"Voldemort" appeared in the crowded atrium of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Wounds, and there was an instant intake of breath from everyone present.
In the preceding decades of peaceful life, there had been a turbulent period of over several decades for the British Ministry of Magic.
The man whom his followers called the Dark Lord had forged a deep-seated fear of that name through countless cold-blooded murders and bloody massacres.
Even as an official institution, the Ministry of Magic only referred to him as "the mysterious person," dared not to mention his name directly.
This directly led to the entire British magical community being afraid of this name as if it were a tiger, which was taken as a joke by witches and wizards from other countries.
Years later, when Minister Amelia Bones mentioned that name again, everyone seemed to see, as if in a daze, that a new era had already arrived!
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!
The sound of applause echoed in the silent St. Mungo's Hospital, becoming louder and louder until it was deafening, almost as if the roof would be blown away.
"Fantastic!"
Sirius turned towards the lower Minister Bones and shouted loudly, waving his arms constantly.
"She's really incredible, right?"
Hermione's flushed cheeks revealed a blush, and she clapped her hands enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with reverence!
" indeed, she is truly remarkable -"
Ron was also applauding, but his expression was slightly anxious,
"But that wasn't a wise move, was it? Voldemort won't let her off."
"So, she is truly remarkable, isn't she?"
Neville said,
"In fact, I've felt something odd about this. I mean, using 'the Dark Lord' as a substitute for Voldemort..."
Although he said this, Neville still shook violently and his eyes showed discomfort.
"I apologize - "
The people's enthusiasm was like the sea, surrounding Minister Bones, and Skrinkle had to use his wand to amplify his voice.
"Minister Bones still has to visit some seriously injured patients!"
"We should go - "
The people standing on the stairs gradually moved back, and Sirius also patted Harry's shoulder.
They encountered Neville's parents on the second floor.
The couple had a mild demeanor, and Harry saw a hint of the Weasleys in them.
They had also sustained quite severe injuries in this war.
Mr. Longbottom was hobbling with a cane, while his wife had one arm wrapped in thick bandages.
"Did you hear what Minister Bones just said, Frank, Alice?"
Sirius asked with enthusiasm.
"Of course --"
Neville's father said that he seemed very excited as well,
"Minister Bones' bravery is truly commendable, and I'm sure the Ministry of Magic will achieve great things under her leadership!"
Alice rolled her eyes at her husband, then looked at Neville with gentle eyes.
"It must all be your friends, right, Neville? Why not introduce us?"
"I was just going to, Mom --"
Neville helped Alice, who had only one uninjured arm, and smiled happily, saying,
"Here is Hermione. You know her, these guys are Ron, Ginny, George and Fred, all from the Weasley family."
"Hello --"
Mrs. Longbottom nodded at them, then furrowed her eyebrows.
"Your father was injured too, right? Is he okay?"
"Arthur is on the fourth floor, and we were planning to go see him."
Sirius took over the conversation.
Naturally, the Longbottoms also joined their ranks.
Harry, as the main character, was grandly introduced by Neville.
"Since this month, Neville has told us a lot about you --"
Frank only glanced quickly at Harry's scar before looking away, and then spoke enthusiastically, saying,
"He said you were very brave, clearly you are, for daring to go to the battlefield as an underage wizard, that's truly remarkable!"
"Don't exaggerate, Frank!"
Sirius rolled his eyes and said, making Harry's face turn red in embarrassment.
"We all know that yesterday's defeat of Voldemort didn't rely solely on the Amortentia..."
Frank smiled without malice, but then, confusion appeared in his eyes again.
"Honestly, I thought the Ministry would publicize this extensively!"
Harry Potter once again defeating Voldemort... but I heard, for some reason, Minister Bones has strictly forbidden the spread of this news, and she doesn't allow The Daily Prophet to publish it either.
That's not fair to you, Harry, isn't it? This thing will make you famous, after all, even Amortentia is here, isn't it?"
Talking all the way, they didn't realize that they had already arrived at Mr. Weasley's room. They saw Amortentia sitting next to Mr. Weasley's bed as if he was wrapped in a mummy.
The two seemed to be discussing some serious topics, with Mr. Weasley's tightly knit brows showing a hint of hesitation.
"Ah, you're here --"
Seeing a group of people coming in one after another, Amortentia stood up from the chair, smiling and nodding to them.
"When did you get here, Amortentia?"
Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"In fact, I came here with Amelia."
Amortentia, as he slowly pulled out his wand from his sleeve to conjure a row of chairs, asked with a smile,
"How was Amelia's speech?"
"It was a success --"
Sirius sat down and, as he sat, casually picked an apple from the fruit basket on Mr. Weasley's bedside table and bit into it.
"But why didn't you appear and say something to people?"
"Everyone knows you took a frontal attack from an enraged Voldemort. If it had been you, perhaps people would have more confidence."
Professor Brian was not considering a few young wizards while preparing the chairs.
Harry secretly cursed, but when he heard Sirius' question, he looked at Professor Black with curiosity.
"Can't I enjoy some of the attention too?"
Amortentia chuckled twice.
"Otherwise, it would be difficult for Amelia to do her job."
Sirius wrinkled his brow, not quite agreeing with this.
The exposed skin on Mr. Weasley's face remained pale.
However, he expressed his gratitude for these people visiting him, and when speaking to the Longbottom couple, his speech was much clearer than when he was gasping for breath the day before.
"My therapist told me that if I'm lucky, I can be discharged from the hospital at the end of this month--"
Facing everyone's inquiries about his injuries, Mr. Weasley said with a worried expression,
"Staying here for a month would drive me crazy!"
"Oh, it's not as bad as you think, you know. It just passes by so fast --"
Mr. Frank said humorously,
"I and Alice feel the same way. Just like that, over ten years have passed!"
A cheerful light laughter filled the ward. As long as Mr. Weasley can recover without any aftereffects, that would already be a good outcome.
"Don't worry, Arthur --"
Amortentia smiled and said,
"During this free time, you can weigh the pros and cons of my proposal just now, as it's a very important matter."
Mr. Weasley's frown instantly disappeared, and his expression returned to the one they had when they first entered the ward, a mix of seriousness and hesitation.
What is Professor Black talking to Mr. Weasley about?
Harry and Hermione looked at Ron in unison, but Ron only responded with a confused expression.
"By the way, were you just --"
Sirius hesitated and asked
"Oh, I've been talking to Amelia. We're thinking of setting up a new department in the Ministry that needs Arthur's integrity, so I've come over to ask for his opinion --"
Amortentia was not trying to be mysterious; he said it directly.
A new department for integrity?!
From the unspoken look on Mrs. Weasley's face, standing at the foot of the bed, Hermione could feel that she was hoping Mr. Weasley would take this position.
After all, it's worth Professor Black coming over personally, and whether the head of this department would be a high-ranking position or not couldn't be said for sure, but it would definitely be crucial.
"What?"
Sirius didn't hide his curiosity either. He asked eagerly.
"The Office for Monitoring..."
Amortentia gave a meaningful smile.
