The world spun around, and by the time Joel could react, he and Dumbledore had landed on the shiny dark wood floor.

The peacock-blue ceiling is inlaid with glittering gold symbols, constantly moving and changing, like a huge high-altitude bulletin board, and the walls are lined with dark black and shiny wood panels, and many gilded fireplaces are embedded in the wooden boards, which are ornate and solemn.

Every few seconds, with a soft pop, a wizard pops out of one of the fireplaces on the left, and on the right, there are several people lining up in front of each fireplace waiting to leave.

They were hurried, carrying a Daily Prophet in their hands, many in plain clothes—mostly black or white, and a few in beige robes with an "M" symbol on their chests for the Ministry of Magic.

"That's someone from the Law Enforcement Division," Dumbledore led Joel down the crowd, "the beaters who hunt down the general criminals and the Aurors who track down the dark wizards will wear this outfit, and they're a little higher in rank than the average staff. ”

"Wouldn't this outfit be conspicuous?" Joel followed Dumbledore's side, watching the batters in beige outfits and the Aurors enter the fireplace with their heads held high, as if they were going on a mission, "Isn't this suit a live target if you act at night?" ”

According to common sense, this kind of character who needs to perform camouflage stealth missions is more reasonable to decorate in black or camouflage, which is convenient for movement, and the batter's beige robe and Auror are easy to get dirty, not to mention, and it is also very easy to expose themselves, Joel can't understand what kind of brain circuit the designer has.

Dumbledore didn't know how to answer Joel's question, "Maybe...... Do they have their own considerations? ”

As they walked down the long hallway and into the foyer, Joel was first greeted by a banner hanging in the air depicting Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, no less long than the one in the Great Hall when the Academy Cup was being handed out, and below the banner, many wizards were just looking at the newspaper.

"Wow......" Joel sighed.

"Cornelius always likes to play this game......" Dumbledore couldn't hear the compliment.

Not long after entering the foyer, a fountain lay in the center of the hall, and a group of solid gold statues stood in a circular pool, which Joel visually judged to be taller than Yao Ming.

Standing in the C position was a noble male wizard who raised his wand and pointed it straight to the sky, and Joel almost mistook him for summoning the Nine Heavens Thunder and luring it with his staff.

Surrounding the wizard was a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf, all of whom looked up at the witches and wizards with adoring eyes, and beams of shining water shot out from the tip of the wizard's wand, the centaur's bow, the tip of the elf's hat, and the ears of the house-elves.

"This is the Fountain of the Magical Brothers," Dumbledore patiently introduced him, "you can throw some coins into the waterhole, and the proceeds will go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Injuries." ”

"This is what a wizard did, right?" Joel glanced at the statue in the fountain again, "A cocky wizard to be exact, I've never heard centaurs and elves worship wizards. ”

There is no mistake

"Joel, you sometimes have to understand the demands of various interest groups," Dumbledore led him to a row of golden gates, "each group has a different position, behaves differently, and creates completely different works, which is very simple. ”

"It's the same with us taking over your parents' estate today."

Instead of passing through the golden gate, they came to a wooden table where a middle-aged wizard sit.

"Good morning, Albus," the wizard said sleepily, "with a child?" ”

"That's right, to see Connelly." Dumbledore motioned for Joel to hand over his wand.

Joel didn't hesitate to hand over his wand, it was the grapevine wood wand, and he was already prepared for it as he was familiar with the plot of the original game.

The wizard tossed it onto a brass scale, the weight of his wand pressing it to the other side, and the slightly higher tray slowly spit out a note like a printer.

"Eleven inches, grapevine wood with dragon heartstrings, two years of use, right?" The wizard yawned.

"That's right."

Hearing this, the wizard returned the wand from the scales to Joel.

Dumbledore led Joel through the gate and into a smaller hall with dozens of elevators, fenced off with golden fences.

It was the rush hour at work, and the two waited for a long time to get on an elevator with not many people.

It was not uncommon for the Ministry of Magic staff to say hello to Dumbledore, and even Cornelius Fudge was a student of Dumbledore by his age.

Five minutes later, they finally arrived at the minister's office on the basement level (the foyer was located on the eighth basement floor).

The hallways here are empty, and there are only two offices in the huge space.

Joel's eyes were sharp, and as he passed by, he saw a sign on the door of the office near the elevator that read "Back Office", and Dumbledore led him all the way inside to the innermost office.

He knocked lightly on the wooden door, and received a response from the man inside, before pushing open the door and walking in.

A gray-haired man was sitting in an office chair looking through the papers in his hand, and saw Dumbledore open the door and walk in, his face immediately overflowing with a big smile, Joel had seen his portrait in the foyer, Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister for Magic.

He stood up to greet Dumbledore, Minister Fudge was not tall, about half a head taller than Joel, and the two of them collided with Dumbledore's collarbone as they embraced.

"Dear Albus...... Fudge's tone was exaggerated, "is there anything you need my help with coming here today?" ”

"It's not me, Connelly," Dumbledore said in a deep voice, "it's this kid. ”

Fudge seemed to notice Joel, who had been following Dumbledore all along.

"This is ......," Fudge wondered.

"Joel Taylor, sir." Joel replied.

"He's the Meadows' child," Dumbledore said, looking at Fudge's thoughtful face, "that's the Meadows you thought to yourself, Connelly." ”

"Albus, what are you bringing him for?" Fudge, who was poked at the center, said incoherently.

"His parents disappeared eleven years ago, but the inheritance he left behind was held by the Ministry of Magic until now," Dumbledore pulled out his wand and conjured a chair for himself and Joel, "He's old enough to go to school now, and it's time to give him back the inheritance." ”

Fudge pursed his lips, his previous smile had all been retracted, and he now looked more like a politician, "With all due respect, Dumbledore, he can't get those inheritances now." ”