Changes at the Ministry of Magic, Part One

Finney Dax looked at himself in the elevator, took a deep breath, and then pressed the button for the second floor.

Even though it has been six years since he graduated, he still can't get used to working overtime during the Christmas holidays.

Moreover, since the registration of Muggle item modifications was opened, the second floor has been overcrowded.

Since the second floor belongs to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, its subordinate departments Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and the Auror Office, are naturally located on the same floor.

Every day, the elevator is filled with wizards who want to register, which forces employees like Dax to use the fireplace in the Auror Office to commute to and from work.

The reason he keeps using the elevator is because he wants to run into a long-lost figure—his girlfriend from his student days, Muggle-born Charlotte Austin.

Austin now works for a company that specializes in registering Muggle modified items, and as Muggle-born wizard, she does a great job in this area.

But today, Dax clearly did not find Austin.

They also get a holiday for Christmas.

He walked out of the elevator dejectedly, through two heavy oak doors, and into the Auror Office, also known as the Auror Command: an open space divided into several small cubicles, each belonging to an Auror.

Dax arrived at his cubicle, where, like his other colleagues, the walls were covered with pictures of Dark Wizard.

If it were right after graduation, he would probably look at those photos every day when he got to work, then write reports, and in the afternoon he would patrol various wizarding gathering places, hoping to catch a Dark Wizard and win a hefty reward.

But now, Dax is not like that anymore, not because the years have worn him down, but because they have hardly seen any trace of the Dark Wizard lately.

Even when they went to Knockturn Alley, they could only find some petty thieves and wizard thugs.

Starting sometime three years ago, those notorious Dark Wizard disappeared without a trace.

However, people like Carroll Nott cannot be arrested because there is no evidence.

To be honest, Dax now feels more like a security guard.

Dax actually had some guesses about the whereabouts of these Dark Wizards, since the time they disappeared was around the same time that the Skywalker Alchemy Workshop appeared.

However, he did not suspect the Skywalker Alchemy Workshop.

Instead, it was their counterfeit goods; the store was run by Borgin and Burkes after he switched careers.

Dax believed that these Dark Wizard must have all gone to Borgin and Burkes.

However, Dax and the entire Auror Office had no way to deal with Borgin and Burkes —they ran a legitimate business and were major taxpayers.

Moreover, if Borgin and Burkes is destroyed, and these Dark Wizard flow back into wizarding society, who will take the blame for the negative impact they cause?

That's why Dax almost felt his wand was going to rust.

But he wouldn't complain, because their free time meant peace in the Britain Wizarding World.

However, they've been busy again lately, and since Arthur Weasley's promotion, they seem to have reverted to their wartime ways.

On the table in each Auror's cubicle, there are high-level Portkey that were previously only available to high-ranking officials for commuting to and from work.

In the past, they only had the option of using fireplace Floo Network.

Although using Floo Network would allow Auror to detect their presence in advance, enabling Dark Wizard to avoid or even ambush them.

But people like Fudge don't care. In their view, their comfort to and from work is far more important than the safety of the Auror.

Moreover, they believed that these difficulties were all surmountable.

For example, they might look for a fireplace in a secluded room, but they won't provide funding.

Or they could simply Apparition, completely disregarding the fact that Auror need to maintain peak condition because they might face Dark Wizard.

"Weasley did a pretty good job." Dax sighed again, looking at the Portkey on his desk.

After clocking in at his workstation each day, he would use it to patrol his assigned area until he finished work, at which point he would return the Portkey to his colleague on the night shift.

You should know that there was no such thing as a night shift before.

At night, it becomes the domain of the Dark Wizard.

This also means that night markets are practically nonexistent in the Wizarding World.

Even Dax himself felt very secure about this change—watching the Auror walk by outside the window before going to sleep.

However, since it wasn't his turn to go out on patrol today, he didn't need the Portkey.

After processing the documents, it was already noon.

Looking at the blue sky and white clouds on the enchanted ceiling, it meant he could go to the café across from the red telephone booth outside the Ministry of Magic for a meal again.

"Hey, Finney, where are we going to eat?" A short, stout middle-aged man poked his head out from the next cubicle.

"Now that the rain has stopped, of course we should go to NEW EAST. Their tomato beef brisket and snow-topped coffee are absolutely amazing."

"I'm not going to eat the staff meal in the main hall on the Seventh Floor," Dax shrugged.

But even so, Dax still wanted to go to the Seventh Floor, because the exit was there.

Soon, a long, magnificent hall appeared before them. The floor was made of dark wood that had been polished to a shine, and the ceiling was peacock blue with Winky gold symbols that kept moving and changing, like a giant high-altitude bulletin board.

The walls on both sides of the main hall are inlaid with many gilded fireplaces: the fireplace on the left is for arrival, and the fireplace on the right is for departure.

At lunchtime or dinnertime, an oak door will appear on the wall next to the fireplace on the left, leading to the Ministry of Magic employees' dining hall.

"Finnie, where's the statue at the Fountain of Magical Brethren?" The short, stout wizard Dick rubbed his eyes; the statue in the center of the hall was gone. He usually liked to toss a few Bronze Knut into the fountain beneath the statue to make a wish.

"Perhaps the Ministry of Magic and St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries have fallen out? (All proceeds from this fountain will be donated to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.)" Dax patted Dick on the shoulder and joked.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm being serious."

"Isn't it normal for it to be demolished?"

"You know, our Minister for Magic is a woman." Dax winked at Dick.

Dick suddenly realized.

A group of pure gold statues stand atop the Fountain of Magical Brethren, including wizards and witches, centaurs, Goblin, and House-elf.

Water jets sprayed out from different parts of the sculpture.

But the tallest of them was a noble-looking wizard, holding his wand high, pointing it straight to the sky.

Surrounding him was a beautiful witch, a centaur, a Goblin, and a House-elf.

Centaurs, Goblin, and House-elf all looked up at the two wizards with boundless adoration.

Glistening jets of water shot from the tip of the wizard's wand, from the centaur's arrowhead, from the tip of the Goblin's hat, and from the ears of the House-elf.

"I see!"

"The tallest one should be a witch statue, not a wizard," Dick remarked.