At the end of June, the heat in the air could be felt even in the underground Ministry of Magic.

Hermione pretended that her bad mood during this period was caused by the upcoming competition. All kinds of news related to the floating island suddenly increased. Mafalda Prewett, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Puzzle Wall" who walked out of Hogwarts, commented on this phenomenon and said: "No matter when, you can at least see a guy riding a public broom and carrying a camera to drive around the island. Needless to say, that is my lovely colleague."

Another reporter with a sharp and sarcastic style, Rita Skeeter, after taking advantage of the opportunity to report on popular articles such as "The Smuggling Family that Harbours Filth and Filth", "Excellent Naturalist? Bad Fashion Designer", set her sights on the tourists who landed on the island. But this time she almost made herself the news. When someone asked her about the source of the information, she hinted that she had bribed the staff on the island and got a list of celebrities in advance, including some members of the Order of the Phoenix, members of the Frontline Observatory and the Ouroboros Club, as well as politicians, poets, and the tennis player who ranked second in the world last year. But the most important thing was the chain reaction caused by the "power shift behind the World Cup". "People are panicking." She said gloatingly.

Reporters from other countries are no less worried. This seems to confirm the point that Mafalda wanted to express, "There are more reporters on the island than tourists." This is of course an exaggeration. As a senior deputy minister, Hermione knows it very well. She is currently approving new applications to land on the island.

"There are 120 people who signed up this morning. If we count the information synchronized by the Muggle government, the number will increase... two thousand. And this is just the number for this morning!" Hermione rubbed her forehead. "There are not enough portkeys. The number of people that the fireplace can receive every day is also limited, and it must be kept open at critical moments... Didn't we transform a passenger ship for the British government?"

"The Prime Minister hopes that the ship will be used as a vehicle for the Queen and accompanying officials." The person from the Department of Magical Transportation answered.

Hermione opened her mouth, as if she wanted to sneer, but she said nothing.

"I can only provide another 20 temporary fireplaces, the coordinates are on a small island 30 nautical miles away from the floating island. If they agree, arrange a pick-up ship, otherwise let them figure it out themselves." She wrote down her opinion and attached her name at the end of the document, "Leave it to Kingsley." The office fell silent.

Hermione glanced at the time, and the hands of the clock stopped at four o'clock and seemed to be motionless. She flipped through the documents at hand again, including new legal provisions, potion list review, private broomstick license, wizard town opening date, and the "Draft Anti-Space Smuggling Law"... After confirming that everything had been processed, she began to stare at the photo on her desk. It was taken on Mars with Felix. The two of them were sitting on reddish-brown rocks, with a desolate sand dune and gravel in the background; a sandstorm was coming in the distance, and there was an oasis behind them; Valen was jumping around with interest under the Bubble Head Curse...

A smile of reminiscence appeared on her face, and her fingers accidentally rubbed the photo frame. Her experiences in the past few years flashed by:

as the assistant to the previous Minister of Magic, Ms. Bones, her starting point in the Ministry of Magic was very high, but there was nothing surprising: the Minister of Magic could have many assistants. A special department, the Office of the Minister's Assistant, serves the Minister of Magic. The number of people ranges from one to more than ten. These people generally act as staff and assistants. Of course, occasionally some guys who only get paid but do nothing will sneak in.

But Hermione got enough training here.

From initially reporting information related to Muggle affairs, to gradually getting involved in the specific affairs of the Pan-Magic Union, participating in and formulating the contact details of various magical races, and contacting government officials as a deputy, her talent in politics was demonstrated. Three years later, Hermione applied to become an observer of the International Pan-Magic Union. In the following two years, she went deep into various parts of the world and wrote a series of observation reports that combined the local magical environment with an international perspective. These reports, together with the results of other observers, provided the Union headquarters with meticulous and detailed analysis cases.

For Hermione, her horizons were further broadened.

When she returned to the British Ministry of Magic, she was only 24 years old, but her experience far exceeded that of her peers. After an interview with a harmonious atmosphere that was not even an interview, she became the director of the Assistant Minister's Office. In theory, she could then give orders to Felix, who was still a staff member (Felix still did not understand the relationship between these positions, and no one dared to command him).

If she followed the plan, she would most likely go further and further on the road to politics, be promoted all the way, and finally become the Minister of Magic. But her magic road will become narrower and narrower. In fact, unlike Harry's smooth road, she realized her own limits earlier. Although her ability far exceeds that of ordinary wizards, she is the only one who realizes that she may never become a great wizard. There is an invisible wall blocking her way. This wall has trapped countless outstanding wizards.

It was the trip to Mars that brought unexpected changes to Hermione. In her words, she summed it up later:

"The transformation of every wizard's magic power is inseparable from the huge impact of the mind. For me, it was the month of living on Mars. There is no need to consider all kinds of realistic influences, and completely throw away all constraints and concerns... Compared with the vast universe, individuals are so small, but when I try my best to light up a small piece of starry sky, I can feel the shock and heroism from the heart, as if all my past cognition has been overturned."

After returning from Mars, she wrote more than a dozen papers exploring the nature of magic. Most of them were conjectures, but they were enough to prove that she had a new understanding of magic. Felix picked out one of them and suggested that she publish it publicly. Later, it was considered to be a perfect demonstration of the difficult problem of "the adaptability of magic under extreme conditions."

In the office, Hermione said to herself, "That feeling is really wonderful."

"What do you mean by 'very wonderful'?" a voice interrupted. She looked up and caught Harry's strange expression. Hermione said teasingly, "You performed the Wronski feint in public at the wedding."

Harry coughed twice unnaturally. It was his first time getting married, so it was inevitable that he was a little excited. In addition, he and Ginny took the oath under the sky. When the oath was over, Fred and George shouted out the momentum of the competition. A large number of lively guests swooped down on their brooms. He couldn't help himself at all...

"By the way, why are you here?" Hermione deliberately changed the subject. "I thought you would be too busy to come out recently."

"Almost," Harry muttered, "I missed at least three family gatherings. Little Albus has a grudge against me. There are too many things to deal with. It's a city with a million people, bringing together most of the countries and forces in the world, and the relationships are complicated... To be honest, I can't handle it."

"Maybe you can refer to Felix's approach?" Hermione suggested.

"Good idea," Harry said, "delegating tasks to others, occasionally showing up to solve one or two problems, and then driving away all the troublemakers... I've thought about it carefully, and this style is not suitable for me."

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Are you here to seek comfort or to complain?"

"Neither," Harry said seriously, "It's about another thing."

Hermione looked at him across the table.

"The Ministry searched Nott's house for a time turner, right?"

"How did you-"

"Tell me first." Harry said.

Hermione thought about it. "Yes, the Ministry has been planning to recycle the time turners that have been lost for centuries, whether damaged or not; this started more than a decade ago when Ms. Bones was in office. Because... well, you know the specific reason."

"Oh, I see..." Harry said slowly. One of the two people in this conversation happened to have experienced time travel, and the time travel was far beyond the scope allowed by the Ministry of Magic, which indirectly led to the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry of Magic being breached and someone stealing a large amount of time energy and the hourglass of the time turner; the two knew who this person was.

"Ms. Bones believes that it is necessary to conceal the existence of the time turner, especially in the special period when the wizarding world is moving towards openness." Hermione explained to him: "It was Headmaster Dumbledore who applied to the Ministry of Magic. Now this policy has ended with his departure. The time turner will not appear in the school and the public. Kingsley and I also agree with this approach."

Harry thought about Dumbledore's attitude towards the time turner, and thought about the silverware that had been placed on the long-legged table for many years, and then he took out a small golden timer from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Hermione's eyes widened at first, then the surprise on her face gradually disappeared, and she became thoughtful.

"This can't be yours." She said.

"It belongs to the Malfoys," Harry said frankly: "Draco originally wanted to give it to Professor Happ, but he was not sure what he thought, so he compromised and entrusted me to deliver it to you. He said, uh," Harry scratched his head, "Astoria is in good health and can definitely attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup."

"That's good news." Hermione smiled.

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