With the most pressing matter of the summer finally settled, Tver felt noticeably lighter in the days that followed.
Even early in the morning, when Cynthia arrived carrying a towering stack of letters, he went through them one by one with genuine interest.
"You look quite pleased with how things turned out," Cynthia said as she sorted the mail, glancing at the faint smile on Tver's face.
"Very much so. Look at this." Tver gave the parchment in his hand a small shake. "It's from Mr. Quentin, the one who argued with me."
"Even though there's still a trace of stubbornness between the lines, he's clearly making an effort to think through the questions I raised."
"That's more than enough."
"I don't expect everyone to agree with me. That's unrealistic. As long as they start questioning the Confidentiality Act on their own, we've achieved our goal."
"Still, Dumbledore thinks you might have pushed a little too hard," Cynthia said, handing over a letter from Hogwarts.
Tver didn't take it. Instead, he stretched lazily.
"What did he say?"
"He said most of the committee members have been directing their attention toward him as chairman. Ever since the meeting ended, owls have been flying into Hogwarts nonstop. There hasn't been a moment's peace."
Cynthia read the letter aloud with a hint of amusement, but her expression suddenly shifted near the end.
"However, Headmaster Dumbledore mentioned that one of the committee members seems to have found out about your identity as a Durmstrang student…"
"Oh?" Tver finally straightened, curiosity sparked. "How did that happen?"
"One of the committee member's family has a student at Durmstrang. When your name came up by accident, the student recognized you as a well-known figure at the school."
"That committee member didn't react negatively at all. In fact, they were rather pleased that their child attends the same school as you."
"After hearing about your outstanding performance there, they even felt you were fundamentally different from your teachers."
"Still, Dumbledore advised you to be prepared for your identity coming to light, whether as a Durmstrang graduate or as a student of Grindelwald."
Tver nodded, a little helplessly.
He had deliberately avoided mentioning that he graduated from Durmstrang, emphasizing his British identity instead, precisely to keep people from forming preconceived notions about him.
Especially when some of his views were so similar to those his teacher had once put forward.
Fortunately, the speech had gone well, and Ya Zhou, a committee member with immense influence within the Wizards' Union, was willing to back him.
Even if the force he had gathered wasn't as vast as his teacher's once was, his base of support among ordinary members was far more solid.
Still, with so many magical schools in the world and committee members coming from all corners of it, it was almost inevitable that someone would have a Durmstrang student in the family.
And that student just happened to remember his name.
Honestly, it was terrible luck.
It had to be the backlash from dealing with Marvolio's problem.
He hadn't finished complaining to himself when the man in question strode in without a shred of restraint.
"I've been cleaning up mess after mess for you these past few days, and you're just sitting here leisurely writing replies?"
Marvolio dropped into the chair across from them with practiced ease, grabbed a biscuit from the table, and slouched back while eating it.
"You never said what it was about, so of course we trusted you," Cynthia replied without lifting her head, still sorting the letters.
"Tsk. Now you're blaming me?"
"Well then," Tver said, finally shifting his gaze from the mail to him, "what exactly is so important that it's kept the Deputy Head of the Auror Office this busy?"
"Who else could it be?" At the mention of it, Marvolio straightened up, clearly irritated.
"Fudge ordered Umbridge to stir up trouble for us—no, wait, I'm technically on Fudge's side, so it was to make trouble for you and Hogwarts."
"And she didn't even realize she was being used as his tool. She actually thought she'd earned his trust."
"While we were busy with the Congress, she forced a new Anti-Werewolf Act through the Ministry. It mandates that all werewolves must register and submit to Ministry control, or else the Werewolf Capture Task Force will be deployed!"
"I remember that," Cynthia said, lifting her head in surprise.
"Isn't that task force a subordinate unit under the Beast Division of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures? Their job was supposed to be arresting werewolves who pose a real threat to others, wasn't it?"
"And the Anti-Werewolf Act already existed last year. Otherwise, that Lupin wouldn't have been harassed by the Ministry last summer."
Marvolio immediately shook his head.
"You said it yourself. That was last year."
"Under the new law Umbridge pushed through, the task force can decide a werewolf's level of danger on their own and arrest them in advance."
"If I hadn't warned Lupin and some of the werewolves he's been gathering overnight, he'd probably be in Azkaban right now, preaching your ideas to Fenrir Greyback."
"In advance? How can you arrest someone in advance when they haven't committed a crime?" Tver found it completely absurd.
It was like using a Time-Turner to go back and arrest future criminals.
"That's why I say Umbridge has lost her mind. Even Scrimgeour is furious. He thinks she's encroaching on the Aurors' authority," Marvolio said with a shrug.
"But Fudge is quietly backing her, and werewolves were never popular to begin with, so the law is still being enforced."
That won't do. Tver frowned at once.
While this task force might, to some extent, push werewolves toward his side, it would also deepen their resentment toward wizards.
Between the two, Tver was far more unwilling to see the latter.
"Is there any chance of repealing it?" He looked toward Cynthia, who had fallen into thought.
When it came to the inner workings of the Ministry, Cynthia knew far more than Marvolio, let alone Tver.
"Yes," she said firmly.
"The lack of clear punishments and clearly defined authority already makes this law fundamentally unsound."
"But if Fudge is determined to push it through, we'd better secure the Wizengamot's support first, then formally submit a repeal proposal."
"I'll write to Dumbledore."
Without hesitation, Tver picked up the letter Dumbledore had just sent him along with a fresh sheet of parchment.
"And I remember there were committee members at the meeting who have considerable influence over the British Ministry of Magic. We can probably make use of that as well."
Anyone qualified to attend the Wizards' Union Congress was no ordinary figure.
They were either internationally renowned veteran wizards, the kind whose names appeared in textbooks, or key officials from magical ministries across various countries.
Most of them held no small amount of influence in the British magical world, especially among the old guard of the Wizengamot. Some of them might even be old friends.
"Don't just stand there. Help write the replies." Tver's quill never stopped moving, but he still shot Marvolio a cold glance.
"Me too?" Marvolio froze, pointing at himself.
"Obviously. Do you even want to be resurrected?"
"But there are so many letters!" Marvolio stared in disbelief as Cynthia kept pulling out more and more parchment.
"Enough complaining. Once we finish these replies, I'll take you to see Sirius and get that locket back, all right?"
Tver felt like he was coaxing a child, having to dangle a reward just to get Marvolio moving.
"Deal!"
Sure enough, Marvolio immediately brightened, picked up a quill, and began opening the letters…