Pansy suddenly discovered that what she needed to care about in Marcus Flint's letter might not be Marcus' intention.
Because compared to Marcus, whom she was not very familiar with, the performance of Iluli, whom she had just met but had a more in-depth relationship with, could obviously be a better benchmark for how she chose to reply to the letter.
"Eluli... why would she tell Marcus about my relationship with her? What good would it do to her? If the Flint family knew about it... "
When he thought of this, Pansy suddenly felt very confused. But after seeing Iluli's quick wit many times, she didn't think that the other party would make such a stupid mistake.
So, what happened after Iluli returned to Flint's house
The more he thought about it, the more Pansy realized that Marcus's letter really couldn't be answered easily. So much so that she was still thinking about this issue after returning from her walk until she went to the auditorium for dinner.
However, compared to what Pansy is struggling with, what Maka needs to consider now is much more complicated.
In the face of the role of the basilisk in Haierbo and Martin's actions after that, the accident of Iluli's imprisonment can only be regarded as a personal issue derived from unplanned matters.
Of course, since Pansy has made the water turbid, it is difficult to start with Maka, but Haierbo will definitely fall into the same situation.
And in a situation like this where it is inconvenient for both parties to take action easily, it is equivalent to Maka who is on the bright side having some advantages.
So, he doesn't have to worry now.
"What kind of situation is this?"
At breakfast time, as soon as Maka saw Pansy's expression that was still a little uncertain in her thoughts, she knew that this Slytherin girl must have encountered some problems again.
But soon, he withdrew his gaze and stopped distracting his attention to Pansy.
because…
"Maka, I heard that you and the Minister of Magic, Scrimgeour, will be interviewed by the Daily Prophet today?"
I don't know where Slughorn got the news. It was obvious that this matter was just settled yesterday afternoon, but the fat old man actually already knew about it.
It has to be said that once a person lives for a long time, he will naturally know more and more people, let alone a guy like Slughorn who particularly likes to run a social circle.
"Yes! There was an interview, which was held in the conference hall of the Ministry of Magic."
Maka turned her head and smiled at Slughorn.
"If you weren't a professor and you have to teach students on time, I would have asked you to come with me - I know that you are good at guiding public opinion, at least you are more persuasive than a young man like me. !”
"Oh!" The old man laughed and said, "It's okay, it's enough if you have this heart!"
However, Maka could only shake her head secretly.
Of course, Slughorn was "good" at being in the limelight, but if it was something that required taking risks, the fat old man might not be interested.
Therefore, if Maca tells him that the person being interviewed is very likely to be targeted by someone... Slughorn probably won't even have time to hide!
…
As mentioned before, the Ministry of Magic is currently under martial law, and almost everyone entering and exiting must undergo a set of fairly strict checks.
But even so, Scrimgeour still felt uneasy.
After all, although the disappearance of the dungeon prisoners is not a big deal, it also represents the negligence of the Ministry of Magic's defense capabilities. This situation of allowing others to come and go freely is obviously not the first time since Scrimgeour took office.
When he thought about the last period when Cornelius Fudge served as Minister, because the battlefield between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix suddenly moved to the Ministry of Magic, causing the Ministry to become chaotic, Scrimgeour was very worried that he would also Faced with such a desperate situation.
Because of this, when he repeatedly noticed that something was wrong, he immediately thought of corresponding countermeasures like a frightened bird.
It's a pity that in terms of talents as Minister of Magic, he is obviously lacking.
When he couldn't think of a reason after much thought, he could only resort to his old skills and bring out the skills he had when he was the head of the Auror Office.
So in fact, the current security inspection process and the duty plan for various parts of the ministry were actually formulated by him and Kingsley.
On the other hand, things like "accepting an exclusive interview with the Daily Prophet" were actually Maka's idea when she wrote back to Kingsley.
That morning, Scrimgeour came to his office very early, and then began to wonder with full of anxiety which one would come first, Maca or the reporter.
Not far from Scrimgeour's desk, Kingsley and the minister's secretary were sitting on the sofa, facing each other. Neither of them knew what to say.
Kingsley naturally knew what Maka was thinking, and he even knew the real purpose of Maka's proposal for this interview.
But it was obvious that it was neither necessary nor possible for him to reveal these things to Scrimgeour.
As for the secretary to the minister opposite Kingsley, he had nothing to say, because even the minister, Scrimgeour, was still worried about the Ministry of Magic...or, in other words, about his future.
"McLean... isn't he here yet?"
Since Scrimgeour did not dare to open the floo network to the Ministry of Magic at will during this period, neither Maca nor the reporter would come directly from the fireplace in his office. Unable to detect Maka's arrival immediately, Scrimgeour could only ask outside again and again if he had arrived.
"I'll ask again..."
Although this was the third time Scrimgeour asked this question, Kingsley did not remind or complain, even if he had to get up again to understand the situation for him.
But this time, before Kingsley could stand up, he was stopped by the secretary to the minister opposite.
"I'll come and go this time! Shacklebolt, you accompanying Mr. Scrimgeour here will at least make him feel more at ease than me staying here."
After whispering something to Kingsley, he nodded in Scrimgeour's direction, then turned and headed for the door.
"...Actually, if Jim is here, it makes me feel at ease."
Scrimgeour watched his number one secretary leave the office. After he left the office, he turned his head in the direction of Kingsley and said this.
Upon hearing this, Kingsley could only shrug helplessly.
"You should have said this when he could hear it!"
"Oh... I guess so."
Scrimgeour blinked blankly, then picked up the tea cup at hand and took a sip, even though it had already gone cold.
To be honest, as the situation in the British wizarding community becomes increasingly uncertain, the pressure on him as a minister is indeed great. And because he couldn't think of any way to relieve the pressure in his head, even now, he felt that he couldn't bear it anymore.
"Shakel, do you think I'm okay with me like this? Doesn't it look a little lackluster? If I am photographed and published in the newspaper, won't the people think that I am no longer qualified for the position of minister?"
As he spoke, Scrimgeour couldn't help but pick up the round mirror that was upside down on the corner of the table, and straightened his hair and clothes in front of the mirror.
Kingsley looked at him speechlessly as he was busy there, but it was not that he could not understand the pressure on the other party - despite the superficial glory of the position of Minister of Magic, the responsibilities and pressures are actually quite big, especially in today's uncertain environment. under the situation.
When he thought that he might be pushed to the position by Maka in the future, he had to start to hesitate.
However, just as the atmosphere in the office became a little heavy due to Scrimgeour's tossing, several knocks suddenly sounded from the door, causing him to finally put down the round mirror in his hand again.
"Ahem..." Scrimgeour cleared his throat, and then said loudly, "Please come in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the minister's office was opened from the outside, and two figures walked in from the door. Among them, the one leading the way was Jim, the minister's secretary, who had just been out a while ago, and following him was a tall witch.
"Mr. Minister Scrimgeour, nice to meet you," the witch said with a reserved smile and a soft tone, "I am Betty Braithwaite, political and economic columnist for the Daily Prophet. ... Oh, because I just transferred from the international column, you may not have seen me much. But..."
Just as she was speaking, she suddenly chuckled again, and said with a clear meaning:
"I'm sure you are familiar with my colleague Rita Skeeter, but I have to say, Mr. Minister, I have completely different interviewing styles from hers."
Her words were obviously meant to draw a clear line between her and the unscrupulous colleague, and also to let Scrimgeour know that she was not the kind of reporter who would write anything just for the sake of stunts.
However, although Scrimgeour still couldn't tell what kind of person she was from these few words, since she could specifically bring up Rita Skeeter for comparison, maybe she really was a professional with a real career. The ethics of journalists are also unknown.
"Oh, that would be great!" Scrimgeour stood up immediately and extended his hand to signal, "Please sit down for a moment! When Mr. MacLean arrives, the interview can begin."
"There's no rush." Seeing this, female reporter Betty suddenly pointed to the door behind her. "My photographer is still waiting outside. I wonder if Mr. Minister can let him come in and have a rest?"
"Photographer? Of course, of course! Then—"
Before Scrimgeour had time to finish, he saw another person walk in from outside the door and said hello briskly:
"Hello, Mr. Scrimgeour... You have a nice tie. Where did you buy it?"