bookbashuk Page 234
Page 234
She said these things from her heart, and there was nothing particularly meaningful about them.
The scene suddenly fell silent.
Zhang Qiu slightly covered her mouth, staring in shock at everything that was happening before her eyes.
She didn't understand why things had suddenly turned out this way when everyone was chatting so well.
Ciri sat on a separate sofa, wiping her arcane sword, silently watching the two of them with her grey-green eyes.
After a long while, Penelope managed to chuckle softly, which was considered an acceptance of Hermione's suggestion.
Hermione's words were indeed impeccable; Levin was about to graduate and definitely needed help.
Penelope, though somewhat unwilling, had to admit that Hermione was the best person Levin trusted, and that she was good enough.
Although Hermione's studies are very demanding, she is able to dedicate more time to organizing and developing training camp activities thanks to the Time-Turner.
And that's exactly what she did.
To free up more time, Hermione even skipped Professor Traulini's Divination class.
They didn't tell Levin about this change in their division of labor, but Levin noticed it all.
As a smart man, he didn't interfere with their decision, or even mention it, to avoid unnecessary trouble.
The day after this incident, Levin received a message from Jaina.
The matter concerning the Office for Prohibiting the Abuse of Magic has now been resolved.
The female official, Mafalda Hopkirk, who was troubling Levin, was indeed Crouch's subordinate. She had made things difficult for Levin without his consent, and Fudge's faction had found a weakness in her.
Fudge took the matter too seriously, escalating from poor service to damaging the Ministry of Magic's image, and used this as grounds to get her fired.
Despite Hopkirk's utterly foolish behavior, Crouch, as the faction leader, still had to work hard to persuade Fudge to stay in her position.
However, Fudge, in a victorious manner, told Crouch that if he insisted on protecting Hopkirk, he would tell the reporters the truth: it was Crouch's intervention that prevented Hopkirk from receiving any punishment.
If this really happens, then the Daily Prophet's speculation that Crouch was guilty of suppressing Levin will be immediately confirmed.
For the sake of his reputation, Crouch had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill and give up Hopkirk.
Many officials in the Ministry of Magic who were originally part of his faction changed their allegiance to Fudge and Jaina's camp after seeing that Crouch was unable to protect his men.
Upon hearing this, Levin secretly applauded Jaina.
Despite her efforts to exonerate Black, Jaina's faction faced a full-scale counterattack from Crouch's group, putting her in a difficult position within the Ministry of Magic.
But she seized this opportunity, skillfully maneuvering it to transform "her conflict with Crouch" into "her alliance with Fudge against Crouch," with Fudge's faction becoming a shield...
In the showdown between Fudge and Crouch, Jaina not only took the opportunity to mitigate the aftermath of Black's exoneration, but also effectively expanded her own power.
Levin foresaw that tomorrow's media coverage would be explosive, and the Ministry of Magic's dismissal of Hopkirk would likely be a feast for the reporters.
Crouch's power will certainly be weakened, and Fudge will not miss this opportunity, nor will Jaina.
Of course, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse; even so, Jaina wouldn't expect to completely crush Crouch's power.
Such a century-old political family has a deeply entrenched influence throughout the Ministry of Magic, and it is not so easy for them to collapse.
As for Jaina, she's currently facing some trouble as well:
If the Department of Law Enforcement is the core department of the Ministry of Magic...
The Auror Office is the core department of the Legal Enforcement Division.
As a department that encapsulates the most elite members of the entire Enforcement Division, Aurors will find an excellent position in another department, whether they are transferred out of the Auror Office or finish their service.
Rufus Scrimgeour, the current head of the Auror Office, is a pure Auror who focuses on fighting dark wizards and rarely gets involved in politics, but he is, after all, the nominal chief of staff of the Aurors.
If Jaina wants to control this crucial gate, she needs to plant enough of her own people here.
As a result, the benefits of the Erudite Society, including his close relationship with Jaina, the Deputy Director of the Department of Law Enforcement, gradually spread. The effect was immediate, with many graduates like Percy Weasley flocking to him, hoping to work for the Ministry of Magic.
In their eyes, the Society of the Learned was not merely an academic gathering where one could learn advanced magic, but also a shortcut to ingratiating oneself with powerful figures in the Ministry of Magic. It was clear to everyone that Jaina's influence within the Ministry was rapidly growing.
Levin began assessing all graduates interested in joining the Ministry of Magic, as planned. He evaluated them based on magical ability, combat skills, interpersonal relationships, personality, loyalty, and other factors, selecting a shortlist to provide to Jaina. This task was beyond Hermione's capabilities, so Levin delegated it to She-Ra.
La and Penelope.
In the future, this group will be led by the two of them in 2.9, and many of them will join the Auror division to work alongside them. Naturally, they'll have to put in a lot of effort themselves. In addition, Levin thought of something else—Death Eaters were spotted at the Quidditch World Cup during the summer.
This is both a challenge and an opportunity for them.
Tonks, as a squad leader and an elite among the Aurors, could volunteer for the World Cup security work—an opportunity he certainly couldn't miss to earn merit.
If handled properly, new Aurors can gain tremendous merit as soon as they join the Ministry of Magic.
Upon realizing this, Levin immediately wrote down the information on a piece of paper and then pinned a feather from his phoenix form to it. In a flash of fire, the feather and the letter vanished completely, reappearing on Jaina's desk.
Levin couldn't help but feel worried when he thought about the unrest caused by the Death Eaters at the World Cup.
While Cirella is quite capable, most of the others, including Penelope, are only at the level of recent graduates.
If you were facing ruthless Death Eaters, would you be able to perform at your best and avoid being harmed by them?
Thinking about this, Levin felt he needed to be even more prepared.
He wanted to design a uniform and equipment for the Aurors, which could be made first for Tonks, Cirira, and other members of their own group.
Once Tonks replaces Scrimgeour and takes control of the entire Auror office, it can be immediately transformed into equipment for all Aurors.
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Chapter 255 Uniform Design
Levin wants to design Auror equipment, but he certainly can't rush into it.
He first wrote to Jaina and Tonks separately, asking them to help gather feedback from the Aurors regarding their dissatisfaction with their current gear and their ideal Auror equipment.
Levin knew very well that designing this kind of combat gear was just like designing firearms, helmets, and body armor.
This kind of thing cannot be done without the opinions of the frontline soldiers; making decisions behind closed doors is the worst approach.
The next morning, Levin went to the auditorium for breakfast as usual.
The owls arrived on time, delivering various newspapers.
Levin discovered that almost every newspaper was reporting on Mafalda Hopkirk's dismissal from the Ministry of Magic in the most prominent position.
On the front page of The Daily Prophet, Fudge's photo occupied most of the space.
He appeared deeply saddened and solemnly stated, "The Ministry of Magic will always uphold its public service function, taking serving the public as its mission and wholeheartedly serving all wizards. We will take this as our aim and invest more resources in the construction and improvement of public services to continuously meet the needs of the public."
Fouché assured: "We are firmly opposed to corruption. No matter what department or position you hold, if any violation of discipline is discovered, we will deal with it according to the law and will never tolerate it."
"Mafalda Hopkirk's behavior and fate serve as a prime example. We also hope that all departments will strengthen their self-discipline, strictly abide by laws and regulations, and act in a fair and transparent manner to serve the public with concrete actions."
Behind Fudge's photo is a photo of Hopkirk.
The witch looked completely bewildered, and carrying a large cardboard box, she left the Ministry of Magic in a daze.
There's always a reason why someone is pitiable.
But when Levin saw the picture, he didn't feel any sympathy for her whatsoever.
Everyone must take responsibility for the choices they made.
Levin decided an official's fate with a few words, but he felt no pleasure whatsoever.
For him, the matter of the Book of All Laws had already occupied too much of his mind, and he really didn't have the time to waste his emotions and energy on an unrelated person.
However, this does not mean that his life is dull and boring.
On the contrary, the constant exploration and research brought him great pleasure and a sense of accomplishment.
The thought of changing a magical civilization filled him with immense excitement.
Jaina and Tonks are both very efficient people; they completed Levin's request in just one day.
When Levin finished his tasks for the day and returned to his dormitory, he received a reply from Himer.
For Levin, who can transform into a phoenix, delivering messages is quite convenient; it's just a matter of plucking a feather.
But replies still have to be sent by owls.
Fortunately, Himer had been fully nurtured by the forces of nature in the demiplane, making him far more powerful than an ordinary owl.
It can handle a little work with ease.
The reply from Jaina and Tonks was a thick stack of documents.
It contains a summary of the problems encountered by the Aurors, as well as advice from Tonks and Jaina.
As a top-tier Auror, Tonks' advice was all very practical.
But Jaina was the most brilliant one.
Her suggestion was very simple: "The Auror uniform must meet one condition: it must be 'cool'!"
Even if we have to sacrifice some protective performance and cost, it doesn't matter, but it has to look cool.
Levin felt that she had hit the nail on the head.
This suggestion may sound counterintuitive, but it is actually quite practical.
An unnamed degreasing expert confirmed this.
He stated: "Military uniforms must be designed to be stylish, so that young people will be willing to join the army without hesitation."
Because of his good looks, he attracts many outstanding young people to join the team.
Levin picked up the summary sheet of feedback from the Aurors and found that almost all of them randomly matched equipment based on their own preferences and experience when going on missions.
This results in most Aurors being good at fighting individually, with considerable individual combat strength, but each one is very specialized, only good at their own style.
What's worse, they perfectly fit the saying: scattered they are like stars in the sky, gathered they are like a pile of dung.
While the Aurors' collective fighting ability wasn't quite up to par with Xiang's, they also lacked any real teamwork.
When facing Death Eaters and organized dark wizards, they usually cannot exert the fighting power that a regular army should have.
It's important to understand that in Muggle society, the reason regular armies can crush bandits and ragtag groups is because of the power of organization.
Therefore, Levin plans to add the concepts of circular magic circles and war magic to the Erudite Academy's classes.
But the most urgent task is to start with Auror standard equipment and develop it into a Muggle army with the same level of coordination and discipline.
In terms of uniforms,