Harley felt a little surprised.
Professor Slughorn was usually a cheerful, kindly old man who lived by the principles of "enjoying life" and "harmony brings prosperity."
It was rare to see him taking such obvious pleasure in someone else's misfortune.
Seeing the curiosity in Harley's eyes, Professor Slughorn didn't answer immediately. Instead, he checked his watch.
Then he drew his wand and waved it lightly, casting several spells around them before explaining:
"It looks like we have some time to spare, so I'll give you a quick explanation. Do you know about Fudge and Crouch's relationship?"
Harley had a vague idea, but she still shook her head. She wanted to hear the opinion of Professor Slughorn, who had many connections in the Ministry of Magic.
"You must think that since Fudge is under political pressure, he'd definitely be keeping an eye on your return, right?
"If I'm not mistaken, the reason he doesn't know you're back is probably that Barty Crouch Sr.—the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation—didn't tell him."
Although he had put several spells around them, Professor Slughorn still lowered his voice as he handed Harley a roll of parchment.
"I guessed this might happen, and expected you wouldn't know a lot of the details, so I prepared in advance.
"Read what's on the parchment. With your intelligence, you'll surely be able to piece things together."
Harley nodded silently and quickly scanned the parchment.
After reading it briefly, she understood what was going on.
Fudge and Crouch had never gotten along.
After all, according to Ministry rules, only the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was eligible to become Minister for Magic.
The other steps in the process were just formalities.
After Voldemort's downfall, the previous Minister for Magic retired, and Barty Crouch was