Speaking Tough When You Have the Confidence

That afternoon, Fudge "invited" Lucius to the Ministry of Magic.

Without much pleasantry, the two got straight to the point.

"Tell me, Lucius, what exactly is going on?"

Minister Fudge is extremely busy; he has no time to pay attention to news reports.

Lucius hesitated for a moment before recounting the article that smeared Harry, repeatedly stating that he had not written it.

If there is any benefit involved, even just a small one, it's possible that he was behind it.

However, this smear article not only failed to gain any benefit, but also provoked Sirius Black's furious retaliation, which was clearly an extremely foolish move.

Fudge certainly believed it, but what good was his belief? People had come all the way to the Ministry of Magic to ask for proof of where the donations went; they couldn't just forge documents to fool people.

Lucius rubbed his furrowed brow. "Clearly, someone wants Malfoy and Black to fight."

He's been busy developing a series of new products around the Magical Base Station lately, and he simply doesn't have time to deal with anything else.

Fudge thought further: if smear articles could appear in the newspaper, it meant that there was something wrong with the newly established Magical News Department.

"Lucius, the fact that the donations went there proves that you've found a way to resolve this. I will fully cooperate with you."

False certificates can only fool ordinary wizards, but Black and Shafiq are members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and they have plenty of ways to determine the truth.

There must be a bill for the donations spent on the Ministry of Magic's daily expenses, but can the Ministry of Magic's bills be shown to outsiders at will?

So, the simplest way is to purchase it. As long as it's not something as outrageous as a piece of parchment costing one Galleon, it's still possible to add water to it.

Lucius was immediately displeased upon hearing this.

Asking him to find a solution is just asking him to spend money to fill the hole; Fudge, that tightwad, is treating him like a sucker.

But could he refuse? He could only smile and agree on the surface while cursing under his breath.

He can pay up, but Fudge must also give him an explanation and find out who is behind that smear article.

"Don't worry, Lucius, I will definitely give you an explanation."

After seeing Lucius off, Fudge immediately went to the Magical News Department with a dark expression.

The three young men from the former the Daily Prophet were busy typesetting tomorrow's news and were completely unaware of his arrival as Minister for Magic.

"Cough cough—"

After coughing several times, Gerry finally peeked out from behind a large stack of drafts.

"Minister Fudge!" He stood up excitedly, accidentally knocking all the drafts on the table to the floor.

The remaining two young people also looked over in a flurry, and the spilled ink dripped onto the scattered drafts on the floor.

Fudge's face turned even uglier.

When he learned that Umbridge had changed newspaper suppliers, which prevented him from revising the bizarrely appearing smear article in time, his face was beyond dark clouds.

She's only been in the position of Senior Deputy Minister for less than two years, and she already knows how to use her power to seek personal Fawley. If we don't give her a good talking-to, won't she end up getting more than me?

Fudge calmed himself down a bit and looked at the three anxious young people. "The Magical News Department is an important department for us to control public opinion. I will have a meeting with the higher-ups later to discuss how to improve the department's operational efficiency. Thank you for your hard work during this time."

He patted the three of them on the shoulder. "Don't be nervous. Can you tell me what problems the Magical News Department is facing right now?"

The three exchanged glances, Gerry, who was the most confident, calmly listed a number of problems.

First, there is a severe shortage of manpower.

"Mr. Minister, the Magical News Department can't possibly function with just the three of us. Although we have experience working at a newspaper, the daily news volume has been overwhelming lately. Just laying out the next day's news takes at least two hours of overtime."

The shortage of manpower was obvious; when the newspaper was acquired, those older staff members should have been taken along as well.

Next are management issues.

"We are just lowly employees. When we occasionally encounter requests from our superiors, we have no choice but to do what they ask."

This "she" clearly refers to Umbridge.

The newspaper supplier can be changed at will, and the news content can be changed at will. It's really not good if there isn't a decent director.

Next is the review of the article content.

"Mr. Minister, I think the Magical News Department needs to set up a separate review department, which will be responsible for reviewing, instead of leaving it to the higher-ups as it is now."

The Ministry of Ministry of Magic's initial intention in the Daily Prophet was to better control public opinion. Therefore, whether or not a censorship department exists is not important; what is important is that the censors must be clever enough.

Then there's the issue of salary and benefits.

Gerry became more and more confident as he spoke, even daring to look Fudge directly in the eye. "Mr. Minister, the Magical News Department is a department that often works overtime, and our workload is the heaviest. I think our overtime pay and benefits should be increased appropriately."

It's almost the 21st century; you can't expect a horse to run without feeding it.

The reason these three young people were chosen was because they had no family burdens, which would save them a lot of unnecessary expenses.

Looking back now, some expenses really can't be cut back.

Seeing Fudge Gerry slightly, Gary quickly seized the opportunity to demand employee Fawley.

Their former the Daily Prophet had performance bonuses, which were broken down into individual positions based on monthly newspaper sales. Although jobs at the Ministry of Magic were considered secure, they would eventually have to get married, have children, and support their families.

Fudge patted Gerry's shoulder heavily, his smile seemingly tinged with anger. "I understand that everyone's job is tough, but the Ministry of Magic is not my personal fiefdom. I need to have a serious discussion about this with the higher-ups."

The Fawley were basically gone, but Gerry didn't stop there. "Mr. Minister," he said, "This isn't just a problem for our department. If the Fawley were good enough, I believe all departments could work more efficiently."

The other two young men looked at him with horror.

Having the confidence to speak makes one tough; I wonder what kind of new job Sirius Black promised them.

Fudge's smile softened again. "Young man, your name is Gerry, right? We will definitely consider your suggestion seriously."

He gave Gerry a long look. "It's getting late. It's time for me to go to my meeting."

After leaving the Magical News Department, his face was extremely pale.

Young people are inexperienced and it's not a problem for them to speak without thinking. The key issue is that Gerry speaks too bluntly. Some things can only be hinted at; otherwise, they lose their meaning.