Madelyn took out his notebook. "What content needs to be published? For example, Fantastic Beasts?"
"No, the news is too shoddy."
Edgar waved his hand and said slowly, "Ministry of Magic has a special secret department, with hundreds of people sitting in it. Their daily work is to do nothing. They just stare at various newspapers in All-America from morning to night, picking out each word with a magnifying glass, for fear that any line of type may contain some of their shady secrets."
"Since they like reading newspapers so much, let's give them something heartwarming to read. Remember that the Intelligence Department has checked before. Although Joseph is a high-ranking Wizards, he has an ordinary daughter without any magic talent. She married a dentist and now lives in the wealthy area of Brooklyn."
Madelyn's pen tip paused for a moment and looked up at Edgar.
"There will be a heartwarming family interview on tomorrow's social page."
Edgar leaned on the back of the chair with a gentle voice,
"Let's write about the happy weekend life of Brooklyn, a dentist family in a certain community. I need to write clearly the name and appearance of Joseph's daughter, what grade his granddaughter attends in elementary school, what time he takes the school bus at which intersection every day, and finally add a photo of them mowing Lawn in the yard."
Madelyn looked at Edgar with some confusion.
"Mr. President, this kind of daily chicken soup report, even the newspaper boy selling newspapers on the street is not willing to take a second look. How can it threaten a Ministry of Magic senior official?"
"Madelyn, threats don't have to be bloody."
Edgar turned his head and looked at the dim street lights outside the window:
"For ordinary citizens, this is just a boring article just to make up the word count, but guess what he will think when the newspaper is placed on Joseph's desk on time tomorrow morning and he sees the address and work and rest time of his daughter and granddaughter who have no ability to protect themselves being clearly printed out by millions of newspapers?"
Madelyn suddenly understood.
"I understand, Mr. President."
Edgar nodded with satisfaction, and the car became quiet again.
Broadway Avenue Deep in an inconspicuous retro building.
This is the office area of United States Department of Magical Security hidden from the sight of ordinary people.
Joseph, who is over sixty years old, is sitting in his large independent office, rubbing his eyebrows irritably.
He stayed up almost all night last night.
As soon as he closes his eyes, he will think of Edgar's ugly face.
Times have changed.
Decades ago, they Wizards could hide all their troubles in the dark as long as they waved Wand and modified a few Muggle memories.
But now, the Manhattan streets are full of Superheroess wearing tight Accios, as well as those new inventions.
The secret of Wizarding World is like an old fishing net that has been riddled with holes by rats. There are holes everywhere that cannot be repaired.
There was a gentle knock on the wooden door of the office.
The young Wizards who followed him to the club last night opened the door and walked in.
The young man's face was even uglier than yesterday, and his eyes were filled with red bloodshot eyes, like a frightened quail.
"Mr. Minister."
Young Wizards's voice was trembling a little, and he was holding a rolled-up morning newspaper tightly in his hand.
Joseph picked up the cup of cold coffee on the table and took a sip, suppressing the irritability in his heart.
"What happened? Which idiot used Levitation Charm on the Brooklyn bridge, or did someone see Fantastic Beasts running around on Central Park?"
"No... neither."
Young Wizards took a deep breath, walked to the large desk, spread out the newspaper that smelled of cheap ink with trembling hands, and placed it in front of Joseph.
"This is the Brooklyn Life Newspaper that was just released this morning throughout New York and surrounding areas."
Joseph frowned and looked at the social section of the newspaper.
There are no exaggerated titles, nor any reports of magic or monsters.
It was just an ordinary family interview that took up half the page, titled "Brooklyn Dentist Family's Warm Weekend".
There is a black and white photo printed in the middle of the page.
In the photo, a young woman wearing a floral apron is standing in a yard full of sunflowers, holding a kettle in her hand.
Next to her feet squatted a little girl of five or six years old. The little girl was missing one of her front teeth. She was holding a stuffed bear that had been washed a little white, and she was smiling brightly at the camera.
The moment he saw the photo clearly, the precious magic quill in Joseph's hand fell to the table with a clatter, and the ink spread out into a large black stain on the parchment.
Those are his daughter and granddaughter.
His daughter was born as an ordinary person without any magical talent. In order to protect her, Joseph sent her to live in the world of ordinary people since she was a child.
She married a gentle dentist and lived the most ordinary but stable life.
Joseph's fingers began to tremble uncontrollably. He stared at the typeface on the newspaper and read down word by word.
The writing style of the article is very delicate and looks very comfortable.
It describes the happy life of this family in detail, including which red brick villa in Plane Tree Street district Brooklyn they live in, and the little girl with missing front teeth who likes to eat strawberry scones from the corner bakery the most. It even clearly states that at which intersection the little girl will wait for the yellow school bus on time at 7:15 every morning under the stop sign.
The whole article is full of sunshine, smiles and warm family trivia.
Not a word of threat, not a single curse word.
The young Wizards standing across the table swallowed, with a deep sense of powerlessness in his voice.
"Minister, at six o'clock this morning, the newspaper has covered all the street newsstands of New York, as well as the tables of those fast food restaurants. Millions of copies... We have no way to take it back, let alone modify the memories of so many ordinary people, because this is the most normal community report. Even if Auror is dispatched, we don't know what reason to arrest people."
Joseph felt as if his breathing was being strangled by a pair of invisible hands.
He is a senior official who has participated in many Wizards battles. He is proficient in various powerful defensive spells and offensive magic.
If Vought International sends a group of killers or monsters to attack his home, he will not hesitate to pick up Wand and fight them to the death.
But Edgar didn't do this.
The man in the suit simply found a third-rate reporter and wrote a chicken-soup-flavored article. Then he spent hundreds of dollars on printing fees and sent the article to the breakfast tables of ordinary people all over New York.
Edgar is telling Joseph in this way:
I know where your weakness is. If I want, I can take away everything you care about most.
The old man slumped down on the large leather chair, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
The little girl with missing front teeth in the newspaper still had a bright and innocent smile, but it was like a rusty dull knife, cutting back and forth on Joseph's heart bit by bit.
Wizarding World's law and dignity suddenly became as light as a feather in front of the life of a granddaughter.
It was eerily quiet in the office.
Joseph slowly closed his eyes, and his withered chest heaved violently several times.
He slowly stretched out his right hand covered with age spots and wrinkles, and picked up the old-fashioned black dial phone on the table that was specially used to communicate with the ordinary world.
His fingers were placed on the dial, which made a muffled turning sound.