Pierce Thicknesse.

He has worked diligently in the Ministry of Magic for more than 20 years, not because of his ability, but like the vast majority of ordinary employees, he has risen to his position through seniority.

Mature and stable.

He might make a decent Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, like Lady Amelia Bones is today.

But he...

There was no point in wanting to be in the Ministry's shoes, especially at this time.

If he fails to quell public grievances and resolve this matter, even if he becomes the Minister of Magic, he will lose the position in a short time.

How easily you get it, how easily you lose it.

Scrimgeour clenched his fists, as stiff as Fudge, and stared at Thicknesse, who walked behind the long table and in front of the blackboard, ready to give a simple speech. He had arranged everything a few months ago, and he also believed that he had the ability to do it - at least he had a good relationship with Mr. Potter.

But Thicknesse, without making any noise, how did he do it?

How can we get more than half of the support?

Thicknesse spoke eloquently, at the same pace as usual, but calmly, as if he had already prepared a speech in his mind.

He had made preparations.

Scrimgeour frowned.

I am the only one in the Ministry of Magic who has been preparing for the position of Minister recently. Thicknesse has not taken any action. If there has been any, it should not have escaped my eyes and ears. More than fifty votes is too large a number.

He raised his wrist and checked the time.

An hour and a half had passed since the start of the parliament meeting and the final candidate for prime minister was determined. Did Thicknesse drink anything during this period?

Seems not?

His presence was too low to be noticed.

Moody once said that as an Auror, one should reasonably doubt everything - what one sees with the eyes and magic is not necessarily reality, and not everyone is as powerful as Professor Dumbledore. As the most outstanding Auror in the Auror Office, Scrimgeour inherited Moody's advantages.

Thicknesse's behavior was abnormal.

He wondered if this "Mr. Thicknesse" was really himself.

After all, Mr. Barty Crouch, whom he once admired the most, was also suspected of being replaced by someone.

Time dispelled many of the doubts in his heart.

Mr. Thicknesse delivered long, dull, and clichéd speeches as if he were born to be a minister. If Fudge were in the same position, he would say the same thing, at the same level.

It took more than an hour.

I didn't stop to drink water or rest in between.

After Scrimgeour had endured an hour and confirmed that "Mr. Thicknesse" was not a counterfeit who had taken Polyjuice Potion, he could no longer help feeling sleepy. He could not listen to these things, but everyone else was listening with great interest.

It's like... some great wake-up call.

It's the same words, just said by a different person.

The meeting lasted until 6pm.

The most important content: the impeachment of Fudge and the election of the new Minister of Magic, which took only a little over an hour.

Hogwarts, in Sirius' office.

Harry and his friends are preparing for the upcoming Christmas.

"You have been practicing dueling every weekend in the abandoned classroom on the second floor since school started?" Sirius slammed the table and stood up with gritted teeth.

Harry nodded.

"I told you there's something wrong with Filch!" Sirius slammed the table again. "Sometimes when it's my turn to go on patrol at night, he always finds excuses to stop me and not let me go there!"

"What a prank of Peeves!"

Harry complained, "Godfather, you are worthy of being fooled by Filch."

"After all, he is also a faculty member of Hogwarts." Sirius excused himself, "As a colleague, of course I trust him very much."

"Let's not talk about that. What's going on with your duel training?"

Harry answered him: "Extracurricular study interest group."

"You need an excellent instructor." Sirius was eager to make a move.

Harry took out his wand, put it on the table, and looked at him calmly.

Hermione shook her head, "Sirius, you don't belong in the past. You are a professor."

"us……"

She said this with a little hesitation: "We are students who broke school rules and escaped curfew. If the professor saw us, he would probably deduct points from us."

Although, they often encounter Professor McGonagall who is patrolling seriously at night, Professor Trelawney who goes to the kitchen to find wine, and Professor Binns who is sleepwalking...

The professors didn't even think of deducting points from them.

"Well, Harry," Sirius sighed and grumbled, "I'll at least be glad you remembered me about catching Greyback."

"If you're not invited, you'll make a scene," Harry said directly.

"I'm not that childish!" Sirius gritted his teeth.

Harry paused, then continued, "A good Animagus master would be very helpful when dealing with werewolves."

Sirius snorted, swaying his unformed tail.

He looked at the people in the office: "Are they all going too?"

Hermione, Ron and Neville.

Harry glanced at them and nodded. "Werewolves are not that difficult to deal with. I contacted Tonks during the day and I think she will get a reply tonight or tomorrow. By then she should be able to bring a team of Aurors over. Then..."

An owl flew over.

Drop a letter.

The sender, Tonks, had scribbled her last name on the envelope.

"Tonks' reply has arrived." Harry opened the letter and frowned at the content inside. "Hermione, Ron, I'm afraid the Aurors will find it difficult to provide support. The risk is getting bigger. Do you still want to continue participating?"

"The Aurors can't provide support?" Hermione was stunned.

Harry nodded and handed her the letter. "The Minister of Magic has been replaced. This matter was handled very decisively. It is very un-Minister of Magic style."

"Scrimgeour has a good relationship with you..." Sirius also frowned.

"The new Minister is not Scrimgeour." Harry shook his head. "It's Pius Thicknesse."

"Who?" Sirius blinked, looking confused, as if... he had never heard of this name.

Harry didn't know either, he didn't seem to have heard of this name either.

"I know." Ron said, "My father mentioned him. He is a very senior person in the Ministry of Magic, the captain of the Magical Law Enforcement Team. He has a good personality and is an upright person."

"Captain of the Magical Law Enforcement Team?" Sirius sneered in surprise.

"There's such a department in the Ministry of Magic?" Neville muttered.

Sirius shook his head: "You can just pretend it doesn't exist."

"General magical disasters will be handled by the Accidental Magic Reversal Team. If it is related to Muggles, it will be handled by the Muggle Mediation Committee or the Memory Deletion Command."

"And the enforcement of magical laws is done by the Aurors."

“This is a department that appears to have a lot of power but doesn’t actually have any power.”

At this point, he paused. "How could it be him? I always thought Scrimgeour would be a very good successor."

"But it is indeed Mr. Thicknesse." Hermione's eyebrows twisted into knots. "And he is very ambitious. He is preparing to solve the problem of Azkaban. When the Dementors rioted, he personally led people to suppress it."

"In the next month, most of the Aurors will be in Azkaban to reorganize the place."

"The rest will search and patrol Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley to find the Death Eaters who have escaped from prison."

At this point, she gave a forced smile: "At least we need to make ordinary wizards believe that the Ministry of Magic is protecting them and stabilize the situation as soon as possible."

"Maybe only Kingsley and Tonks can come and help us on Christmas day."

"There are two Aurors, and only one is an elite one." Sirius counted on his fingers, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to protect..."

"Sirius," Hermione interrupted, "we're not going to be spectators."

"We are working very well under the guidance of Professor Porter and we are able to protect ourselves."

At this point, she paused, looked at Neville, and then focused on Ron: "I am ready, I have been ready for a long time. Now I am qualified and can fight shoulder to shoulder, at least against werewolves, not the more dangerous Death Eaters."

"I have to verify whether I am really qualified."

As she spoke, her eyes fell tenderly on Harry.

"This is not a joke. Werewolves are very dangerous. If you are bitten, you will become a werewolf."

"Harry's for Uncle Remus."

"Even if the Aurors don't come, Greyback won't be able to escape with Harry here. You don't have to force yourself. Harry's dueling lessons are much more useful than dealing with werewolves."

Harry nodded and agreed with her: "I respect and understand any choice you make."

"Of course I'm going." Neville held the steel sword wrapped around his waist with a firm expression, "I'm a Gryffindor. Gryffindors are warriors and never afraid. I want to know what level I am at now and how far I am from Crouch."

"I can still deal with werewolves." Ron waved his hand without any hesitation, "Harry, I'm not a child anymore. I'm not little Ronnie anymore."

"I'm your friend."

"We are comrades now. I can't always live under your protection."

"Even Hermione has come forward. I am also a Gryffindor, so I have to..."

Hermione's eyes turned dangerous: "What do you mean by even Hermione."

"Ron, I've always done better than you in dueling class."

"That's not what I meant." Ron was flustered, pulling his hair, "I meant, um..."

"He thinks that Hermione, you should be protected by Harry." Sirius summed it up for Ron. He was very experienced in this regard - not that he had experienced a lot, but that he had seen a lot, just like he was looking at Harry and Hermione now, and he had also looked at James and Lily in the same way back then.

Ron nodded heavily: "Yes, that's what I mean."

"I'm a Gryffindor too." Hermione looked at Harry, her cheeks flushed, and she took a deep breath, "I don't want to be that kind of canary. If I can't even protect myself, I'll be a drag."

Sirius looked nostalgic: "Hermione, you are more like Lily than Harry. I mean in this kind of personality."