Chapter 139: The Wizengamot
Lockhart was sought out by Fudge again on Friday night, three days later.
The two used the Floo Network to travel to Yorkshire in northeast England. They needed to go there to officially gain recognition for Lockhart's new position as an Unspeakable and the Head of the Bloodline Hall.
There was an interesting question: if even the Minister for Magic couldn't manage the Department of Mysteries, one of the seven departments of the Ministry, then who appointed its members, and whose will did its management follow?
The answer was actually quite clear: the Wizengamot, the wizarding council that historically created the Department of Mysteries.
"This is a common misconception; many people think the Wizengamot was the predecessor to the Ministry of Magic, but it wasn't."
"The Ministry of Magic was established under the guidance of the International Confederation of Wizards, based on the International Statute of Secrecy. It merely replaced the functions of the Wizengamot, it didn't transform the Wizengamot into the Ministry of Magic."
Fudge and Lockhart stepped out of the fireplace. Fudge gestured towards a nearby club bar for them to register, then wait for a special carriage to take them to their destination.
"The Statute of Secrecy brought earth-shattering changes in that era. It stipulated that wizards could not live among Muggles, but must stay away from them and completely go underground—"
Fudge ordered two low-alcohol drinks from the bartender, handing one to Lockhart, and took a sip before continuing, "The Ministry of Magic's main job is exactly this: it was founded based on the Statute of Secrecy, and it upholds the Statute of Secrecy's existence. That's why many people find that the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction is defined by the borders of Muggle nations – that's the reason."
Lockhart was filled with admiration. He'd had questions about this before, and he never expected this to be the explanation.
"It wasn't like that in the era when the Wizengamot was founded. Their boundaries were very vague. The Wizengamot we're going to now is officially called the British Commonwealth Wizengamot, and its scope of management covers Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and even a wizarding tribe in the Arctic."
Fudge shrugged. "The Wizengamot simply couldn't overlap with the Ministry of Magic; that's the fundamental reason. No matter how powerful the International Confederation of Wizards is, it can't completely dismantle an organization united by a core magical ideology."
"Of course, don't think too highly of them either. The Ministry of Magic is the powerful department with legislative, executive, and judicial authority!"
On this point, it differed from what Madam Melore said to Lockhart. Madam Melore had always firmly believed that the Ministry of Magic was merely an intermediary in wizarding society.
Of course, when it came to a higher-level body, the International Confederation of Wizards, Madam Melore had nothing to say; that was the global organization above all wizarding communities, bar none.
After not long, an old man wearing a pointed, crooked wizard's hat approached them and led them into a windowless, rather gloomy carriage.
Once inside, Fudge continued to discuss the topic.
"Actually, the Wizengamot's situation is quite awkward now. Many people realize it's destined to be phased out by the times."
Seeing that Lockhart seemed interested in this information, he gladly elaborated. "Ancient wizards used to live among Muggles; you could even hear of witches becoming queens."
"But with the formal establishment of the Statute of Secrecy, and the creation of force organizations like the Auror Office and prisons like Azkaban by Ministries of Magic in various countries, wizards had to start changing their living habits, establishing wizarding communities and villages."
"If you're interested in this, you can read A History of Magic by the renowned magical historian Bathilda Bagshot. It has a detailed introduction."
Bathilda Bagshot. Lockhart knew that old witch.
She lived in Godric's Hollow, was a neighbor of the Dumbledore family, and had always been on good terms with Albus Dumbledore.
She was also Gellert Grindelwald's great-aunt. Old Gellert had stayed with his great-aunt at the time, and it was Bathilda Bagshot who introduced the two young men.
Lockhart was soon drawn back to Fudge's narrative. "Before the Statute of Secrecy, wizards and Muggles lived together. After the Statute of Secrecy, wizards formed their own communities and villages. Many people can't imagine the impact such social upheaval would have on a system like the Wizengamot."
Fudge chuckled. "The Malfoy family was once very much against the Statute of Secrecy because wizards had to live together. This meant the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families lost their chance to become wizarding nobility. They ultimately had to rely on the system established by the Ministry of Magic. Regardless of how great their influence is, they can't escape this framework."
"Ancient pure-blood wizarding families, even the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families – these groups that should have represented the strongest wizarding influence – have now become their own small pure-blood circles."
"Can you understand the meaning of this change? The Wizengamot, which originally represented wizards, imperceptibly transformed into the last stronghold of the ancient pure-blood families, slowly degenerating into a small circle, no longer able to represent the collective will of wizarding society."
"The wheels of time roll ever forward. The Ministry of Magic will ultimately completely assimilate organizations like the Wizengamot."
Speaking of the times, Fudge had many thoughts.
He looked at Lockhart's dim figure in the darkness and asked, "From what I've just told you, have you noticed a huge problem emerging in our era?"
Lockhart fell into thought, and Fudge didn't rush him.
He was waiting for an answer to determine Lockhart's future positioning: whether he could be pushed to an even higher level of influence, or if more resources should be provided to pave his way to the pinnacle of magic.
"Muggle-born wizards?" Lockhart said, somewhat uncertainly, but he thought of this. "More and more Muggle-born wizards are appearing. Their Muggle family members will all know about the existence of wizards. In a sense, wizards have re-entered the co-existence state from before the Statute of Secrecy!"
"And it's very difficult for the Ministry of Magic to demand that these Muggle-born wizards leave their original families and enter wizarding communities or villages."
"Yes!" Fudge exclaimed. "Exactly!"
In truth, Lockhart had another answer: Voldemort. The Dark Lord's propositions would clearly receive the full support of the Wizengamot organization, aiming to reclaim the glory of the pure-blood families.
But this was clearly a forbidden topic in front of the current Minister for Magic.
"The times have placed a breakthrough opportunity before the Wizengamot. If they can solve this problem, perhaps the Wizengamot will once again become mainstream, and the Ministry of Magic would only be their subordinate body."
Fudge said this in a very jocular tone, a mysteriously mocking smile on his face. "But we all know that's impossible. They dislike Muggle-born wizards too much. You'll see when you get there; there won't be a single Muggle-born wizard."
"They can only grudgingly accept half-bloods, but only grudgingly. All the influential main seats are pure-bloods."
"Heh heh..."
In the darkness, he no longer hid his schadenfreude. "I estimate that in a few more years, they might not even be able to fill the pure-blood seats."
Lockhart offered no comment. In the social civilization of his previous life, people had long transcended issues of bloodline. History was so long that you could easily find someone on the street with ancestors of this or that illustrious name.
People only asked about bloodlines when buying cats or dogs.
"Oh, let's return to our original topic." Fudge ultimately felt that speaking these words was somewhat undignified. He cleared his throat a few times and said seriously, "This is the fundamental reason they will agree to me placing a Chief Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries' Bloodline Hall."
"They need you, understand? In fact, it's not that you need their recognition; they actually want someone to restart the research in the Bloodline Hall even more than we do."
This was actually a very interesting topic.
Regardless of an organization's nature, it is first and foremost composed of individual members, and the fundamental demands of these members truly reflect what the organization will support.
The "British Commonwealth Wizengamot" was very mysterious; most ordinary wizards had never even heard of it. But the members of the British Commonwealth Wizengamot were all well-known figures.
The carriage soon arrived at an ancient castle.
The atmosphere here didn't seem particularly solemn. Before the meeting, it felt more like a club gathering, with everyone holding drinks or snacks, chatting in small groups.
Fudge began to introduce Lockhart to the main seat members, leveraging his authority as Minister for Magic to largely bypass the numerous but ultimately negligible figures.
However, Lockhart actually found that most of the members he was meant to meet were familiar.
The current Chief Warlock (the person responsible for presiding over the meeting) of this generation's Wizengamot was Old Barty Crouch.
Lockhart had last seen this man when Kingsley took him to chat a bit, and he'd had a good impression. Old Barty was a seasoned bureaucrat who knew how to handle matters with humility and gentleness, and how to maintain dignity for both parties.
Granting dignity was the greatest respect, and everyone was willing to maintain Old Barty's dignity.
The others were all too familiar.
Lucius Malfoy, Arthur Weasley, Algie Longbottom (Neville's great-uncle), Garrick Ollivander (wand shop owner, British wizarding arms monopolist), Mr. Borgin (Borgin and Burkes owner, highly influential among Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley), Tom Abott (Leaky Cauldron owner).
All of the above came from the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, and they shared a significant commonality: they were all parents of Professor Lockhart's students.
Thanks to Lockhart's dedicated teaching of these children and his effective "fairy tale romantic adventures" which significantly improved their abilities, these parents generally expressed their gratitude to Lockhart.
Then there were other pure-blood families not among the Twenty-Eight, the most familiar of whom was Mr. Urquhart, representing the pure-blood families who chose a global approach to cultivating family influence.
There were simply too many people from various factions.
In fact, this world wasn't just divided into "Muggle-friendly" and "pure-blood supremacist" factions. Among the groups advocating for the exploration of magical mysteries, Madam Melore, one of the main seats of the Wizengamot, was the most respected representative.
This group didn't care about pure-bloods or Muggles. In their eyes, wizards who couldn't walk the path of magic were no different from Muggles.
In the Western context, there's a saying: "The gods' gifts come with a price."
But for Lockhart, whose bones still carried the cultural genes of his previous life, his understanding of the world had always been dialectical.
It logically had another interpretation, which was: "The gifts you give to the destiny of others and the world have already been paid for you in secret."
Of course, once there's a reward and wealth, people have to go and claim it.
This process of claiming rewards is perhaps why, even with fate influencing everything, human life remains meaningful.
Since his transmigration, Lockhart had come this far, from integrating into wizarding life to now standing eye-level with high society. His dedication to young wizards at the magical school during this time, and his interactions with various figures, had all brought the most bountiful returns.
It was just that thinking of everything from a "social" perspective made him feel somewhat less satisfied.
Lockhart preferred to examine things from a magical perspective. He believed that magic permeated every corner of a wizard's life. By stepping onto the sacred path of magic, life would naturally blossom into its better side.
Clink, clink, clink!
Old Barty Crouch, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, tapped his goblet, quieting the gathering. He then said loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, the topic of this gathering is—"
He vigorously waved his arm, gesturing towards Lockhart in the middle of the crowd. "The Ministry of Magic's Hero!"
Boom!
The fireplace beneath the colossal, gilded stone wall behind him suddenly erupted with a surge of flames. The flames quickly climbed, instantly covering the entire wall. Within the flames, the scene of Lockhart casting "Thunderstorm and Mountain Fire" unfolded like a movie.
Everyone stared in shock at the sight before them.
Truth be told, even Fudge, who had watched it repeatedly, still felt his blood stir as he looked up at the images on the wall.
Magic!
Only magic!
This was the eternal subject for wizards!
Even old politicians, their hearts long corrupted by power and profit, still felt a profound longing for magic well up from within as they witnessed this magnificent display.
"Let us welcome—" Old Barty Crouch shouted loudly, "Magical Master Gilderoy Lockhart!"
Boom!
The crowd suddenly erupted into thunderous applause. A few younger members, as if watching an idol, excitedly chanted Lockhart's name. This fervor quickly infected others around them, and soon, the shouts seemed to coalesce into a torrent.
"Gilderoy Lockhart!"
"Gilderoy Lockhart!"
"Gilderoy Lockhart!"
....
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