"… The Reflection Creatures are invisible, they hide in the shadows of powerful wizards…"

"… Schools are the easiest places for Reflection Creatures to feel uncomfortable. They feed on the fear and emptiness in the shadows, but the students' torches are too small and too weak to reflect enough shadows for them to consume. Unlike Nuisance Gnats, Reflection Creatures are more destructive…"

"… This is a very dangerous signal, the Reflection Creature parasitic on Professor Umbridge is on the verge of collapse…"

"… Cutting off its desires may be uncomfortable at first, but it's the only way now…"

Cornelius Fudge guessed the ending correctly, guessed the process correctly, but did not consider the special effects in different occasions.

Mr. Xenophilius Lovegood is still the familiar "mad idealist."

What Nuisance Gnats, what Reflection Creatures, what Black Oliphaunts…

The unrealistic and bizarre magical creatures in Xenophilius Lovegood's mouth were as absurd as before. Any adult would quickly realize the absurdity and ridiculousness after listening for four or five seconds. It was simply like a strange tale written in a fairy tale book for children.

However, what made Cornelius Fudge despair was that all the reporters present were transcribing and recording Xenophilius's bizarre tales as if they had found a treasure.

Even in the magical world of free speech, commenting on and criticizing the government is still a matter that requires a lot of courage and skill. Except for those fifth-rate tabloids that don't care about reputation and suppression, most mainstream newspapers are extra cautious when it comes to issues involving the Ministry of Magic. Xenophilius Lovegood is now demonstrating a more sophisticated way for them—using absurd fictional magical creatures to create metaphors.

Faced with questions from other reporters, Cornelius Fudge might still be able to cope with political rhetoric, but not with *The Quibbler*.

This is a dimension-reducing attack that is absurd and cannot be taught.

Whether it is pretending to be stupid and not understanding the other party's implied meaning, or seriously refuting the other party's absurdity, these methods that seem simple and effective at first will only make the Ministry of Magic look like a clown. The only way to deal with it is to counter jokes with jokes, absurdity with absurdity, but…

Not to mention fighting against it, just keeping up with the other party's bizarre rhythm is already very difficult for the people of the Ministry of Magic!

Xenophilius Lovegood is going crazy.

…………

Half an hour later, the press conference ended.

Xenophilius Lovegood left the room briskly and calmly, without paying any attention to the flashing lights behind him, and the colleagues who rushed up like sharks smelling blood—if it wasn't for his daughter's gaze, he wouldn't bother to spend so much time telling stories.

Just as he said in his opening remarks, *The Quibbler* never bothers to compete for the dinner in the eyes of the hyenas.

As for the subsequent troubles that may be caused by angering the Ministry of Magic? That is a question for the three Demon Kings to consider.

As an ordinary worker, Mr. Lovegood is very clear about his position.

"Well, Luna, you guys rest early tonight, I won't go in…"

At the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room, Xenophilius's eyes lingered on Luna and the little Demon King's hands for a few seconds, hesitating to speak.

If that was a stinky boy, he might have gone all out to kill that guy long ago, but Eileen Kaslana is a beautiful half-blood witch, this kind of intimacy between girls, he, as an old father, really doesn't have much room to interject.

Besides, he had just heard Little Luna roughly describe the layout and decoration of that "luxury bedroom."

If Xenophilius was not mistaken, even the prefect's bathroom and the headmaster's office might not be that luxurious.

Compared to the eccentric and gloomy dark wizards recorded in history, the Goblin Queen's style and quality of life are indeed much higher. With Eileen taking care of her on weekdays, he doesn't have to worry about his daughter suffering any grievances in terms of life and daily life.

Just…

"You are all girls, don't learn the bad habits from the boys' dormitory—"

Mr. Lovegood hesitated for half a second, then squatted down and touched his daughter's head, and said earnestly.

"What daddy and mommy, these titles can't be shouted casually as jokes. I don't want to suddenly have a bunch of granddaughters and granddaughters after a semester… Miss Kaslana, I'm not saying you are not cute, but this matter…"

"Yes, don't worry, we won't teach Luna bad things."

Eileen nodded seriously and replied rather obediently.

However, if Luna learns bad things by herself, then it's not their business. Eileen added quietly in her heart.

Since Danilova was abducted into their small group, Luna has become visibly more stable and mature.

As a dice girl with extraordinary inspiration, Luna has recently developed a very strange hobby. Whenever she has a dispute with Hermione, Hannah, and other little wings, she always likes to use rock-paper-scissors or dice to decide the outcome, and the closing remarks of the game are usually calling daddy.

"Uh, well, okay… then I'll go first—"

Xenophilius's eyes lingered between his daughter and the little Demon King for a few seconds, and he said nervously.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but since returning from the last summer vacation, he has always felt that Luna has been infected with Eileen's aura.

Whether it's her words and deeds, or the brilliance that occasionally flashes from the bottom of her silver eyes, she seems to have a bit of the charm of the young Dark Lord, which undoubtedly makes Xenophilius particularly worried, such as whether he will see his daughter's figure in the introduction of new members to the "Tarot Society" in the future.

"Yes, don't worry, Daddy—I will take care of myself."

Not noticing Mr. Lovegood's worries, Luna nodded like a little adult.

"It's very late, and you still have to rush to finish the next issue, today I saw that the *Daily Prophet* and the *Witch Weekly* copied all the things you said verbatim, Daddy, you have to hurry up and send out new articles, lest they steal things first!"

"Don't worry about this at all, because I don't intend to write these things at all."

Mr. Lovegood waved his hand carelessly and said in a low voice with a beaming expression.

"I wrote about Reflection Creatures and Nuisance Gnats a long time ago. Recently, I thought of a wonderful long article about Bubble Monsters and Bat-Winged Octopus Giants. This is much more interesting than rewriting those old news. I will mail you a few more copies after they are printed."

"Hey, that sounds great—"

Luna said softly as if in a dream, she vaguely heard her father tell this story before.

"Cough, cough—actually, I know something about this story too."

Eileen glanced at the little moon who seemed to be planning to stand at the door and listen to the story, coughed softly, and said quite seriously.

"What is the One Who Unifies All Things, the Mother of the Black Goat, the Leviathan Plague, Nyarlathotep… I know a lot of interesting bedtime stories like this."

"Really? Eileen, you also know the stories my dad is talking about?"

Luna turned her head in surprise, she originally thought that Eileen was just a loyal reader who had read many issues of *The Quibbler*.

"Of course. If you want to listen, Luna, I can slowly tell you on the bed later."

The half-blood Veela showed a faint smile and said softly, "For example, that octopus-headed, human-bodied sleeping god with bat wings on its back…"

"Really?! Yes, that's a deal—you can't add any strange conditions this time!"

"Well, then Mr. Lovegood, shall we go back to the dormitory first? Goodbye~"

"Goodbye, Daddy~"

Before Xenophilius could reorganize the story, the girls' figures disappeared behind the door of the Hufflepuff common room.

"Uh, uh—"

Mr. Lovegood raised his hand and weakly tried to stop them.

The confident and relaxed expression of the middle-aged wizard gradually faded away, replaced by a strong sense of crisis.

Compared to those stupid and short-sighted Ministry of Magic bureaucrats, Eileen Kaslana gave him a sense of oppression that was almost condensed into a boulder hanging above his head. For the first time in so many years, he had encountered a terrible wizard who could easily set foot in the "Lovegood Family's" unique field.

All the Ministry of Magic articles and new developments in Transfiguration were thrown out of Xenophilius's mind in an instant.

If he can't create more "Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," he might lose his Little Luna.

…………

At the same time, the Hogwarts teachers' lounge.

The reporters left one after another with satisfaction. Their harvest tonight was enough to support the news for the next month.

The teachers left the room at Dumbledore's request and went to the headmaster's office to discuss the new situation for a period of time in the future.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the huge "press conference" site was left with only a group of officials from the Ministry of Magic.

Dolores Umbridge looked up at the Minister of Magic.

"Well," she said, trying to make her voice sound as if she thought the whole thing was absurd, "if you think I am being—uh, what's the word?"—her pale, swollen, fat face trembled, squeezing out a hideous smile—"Oh, yes—'Reflection Creature' affected, and I have to resign from the Ministry of Magic, I will never go against your wishes if you think it can help us reverse the disadvantage…"

"Don't be silly, Dolores. This is aimed at us, obviously."

Cornelius Fudge said with a gloomy face. He admitted that he had completely underestimated Xenophilius Lovegood.

"I should have thought that if Mr. Lovegood was really a complete idiot, how could Dumbledore rest assured to put the exclusive interview rights of Hogwarts into *The Quibbler*—that guy is a more difficult magazine editor than Barnabas."

"Indeed, I agree with your view, but our actions tonight are not entirely without results…"

Rufus Scrimgeour said in a deep voice, without expressing too many opinions on the issue of *The Quibbler*.

"The Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement obviously underestimated the top wizards before. If we compare Albus Dumbledore to the strength shown by that great alchemist, then we may have to gather at least four or five times more Aurors than originally planned. In my opinion, this is a rather dangerous warning sign for the Ministry of Magic, and we must find a way to react as soon as possible."

"Warning sign? Director Scrimgeour, I don't quite understand what you mean…"

Cornelius Fudge frowned and asked softly, looking thoughtfully at the head of the Auror Office, as if expecting an answer.

"The possible threats at Hogwarts exceeded our expectations, Minister."

Rufus Scrimgeour raised three fingers and said with a serious expression.

"Albus Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel, Otto Apocalypse, that is, the famous Hohenheim Paracelsus… Just these three people working together are enough to subvert the stability of the Ministry of Magic. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement must expand its recruitment, otherwise the Ministry of Magic's current staff will not be able to counter Hogwarts—if the worst happens, we will have no resistance."

"Dumbledore wouldn't do that. If he wanted to be the Minister of Magic, he could have done it long ago…"

Cornelius Fudge waved his hand, seemingly talking to himself, as if answering Rufus Scrimgeour's words.

"Then, what if that headmaster's initial expectation was not to become the Minister of Magic, but something more absurd?"

Dolores Umbridge's eyes flickered as she giggled coldly.

"For example, making Hogwarts the ruler above the Ministry of Magic. Judging from the current signs, this is not impossible… You should also have noticed that Dumbledore is much more experienced than before, and that's not all a good thing."

"Yes, but we have no evidence. Otherwise, we can't do anything."

Cornelius Fudge knocked on the long table in front of him, looked around at his confidants, and said with a gloomy expression.

"Dolores, as you said to the reporter before. Given the possible problems with your dual identity and the inability to clarify your responsibilities, your position as Senior Undersecretary to the Minister in the Ministry of Magic will be temporarily suspended. But I will find a way to give you more freedom in Hogwarts. The biggest advantage of introducing magazines such as the *Daily Prophet* and the *Witch Weekly* is that even Dumbledore must abide by the explicit policies and rules…"

"Cough, Minister, why don't we go back to the Ministry and continue to discuss in detail?"

Just then, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was standing behind the three, cleared his throat and interrupted abruptly.

The tall Auror with a deep and slow voice looked around and said meaningfully.

"As far as I know, Hogwarts has recruited a ghost patrol team, and they can wander around the castle to patrol. The safety level of Hogwarts has increased by more than one level than before, even if these news will be published in the newspaper tomorrow, but…"

"Of course! Of course—Shacklebolt, thank you for reminding me, you are still so reliable."

Cornelius Fudge stopped speaking vigilantly, looked at the surrounding walls, stood up and picked up his top hat and put it on.

"Dolores, Rufus… Let's go back to the Ministry first, Shacklebolt, you come along too. As for the rest of you, thank you for your hard work tonight. Go back and have a good rest. We may have a major operation next, and the details will be notified tomorrow."

Undoubtedly, tonight's failed arrest operation will make the Ministry of Magic a laughing stock for a period of time.

As a politician who has been struggling in politics for many years, Cornelius Fudge knows very well how to save the situation: frankly admit failure, form an alliance with the winner and share the victory, and… find a victory that is enough to boost morale.

Fortunately, he happens to have such a proposal on hand.

"By the way, Dolores, do you remember the draft you submitted last month?"

Cornelius Fudge strode towards the school gate and said hurriedly with some impatience.

"I think it can be considered, it may be a bit risky and controversial, but we have to save the situation—the executor and initiator will be marked with your name, let's finalize it tonight, and it will be regarded as a preliminary foreshadowing for you to restore your position later…"

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Yay!