Hermione, join me as Minister of Magic!

"I'm sure you can do it well, Gilderoy," he said slowly. "You are a man of great ability, and you are very effective, as everyone can see."

"That's all thanks to your cultivation oo

Before Lockhart could finish speaking, Crouch stopped him by raising his hand.

"Let's stop talking about that now... Let me ask you, are you interested in becoming a director?" he asked.

Lockhart was shocked: "Why do you have such an idea? The Department of International Affairs and Cooperation needs your guidance, and apart from you, Britain may be hard to find again.

###

"I'm not talking about me," said Crouch grimly. "I'm talking about the Sports Management Division."

Lockhart closed his mouth immediately.

Seeing that he shut up, Crouch continued: "Ludo Bagman

—He is not a competent department head. You have been working in Hogsmeade for so long, but the Sports Department has done nothing. Do you think it is reasonable? "

"Maybe it's because Mr. Bagman is busy." Lockhart pretended.

Crouch sneered: "Of course he is busy. In the knockout round of the Quidditch World Cup, Wales lost to Uganda in an upset, and he lost a lot of money... So don't talk about the Triwizard Tournament, he even promoted Quidditch Even the World Cup is still owed to the Daily Prophet, and I even heard that he borrowed a large sum of money from the goblins."

Lockhart seemed to hear something: "You mean, he may have embezzled public funds?

"I didn't say anything." Crouch looked serious, "I looked like I would just reach out, to I" someone from another department to check the accounts? "

"No, of course not." Lockhart quickly denied.

But Crouch immediately changed his tone: "But I know that the funds approved for the Sports Department are not much, even less than ours, because I have participated in the formulation of the department's budget."

Having said that, he lowered his voice: Io, as I said just now, I know you have a good relationship with the goblins, can you help us find out how much money he borrowed from the goblins? "

He knew that Lockhart would agree, because he had just thrown the "Director" carrot in front of Lockhart, and he couldn't help but be tempted.

Sure enough, Lockhart immediately put on a very embarrassed look: "As a friend, I shouldn't inquire about other people's privacy...but this is a business..."

Crouch didn't pay attention to his posturing, or he didn't bother to get the dagger

-

"If it is true that due to some relationship, the sports department can't get the budget for the event, can you find a way to make up for it?" Crouch asked.

Now Lockhart couldn't continue to prevaricate.

"If it's a business, any member of the Ministry of Magic is obliged to maintain the dignity and credibility of the Ministry of Magic, and I am no exception." He replied.

That's what Crouch wanted.

"Very good." He looked at his subordinate with satisfaction, "Please ask Gringotts, who made us born to be responsible for other people's mistakes?"

"But those who take responsibility don't necessarily bear the consequences." Lockhart put forward his opinion obliquely.

"When only he can bear this responsibility, then only he can bear the consequences." Crouch made a guarantee in disguise.

Lockhart smiled and said nothing more.

It is the minimum criterion for a politician to see no rabbits and no eagles. No matter how much you say, if it doesn't fall on paper, it will be a cloud.Even if it falls on the paper, it is likely to appear in the toilet paper basket the next day, covered with yellowish-brown things.

"In addition, Fudge sent someone over, saying that he wanted to supervise the use of sponsorship funds by our cooperation department." Crouch made another big news calmly.

"Who?" Lockhart asked in surprise.

"Dolores Umbridge." Crouch sneered.

"That toad who wants to be 'pure blood' all the time? "Lockhart's face was not very good, "In what name?"Directly under the minister's office or our department?

Crouch was very satisfied with his attitude: "Of course it is the minister's office, but I have good news for you, I have settled this woman."

... talking out of breath.

Lockhart was relieved.

Chapter 230 The End of the Prisoner Storm

Although Lockhart didn't say it, he actually wanted to know how Mr. Crouch managed to settle Umbridge.

But when he saw Umbridge again, he suddenly found that Umbridge seemed to have been settled.

Although she still speaks in a tone of voice, and the smile on her face is as fake as a mask made by a kindergartener with glue, she does not offer any "guidance" to Lockhart's work.

"It seems that Fudge has failed." Lockhart said to Gemma Farley, "Crouch's ability to control his Ministry of Magic is much stronger than Fudge imagined, and he even plans to counterattack."

"No surprise." Gemma said that this was all expected, "The minister's power only looks big, although many people are willing to approach him, but I doubt how many people are willing to spend money to support him at critical moments. "

"Oh?" There was a hint of approval in Lockhart's eyes, "Your point of view?"

Facing Lockhart's expectant eyes, Gemma nodded without hesitation: "Yes."

"Very well, I think so too." Lockhart smiled.

He didn't expect that a girl who had just entered the Ministry of Magic could see that Fudge's position was unstable. This was either because she was talented or intelligent, or Fudge had really become so strong that everyone could see it.

Seeing that he was satisfied, Gemma was secretly relieved.

She had lied just now, because the opinion was actually her father's, and Mr. Farley had taunted Fudge more than once at home, calling him irresponsible.

"The guy may be a little smart, always takes himself out of responsibility

, But it also means that he will not have any hardcore influence - because no one will give their wealth and life to an irresponsible person. "

It is precisely because of her father's words that Gemma thinks that Fudge is actually vulnerable in political conflicts, but Lockhart actually thinks so.

It seems that they should get along well in the future, Gemma looks forward to it.

Anyway, Umbridge really does seem to be tamed by Crouch.

Although she also moved her office to Hogsmeade, she didn't interfere with any of Lockhart's work. She just went to work on time every day, and after inspecting the village under construction, she disappeared.

Although Umbridge felt comfortable not interfering with Lockhart's work at all, after a month or two it continued to do so, which made Lockhart a little puzzled.

Especially when Umbridge came to the office with a kind face, announcing that her work had been completed, and that she was going back to the Ministry of Magic to report on her work and help Lockhart say something nice, one could imagine Lockhart's confusion.

He tried his best not to ask "Have you been replaced with compound potion?"

— A woman who regards power as her life, was sent by the minister to the territory of the political opponent for almost two months, but did not take any action?

Could it be that he did some tricks behind the scenes, planning to play tricks with me face to face and behind the scenes?

As if to clear Lockhart's doubts, Umbridge handed Lockhart a report compiled from what he had seen and heard in the past two months, saying that he was asking him to help check if there was anything wrong.

In the report, she praised Hogsmeade's reconstruction very much, and spoke highly of Lockhart's work in the past year.

Objective evaluations such as "sufficient budget and healthy operation" are fine, but words such as "people's expectations" and "epoch-making" actually appeared in an official document report, which is a bit too much. And when all the "great projects engraved in history" appeared in it, Lockhart couldn't sit still.

"...Are you really planning to hand in this thing?" He couldn't help asking.

"Of course." Umbridge grinned.

It was precisely because of this toad-like expression that Lockhart was able to confirm that this person was definitely not someone else in disguise—ordinary people cannot fake such a disgusting effect.

"If you turn it in, your situation at the Ministry could be... er, harder," Lockhart hinted.

"Don't worry, I just did what I should do." Umbridge laughed even more disgustingly.

Lockhart shrugged, deciding not to continue talking to her.

He didn't believe that the other party would lose sight of the situation, but she still did so. In other words, Crouch's bid far exceeded Lockhart's imagination, so Umbridge was so tame.

After she left, Gemma commented sharply: "She is like a toad fed to flies, and Crouch is living and returning, and he is willing to buy such a person."

Lockhart could not have agreed more.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Lockhart didn't ask. After all, he was not Bertha Jorkins, and he liked to inquire about other people's private affairs.

These days, they don't have any big news other than their work. The biggest thing is nothing more than the public trial of Peter Pettigrew and the Hogwarts Quidditch finals.

The first is the trial, like this kind of thing that can gain reputation without breaking a sweat

, Fudge never misses.

He appointed himself as trial judge for the open trial, and he called in many senior members of the Wizengamot, including Mrs. Burns, Mrs. Marcheban and Mr. Ogden.

In court, Fudge sternly recounted Peter Pettigrew's crimes, and ostentatiously explained how the Ministry of Magic "set things right" under his leadership, and made Crouch sick by the way.

It is with a heavy heart that I warn everyone that justice delayed is never justice, and all we can do now is do our best to make up for what we have lost.

###

In the gallery, Sirius Black yawned unabashedly.

"What a waste of time...wasted an afternoon of fun water skiing on the lake."

Although Fudge's report was long and tedious, there was an end after all. At the end of the public hearing, Fudge announced that Peter Pettigrew would be the leader of several members of the Order of the Phoenix whom he had betrayed back then, including the Prewetts, the Potters, McGinn Farmers and his wife, etc. - take full responsibility.

"Having considered the opinions of all members of the Wizengamot, I declare that Peter

- Pettigrew's punishment is life imprisonment in Azkaban!

And considering that he is still an illegal Animagus, we will make a special squirrel cage cell for him, and we must ensure that no accidents will happen again. "

Because Peter was not sentenced to death, Sirius was still angry when he went to see the Quidditch final.

"...It's unbelievable that he didn't even get a kiss from a dementor! Has the Ministry of Magic tolerated Death Eaters so much in the past ten years, Remus?"

Lupine was also very helpless: "No way, in the eyes of the public, "Voldemort" and

"Death Eater" is a word from a long time ago."

"He's so cheap, if I were Harry..."

As soon as Black finished speaking, Harry rode the Firebolt past the heads of the audience, surpassed Malfoy who was about to catch the snitch, and got it first.

Black immediately dropped the unpleasant topic just now, and started to cheer for his godson.

"Fuck those insidious and despicable bastards!"

He shouted into the arena, causing the students of Slytherin not far away to look sideways

Lupine couldn't help turning his head away, trying to pretend he didn't know him.

Who told Sirius to choose a location close to Snape just to annoy others?

Chapter 230

After confirming that Umbridge could not interfere with Crouch, Lockhart naturally dared to bet on Crouch.

So while taking money to invest for Sirius, Lockhart found the goblin Ragueno, and asked him about Ludo Bagman, the director of the sports department.

Seeing Lockhart coming to ask, Ragueno seemed very vigilant: "Aren't you going to pay the debt for him?"

"No, but if he embezzles the funds of the Ministry of Magic, we are obliged to recover it." Lockhart straightened his face, looking businesslike, "According to the law, when recovering arrears, public funds debt is a priority."

Ragno waved his hand impatiently: "Don't talk to me about the law, it can't control us yet."

"I just want to remind you as a friend, be careful not to lose your money." Lockhart was completely "I'm doing it for your own good".

Seeing that he was serious, Ragueno also had to be cautious.

"You mean, he won't be able to pay the money back? Bagman is a director after all, and... well, I heard he borrowed money from other goblins, and he paid it back, and his credit Not bad."

"It depends on how much it is. If it's a few hundred or a few thousand, he may be able to find a way to get it at once, but if it's what I think, then there is a problem, and the problem is still very big." Loha specially warned.

According to Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman borrowed money from several goblins, and they borrowed money one by one, but the exact amount is not clear.

Although Lockhart didn't know how much Bagman had borrowed, he was very familiar with this borrowing model.

Because when he was working "before", he also heard his colleagues talk about a Ponzi scheme in the chat - the Cordia Prussy case, which made the British authorities very scalp numb.

Therefore, when he heard the news that Bagman had borrowed money from several goblins, Lockhart instinctively thought of this case.

Let me guess out of anger... Do you goblins never inquire about other goblins' investment channels? ' Lockhart asked Ragnol.

On the contrary, Ragueno was a little strange: "That's a matter of course, who would tell other goblins how to make money?"

"So... let me guess, don't you know how many goblins Bagman has borrowed money from?" Lockhart tentatively asked.

Ragueno didn't take it seriously: "Never mind him! As long as he really paid back the money, it doesn't matter how many people he borrowed from?"

"It's a big problem... If he borrows money from you to repay another goblin's loan, and then asks another goblin to borrow money to repay you, you can think about it for yourself, what's the problem?" Loha specially reminded.

Raguenor was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and began to think about the key points. Lockhart was not in a hurry, but admired the wine bottles Ragnol put on the wine cabinet with great interest. Those who are interested will pick it up and check the label.

After a while, Ragueno suddenly raised his head.

"Ah! One day, this debt will accumulate to the point where he can't pay it, and he can't borrow new money to pay it back," said Ragueneau.