Chapter 932 Riddle Master

"Oh, in this case, Connelly... let me answer this question directly..."

Dumbledore sat in a high-backed chair behind the makeshift press desk, and promptly rescued the Minister of Magic who was in trouble.

He crossed his fingers on the table, looked at Scott Byrne from "Transfiguration Today" with a warm smile, and continued to speak softly.

"Just like Professor Flamel, Professor Scamander and others, Professor Apokalis is also a specially appointed faculty member of Hogwarts."

"His current position is the chief therapist of the school hospital and the castle administrator of Hogwarts. Most of his teaching last semester was due to the unwellness of the professor in class. In order to ensure the school's teaching, he offered to serve as a transitional teacher. , just a free substitute professor.”

"Uh...why not let Professor Apokalis directly become a full professor?"

Scott Byrne frowned and said a little confused, "Shouldn't the school choose a more knowledgeable and experienced wizard to serve as-"

"Well, Mr. Bourne, the best wizard does not mean the most suitable."

Cornelius Fudge coughed slightly, with a strange and helpless expression, and spread his hands to explain.

"You see, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts have always hoped to find the best wizards in various positions, but we cannot ignore their wishes and recruit them. For example, as we all know, Professor Dumbledore is the most outstanding wizard in today's magic. He is the most powerful wizard in the fields of transfiguration and defense against the dark arts, but he has dedicated too much to this position, right? Besides, he has more and more important things to do now..."

In Fudge's view, this is the problem with editors of academic journals - they are always obsessed with their own ideal world.

In fact, the real magical world is much more cumbersome and complicated than those pure academic studies. If the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic can recruit more than a dozen, oh no, only five or six Dumbledore-level wizards, then social security will be will be greatly improved.

At least today he won't be forced to sit in this lounge and patiently explain this mess with a shy smile.

But that would never happen. Commanding five Dumbledores? Even Merlin's reincarnation couldn't do this.

"Thank you, Connelly. Your compliment makes me blush a little - Minerva is far more qualified to teach Transfiguration than I am, and in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, whether it is Quirrell, Otto... or even The professors at the school know how to get along with students better than I do.”

Dumbledore smiled gently and shook his head, still speaking in a calm tone.

"Older wizards may see farther and deeper things, but in terms of energy and efficiency and method of transferring knowledge, young professors will obviously have an advantage over us old guys. And looking for both The balance between the two and learning from each other's strengths is one of the links in this year's Hogwarts education reform. In fact, we have already seen a lot of exciting results and changes, haven't we?"

Compared with Cornelius Fudge's noisy speech, Professor Dumbledore was obviously much quieter when he spoke.

Most of the reporters waited until the old wizard finished speaking before they began to write excerpts of press releases and take photos.

"Ah, yes, Professor Dumbledore is right -"

Cornelius Fudge breathed a sigh of relief, took out his handkerchief, wiped his forehead, and said with a smile.

"In some subjects, we have seen many gratifying changes, and in more magical fields, we are still cautiously exploring some iterations of knowledge. Regarding the course content of Defense Against the Dark Arts, after the Ministry of Magic There will also be further discussions with Hogwarts..."

"Well, Professor Dumbledore, I have a question. Why have we never heard of Professor Apokalis' name before?"

Before the Minister of Magic could finish speaking, a witch sitting behind Barnabas raised her quill and asked in confusion.

As time went by, people gradually discovered that what the Minister of Magic said was not of much value. Except for a few new reporters and editors, the attention of most of the media people present shifted to Dumbledore - as for Connell It doesn't matter what Leigh Forge said.

You know, even in the magical world, parchment and ink still cost money.

However, Cornelius Fudge was not angry because he was interrupted, but looked at Dumbledore with interest.

As the Minister of Magic, he naturally knows the identity of Mr. Otto Apocalypse. This is no longer a secret among the "upper class" in magical society. But judging from the current situation, whether it is Dumbledore or Mr. "Apocalis" does not want his identity to be revealed.

It is a pity that after this magical battle, Mr. Apokalis obviously cannot continue to keep a low profile as before.

"The world is a big place, and Professor Apokalis is not British."

Dumbledore smiled and said softly, "In fact, Professor Apokalis has been living in seclusion in central Europe for the past few decades."

"Even if it is a foreign wizard, a wizard as powerful and intelligent as him will never leave any traces -"

The witch continued to ask questions relentlessly, and Dumbledore noticed that the badge on her chest was the "Magical Pravda". If he remembered correctly, this should be a top publication from the French wizarding world. Its status is roughly equivalent to that of the Daily Prophet.

"Professor Dumbledore, I just asked all the colleagues present here, and no one has heard of the surname Apocalypse before. If the most sensitive people in the wizarding world cannot find the answer, then it can only mean that It’s a fake name…after all, he is so powerful.”

"Well, you see, not all wizards want to be printed on a picture of a chocolate frog."

Dumbledore said softly, winking slyly and speaking meaningfully.

"The memory of magical society is not as long as we think. Many wizards will choose to retire and gradually stop their activities in society after achieving certain achievements, but this does not mean that they disappear. They may exist in every aspect of daily life. corner."

"For example, Professor Nicol Flamel reappeared in the newspaper some time ago - you must be familiar with this person."

“I had to put in a lot of effort to convince Flamel to allow me to put his name on the profile behind the Chocolate Frog – friends who know me well know that I am not a vain person, and finally in my After insisting, he reluctantly agreed. And a few months ago, I was surprised to find that Flamel's reason for rejecting me was true: his portrait was too widely circulated in the magical world..."

With Dumbledore's voice, the venue became quiet.

Everyone looked at the old man quietly, waiting for the follow-up story about the portrait, and then Dumbledore spread his hands.

"Professor Apokalis is almost in a similar situation. His deeds, stories, magic, and the changes he brought to the world still exist with everyone today, but based on his personal wishes, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts Choose to keep it secret for now.”

"So, the Ministry of Magic is also within the scope of confidentiality?"

Seeing that Dumbledore showed no sign of continuing the conversation, the reporters turned their attention again to Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to him.

"Of course, we've known this from the beginning - as I said, Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic have a close relationship..."

Cornelius Fudge straightened his clothes and explained happily with a smile on his face.

"Then how do you explain today's secret arrest..."

"Oh, it's just a misunderstanding. I have already explained this issue before. The next one-"

The Minister of Magic's smile froze slightly, he looked away from the troublesome French woman, and looked around the lounge.

Taking advantage of the break in Dumbledore's speech just now, he, with the help of Kingsley, managed to figure out what magic magazines and publications were present today. In addition to making Fudge once again lament the bad luck of the Ministry of Magic, well There is good news and bad news.

The good news is that there are no fifth-rate tabloids here today, so there is no need to worry about some unseemly issues.

The bad news is that those involved are either troublesome popular newspapers or top journals in the academic field of the wizarding world - the former will inevitably look for various topics for news stunts, while the latter may be relatively fair, but those hard-headed Idealists are harder to dismiss.

Fortunately, he finally found a publication in the venue that could save him.

"Well, yes, Mr. Lovegood—do you have any questions?"

Cornelius Fudge looked enthusiastically at the wizard sitting in the corner of the room and asked in a relaxed tone.

As an upstart that suddenly emerged last year, "The Quibbler" can be said to be the most unique among the many magazines out there. It covers food, daily consultation, scattered papers, school news, weird stories... Although it looks like a country tabloid, it is... There are some extremely high sales in the wizarding world.

The most important thing is that Xenophilius Lovegood, as the editor-in-chief, is an "absurd fantasy" writer.

Perhaps on other occasions, Cornelius Fudge would have felt uncomfortable because of Mr. Lovegood's strange questions, but on an occasion like this, it would undoubtedly be unreasonable to try to waste the question and answer time on ridiculous stories. Nothing could be more wonderful.

"Uh, well, I didn't-"

Xenophilius, who was inexplicably named, was stunned for a few seconds and opened his mouth.

Just now, he was listening intently to Elena's science talk to the girls around her about the historical origins of "Tarot Cards" and Nico Flamel. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard the Minister of Magic calling his name, and then All the wizards turned around and stared at him with different expressions.

Looking at the confused middle-aged wizard, Cornelius Fudge's smile became even brighter.

It's obvious that the Quibbler's editor was distracted, which means he's not a tough heckler.

Looking back on his previous conversations with Mr. Lovegood, Cornelius Fudge was even more confident. He could not wait to discuss "Fudge the Goblin Killer" and "Black Ollie" with Mr. Lovegood. Stories like "Pa Fire Elf" and "Crescent-Horned Snorlax"...

"Don't be formal. No matter what the problem is, it's fine. We still have a while to finish..."

Cornelius Fudge laughed easily and said in a tone that seemed very familiar to Xenophilius.

"As the founder and editor-in-chief of the most popular publication "The Quibbler", you probably have a lot of questions you want to ask, right? Don't you plan to dig out some reportable content and publish it in the next issue of the magazine? For everyone tomorrow But it’s a busy battlefield.”

"Battlefield? Um...oh, you mean news reports?"

Xenophilius was stunned for another five or six seconds, looked around at his colleagues, and waved his hand impatiently.

"We, The Quibbler, will not publish such outdated news. Unlike magazines like The Daily Prophet and Wizards Weekly, which rely on flashy gimmicks to maintain readers, readers who subscribe to The Quibbler have been there for a long time. We saw this scene years ago. Rather than focusing on who the Ministry of Magic arrested and where certain courses fell behind, we are more focused on the truth that ordinary people cannot see clearly."

The middle-aged wizard glanced around him out of the corner of his eye and saw the upward-looking eyes filled with a familiar look of pride, and subconsciously puffed up his chest.

"Extraordinary wisdom is the most precious wealth of mankind. The Quibbler will never give up his most precious wealth in exchange for gold coins."

Following Xenophilius's voice, there was a burst of whispers in the staff lounge.

Under the flickering of a few sporadic flashes, the cheerful smile on Cornelius Fudge's face was in sharp contrast to the cold dead fish face of Barnabas, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet - he knew Mr. Lovegood He was his savior, and he was indeed different from the moment he opened his mouth.

"Of course, of course, the sales of "The Quibbler" in more than a year make me a little envious."

"This is understandable. After all, after the reorganization of Gringotts, the political donations you received suddenly decreased a lot. But this is also a good thing. At least you will not be like the previous ministers, who had to obey every day after leaving office. Goblins trend—that’s smart.”

Xenophilius nodded seriously and repeated it again with a serious expression.

"Although many people say that you are a straw bag that has been rare in decades, I know that your layout has always been big."

"Uh. Ha, haha ​​- Mr. Lovegood, you really know how to tell jokes..."

Cornelius Fudge suddenly felt embarrassed, laughed dryly a few times, and quickly changed the subject.

"Let's talk about these things today. As the editor-in-chief of "The Quibbler," what do you think? Today's press conference is held to listen to your opinions and views. I believe you can definitely give some unique ideas. suggestion."

There is no doubt that Xenophilius Lovegood is an extremely sharp double-edged sword, and he must be guided carefully.

The most correct thing to do now is to firmly fix the topic on today's troubles, and keep pushing the microphone to this man who is immersed in the wonderful world - when the two parties chatted across channels, Connelly... Fudge will have the opportunity to control the rhythm freely.

"Oh, suggestion? What's so difficult about this? If you are lucky enough to read my article three years ago, you will understand-"

Xenophilius waved his hand and said quite confidently under his daughter's admiring eyes.

"Too cumbersome and solid power will attract those 'reflection monsters'. The Ministry of Magic should have cleaned it up long ago!"

"Sorry, what is a 'reflection monster'?"

Cornelius Fudge asked subconsciously, and then he instantly regretted it.

Xenophilius Lovegood raised his fingers excitedly and looked seriously at the reporters who had equally confused expressions.

"That's an evil creature that's very difficult to notice. For example, what happened to Ms. Umbridge today is because she was possessed by the 'Reflection Monster' and couldn't think clearly - just remove her from her position. Now. Those 'reflection monsters' have lost their food and will starve to death soon... Isn't this the reason why Professor Dumbledore cannot serve as Minister of Magic? The magic power in his body is too powerful. If he attracts 'reflection monsters', even Might swallow up the entire Ministry of Magic..."

Following Mr. Lovegood's voice, the staff room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

The next moment, the flash light came on instantly.

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Great!