When former Minister of Magic Fudge was in office, this room had been filled with portraits of Ministers of Magic from every generation. Whenever visitors arrived, they faced the sensation of being jointly interrogated by dozens of people.
Not everyone could remain calm and unruffled under the gaze of several dozen people, and that was exactly the effect Fudge wanted. He was a traditional British bureaucrat: appeasing, greedy for status and wealth. His greatest achievements during his tenure had been renovating Azkaban and popularizing Bowler Hats throughout the Magic World.
In the past, wizards had all liked pointed wizard hats like the Sorting Hat. Most of the time, they looked limp and floppy atop their heads, giving off a slovenly impression. Compared to the glamorous French Wizards, they had no dignity at all.
As everyone knew, the British Wizarding World and the French Wizarding World had never gotten along particularly well. They were like quarrelsome rivals; anything was acceptable, so long as they did not lose to the French.
But that was all in the past. After Hermione took office on the strength of her achievement in eliminating Voldemort, diplomacy had flourished because she also held the position of President of the International Confederation of Wizards.
Furthermore, she had invited all the former Ministers of Magic's portraits out of her office. Though the people in those paintings had shouted that she did not know how to respect her elders, some of those still alive had even tried to secretly rally others to overthrow her.
But Hermione, a so-called Mudblood, had never cared about pure-blood families. Their glorious traditions were beneath mention in her eyes, because Deathstroke had taught her, and she feared underhanded tactics least of all.
She picked out the loudest people in the Magic World, those waving flags