Professor Tver's class ended smoothly, and it quickly sparked gossip throughout the school.
Dueling!
Not the silly Duelling Club of Professor Lockhart, which was more like a child's game, but real, actual dueling!
The announcement of a dueling tournament got everyone even more excited. They had learned from Professor Flitwick that this was a tradition at Durmstrang! And Professor Fawley had been Durmstrang's champion for four years straight.
The students didn't know much about Durmstrang, but they now had a simple idea—
Dueling Champion = Professor Fawley.
If I win the dueling tournament, that means I = Dueling Champion.
So, I = Professor Fawley!
At the very least, winning this championship would prove that they had combat talent almost as good as the professor's! They couldn't help but think back to the professor's effortless yet graceful moves as he easily took down older students. Their faces were filled with hopes for the future. The title of Dueling Champion—it's going to be mine!
This thought quickly took root in the students' minds.
Of course, the most talked-about club in the castle was the professor's Defence Against the Dark Arts Club. If there was a trending topics list, this would definitely be at the top. Though the professor's classroom lectures were serious, that just meant they could learn powerful magic in the club! Not the boring textbook spells like the Disarming Charm or Impediment Jinx, but actual, formidable magic! Otherwise, the professor wouldn't have been so serious with them!
Because of this, the office was packed with students trying to sign up with Tver in the past few days! Eventually, he had to hand the job of collecting names over to Percy before things calmed down. Honestly, though—did they not realize that spreading rumors about the club teaching Dark Magic could get it shut down by Dumbledore? Sitting in his office, Tver thought helplessly.
"Hey, hey, are you asleep with your book?" Marvolio's voice crackled through the badge.
"Tver might be busy. Don't keep interrupting his train of thought!" Cynthia's annoyed voice followed.
"We agreed to report at this time. Do you think I'm enjoying this? I've been running around all day and I'm exhausted."
"Unlike you, sitting in your office while your credits keep piling up! At this rate, soon I'll have to call you Director Cynthia~"
"Hmph. You're already Fudge's top Auror. The moment Scrimgeour retires, you'll take his place, no problem!"
Why did it feel like these two were arguing just to show off to him? Tver picked up his badge with a puzzled look.
"Alright, I know you've all been working hard. Let's get this meeting started so you can finally get some rest."
Amid Cynthia's muttered "I don't want this to end so soon," Marvolio began his report.
"Fudge has been acting... odd lately. Honestly, it seems like he believes that as long as his reasoning is proper, he can force Dumbledore to step down."
"Though he hasn't made a move yet, I can't shake the feeling that he's plotting something. He's been having private discussions with Senior Undersecretary Umbridge pretty frequently."
"As an aside, it was Umbridge who had the Ministry arrest Lupin during the holidays."
"Why would she do that?" Tver asked, surprised.
"Not sure. Rumor has it that Fudge gave the order."
Fudge? Honestly, Tver was having trouble figuring out what the Minister's motives were. In the story, Fudge's character and thinking were pretty easy to predict—just a cowardly politician. But arresting Lupin now?
Wait, could it be because Lupin was a former Order of the Phoenix member, and Fudge wanted to use this as a way to pressure Dumbledore? Tver felt like he had figured it out. Otherwise, with so many werewolves out there, why focus on Lupin, who had a solid reputation?
Come to think of it, after Voldemort's fall, things hadn't been great for the Order of the Phoenix members. Part of that was because Dumbledore didn't want to interfere with the Ministry, but more importantly, it was because the Ministry was still wary of both the Order and Dumbledore himself.
And the one tacitly approving this behind the scenes was none other than Fudge, who was serving as Minister at the time. It seemed that this politician had already caught a whiff of power...
But as long as he didn't interfere with his plans, Tver wouldn't bother with him. On the contrary, keeping him around could give Dumbledore a bit more trouble, diverting some of the wizard's attention away from him. This was exactly what Tver desired.
"Ignore him. Fudge is your best ally for advancement within the Ministry. Just maintain good relations with him."
"Any other important news?"
Marvolio paused briefly before casually adding, "Nothing much. The Ministry's been chasing Black's trail lately. Ironically, his latest whereabouts were discovered by muggles."
"And the location isn't far from Hogwarts. I suspect he's already infiltrated Hogsmeade."
Tver didn't have a strong recollection of Black's plot this year. The only recent detail he knew was that Black would enter the castle on a certain night—to destroy a portrait.
"That's about it. Hey, you've got a badge yourself—"
Marvolio's voice trailed off, replaced by Cynthia's.
"Tver!" Even through the sound alone, Tver could sense her excitement. "I'm telling you, the face masks are selling like crazy in Britain! The buzz around the second batch has become a hot topic in every British newspaper and TV program (Cynthia's slip of the tongue)!"
"The profits have already been successfully converted into Galleons, even at a slightly better rate than Gringotts."
"But Lucius surprisingly agreed to prioritize using this batch of Galleons to purchase Beautification Potion."
"But what about the third and fourth batches piling up in the warehouse?"
"The first two batches sold so well that the company staff won't make any decisions on their own. They're just waiting for Jeff, the investor, to give the word."
Tver sighed helplessly. Handing the company over to professional managers wasn't just to avoid detection by the Ministry of Magic; it was also because he didn't want to waste his time on this business.
I don't love money—I genuinely have no interest in it!
"As long as it makes money, handle it however you see fit. Company matters are now your responsibility. Remember, our focus remains on the Statute of Secrecy, not profit."
"The face mask business is merely a model for pureblood families and ordinary wizards—the more profitable, the better. But it's not a priority."
"After all, even if we sold our face masks on the street corner, we'd still make a fortune!"
Tver decisively handed this operation over to Cynthia, partly as a training exercise for her.
After all, dealing with muggles would be unavoidable in the future.
As for him? He was perfectly content to remain a humble professor!
Afterward, they discussed the matter of the Limbo.
Yes, Tver had asked Cynthia to search the Ministry of Magic's archives for any records concerning this phenomenon. After all, the Ministry housed a department called the Department of Mysteries, dedicated to investigating such extraordinary occurrences.
However, Cynthia's work was somewhat removed from the Department of Mysteries, and she hadn't yet uncovered any useful information.