"I believe the next Minister for Magic will definitely be someone sharp and capable," Mr. Jamison said with absolute certainty.
Sitting nearby, Daphne let out a yawn—she had no interest whatsoever in such a boring topic as who the Minister for Magic would be.
"Dad?! Why are you here?" At that moment, Astoria entered the Great Hall and immediately spotted her father sitting beside her sister.
Her eyes widened in disbelief: what kind of trouble had her sister gotten into to make their father come all the way to school?
"I came to the school today to handle some matters, and since it happened to be mealtime, I decided to stop by here for a meal." Mr. Jamison explained his purpose to Astoria.
"That's wonderful—Dad, you're the best!" Knowing that there would no longer be Dementors around the school, Astoria brightened instantly. "I always hated them, especially when they stormed the Hogwarts Express to search it."
Being praised by his daughter in public left Jamison very pleased.
"The train search was actually just a rehearsal for what happened yesterday." Rhys, thinking back carefully, realized that the incident of the Dementors stopping the train had already revealed the signs.
The Ministry of Magic hadn't sent anyone to work with the Dementors, which had completely exposed their negligence. The reason the Dementors' threat hadn't exploded earlier was thanks to him and Helga stepping in on time.
"At least back then the Dementors still acted under the Ministry's search order. But yesterday—they were completely out of control." Jamison sighed.
"I thought the lesson we gave them that day would calm them down. Unfortunately, their emotions don't seem to work the same way as humans'."
"What lesson?" Mr. Jamison raised his head, looking puzzled. From the ancestor's words, was there something he hadn't been told?
Rhys blinked. Jamison didn't know that the Dementors who had searched the train that day had been destroyed by him and Helga?
When he told Jamison about it, Jamison was utterly stunned.
Something like that happened?! So there had already been conflict between the two sides.
"It seems the Dementors never reported the incident to the Ministry. This shows the Ministry actually has no ability to restrain them at all. From the very start, deploying Dementors was a mistake." Rhys's tone was calm.
In his view, it wasn't worth wasting anger on something that had already been settled.
"That White fellow is rather interesting." Once the topic of Dementors and the Minister was finished, Jamison shifted the conversation with Rhys toward Smith White.
"She is indeed remarkable." Rhys glanced at Jamison, silently hoping he wouldn't say such things in front of Helga. That woman was terribly small-minded.
"The Ministry has plans to purchase her puppets to serve as guards for Azkaban. And quite a few wizards are interested in her products as well—they want to buy some to keep at home."
"Then she's going to make a fortune—you should buy a few puppets from her for your home, you definitely won't regret it."
Jamison nodded. Since the ancestor had spoken, he would certainly buy a few puppets.
Rhys had originally intended to tell Jamison that just purchasing the lower-grade models that required recharging would be enough. But after thinking about it, he decided there was no need to say anything.
As for Smith White's true identity, Rhys did not reveal it to Jamison. Something so important—without Helga's consent, he would never say a word.
"The Ministry of Magic is about to enter a period of turmoil. I wonder if the next few major events will be affected."
Jamison had another matter to report to Rhys—this was a top-secret issue within the Ministry, known only to a small handful of people. By chance, he happened to be among them.
"What major events?" Rhys's interest was piqued.
"The first is the Quidditch World Cup final this summer. By regulation, this time the host is the British Ministry of Magic. The Ministry has already drafted the plans, and after the New Year construction on the stadium will begin. The scale of the event will be unprecedented."
At the mention of "major events," Daphne and Astoria both perked up their ears, eager to hear what gossip their father might bring.
But when it turned out to be about Quidditch, Rhys immediately lost interest. To him, a Quidditch match was less interesting than a box of cream ice cream.
"Rhys, do you want to come watch the Quidditch match with us during the summer holidays? Dad will definitely be able to get the best tickets." Daphne put her roasted chicken leg aside and asked if Rhys was interested in watching the match with her family.
Mr. Jamison's expression remained calm, but inwardly he gave his elder daughter a big thumbs-up.
Excellent—that's exactly how it should be done! He had already been thinking of bringing it up himself, but felt a little awkward. Having his daughter say it for him was perfect.
"It will be very lively. Wizards from all over the world will be coming."
Though Rhys had little interest in Quidditch itself, upon hearing this he changed his mind. He wanted to interact more with wizards from other countries.
Seeing that the ancestor was willing to attend the Quidditch match with his family, Jamison was overjoyed and immediately promised that he would secure the very best seats.
"What else is there?"
"Yes, Dad, what about the other secrets? Everyone knows the Ministry of Magic is hosting the Quidditch World Cup."
"First, you must promise me that you won't tell anyone about this." Jamison's gaze toward his two daughters was filled with distrust.
Daphne and Astoria's curiosity had already been thoroughly piqued, and they hurried to swear that they wouldn't breathe a word.
Rhys, meanwhile, used magic to seal off their voices. A faint buzzing noise cloaked their conversation, so that anyone passing by would hear nothing of what they were discussing.
"The Triwizard Tournament, which has been discontinued for centuries, is going to be held again." Mr. Jamison lowered his voice, speaking with deliberate mystery.
However, the reactions of the three gave Jamison the feeling of punching into cotton—utterly anticlimactic. Their responses were surprisingly uniform: no reaction at all.
When the Triwizard Tournament was first created, Rhys had already fallen into his long slumber, and Daphne and Astoria had no way of knowing about a competition that had been canceled for hundreds of years. So none of the three had ever even heard of this ancient contest!
Jamison couldn't help but sigh, then began explaining the Triwizard Tournament to them.
As he listened, Rhys's eyes grew brighter and brighter: sending "champions" to compete against the other two European wizarding schools? That sounded very interesting indeed!
Daphne and Astoria's levels were already quite good—it was about time for them to venture outside the school.
Rhys made up his mind: Hogwarts's champions would be chosen from Daphne and Astoria!
As for Helga's and Rowena's heirs… Rhys felt they had been under tutelage for too short a time—one for barely over a year, the other not even chosen yet. How could they compare with Daphne and Astoria?
The task of bringing honor to the school should fall to his own students!
Just like Rhys, Daphne and Astoria also became extremely excited upon learning about this, eager to give it a try.
"But there are rumors that the champions must be at least seventeen years old."
Mr. Jamison's next words made all three of them frown in unison.
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