Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge's office.
Arthur Weasley sat somewhat restrained on the sofa, hesitant to speak.
“You know the situation, in short, the current situation is very urgent…”
Cornelius Fudge sighed, appearing tired and uneasy, "By Wednesday next week at the latest, we have to announce the specific losses. The theft of the wizard files of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will definitely trigger widespread panic. We must come up with a rough solution before then."
"You are the most famous Muggle expert in the Ministry, Weasley—therefore Dumbledore recommended you to be the chief designer of this solution."
"And after comprehensive consideration, we also feel that you are the most suitable candidate. This is an important international position."
"But..."
Mr. Weasley touched his nose, becoming more and more confused and uneasy.
"Minister, I can at best tinker with some Muggle gadgets, but this of yours..."
"Yes, what we value is your talent—"
Cornelius Fudge nodded seriously, stood up, picked up his top hat, walked to Mr. Weasley, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Arthur, the safety and privacy of thousands of people in the British magical world are all in your hands—don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just follow your usual work habits and content, refer to these drawings, and try to modify them to suit our magical world's lifestyle. You can do it."
"But—"
"Okay, I have an important meeting to attend. I have to go first."
Cornelius Fudge did not give Mr. Weasley a chance to speak, and said preemptively, nodding to the goblin in the office.
"In short, this Arthur Weasley is temporarily the chief designer of 'that project.' If he has any questions, or requirements for content and drawings, please help answer them as well. Anyway, you may have to work hard today. What we need most now is time... Oh, right, there's also the newly established S.H.I.E.L.D. introduction. You don't know about it yet, do you?"
The British Minister of Magic said quickly, returning to his desk, took a document and handed it to Arthur, solemnly saying.
"This is a large magical organization jointly organized by dozens of magical governments. In the future, in addition to working at the Ministry of Magic, you will also have a position in this organization... Don't you like Muggle stuff? This is a very rare opportunity, make good use of it!"
"Uh, but, this is really different..."
Tap, tap, tap—
"Minister, Mr. Caster from the French Ministry of Magic is asking how much longer you will be?"
Before Mr. Weasley could finish speaking, a knock sounded outside the door, and Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice sounded particularly annoying at this time.
"Okay, tell them I can leave now—"
Cornelius Fudge frowned, shouted towards the door, turned around and shrugged.
"You see, Arthur—in extraordinary times, you're not the only one who's busy. I'd like to help you, but..."
He pointed to the pile of drawings on the coffee table, patted Arthur Weasley on the shoulder again, and said half-commandingly and half-entreatingly.
"The future stability and order of the magical world largely depend on what's in here."
"I heard that your office was also attacked by those bastards. Use mine temporarily today... Sorry to trouble you to work a little overtime. You can rest assured about the subsequent overtime subsidies and time off. I will sign and approve them for you as soon as I get back—you are the first S.H.I.E.L.D. director appointed by the British Ministry of Magic. I believe in you and Dumbledore... Don't let the wizards of other countries laugh at our Ministry of Magic..."
"But, but—"
Squeak—bang!
The office door opened and closed quickly.
Only Arthur Weasley and those goblin advisors remained in the office.
"But, but..."
Mr. Weasley looked at the wooden door that had just closed again, glanced blankly at the drawings in front of him, and his lips moved.
"You, um, you and Dumbledore... and all of you gentlemen have overestimated me—this is not some Muggle gadget, this is a Muggle city design drawing... How do I know how to modify... design... a magical city for wizards?"
"Don't worry, we will assist you, Director Weasley."
Next to him, a goblin pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said with a smile.
"In fact, designing and building a city is not difficult. Just like改造(gaizao) an old Muggle car, you only need to disassemble its structure one by one, add a little magical element, and then reassemble it. First, let's take a look at the specific requirements and site selection..."
"Considering various factors, we suggest that you best place the city near Devon..."
"And you see, there happens to be a newly emerging pure-wizard town nearby..."
The goblins spoke one after another, skillfully unfolding the drawings and starting to introduce them to Arthur Weasley.
As for the S.H.I.E.L.D. related information?
Those things were immediately placed at the bottom of the parchment after Fudge left.
As the chief technical consultant of the Hyperion "Transformation Project", Arthur Weasley has even longer tenure than Lockhart.
"But, I have something very important this afternoon—"
Arthur Weasley swallowed and was thinking about how to refuse this sudden overtime task.
Just then, a drawing of city construction "materials" inadvertently caught his eye.
"Hmm? Wait, is that... a Muggle street lamp design drawing?"
"There are so many things under those tall pillars?"
"Yi yi yi, what is this structure..."
Anyway, it's still early, so there's no rush to go home and stare blankly.
He can take a few glances and leave when it's almost afternoon.
Arthur Weasley hesitated for two seconds, then immediately sat down and concentrated on studying the drawings from the Muggle world—this was different from the previous blind tinkering. With the wonderful drawings and professional goblin explanations, he seemed to have returned to the good times when he first entered Hogwarts.
…………
At the same time, Armenia.
Tesaverdzo town, Aghasiyan's house.
"So you left those werewolves and Aurors in the forest and came back directly?"
Aghasiyan looked at Lockhart with a strange expression, full of disbelief.
"Otherwise? Did you want me to squat in the forest with a group of werewolves on my birthday?"
Lockhart replied nonchalantly, while carefully directing his wand to control the heat of the custard in front of him.
And at the dining table not far away, Arkhipovna tied up her hair, cutting the baked large rye bread and smoked sausages just bought from the street as seriously as a housewife. As for the somewhat ugly cake, it had already been divided up, leaving only an empty plate.
"Then aren't you worried about problems later?"
"What problems?" Lockhart shrugged and pointed his wand at the sink.
Several potatoes jumped out of the basket and into the sink to wash themselves automatically. Speaking of which, these are the potatoes planted by Tian Ming.
"If something will go wrong if I leave, then its 'problem point' is not me. Just find the cause and solve it then—work is never finished, and the meaning of work is just to better enjoy life, which cannot be reversed. By the way, Bona, do you want mashed potatoes or fried potato wedges today? Don't touch the custard over there, I'll bring it over—it's very hot—"
Lockhart said, while moving his wand continuously, even more seriously than when he was dealing with werewolves in the forest before.
It must be said that since he saw the Russian tough woman's red eyes and dark circles, he finally began to be afraid of his impulsiveness last night.
"Today is your birthday, you decide—"
Arkhipovna glanced at Lockhart, her glamorous eyes gave old Aghasiyan a feeling of superfluousness.
"By the way, speaking of which, when do you plan to go back to report?"
"At least wait until tomorrow morning... We have to give the Ministry of Magic and the reporters some time."
Lockhart replied, taking the knife from Arkhipovna's hand as naturally as possible, putting it back on the kitchen workbench, wiping his hands casually on the apron around his waist, pulling out a chair and sitting down with his "tough woman", ready to start enjoying today's breakfast.
"Well, Mr. Aghasiyan, you must be starving too, right? Sit down and eat together—"
Lockhart smiled and raised his hand to stop the old wizard's subsequent questions.
"We can talk about Tian Ming Group later, don't worry... And I have some things about werewolves to tell you later, you should feel somewhat gratified after hearing them. Vacation time is quite precious, and then we'll be busy again."
"Busy?" Aghasiyan frowned and nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, indeed—and you seem to have an accusation to face."
"Oh, it's not a werewolf problem, let alone an accusation..."
Lockhart shook his head, sprinkling black pepper in his custard, and said casually.
"After returning home, I plan to run for Minister of Magic in the British Ministry of Magic. I won't be as relaxed as I am now. There will definitely be a lot of interviews, meetings, and all kinds of things, so I plan to hide in Armenia for as many days as I can. Well, I have to think about which legislation to promote."
"By the way, Bona, don't think about the research institute either. Just treat it as a vacation for now..."
"Wait—"
Arkhipovna froze for half a second, glancing at Lockhart with a strange expression.
"Run for... Minister of Magic, you?"
"Yes, so you have to brush up on your knowledge of the magical world."
Lockhart replied calmly, picking up the cheese and scattering some crumbs on Arkhipovna's plate.
"After all, if I become the Minister of Magic, as the Minister's wife, you should at least know some pure-blood family surnames and names."
"Who—who wants to be some—Minister of Magic, Minister's wife—"
Arkhipovna's disgusted words instantly choked in her mouth, and she said flusteredly.
Looking at the smiling guy, she punched him in the waist in embarrassment and anger.
"Don't laugh—"
It's good to be young...
Aghasiyan looked at the young couple in front of him, smiled and shook his head, slowly blowing on the steam rising from the custard.
If these people are the light that will influence and change the magical world in the future.
Then the future world is really something to look forward to—
————
————
Yay!