Wolfsbane Potion

"Welcome to Merlin's Cottage, everyone!" the witch said warmly as she approached.

"My name is Bertha Jorkins, and I work for the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic. I will now be guiding you into the Merlin Memorial Hall."

Bertha was very excited, even a little agitated.

"Everyone, please follow me this way."

The group followed her toward a large gate.

"I really don't want to bother you, child," Bertha's voice was full of curiosity, "Are you really the Stark who captured Tywin? Is it really you?"

William hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I thought so too!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up. "I've been reading the Daily Prophet lately! I never imagined Tywin was a Death Eaters! You managed to capture him; can you tell me more details?"

"You know what? I'm two years ahead of Tywin. He's a Ravenclaw, but he's nothing like Ravenclaw. What a pity... I even observed him for a while and noticed that his relationship with Potter was unusual."

Bertha seemed like a chatterbox, talking incessantly, and William discovered that she was someone who really enjoyed listening to gossip.

She seemed to sense that William wasn't in the mood to discuss Tywin. "Sorry to keep you listening to my rambling."

William thought Bertha would shut up, but to his surprise, she continued, "By the way, I heard that Judy Crouch is also involved in this matter?"

Judy is my boss Mr. Crouch's niece. Is she really related to him? If you ask me, Mr. Crouch should have Judy arrested in Azkaban, just like he arrested his son back then...

Mr. Weasley coughed twice, Bertha looked up in confusion, apologizing, "We've arrived."

William followed her gaze and saw an indoor artificial river flowing calmly in front of them, its surface shrouded in a thick fog.

William looked ahead, across the Tidal River, and saw the outline of the Merlin Memorial Hall, its right-angled lines resembling the Parthenon in ancient Greece.

The spire of the Merlin Monument, carved from a single massive boulder, resembles the majestic mast of a ship under the lights.

"Bertha, we're leaving now," William said.

"Oh, then go ahead." Bertha, somewhat disappointed.

"I'll write to you when I get back, and we can continue our conversation." A slight smile appeared on William's lips.

"Great!" Bertha cheered. "Tell me any secrets you have, I won't tell anyone!"

After Bertha had walked away, Fred frowned and said, "William, you're not really going to tell her, are you?"

William lowered his voice and said, "Of course I won't tell her, but haven't you noticed how well-informed she is?"

"Indeed..." George nodded, "In just this short time, Bertha has already leaked quite a bit about the department."

"We need people in the Ministry," William said. "Our products will certainly not be limited to Hogwarts in the future; they will be sold throughout the United Kingdom and even other countries. We need to stay informed about the Ministry of Magic's policy developments."

"That's right." Fred laughed.

Neither Weasley nor Mr. Diggory are suitable; the former, though well-informed, wouldn't tell the twins, while the latter isn't as well-informed.

Bertha is a very good candidate.

"Have you noticed something strange?" Cedric suddenly asked.

William nodded, then frowned and said, "Bertha has a very good memory; she remembers many things from her school days."

"But that wizard said Bertha's memory has been bad lately, and she keeps forgetting things," Fred said in surprise.

"She's only in her thirties; it's impossible for her memory to suddenly decline. Usually, in this situation, she either drank a large amount of Forgetfulness Potion or was violently subjected to Memory Charm," William said.

Both Forgetfulness Potion and Memory Charm can erase someone's memories.

However, this method is extremely crude, and if the spell is not cast correctly, it may erase important parts of an individual's memory and cause irreversible brain damage.

One consequence is becoming extremely forgetful.

Bertha, a Ministry of Magic employee, was actually subjected to Memory Charm? The perpetrator was incredibly audacious!

William was quite curious about what Bertha had seen.

Soon, everyone entered the Merlin Memorial Hall.

The hall is a symmetrical, semi-circular space in the style of an ancient Greece amphitheater. Elegant arched walls made of sandstone and Italy plaster highlight the mottled breccia columns.

Twenty-five life-size statues of the Knights of the Round Table stand in an arc on a large open space paved with black and white marble tiles.

The group walked forward and immediately spotted Flitwick and Professor McGonagall at the front.

Upon seeing Professor McGonagall, the twin brothers held their breath, not daring to utter a word. McGonagall was one of the people they feared most.

Hermione smiled. Professor McGonagall had visited their home a few days earlier, persuaded Iris, and even took her to Diagon Alley.

McGonagall was also quite surprised; she hadn't expected to run into Hermione.

Several people sat down on the chairs, and over the next half hour, their spot gradually filled with people.

Wizards kept coming over to greet them. Professors McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had been teaching at Hogwarts for decades, and many of the wizards were their students.

Mr. Weasley also demonstrated his unusual connections, constantly shaking hands with people who were clearly high-ranking wizards.

Soon, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge arrived, followed by a group of people.

Fudge strode over, a broad smile on his face. It seemed that capturing Tywin had put him in a much better mood lately.

"William, long time no see. How have you been?" He grabbed William's hand, asking him how he was doing, as if the two had a very good relationship.

But the last time the two met was in Dumbledore's office.

Fudge warmly introduced him to the wizard behind him.

"William Stark, you know, the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin," he shouted to the wizard.

The man was wearing a black robe and reminded William of Professor Snape; he also had a strong smell of Potions on him.

William felt he already knew who it was.

"This is Damcos Belby..." Fudge patted Belby on the shoulder, as if they were close friends.

"William, you should know who invented the Wolfsbane Potion... Those pesky Werewolf are saved! They just need to take it a week before the full moon, and even if they turn into wolves, they will retain their sanity. This saves the Ministry of Magic a lot of trouble, but the price is too high."

"Cornelius, you should know that I wasn't planning to release the Wolfsbane Potion for the time being; it's still being improved because the cost is too high," Belby, frowning.

"But..." Fudge rubbed his hands together. "Friends, too many things have happened recently. Everyone needs some good news to cheer them up, and those Werewolf also need the potion to save their lives."

See, you immediately received the Order of Merlin, Second Class, after you announced it. You can still improve it gradually, can't you?"

William listened for a while and then understood. According to Belby, he was not planning to release the formula for the Wolfsbane Potion for the time being. He would only release it after making some improvements and reducing the cost.

This timeframe could be one or two months, or it could be one or two years.

But Fudge clearly couldn't wait. He was a shrewd politician and knew when to announce it to maximize his own interests.

Before Tywin was captured, Fudge was extremely busy, so he released this news to divert public attention and reduce a lot of pressure.

William couldn't help but admire Fudge's shrewdness as a politician.

He glanced at Belby again.

This Potions Master was his roommate Marcus's uncle, and as Marcus had said, their family didn't have a good relationship with this uncle.

Otherwise, William would definitely have seen Marcus on this occasion.

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