Barty Crouch stood his ground, his face livid. Glaring at the smug look of triumph on Fudge's face, he said angrily, "Willy has absolutely nothing to do with the election for Minister. There is no need for you to drag an innocent man into this."
In fact, Barty was right.
Throughout his years at the Ministry, Willy Shafiq had always shown a lack of interest in politics. He detested the endless cocktail parties and the scheming. With the deep foundations of the Shafiq family and his own exceptional talent in magic, he had no need to attach himself to anyone.
He was on close personal terms with several officials, including Barty Crouch, but this was purely due to professional appreciation and compatible personalities.
However, in the eyes of a politician like Fudge, anyone who wasn't "one of his own" was a potential enemy—especially since Willy always appeared to be on good terms with Barty Crouch.
Willy looked around the room.
He looked at the furious Barty, the triumphant Fudge, the fake-smiling Umbridge, as well as his worried subordinates and the colleagues with ambiguous attitudes.
He realized that in the massive whirlpool of power that was the Ministry of Magic, even if he actively avoided it, kept his nose clean, and shut his doors, those dirty political schemes and frame-ups would automatically seek him out.
There was no hiding from it.
He felt a profound sense of weariness.
"There's no need, Barty."
Willy spoke softly, interrupting Crouch, who was preparing to argue further.
He turned around and pulled his wand from his robes. Fudge and the assistants behind him immediately raised their wands nervously, thinking he was about to resist.
However, Willy simply gave a light wave.
Several heavy ancient tomes, some design blueprints, and an exquisite teacup flew automatically into the suitcase he carried, which snapped shut with a click.
"I, Willy Shafiq, formally resign from the position of Head of the Committee on Experimental Charms, effective immediately."
Willy picked up the case, his tone as casual as if he were discarding a bag of rubbish. "Fudge, there's no need to be so happy. Since I haven't engaged in factionalism like you, my departure won't affect the election results."
"Willy!" Barty Crouch took a step forward. "You don't need to sacrifice yourself. We can go through the Wizengamot—"
Willy shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. "I see it clearly now, Barty. As long as I remain at the Ministry, things like today will never end. Today it's a rabbit; tomorrow it might be an exploding teacup."
He threw on a black traveling cloak, smiled and nodded goodbye to the few subordinates who had gathered to persuade him to stay, and then turned to walk toward the door.
Behind him, he could feel the barely concealed delight in Fudge and Umbridge's eyes. They had won; they had removed a powerful potential threat without shedding a drop of blood.
Just as Willy was about to step out of the office door, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
The entire office fell instantly silent.
Willy did not look back. With his back to the crowd, he said coldly:
"But I need to make one thing clear: I never accept baseless accusations, and not just anyone can plot against me at will."
In the next second, no one saw his movement clearly; no one even saw him wave his wand.
There was only a blinding flash of white light that swept through the crowded office.
"Ah—!"
"What's happening?"
Amidst the cries of alarm, Fudge and Umbridge, who had been standing there triumphantly, suddenly swelled up rapidly like inflated balloons.
Their robes were stretched round and taut. Losing gravity, they floated toward the ceiling, waving their hands and feet in terror.
"Put me down! Shafiq, you dare attack a Ministry official!" Fudge's voice became high-pitched and comical as he kicked his legs wildly in mid-air, looking like a rotund beetle.
Umbridge let out a series of terrified shrieks. Her pink cardigan was stretched almost transparent as she became wedged between two chandeliers.
"Stop him!" The two assistants Fudge had brought finally reacted, panic-stricken as they raised their wands at Willy's retreating back.
"Stay your hands!"
A thunderous shout froze everyone.
Barty Crouch blocked the doorway. He drew his wand, his gaze sweeping gloomily over the two bewildered assistants before looking up at the two "balloons" floating against the ceiling.
"Do you really think the few of you can stop Willy?" Barty's voice held a note of undisguised mockery. "You'd better figure out how to get your foolish superiors down first, unless you want them to float out and make a spectacle of themselves."
The assistants looked at each other, their hands trembling on their wands, but no one dared to take a step forward.
Of everyone present, perhaps only Barty Crouch knew Willy Shafiq's true strength.
Back when Barty was still the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he had personally invited Willy to join the Auror Office after his graduation, promising him a position as a core team leader within three years.
But Willy had politely declined at the time, citing that he "preferred a stable job and disliked fighting and killing." Although Barty hadn't secured this excellent subordinate, that meeting had marked the beginning of their friendship.
"A bunch of insects."
Willy didn't look back at the chaotic scene. He left those final distinct words, then, carrying his case, strode into the shadows of the corridor amidst the rising and falling screams and whispers.
This hex had been modified by him; standard methods wouldn't be able to let the air out. He believed there was enough time for everyone in the Ministry to see this spectacle.
He looked forward to tomorrow's Daily Prophet headlines.
Ding-ling.
The golden grilles slid open, and Willy stepped into the dim elevator.
Coincidentally, an acquaintance from the Department of Magical Transportation squeezed in as well. Seeing the case in Willy's hand, he greeted him with some surprise.
"Off so early, Willy?"
"I'm treating it as a long vacation for myself." Willy smiled gently, his expression normal, giving no hint that he had just turned two colleagues into balloons.
Just as the elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the noise, a cold, mechanical voice abruptly sounded in his mind. Immediately after, a pale blue light screen that only he could see appeared on his retina.
[Detecting major shift in Host's career path. Core activation conditions met...]
[Target location locked: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...]
[Identity determined: Faculty Staff...]
[Confirming binding qualifications... "Hogwarts Construction and Development System" activating... Binding successful!]
Willy's fingers tightened slightly around the handle of his suitcase, and a flash of astonishment crossed his eyes. However, on the surface, he maintained his elegant posture, even smiling and responding to his colleague's complaints about the recent weather.
But in his field of vision, a massive stream of information was scrolling rapidly.
Relying on his exceptional reading speed, he quickly skimmed the instructions and soon understood the core logic of this so-called "System."
Simply put, as long as he made contributions in his future teaching career in two areas—[Campus Construction] and [Student Level]—he could earn points.
The former included repairing the castle and strengthening defenses, while the latter included improving students' O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s exam scores. All of these could be converted into tangible numerical values.
Willy wasn't very interested in the former at the moment, as he couldn't immediately think of what Hogwarts was lacking, but the latter gave him many ideas.
[Every student achieving an 'E' (Exceeds Expectations) in O.W.L. exams grants 1 point; achieving an 'O' (Outstanding) grants 3 points]
[Every student achieving an 'E' in N.E.W.T. exams grants 3 points; achieving an 'O' grants 5 points]
[Students with special achievements grant extra points]
[...]
And these points could be exchanged in the System's store for various powerful magics, rare talents, and so on.
Animagus, Parseltongue, Seer talent... After a brief scan, Willy's heart trembled slightly.
The elevator reached the Atrium with a soft ding, pulling Willy's thoughts back to reality.
His colleague walked out first, waving goodbye. Willy, however, stood in place, staring blankly at the line of pale blue text fading before his eyes, a sense of indescribable absurdity rising in his heart.
He hadn't expected that he actually had a System.
What was even more unexpected was that he had been in this magical world for a full thirty years, and only now did this belated "cheat" finally arrive.