A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 608 The fears have come true.

"Tell me, should I call the police?"

In a luxurious apartment in Manchester, warm steam, carrying the fresh scents of shower gel and shampoo, wafted from the open bathroom door.

Eleanor emerged barefoot, wearing only a large white towel, her long, wet hair cascading over her smooth shoulders, still dripping with tiny water droplets.

She habitually tossed her hair, splashing water droplets onto the carpeted floor.

In the living room, Charles sat leisurely on a comfortable sofa, gazing with interest at the city outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and sipping a bottle of chilled soda, as if he were the master of the house.

"The scenery here is really nice."

Charles simply looked up and gave Eleanor a familiar smile, showing no intention of getting up.

Eleanor's seemingly ordinary apartment was equipped with a powerful and sophisticated defensive magic array, but these were useless to him.

Because Eleanor granted him the highest authority, he had no obstacles along the way.

Eleanor wasn't really surprised or annoyed by his uninvited arrival. She simply raised an eyebrow slightly and then, quite naturally, as if she were the only one at home, walked barefoot to the refrigerator and took out a can of ice-cold beer.

There was an empty spot next to a pile of beer cans, where a bottle of soda had just been sitting.

She walked to the sofa, casually sat down next to Charles, pulled the tab, making a crisp "sizzle" sound, took a sip, and then turned to Charles, asking curiously, "What brings you here today?"

Charles cut to the chase, saying, "The Ministry of Magic has just changed ministers; Scrimgeour has taken over."

"I think, with your well-informed channels, there might be some rumors here that even the Daily Prophet hasn't had time to print yet."

He needs to understand the specific moves of this new minister, known for his tough stance, as it directly relates to his and many others' next steps and long-established business plans.

Eleanor didn't answer immediately. Instead, she tilted her head back and gulped down a large mouthful of ice-cold beer. Her throat bobbed slightly before she slowly put down the can, wiped the foam from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and said slowly and deliberately, "Rumors? Hmm... The catering budgets for each department have been drastically cut, reduced to a pitiful quarter. I'm afraid even afternoon tea snacks will be reduced to hard, unidentifiable biscuits."

Charles's face darkened almost instantly, his brows furrowing into a knot. This was one of the news he least wanted to hear.

The significant cuts to the catering budget are not merely a reduction in afternoon tea benefits; they send a very clear signal that the Ministry of Magic is beginning to tighten spending across the board, and its overall work is rapidly shifting towards addressing the threat of Voldemort.

This means that Dancing Grass Restaurant will inevitably be hit hard, and those entertainment and banquet orders that rely on government funds will likely decrease sharply.

“However,” Eleanor keenly caught the change in his expression, and then changed the subject, like a cunning fox observing its prey’s reaction, “there’s another point: the new minister plans to significantly increase investment in the security field in a relatively short period of time, especially the budget for equipment upgrades in the Auror Office.”

Upon hearing this, Charles's previously dim eyes lit up slightly, gleaming with the light of gold coins.

Currently, Falbotton Castle is the only place in the British wizarding community that offers security services, and it has a good reputation. The money that Dancing Grass Restaurant lost can be earned many times over from this newly baked, government-funded giant pie.

"That sounds like good news," he said, leaning back on the sofa and starting to think things through, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the side. "Could we find out more specific directions of their needs?"

"For example, what types of equipment do they prioritize purchasing?" "What is their minimum budget?"

In dealing with the government's massive procurement departments, in addition to strong personal connections, accurate business intelligence is also key to success.

He needed to know how full the Ministry of Magic's coffers were for this security upgrade, and what they most wanted to buy.

“Not yet,” Eleanor shrugged, the edge of her towel slipping slightly as she moved, then casually and symbolically pulled it up again. “There’s a lot of personnel turnover in the department right now. People who are about to be transferred are unwilling to make decisions anymore, and people who have just been transferred are unsure and dare not make decisions.”

"The detailed procurement list and budget details are still being debated among various departments, and it's estimated that it won't be finalized for at least a month."

Charles couldn't help but feel a familiar sense of helplessness at the Ministry of Magic's well-known inefficiency, and could only sigh softly.

Eleanor took another sip of beer, then seemed to remember something. Her tone suddenly became playful, and her eyes lit up with interest. She leaned over and said, "But there's someone and something I think you'll definitely be interested in."

"Oh?" Charles's curiosity was immediately piqued, and he involuntarily leaned closer. "Tell me about it."

“Dolores Umbridge.” Eleanor uttered the name slowly and clearly, a name imbued with some strange power.

Eleanor stared intently at Charles's face and indeed observed that his expression stiffened for an extremely brief moment upon hearing the name, his muscles twitching as if out of control.

“Our beloved current Second Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic,” Eleanor said dramatically, “guess what this pink lady is planning to do next?”

A strong sense of foreboding instantly rose in Charles's heart, and he blurted out, with a hint of bitterness, "Could she be eyeing the position of Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"

Eleanor nodded solemnly, her expression confirming his guess.

Charles thought to himself, "Fate can be so ironic sometimes."

Different people, for completely different purposes, will be drawn together by invisible threads to the same place, but their underlying motives and the details that are about to unfold will likely be quite different.

Umbridge's interest in Hogwarts at this moment is not merely driven by a passion for education; it is highly likely that her keen political sense has detected a subtle shift in the political climate, and she may even have reached some kind of secret deal with the new Minister Scrimgeour.

For example, Scringer, the new minister known for his pragmatism and toughness, will inevitably need to place his most trusted confidants in key positions such as senior deputy ministers after taking office.

However, although the former Senior Deputy Minister Umrich was not a good person, he had made contributions and worked hard, and it was not appropriate to dismiss him directly unless he committed a major offense.

Therefore, transferring her away from the center of power in a dignified manner and placing her in a position of high prestige but far from the core of decision-making is undoubtedly the best and least costly option that both parties can accept.

Looking at the entire British wizarding world, the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was practically tailor-made for her—it was respectable enough, unlike the cold, unpopular office of the centaur liaison office, which would have been seen as a clear exile, and it was vacant for years due to that famous curse. There were no entrenched internal forces hindering her, making it the least resistant to operation.

As for the legendary curse, Charles felt that Umbridge probably didn't care; this position was likely just a stepping stone for her to gild her ego and move on to another place.

(End of this chapter)