An owl spread its wings and took flight from the open office window, carrying the article Rita Skeeter had written under Bryan's supervision. The bird disappeared rapidly into the boundless, star-scattered night, becoming just another shadow against the darkness.
"Who will you have ensure this article actually gets published in the Daily Prophet?" Rita Skeeter asked with keen interest as her enchanted quill flew smoothly back into her expensive crocodile-skin handbag with a snap of the clasp.
Her lips still bore an exhilarated, almost manic smile—clearly, she hadn't yet fully recovered from the extraordinary interview with Bryan, from the magnitude of what she'd just witnessed.
This was hardly surprising. For seven full centuries, seven hundred years of magical history, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been deeply bound to its Board of Governors through ancient agreements and financial dependence.
But in the last decade of the twentieth century, in this very office, Bryan Watson had publicly declared that due to the Board's breach of contract and withdrawal of financial support, Hogwarts would henceforth operate independently of the Board's authority.
It was hard to imagine what kind of massive uproar and political chaos this explosive news would cause throughout the wizarding world! The consequences would be enormous.
"Amelia Bones will ensure the message doesn't reach the Ministry of Magic before the article is published," Bryan explained casually, as if discussing something trivial. "And some of my friends on the Daily Prophet's board of directors will ensure its publication proceeds without interference. Everything is arranged."
Bryan's casual, confident words sent a chill through Rita Skeeter's spine, making her shiver slightly despite the warm office.
Two years ago, the young man in front of her had been nearly an unknown wizard. But in just two short years, Bryan Watson had somehow established a powerful, extensive network of connections and allies throughout Europe—no, not just Europe, but including America as well.
This wasn't something that could be accomplished through powerful magic alone, through sheer force. This required political acumen, strategic thinking, and the ability to stimulate allegiance.
In a momentary daze, Rita Skeeter, as a first-rate current affairs reporter with decades of experience, keenly grasped the key, revealing detail in Bryan's words.
"So, Bones has firmly committed to supporting you, has she?" Rita's eyes gleamed with curiosity behind her spectacles.
"Oh, I'm intensely curious—she's that kind of principled politician, not easily swayed. How exactly did you convince her to side with you against Fudge? You promised to support her becoming Minister of Magic eventually, didn't you? That's the deal?"
Bryan smiled but said nothing, neither confirming nor denying.
This silence only piqued Rita Skeeter's curiosity even more intensely. Her Quick-Quotes Quill floated eagerly out of her bag again, hovering in the air, ready to record any revelation.
"You're already making preparations for the next phase, aren't you, Bryan?" Rita leaned forward, her voice growing more excited.
"This report will undoubtedly provoke outrage and controversy throughout the entire wizarding world. Public support for Cornelius Fudge will drop to historic lows, he might not even survive this politically. You plan to seize the opportunity to push Bones into power as his replacement... or rather!"
A sudden possibility that surfaced in her mind made Rita Skeeter's voice rise sharply, becoming as piercing as a screech owl's cry.
"You intend to become Minister of Magic yourself?! That's it, isn't it? This is all positioning for your own political career!"
"You have quite an active imagination, Rita—" Bryan said with an unreadable smile, rising from his position by the window and pacing slowly back to sit behind his office desk. He stared intently at Rita with those purple eyes that revealed nothing.
"But I can tell you definitively and without reservation that I have absolutely no intention of becoming Minister of Magic. Teaching young witches and wizards here at Hogwarts is a very interesting and deeply meaningful job, and I fully intend to continue doing it for the foreseeable future. Politics doesn't interest me."
"Oh, on that particular point you're just as stubbornly idealistic and old-fashioned as Dumbledore," Rita said somewhat dismissively, then asked without much interest, already moving to her next question. "Almost the entire wizarding world knows you plan to eventually succeed Dumbledore as Headmaster... Oh, speaking of which, when exactly will you become Headmaster of Hogwarts?"
Rita Skeeter was just asking casually, fishing for information. She knew very well from years of experience that Bryan was an extremely shrewd, careful person who kept his cards close to his chest and revealed little. If he didn't want to answer something, he simply wouldn't. But to her genuine astonishment—
"It won't be long now," Bryan said calmly, leaning back comfortably in his chair with his fingers interlaced before him on the desk. His lips curved into a mysterious, knowing smile as he added softly, "Not long at all."
"What won't be long?" Rita Skeeter's eyes widened in surprise behind her glasses, her instincts were screaming that she'd stumbled onto something significant. "What exactly are you saying?"
"Heh heh, none of it will be long," Bryan repeated cryptically, his smile widening slightly.
In the brightly lit office, Bryan's low, quiet laughter made Rita Skeeter tremble with trepidation and excitement!
Many people throughout magical Britain were destined to have a sleepless night.
The well-prepared Madam Bones, operating according to Bryan's coordinated plan, used the perfect excuse of addressing the increasingly difficult and deteriorating security situation in the wizarding world to urgently gather all the Hit Wizards and senior Aurors of the Ministry of Magic for a mandatory late-night meeting.
All the heads of major departments were required to attend the emergency meeting except for Dolores Umbridge, who was still recovering from her injuries and humiliation at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Even Cornelius Fudge, increasingly wary and paranoid about Bones's actions and growing influence, turned his nervous attention to the proceedings, sending representatives to monitor what was being discussed.
Meanwhile, Kakus Fawley and Lucius Malfoy, one openly, one covertly, operating in the shadows, these two influential board members who had invested in the Daily Prophet used their planted agents within the newspaper to ensure Rita Skeeter's explosive article smoothly passed the initial editorial review without raising alarms.
At the same time, Mr. Barnabas Cuffe, the Daily Prophet's editor-in-chief who had been in constant, secret contact with Bryan, suddenly developed an urgent family matter after seeing the controversial article cross his desk.
He left his official seal rather carelessly with a young intern in the department, instructing them to send everything through as quickly as possible, then hurriedly left the newspaper office for the evening.
Thus, at the stroke of midnight, a large barn owl took flight from the Daily Prophet's main office building in Diagon Alley, carrying the approved article. It headed directly toward the printing workshop on the outskirts of London where the morning edition was prepared.
At precisely the same time, hundreds of miles away, a Muggle passenger train chartered entirely and at considerable expense by a mysterious wealthy businessman departed from Gare du Nord station in Paris.
After a journey of three and a half hours through the darkness, passing through the Channel Tunnel and across the English countryside, the train finally pulled smoothly into King's Cross Station in London.
"Here are all the necessary documents—" Remus said, wearing an ordinary round cap low over his face. He pulled what appeared to be a blank piece of parchment from his coat and displayed it confidently to the several Muggle officials conducting the routine customs inspection, all wearing stern, bureaucratic expressions.
The wand that slid smoothly from his sleeve into his palm gave a subtle, flick and immediately the eyes of the Muggle officials, who had been obviously planning to find some excuse or violation to extract some money as a bribe, became glazed and unfocused.
"Oh, looks like everything is perfectly in order—" one pot-bellied Muggle official with a thick mustache mumbled in a mutter, then turned and left with his entire inspection team following obediently behind him.
Turning around to face Percy and Penelope, who both looked thoroughly shocked by this casual use of magic on Muggles, Remus smiled with tired amusement.
"When working outside in the Muggle world, you need to be flexible and pragmatic. The rules are different."
Then Remus's expression became serious and focused again, the humor was draining from his face. "We don't have time to waste standing around. We need to transfer everything to the Hogwarts Express as quickly and quietly as possible. Let's move."
The Muggle train soon started up slowly again with a hiss of steam. It traveled through the dark London rail yards and finally docked in a remote railway shed designated for maintenance and inspection. There, the Hogwarts Express, its appearance magically disguised to look like an ordinary engine, had been waiting patiently for some time.
At Remus's command and signal, numerous small but exceptionally agile Gringotts goblins sprang efficiently from the Muggle train's carriages where they'd been hiding. They controlled heavy wooden crates with ease, floating them out of the Muggle train's compartments, across the platform, and into the Hogwarts Express's carriages with impressive speed and coordination.
The experienced goblins worked quickly and quietly. In just half an hour of intense, focused effort, all the precious "cargo" had been successfully transferred between the trains.
"Let's go! Everyone aboard!" Remus called out, surveying the dim surroundings vigilantly with his wand ready. After carefully confirming that no one was watching or following them, he waved his hand decisively.
The goblins and the loyal workers were selected carefully from learning machine workshop, these were workers who had been trained with the learning machine for some time and were completely trustworthy. They quickly jumped aboard the Hogwarts Express.
With a loud whistle that pierced the night, the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled away from the platform.
The distinctive red train traveled steadily across endless fields on the plains, traversed mountains and rivers, penetrated thin mists tinged golden by the gradually rising dawn light. After a journey of four to five hours, moving as fast as the tracks would allow, it finally stopped with a hiss of steam at Hogsmeade Station.
On the platform, Bryan, who had been eagerly waiting half the night in the cold, finally breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw Remus's familiar figure jump down from the slowly arriving Hogwarts Express.
"Was the journey smooth? Any problems?" Bryan asked immediately, striding quickly toward Remus across the platform.
Seeing the heavy dark circles under his friend's eyes and his exhausted appearance, Bryan couldn't help but laugh with sympathy. "You were a bit too tense, Remus. You look terrible."
"Oh, too tense?" Remus responded, almost laughing at the understatement.
After seeing Bryan's reassuring presence, Remus, whose nerves had been tight for two straight days while executing this critically important mission, finally allowed himself to relax.
He said wearily, rubbing his tired eyes, "My eyes didn't dare leave those crates for a single moment the entire journey. I barely blinked. Oh, you should have come yourself for such an important task, Bryan. I've never been so anxious in my entire life—I kept imagining everything that could go wrong."
"I have complete confidence in your abilities, Remus," Bryan said warmly with appreciation. His gaze moved past Remus's shoulder to Percy, who stood several dozen feet away near the train, looking bashfully and uncertainly in their direction, clearly not daring to approach.
Bryan said with an encouraging chuckle, "What's this, unwilling to greet me, Percy? Don't be shy."
"Oh, no…not at all, Professor Watson—" Percy said in a flustered manner, his ears were turning red.
He hurried forward obediently, but after taking just two quick steps, he stopped and retreated. He beckoned urgently toward the carriage door behind him. A moment later, a girl with flushed cheeks jumped down onto the platform.
The young couple, hand in hand and looking nervous but happy, quickly approached Bryan together.
Time seemed to return to a year and a half ago, to that difficult conversation in the Three Broomsticks pub. Back then, this young couple had been on the verge of separation, their eyes full of confusion and pain about their future. Now everything had changed.
"It's been quite a while, Penelope—" Bryan said warmly, looking at the couple holding hands with affection. "So, you're back together? I'm very glad to see it."
Percy grinned widely, unable to contain his happiness, while Penelope said shyly, "It's been a while, Professor Watson. Thank you so much for bringing Percy back to me. I don't know what would have happened without your intervention."
"Oh, you can't credit me with that, Penelope—" Bryan said humorously, dismissing the gratitude. "Percy made his own choices. I just provided an opportunity."
Then he smiled warmly and asked, "Speaking of which, do you two have any plans to marry? I'll need some advance notice to prepare a proper wedding gift."
Now Penelope bowed her head even lower in embarrassment, her face was turning bloodred. But then, raising her head, she showed a trace of gloom and worry.
"Percy's mother might not like me very much, so...."
"Don't talk nonsense, Penelope," Percy interjected quickly, his smile immediately fading, replaced by a serious expression.
"Mum is just not too happy that I moved out of the house so suddenly. She's blamed you for that, yes, but unfairly. Oh, but I'd have to move out sooner or later anyway, wouldn't I? I'm an adult. Just give her a little time to adjust, and she'll come around."
————————————
For More Chapters; patreon.com/FicFrenzy