Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 897: Chapter 2: We Are All Idealists

Vid looked at the text in the newspaper that was saturated with official jargon:

[After weeks of intense struggle, the Ministry of Magic today welcomes its new helmsman—Pierce Sinclaire.]

[In the presence of all members of the Wizengamot, Minister Sinckness held a brief inauguration ceremony in the Ministry of Magic atrium, where he read his oath before all officials and the media...]

The first half of the article described Sinclaire’s inauguration in an extremely ”objective” tone, including the officials present and various celebrities from all walks of society.

Vid noticed that Dumbledore was standing in the very front row, while in the corner of the photograph, Lucius Malfoy wore a hypocritical smile, both hands resting on his Snake-Headed Staff, standing together with several representatives of the Pure-Blood Clans.

Originally, Sirius Black was fully qualified to attend this ceremony—in fact, he was more qualified than most people on site, and he had indeed received an invitation beforehand.

But for Sirius—”Going to that kind of boring ceremony is nowhere near as fun as taking Harry to fly a little on a Broom on the lawn nearby”—those were his exact words.

...

In his call with Harry last night, Vid learned that while the minister’s inauguration ceremony was being held yesterday, Sirius really did take him out on Brooms, and later they dug up a few potatoes, roasted them, and had them for lunch.

”Remus and the people from Aslan Magic Workshop went to witness the minister’s inauguration, and Sirius couldn’t be bothered to cook anything else, but those roast potatoes really tasted amazing, way better than the ones at school.” Harry said, savoring the memory.

”Honestly,” Vid pointed out matter-of-factly, ”isn’t the reason you found them especially delicious simply that you were hungry?”

”Hahahaha... that might be part of it too...”

From the other end of the Communication Pea came Harry’s loud laughter.

...

Vid looked at the somewhat blurry face of Lucius Malfoy in the photo—while everyone else in the moving photograph was making little gestures, he just stood there like a motionless statue.

The latter half of the report, however, analyzed why the other candidates lost.

Umbridge, who was waiting for her trial, naturally did not need much analysis; the paper simply listed once more the crimes that had brought her to the verge of being judged—

Abusing her authority to tamper with internal documents, fabricating legal provisions out of thin air to convict those she wanted to get rid of;

Setting up a ”secret interrogation room,” where she illegally used Veritaserum and various banned Dark Magic for interrogations of Ministry of Magic staff accused by her;

Using her position to engage in large-scale embezzlement and extortion, illegally diverting funds from other departments, even skimming off a portion of former Minister Fudge’s discretionary funds in secret;

As well as other acts such as falsifying bloodline records, abusing House-Elves, framing innocent Werewolves, and directing her subordinates to persecute Banshees and Vampires, and so on.

The papers of the previous few days had been as lively as Christmas; Rita Skeeter had been publishing one juicy ”little essay” a day, each revelation more explosive than the last, complete with witnesses and material evidence, leaving Umbridge with no chance to catch her breath or attempt any crisis management.

In the end, even her promise that she would ”defend the interests of the Pure-Blood Clans with unprecedented resolve” was useless; those words instead reappeared in the newspaper and poured more fuel on the public’s anger.

Umbridge’s crimes took up quite a bit of space, but when it came to the other two candidates, the analysis became much simpler:

[The unexpected defeat of Ms. Amelia Bones and Mr. Rufus Scrimgeour is not due to any lack of personal ability, but is the inevitable result of their political positions failing to obtain broader consensus within the Wizengamot and the Ministry of Magic.]

[In the eyes of many, reckoning and reform are the root causes of internal division and turmoil, and a radical style may lead to opposition between the Ministry of Magic and the general populace.]

[Although these two outstanding candidates failed to achieve their goals in this election, we must soberly recognize that this is by no means the end of their political careers—in fact, from a long-term perspective, it may not even be a bad thing.]

[The Judicial Staff requires the unsullied, absolute justice upheld by Ms. Bones; we look forward to seeing the Law Enforcement Department, under her leadership, become the steadiest ray of light illuminating this uncertain era.]

[As for Mr. Scrimgeour, he will continue, with incomparable courage and experience, to guard the very front lines of the Magic World. Even if a new darkness descends, he will be fully prepared for the challenges of the future...]

Though the two had lost the election, they were still the director of the Law Enforcement Department and the head of the Auror Office, so by the end of the analysis, the commentator neatly pivoted and lavished praise on them again.

Dobby brought in two steaming cups of coffee and breakfast; after thanking him, Ferdinand wiped his hands with a hot towel, lifted his cup and blew on the surface, but did not drink. Instead he first glanced at the expression on Vid’s face.

Seeing his son was reading the comments on Bones’s political platform, he lowered his eyes and took a sip of the hot coffee.

”Absolute justice...” Ferdinand sighed and shook his head. ”For a Minister of Ministry of Magic, this is fine as a slogan shouted a few times, but if she really possessed such unimpeachable personal integrity, it would in fact become her Achilles’ heel.”

Vid understood at once. ”Officials would be afraid she’d settle accounts after the fact, especially Fudge’s old cronies. And those businessmen and Pure-Blood Clans—they used to be able to buy their way out with Galleons. With Ms. Bones, that advantage disappears.”

”Not just that. Even the supporters who ought to stand behind her will wonder: if Bones really becomes minister, can she bring me any benefit?” Ferdinand said, hitting the nail on the head. ”If she cannot... then even a friend may well turn to support someone else.”

”She’s too much of an idealist.” Vid nodded. ”She lacks compromise and smoothness, so the public doesn’t accept her.”

Ferdinand asked, ”Vid, since you can see all this clearly... why did you still support her before? You must have known her chances of winning were very low... lower even than Scrimgeour’s.”

Scrimgeour’s ideas at least allowed many people to profit—for example, the Aurors—but Bones’s platform would only be supported by those who were truly selfless, who urgently wanted the Ministry of Magic to improve, even at the cost of sacrificing their own and their family’s interests.

But Ferdinand knew Vid had poured a lot of money into her campaign, which was the only reason Bones’s approval rating appeared, on the surface, to be on par with the others, even faintly surpassing them at one point.

What he really wanted to ask was—Vid, have you already learned that you should originally have borne the surname ”Bones” as well?

Yet in the face of his question, Vid only smiled faintly:

”Maybe it’s because... I’m an idealist too?”