Although he had doubts, Dumbledore didn't voice them this time. Since it was something Roger didn't want to talk about directly, forcing him wouldn't yield any results.
Unbeknownst to Roger, Dumbledore felt a growing sense of urgency.
The oldest and most intense human fear is the fear of the unknown. When facing the unknown, even powerful wizards like Dumbledore are exceptionally cautious.
Their conversation was brief, lasting less than a minute in total. Yet, even that short half-minute stop was enough to draw attention.
The once bustling and noisy atrium of the Ministry of Magic gradually fell silent, with more and more people slowing their hurried steps.
Dumbledore's status was self-evident. Nearly all the new generation of British wizards had been his students. Roger's affairs last year were widely reported in the newspapers, and he later became a new topic of conversation along with The Boy Who Lived.
The current heated debate about legal amendments at the Ministry of Magic arose precisely from Roger teaching Harry Time Magic.
Now, with these two arriving at the Ministry together, some imaginative individuals began to connect it with recent events.
Could it be…
Despite their suspicions, they dared not speak or ask anything.
Unlike the innocent young wizards, they, as adults, had long learned to respect power and fear power.
They merely watched, their gazes lowered slightly.
Noticing what people were thinking from their expressions, Roger glanced at Dumbledore, who frowned slightly at the silent stares of the crowd. A smile played on Roger's lips.
Being misunderstood wasn't a pleasant experience, but seeing Dumbledore facing his own kind of trouble, Roger found it quite amusing.
"To be misunderstood is the fate of the communicator."
...
...
...
Apart from silent observation, the crowd in the atrium made no other moves. After Dumbledore and Roger left by elevator, everything returned to normal. Although some couldn't help but discuss it a few times, nothing more happened.
Most people were busy. Who would come to the Ministry of Magic without a reason? Getting things done was important; gossip could wait until they had free time.
What followed was unremarkable.
Roger and Dumbledore took the elevator all the way to the office of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
The original Cornelius Fudge, while outwardly obedient to Dumbledore, had been secretly trying to build his own influence within the Ministry, intending to escape Dumbledore's "influence" and become a truly powerful Minister of Magic.
But now, everything was different.
Dumbledore's trip to the Middle East where he used his wand to reason, the Fear Demon incident, the Seer and The Boy Who Lived studying at Hogwarts, Grindelwald's escape from prison, and now the legal amendment incident with Dumbledore's subtle influence...
With each successive event, Cornelius Fudge had fully witnessed how terrifying Dumbledore's "power" truly was! He now knew who was the undisputed uncrowned king of the British wizarding world.
He now planned to lie low, not daring to reveal his ambitions.
For the matter Dumbledore personally asked him to handle, he naturally nodded repeatedly. Roger didn't even need to follow up; with a single order from Fudge, everything was taken care of.
...Actually, it wasn't Fudge's word alone within the Ministry. There were some operations that weren't entirely by the book, and he couldn't just make decisions on a whim.
But when the supervisor in charge of the department managing high-risk alchemical items was summoned, they immediately understood what to do upon seeing the influential figures in the room.
It was similar to the situation where "in principle, this is not allowed."
In principle, it wasn't allowed, but some people were the principle itself.
Special circumstances called for special treatment.
"Sigh..." Only after respectfully seeing the two visitors out did Cornelius Fudge let out a long sigh and slump back into his chair.
The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was a popular candidate for Minister of Magic, but his son, Barty Crouch Jr., being identified as a Death Eater cost him the opportunity. Another popular candidate, Dumbledore, had, as on previous occasions, refused the invitation to become Minister of Magic.
This allowed Fudge to "pick up" the position.
He had initially thought it would be a job that fell into his lap, as the British wizarding world had been peaceful since Voldemort was "defeated by The Boy Who Lived."
Taking office, making money, and gaining some power if the opportunity arose – this was the "laid-back minister" path Fudge had planned for himself.
But after actually taking the position of Minister of Magic, he found it was nothing like that!
Last year, there was the Wizengamot trial that almost led to an international conflict with the Middle East. This year, at the beginning of the year, Grindelwald escaped from prison and even raided the Department of Mysteries.
These events were a major embarrassment to the Ministry of Magic.
If Dumbledore hadn't stood by him, he would have had a very difficult time recently.
Then there was the legal amendment. While the people pushing for it had good intentions, Fudge was certain that such things would eventually devolve into political struggles, factionalism, and the expansion of power.
To give a simple example, consider the abortion debate in the United States. Both sides believed they were right and had their reasons, but neither could convince the other, leading to a purely political struggle.
Reform was never that easy.
Fudge felt that while those powerful wizards were skilled in magic, when it came to politics... heh.
If not for the "reasoning" of the wand being so forceful, he would have been defeated eight times over by now.
"Minister, this item, it's truly dangerous."
Despite being in her thirties, Dolores Umbridge, dressed in a pink girlish outfit, held the sample of the first-generation Virtual Reality device left by Roger at the Ministry with a very serious expression.
Although she often acted like a clown, she was also an outstanding graduate of Hogwarts. She joined the Ministry of Magic at seventeen, was extremely skilled at understanding people, and, as a half-blood witch, rose rapidly through the ranks of the Ministry.
Perhaps she was detestable in some people's eyes, but she never lacked foresight.
"To let it go so easily..."
"I know, I'm not blind." Fudge, lying in his chair, interrupted casually without even looking up, before she could finish speaking.
Every time he finished dealing with Dumbledore's affairs, he would always say this to the person beside him.
Virtual reality, multiplayer online, thought acceleration—anyone who wasn't an idiot could see the terrifying potential of this thing.
The work of this 11-year-old young Seer had already made him smell the coming of an era of great change.
"What, do you have some brilliant idea?"
"If you dare to confront Dumbledore and that Seer directly, then go grab some Floo Powder now and head to Hogwarts. I'll await your good news," Fudge said with a sneer.
Many things are like this; the problem isn't whether you can see if something is wrong, but that you have to do it no matter what.
Reaching into his inner lining, Fudge took out his wand and fiddled with it.
The principles of politics were still not as strong as the principles of a wand.
If only I could also become a powerful wizard...
For a moment, Fudge's eyes were filled with a touch of melancholy.
...
...
...
"Harry, this thing is way more fun than Wizard's Chess!" Ron exclaimed, full of pleasant surprise.
After getting permission, they naturally began to use it.
Roger found an abandoned old classroom inside Hogwarts, the same one that used to house the Mirror of Erised, cleaned it up, and converted it into a virtual reality experience room.
But Roger discovered a new problem.
The young wizards at Hogwarts seemed to be a bit too obsessed with the game.
Looking at the long queue of students outside the old classroom, Roger pondered for a moment: "Should I implement some kind of anti-addiction mechanism?"
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