The British Ministry of Magic was located deep beneath Whitehall in central London. Its visitor entrance was a red telephone box in a dim alley near Whitehall.
After dialing "62442" on the telephone and passing identity verification, the telephone box would turn into an elevator and take visitors directly to the Ministry of Magic's main hall.
Of course, there was more than one such telephone box. Besides them, there were other ways to enter the Ministry of Magic, such as the Floo Network.
Harry and the others each entered through a red telephone box and took the elevator to the Ministry of Magic.
The moment they stepped out of the red telephone box elevator, a vast hall opened up before them.
Fireplaces were set into the long walls on both sides. They were all connected to the Floo Network and could accommodate many people at once.
The floor was made of gleaming dark wood, while the ceiling was peacock blue and covered in shifting golden symbols.
In the middle of the hall stood the Fountain of Magical Brethren, a group of golden statues depicting a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a House-elf.
At the end of the entrance hall stood two large golden doors, with a security desk beside them. Beyond the doors was a smaller hall containing many elevators.
As Harry and the others approached the fountain, they came across a Daily Prophet vendor selling newspapers.
At first, upon seeing Harry's group again, the newspaper-selling wizard instinctively called out, "The latest Daily Prophet, gentlemen! Would you like a copy?"
But when he saw Harry's face, his whole body froze, and his expression became exceptionally stiff.
Noticing something was wrong, Harry walked over to him and smiled. "One copy of the Daily Prophet."
The vendor wanted to