"Anthony, judging by your tone..." Terry Boot looked at Anthony Goldstein. "This 'Wizengamot England Youth Representative'... seems like a pretty big deal?"
"Of course it is!" Anthony raised his eyebrows. "How should I put this... what do you think the Wizengamot does?"
"Um..." Terry tilted his head slightly back, gazing at the candles floating overhead as he searched his memory. He said tentatively, "It seems to be... a department of the Ministry of Magic, mainly responsible for trying wizards?"
The Wizengamot had existed before the Ministry of Magic, dating back to the same era as the Ministry's predecessor, the "Wizards' Council";
Among English wizards, the impression of the Wizengamot was actually much the same as Terry's;
Over the past decade or so, the Wizengamot had been at its most active after Voldemort's downfall more than ten years ago;
At the time, Black wizards connected to Voldemort needed to be tried, and reports on Wizengamot trials could be found in the Daily Prophet almost every day;
Once the trials had been completed, the Wizengamot's influence had gradually faded. At most, the word "Wizengamot" would appear when the Order of Merlin medals were awarded.
Anthony said leisurely, "Trying wizards is only one of the Wizengamot's powers..."
"It just doesn't have much of a presence. In fact, every law used by the Ministry of Magic has to be passed by the Wizengamot before it can be implemented in the wizarding world."
"Now that you put it that way..." Chris Moen, beside them, grew interested as well and picked up the thread. "The Wizengamot sounds pretty important?"
"That's right!" Anthony nodded. "You remember Wizet's outrageous list of nominators, don't you?"
"Of course!" Wizet's roommates nodded.
Anthony continued, "Those department heads at the Ministry of Magic—even Cornelius Fudge, the Minister himself—are all members of the