Beneath Whitehall, London, United Kingdom Ministry of Magic, Minister's Office.
The extinguished flames in the fireplace suddenly flared to life, and four people emerged one after another.
"Walked out" might not have been quite accurate. Three walked, but one floated out.
These four were, of course, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Head of the Auror Office Rufus Scrimgeour, and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones, who had just returned from Hogwarts.
These three could be called the three most powerful figures in the Ministry of Magic.
As for the one floating, that was naturally Peter Pettigrew, whose movements had been restrained.
A great many people were already waiting in the office, all of them reporters. Reporters from Wizarding World publications across the United Kingdom, and even quite a few from other countries, had all gathered here.
Only minutes earlier, these reporters had been dragged out of bed by their editors-in-chief. Those editors, who had likewise just been dragged out of bed, had ordered them in irritable voices thick with the resentment of being woken up to get to the Ministry of Magic immediately, right this instant, and wait.
Big news was about to break.
Employees had no right to lose their tempers, especially not at an official institution. So these reporters were saving up their anger. Wasn't the summer holiday just around the corner?
Wouldn't their sons, daughters, younger brothers, and younger sisters soon be coming home? They could find an excuse to give them a good dressing-down then.
For now, of course they were waiting for the big news! With so many newspapers summoned together, the Ministry of Magic clearly considered this a major development.
Sure enough, just as drowsiness began creeping over them again, the fireplace finally flared to life. The moment they saw