Long confined within a cage
Ludo left the Office somewhat unhappy—nobody wants to let a money-making opportunity slip away, but he couldn't help it.
After all, anyone who dares to go against Minister Scrimgeour is courting death.
He's certainly bold, but not to that extent. He's at most a ruthless gambler, far from being a terrifying figure like Scrimgeour who could go toe-to-toe with Voldemort.
Ludo comforted himself, thinking that no matter what, at least he could make some money from it—even being posted to Austria meant receiving a salary.
Although it doesn't allow for huge profits, having money and being able to evade the Dark Lord is already pretty good.
He headed toward the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures —to inform Diggory Jr. to come to the Minister's Office.
Cedric Diggory Ludo knew well, after all, he was the host of the Triwizard Tournament, and Cedric was Champion of Hogwarts.
Back then, old Diggory talked about this every day at the Ministry of Magic, boasting about his son—and many people were indeed envious, as young Diggory was indeed very outstanding.
However, to Ludo's surprise, the minister actually put this young man in charge of the accounts. He had only joined the Ministry of Magic this year, yet he was entrusted with such an important task. Ludo really didn't know how Cedric had managed to do it.
Ludo was quite envious of Cedric —managing accounts was a job that could be very lucrative.
I really don't understand why such a newcomer could get such an important position.
Ludo, of course, had no idea that this was someone planted by a mastermind behind the scenes, someone who was one of the few people in the Wizard world who could keep track of numbers.
Will's choice of Cedric was not without reason—besides being a Cedric individual, the guy also possessed mathematical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary Wizard.
Will had previously discovered that Cedric possessed exceptional mathematical abilities, was remarkably sensitive to numbers, and calculated much faster than the average person.
Don't underestimate this ability; in the Wizarding World where math isn't taught, the vast majority of Wizard are mathematically illiterate.
Even Half-blood or Muggle-born Wizard who have studied in the Muggle world are the same—with just that little bit of elementary knowledge, if they don't learn it for seven years at Hogwarts, they will have forgotten it all long ago.
The Wizard world's system of numbers is not the simple and easy-to-understand decimal system. 1 Galleon equals 17 Sickle, 1 Sickle equals 29 Knut, and 1 Galleon equals 493 Knut.
This bizarre monetary system was enough to make a large number of Wizard fall asleep on the spot.
Therefore, the Wizard ' poor mathematical abilities are not only a problem of academic performance, but also related to this magical mechanism.
Under these circumstances, Will naturally needed to have someone keep an eye on the project's accounts, and he chose Cedric as a suitable candidate.
Ludo's voice rang out from the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures: "Diggory, Diggory!"
He didn't know which Office Cedric was in, so this was the only way he could do it.
Soon, a middle-aged man with round faces, wearing Glasses, gray hair, and a short beard poked his head out of an Office: "Hello, Mr. Bagman, what can I do for you?"
Ludo slapped his forehead. "Oh, old Diggory, I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for your son, young Diggory, Cedric Diggory Jr."
Amos Diggory tensed up. "Excuse me, is there a problem? Cedric's attendance was perfect the past few days..."
Ludo waved his hand. "It's the minister who wants to see him. He has some work to give to your son. Okay, stop keeping me in suspense, where is he?"
Amos, somewhat puzzled as to whether it was an order from the minister or work-related, remained tense. "What is it? Could you—"
Before he could finish speaking, an Office door was pushed open. "Who's looking for me?"
Ludo ignored Amos: "Minister Scrimgeour wants you to go to his Minister's Office."
Cedric looked puzzled.
Ludo grabbed Cedric's forearm. "Hurry up and go, don't keep the minister waiting."
A few minutes later, in the Minister's Office, Cedric looked surprised. "Huh? You're asking me to go to Austria to oversee the accounts of the Magical University?"
Scrimgeour smiled. "What? You don't want to?"
"No, Minister," Cedric, still surprised, "Why me?"
"Because you're a good fit," Scrimgeour raised his hand. "No need to ask further. I've considered it from many angles. I just want to know if you're willing to go."
Cedric nodded. "Of course I'm willing. I'm willing to do anything to contribute to the Ministry of Magic."
Scrimgeour nodded. "Very good, very conscientious. Go back and pack up. The construction of the Magical University will officially begin next week."
You might need to go there two or three days in advance to familiarize yourself with the America accounting oversight process.
Cedric left the Office still completely bewildered—he still didn't understand why he had been entrusted with this important task.
Will stood on the grass outside Hogwarts, watching the crimson flame disappear into the sky—the flame left behind when Fawkes used Apparition.
Long confined in a cage, I have finally returned to nature.
Fawkes left with Dumbledore.
Will smiled – the Old Honeybee was finally gone, which meant things would be much easier for him in all aspects.
A series of plans and studies can finally proceed.
"Smack!"
With Silver Flame, Will's figure vanished from the spot...