The sudden roar from the Minister's mouth plunged the whole Wizengamot hall into a dead silence. Every activity and movement in the Wizengamot came to a sudden halt as all the focus shifted towards the minister of magic. Both the Lords of the houses and the spectators including the news reporters watching from the gallery were stunned into silence.
They failed to understand what was actually happening, or what the Minister was trying to say or convey. The words which had come from the minister's mouth did not make sense to any of them.
For the first few moments, no one knew how to react. Finally, someone broke from their stupor.
"What are you saying? What do you mean that you have lost control of the wards of the ministry of the magic?" The voice questioned, echoing through the entire hall.
"I mean what I say!" the Minister screeched at the top of his lungs, his frustration evident in his voice. He was angry and in that anger there was also a hint of fear and horror. "I have lost control of the Ministry wards!"
Whatever the Minister was saying made 'literal' sense to them, but they were not able to understand the gravity behind the situation. It was such a peculiar circumstance that they were not able to fully comprehend it.
The Minister did not wait for the Lords of the house to understand his meaning. He whipped his head toward the direction in which the Ministry officials, the heads of various departments were seated in the Wizengamot.
"Are you feeling the wards?" he questioned, his voice almost trembling.
Only then did the members of the Wizengamot notice that, just like the Minister, the officials had expressions of pure shock and horror plastered on their faces. Their eyes were widened, and they were reeling from the shock of it. And now, the gravity of the situation had probably started to make sense to the Lords and the spectators.
Almost all the officials shook their heads in response to the minister's question. They too, like the Minister, had lost control of the wards.
Now that a few more moments had passed, and because of the exchange between the Minister and the heads of departments, things had started to make sense. It had begun to dawn upon them what the Minister and the heads of departments meant by losing control of the wards. And it was an unprecedented situation.
The wards of the Ministry of Magic were one of the two strongest ward sets in all of Wizarding Britain, the other being the Hogwarts wards. These wards had been constantly strengthened over time. Over a period of centuries.
The experts of each era had reinforced them over and over through their unique arts and magic, making them stronger and stronger.
Not only this, there had been a time when the Ministry of Magic, unlike its present counterpart, was a highly respected body. It was a time when the Ministry was under the absolute control of the pure bloods and was considered a mere extension of their authority. There were no differences between the Ministry and the pure blood families and the institution of the minister of magic had been considered sacrosanct.
In those times, quite a few families had gone as far as using their family magic and keystones to reinforce the wards. It was a result of all those efforts that these wards became what they were today. Extremely powerful.
It was not that these wards were impossible to breach or break through.
With enough time and effort, it could surely be done. However, the effort required was herculean and humongous. It was almost on the verge of impossibility.
Any attempt to breach the wards would give the Ministry ample time to gather and mobilize its resources and prepare a counterattack against whatever force was trying to invade the wards. And it was impossible to even think that a single person could breach through it.
Now, the control of the Ministry wards obviously remained with the Minister of Magic. But the Minister was not the sole controller.
The various Heads of Departments also exercised varying degrees of control over the wards, as per their authority and the requirements of their departments. Even so, the Minister was the ultimate controller. His authority overshadowed the authority of every Department Head.
And now, the Minister had lost control of the wards. They had not been breached or broken, but their control had been transferred from the Minister and the Department Heads to someone else. And realisation of what it implied was finally striking every one.
To transfer control of the wards was a complex process. The norma; protocol followed by the Ministry required every person who currently held control over the wards to be present for the transfer. If a new Department Head or even a new Minister was appointed, a proper ceremony was held in which he or she was granted his or her share of the wards in the presence of every other control holder.
There was another method. Someone would have to reach the Keystone powering the Ministry wards and forcefully tear the control from it.
However, the Keystone in the Ministry of Magic was the most protected object in the building. It was hidden at an extreme depth on the lowest level of the Ministry.
There was a special set of wards surrounding it and, unlike the rest of the Ministry building where everyone was allowed to enter, only a very limited few could enter the chamber containing the Keystones. And then to tear the control wards from the keystones was a very difficult task in itself and required a very high level skill in runes and arithmancy.
An old man, the Head of the Department of Administrative Services, was the first to break out of his stupor. He shot to his feet and began descending toward the exit.
"I will go and find out at the Department of Mysteries," he said, his voice loud and composed. Despite the unprecedented situation, he had used his Occlumency and had forcefully calmed his nerves and was trying not to panic.
As for why contact the Department of Mysteries? Because the Department of Mysteries was the department under which the supervision of the Keystone was placed. And while the Head of the Department of Mysteries also held a seat in the Wizengamot, the head of that department rarely attended any council hearings.
The Minister nodded almost frantically as he, too, tried to calm his nerves. This was the best course of action and he was glad someone thought about something to do.
He was about to say something when the environment in the Wizengamot hall suddenly changed. The air turned suffocating, and a sense of oppression crept in. The steps of the old man automatically halted as he craned his neck to find out what was happening.
"What is the hurry?" A sharp, screeching, hiss like voice echoed in the hall out of nowhere. "We can chat for a little bit. Where would the wards go?"
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