"Welcome to Merlin's Cottage, everyone!" The witch approached and said enthusiastically.

"My name is Bertha Jorkins, and I'm a staff member of the Department of International Magical Exchange and Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic, and I'm going to welcome you into the Merlin Memorial Hall."

Bertha was very excited, even a little excited.

"Everyone, please come with me, over here."

The crowd followed her towards a gate.

"I really don't want to bother you, kid." Bertha's voice was curious, "Are you really the Stark who grabbed Tywin?" Is it really you? ”

William hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I think so!" She beamed. "I've been reading the Daily Prophet lately! I didn't expect Tywin to be a Death Eater! Will you be able to catch him and tell me more details? ”

"You know what? I'm two years older than Tywin, he's a Ravenclaw, but not like Ravenclaw at all, alas...... I've been watching him all the time, and I've noticed that he has an unusual relationship with Potter. ”

Bertha seemed to chatter and babble, and William found her to be a very fond listener of gossip.

She seemed to sense that William wasn't in the mood to discuss Tywin. "I'm sorry for listening to my nagging."

William thought Bertha would shut up, but she continued: "By the way, I heard that Judy Crouch was also involved in this matter?

Judy is the niece of my boss, Mr. Crouch, is it really related to her? If you want me to say, Mr. Crouch should have taken Judy to Azkaban as he had taken his son......"

Mr. Weasley coughed twice, and Bertha looked up in confusion and said apologetically, "It's already here." ”

William followed her gaze and saw an indoor man-made river flowing calmly in front of them, a thick fog hanging over the surface of the river.

William looked ahead, and across the tidal river, he saw the outline of the Merlin Memorial, with its right-angled lines resembling the Parthenon in ancient Greece.

The spire of the Merlin Monument, carved by a monolithic boulder, resembles the majestic mast of a sailing ship in the light of the light.

"Bertha, let's go first." William said.

"Oh, let's go." Bertha was a little disappointed.

"I'll write to you when I get back, and we'll continue talking." A smile tugged at the corners of William's mouth.

"Good!" Bertha was happy, "If there is any secret news, I will not tell anyone!" ”

When Bertha was far away, Fred frowned and said, "William, you don't really want to tell her, do you?" ”

William lowered his voice and said, "Of course I won't tell her, but haven't you noticed that she is very well-informed?" ”

"Indeed......," George nodded, "this time, Bertha has already leaked a lot of things in the ministry. ”

"We need someone in the ministry." William said, "In the future, our goods will definitely not be limited to Hogwarts, but will be sold throughout the United Kingdom and even other countries, and we need to grasp the policy trends of the Ministry of Magic in advance." ”

"That's right." Fred laughed.

Neither Weasley nor Mr. Diggory are suitable, with the former being well-informed but not telling the twin brothers, and the latter being less well-informed.

Bertha is a good candidate.

"Have you noticed anything strange?" Cedric said suddenly.

William nodded and frowned, "Bertha has a good memory, and she even remembers many things when she was a student. ”

"But the wizard before said that Bertha has a bad memory lately, and she always forgets all kinds of things." Fred was surprised.

"She's only in her thirties, so it's impossible for her memory to deteriorate suddenly, usually by drinking a large amount of a Forgetting Potion or being brutally cast with an Oblivion Charm." William said.

Whether it's a Forgetting Potion or an Oblivion Charm, you can erase someone else's memory.

However, this method is extremely crude, and if the spell is not cast correctly, it can erase the more important parts of one's memory and cause irreversible brain damage.

One of the consequences is that they become very forgetful.

Bertha, a staff member of the Ministry of Magic, was actually cast by someone else to cast the Oblivion Curse, and the other party was too bold, right?

What Bertha had seen, William was curious.

Soon, everyone walked into the Merlin Memorial Hall.

The hall is a well-proportioned, semicircular hall in the style of an ancient Greek amphitheater. Elegant arched walls of sandstone and Italian plaster accentuate the mottled breccia columns.

Twenty-five life-size statues of the Knights of the Round Table are arranged in an arc on a large open field of black and white marble tiles.

The group walked to the front, and at first glance they saw Flitwick and Professor McGonagall at the front.

Seeing Professor McGonagall, the twin brothers held their breath and didn't dare to say anything. McGonagall was one of the people they feared the most.

Hermione had a smile on her face, and Professor McGonagall had gone to their house a few days ago, convinced Aerys, and taken her on a trip to Diagon Alley.

McGonagall was also very surprised, she didn't expect to meet Hermione.

Several people sat down in their chairs, and for the next half hour, their place gradually filled with people.

Wizards came to say hello constantly, and Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had been teaching at Hogwarts for decades, and many of them were their students.

Mr. Weasley also showed his unusual connections, constantly shaking hands with people who looked like wizards of high standing.

Soon, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, arrived, followed by a group of people.

Fudge strode over, his smile on his face, and it seemed that he had caught Tywin and put him in a much better mood lately.

"William, long time no see, how are you doing?" He grabbed William's hand and greeted him with warmth, and it seemed that the two were on good terms.

But the last time the two saw each other was in Dumbledore's office.

Fudge affectionately introduces him to the wizard behind him.

"William Stark, you know, the youngest Merlin recipient." He shouted to the wizard.

The man was dressed in black robes, and William felt a lot like Professor Snape, and he still smelled of potions.

William felt like he already knew who it was.

"This is Damcos Belby......" Fudge patted Belby on the shoulder, seemingly close friends with him.

"The inventor of the wolf poison potion, William, you should know who he is...... Those pesky werewolves are saved, as long as they take it a week before the full moon, they will keep their sanity even if they become wolves, which can save the Ministry of Magic a lot of effort, but the price is too expensive. ”

"Connelly, you should know that I didn't plan to release the wolf poison potion for the time being, and I am still improving it, and the cost is too high." Belby frowned.

"But......" Fudge rubbed his hands, "friend, there were so many things going on in the last few days, and everyone needs good news to cheer up, and those werewolves also need potions to save their lives."

You see, as soon as you announced it, you were awarded the Merlin Order of the Second Degree, and you can improve it slowly, can't you? ”

William listened to it for a while and understood, according to Belby, he was not ready to announce the formula of the wolf poison potion for the time being, and would not announce it until the cost was reduced by improving it.

It could be a month or two, or maybe a year or two.

But Fudge obviously can't wait, he's a good politician who knows when to make announcements and maximize his benefits.

Before Tywin was caught, Fudge was so busy that he threw the news out to divert public attention and reduce a lot of pressure.

William had to sigh that Fudge was really a politician with means.

He glanced at Belby again.

The Potions Master was the uncle of his roommate Marcus, and as Marcus said, their family didn't have a good relationship with this uncle.

Otherwise, William would have seen Marcus on such an occasion.

……

……

(I would like to ask for recommendation votes.) ）