric screwdriver beside him.

Eleanor's gaze swept over the refrigerator next to her. She went over and opened it, only to find it filled with soft drinks. It was clear that Charles was having a great time here.

The whole world is speculating about his fate, the Ministry of Magic and various forces are in a state of chaos, and Fudge has sent out many people to inquire about him. He asks Fudge more times a day than he eats, but Fudge is living a vacation-like life here. This makes Eleanor's anger even more intense.

Charles carefully attached an exceptionally sharp, curved metal plate to the robot's left hand before looking up at her with a reassuring smile, saying, "The situation is special; I had no choice."

He paused, then added, "Besides, you're the second person to know I was hiding here. Isn't that enough trust?"

“Trust?” Eleanor snorted, stepped forward, and placed her hands heavily on Charles’s shoulders. Leaning forward slightly, she pressed down on him as if to nail him to the floor, and said through gritted teeth, “If you truly trusted me, you wouldn’t have made me worry for so long!”

Charles put down his tools, patted the back of her hand, said nothing more, and continued working.

Eleanor let out a long breath, trying to calm herself down after confirming that Charles was alright, but her tone was still cold: "It's all over the place. Many people firmly believe that the mysterious man rescued a fake made by a goblin, and the evidence is that you haven't shown up at Hogwarts."

“A fake Charles Smith wouldn’t dare to linger under Dumbledore’s nose.”

Charles skillfully secured the metal plate with screws, and the end of the robot's left arm now looked like it was fitted with a specially made scimitar.

He casually replied, "Why don't you check the goods yourself and see if it's the work of a fairy?"

Eleanor really had an urge to knock him to the ground and examine him closely, but now was not the time.

She observed the robot curiously; it seemed to be using a knife in its left hand to shave something held in its right. On the table next to it, besides a computer she recognized, there was a pile of soldering irons, circuit boards, and other incomprehensible devices. She shook her head and said, "I don't think counterfeiters would put their energy into researching Muggle robots."

"What kind of machine are you working on now? Last time it was that air fryer, what new kitchen appliance is it this time?"

She simply couldn't connect the metal frame in front of her with a kitchen.

Charles thought for a moment about how to translate, then said, "Have you ever eaten knife-cut noodles?"

"Knife-cut noodles?" Eleanor was stunned, searching her mind for this unfamiliar word, trying to connect it with the cold machine in front of her, but eventually gave up.

She sighed, her shoulders relaxing slightly, and said, "Well, you're probably the only wizard who would think of tinkering with something like this."

As a Muggle-born wizard, she found wizards somewhat eccentric, but there weren't many as eccentric as Charles.

With the installation complete, Charles got up, stretched his stiff neck, walked to the sofa in the living room, sat down, and took two gulps of ice-cold soda to perk himself up.

The two entered the mirror space.

"Has the message been sent?" Charles looked at Eleanor and got to the point.

Eleanor sat down next to him, nodded, and said, "Yes, the fairies are indeed trying to find out about the Malfoy negotiation team."

"They reacted immediately after receiving the intelligence."

When she received the mission from the fairy to spy on Malfoy's negotiating position, she immediately realized that it must be Charles's doing. Only Charles could give Malfoy such a crucial role, not Black.

She quickly discovered Percy's secret communication channel and successfully contacted Charles.

Upon learning this, Charles contacted her using his communication notebook and passed the information to the fairy.

“Also,” Eleanor lowered her voice, with the calmness characteristic of intelligence analysis, “I’ve heard some rumors.”

"Gringotts is borrowing money like crazy in the global goblin community. Apart from the Southeast Asian goblin forces that have explicitly refused, goblin investors in the Americas, Europe and Africa have expressed interest. The amounts are huge and more than enough to cover the compensation."

"Southeast Asia refused?" Charles's eyes sharpened instantly. He put down his soda and frowned slightly. "Interesting. They refused so decisively. They must have sensed something. It must be divination."

His fingers tapped unconsciously.

Eleanor immediately noticed the seriousness in his tone and asked, "Southeast Asia? What did you divine that would happen there?"

Charles's fortune-telling skills were somewhat well-known among his acquaintances, especially his prediction of the Majiagang oil field, which had already yielded results. Therefore, she felt that if Charles said that, something bad was bound to happen.

Charles remained silent for a long time, weighing the pros and cons, before finally saying after a full five minutes: "Two years from now, Southeast Asia's economy will face major problems, and the first domino to fall will be the Thai baht."

He didn't use any metaphors; he simply stated a fact that would happen in "memory."

Eleanor's breath hitched, and her eyes widened instantly.

Having grown up surrounded by politics and economics, she was all too aware of the terrifying energy and devastating chain reaction behind those words.

This is no joke; Charles never makes jokes like this.

"And then?" she asked almost instinctively, her voice a little strained.

Charles leaned back on the sofa, resuming his slightly lazy demeanor, and shrugged: "I don't know, East Asians all look pretty much the same to me."

Eleanor took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

“The value of this news is immeasurable.” She turned to Charles earnestly, “enough to shake up the financial landscape of the Muggle world.”

“Then tell the people who need to know.” Charles seemed indifferent, even somewhat avoiding the issue. “If a financial tsunami of this magnitude gets caught up in it, my small frame will be crushed instantly.”

Financial matters are too high-barrier for him to handle; he'd be better off tinkering with USB flash drives. The USB interface will be officially released in a few months, so now is the perfect time to start laying the groundwork and building patent barriers.

The Phoenix Internet Technology Company, now under the old man's name, is thriving thanks to a group of young people. Navigation websites, communication software, and blogs are becoming popular in universities and are rapidly spreading beyond the ivory tower.

This is a wonderful era, with vast opportunities to make a difference, and Charles has no intention of limiting himself to his small corner of Diagon Alley. Of course, if the capitalists behind Eleanor are willing to help him make money, he'd be happy to ride their coattails.

Eleanor stared at Charles, clearly not believing his story. Rumors circulated that he had close ties with Moscow, making it impossible for him to remain uninvolved.

She asked, "What are your plans?"

Charles smiled and steered the conversation back to the magical world, saying, "I received word that an American fairy wants to talk to me, and that Italian fairy seems interested in my doll. Could you help me find out more about them?"

Upon hearing that it concerned matters of the magical society, Eleanor stopped talking about finance, nodded, and said, "No problem. The International Department of Magical Cooperation should have relevant files and records. Although the timeliness may not be sufficient, the basic information is available."

"I can have people intensify their work over there and gather some recent intelligence."

Her answer was understated, yet it revealed her control over departmental resources.

Charles raised an eyebrow, keenly catching her subtext, and said with some surprise, "Oh? It seems you're even more secure in your position at the Centaur Liaison Office now, able to mobilize resources from the International Department of Magical Cooperation."

The Malaysian Liaison Office is a catch-all; it used to house officials and staff awaiting dismissal, and now it houses trade networks and intelligence organizations.

Eleanor's lips curled into a faint smile, which was taken as tacit agreement.

“I have to thank you for this.” She said, putting her hand on Charles’s shoulder. “Secretary Fudge originally intended for Crouch to take over the important intelligence coordination work, and I was only there to assist him as his deputy.”

"Now that such a big thing has happened at Gringotts, the Ministry of Magic sees a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach into Gringotts."

"This job is dangerous, full of unknown traps and possible violent conflicts. It requires ability and courage. Weasley has the courage but not the ability. A capable person doesn't have the courage."

Crouch used some condition to get Fudge to agree to let him do this almost suicidal job.

“He’s currently unavailable and has no reason to parachute into our office. You haven’t graduated yet, so I can probably stay as the deputy director for a while longer.”

Charles laughed and said, "Looks like we should celebrate your secure position. I, the director, could be replaced by you at any time."

Eleanor simply smiled slightly and didn't respond to the question.

She changed the subject, throwing out a more significant piece of information, and said seriously, "I also have some high-level information from within the Ministry of Magic. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

Charles's smile faded. He pondered for a few seconds, then looked directly into Eleanor's eyes and slowly asked, "Could it be that Fudge is planning to resign and let Rufus Scrimgeour take over as Minister for Magic?"

Eleanor's smile froze instantly, replaced by shock.

She moved Charles onto her lap, leaned back slightly, looked him straight in the eyes, and said in an incredulous tone, "How did you know?"

"This matter is still being discussed on a small scale at the highest level, and no more than five people know about it. I only found out about it by chance."

Charles laughed and said, "It's not hard to guess. Voldemort's public appearance shows that the conflict between him and the Ministry of Magic is irreconcilable."
A new war is inevitable.

“Fudge’s personality and methods are not suitable for leading this situation. Maintaining the current situation is already the limit. It would be asking too much of him to command the war.”

“Scringer is tough, decisive, and experienced, making him an ideal candidate for wartime minister.”

“Fudge himself should be aware of this. It’s more dignified for him to step down and give way to a more suitable person than to be forced out of office.”

"Hmm... Now I think I understand why Kloran is in such a hurry to borrow money from fairy patrons all over the world."

"Gringotts also sensed the winds of war and knew that the conflicts between the wizarding factions were irreconcilable. An opportunity would arise when both sides were severely weakened."

“This is no laughing matter!” Eleanor said seriously. “It will affect the Ministry of Magic’s future policy toward fairies.”

She didn't say it explicitly, but Charles could guess that this meeting was definitely to be reported to the Ministry of Magic.

Charles used the topic of Southeast Asia to steer the conversation away from there, and then took the opportunity to inquire about information within the Ministry of Magic.

His business is already deeply intertwined with the Ministry of Magic, so it's good to finalize the ministerial change sooner rather than later.

Fudge is alright as Minister of Peace, but he's been covering up the Death Eaters' escape, and even though Voldemort was seen last Christmas, there's still no concrete action.

So Charles felt that he probably couldn't continue as minister.

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Eleanor asked seriously, "Do you know anything about the fairies preparing to rebel again?"

She believes that Charles may have heard something while in custody that led him to this conclusion.

Charles replied seriously, “The fairies seem to have assembled an army, right under Gringotts, but I’m not entirely sure.”

Wizards who don't sleep during magic history class know that the prelude to a fairy rebellion is the formation of an army.

Eleanor pinched her brow, gave a wry smile, and said, "I need to stockpile some of the Water of Life and Death. Many people won't be able to sleep without drinking a couple of cups in the future."

Charles raised his hand and massaged her temples, saying, "You can release the news in several installments to avoid causing panic."

"I predict that the fairies will feign weakness in the near future to buy time."

Eleanor sighed and said, "Tell me whatever other information you have."

Charles shook his head and said, "No."

Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that he might reveal some terrible information.

“Let me see,” she began to unbutton Charles’s clothes, “if he has any injuries.”

(End of this chapter)