"Hello, Prime Minister," said Mrs. Bonham with a solemn expression. "This is Felix Harp. He is—"
"I am the Ancient Runes Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Felix interrupted. The Prime Minister stood up, hesitated, and shook his hand, becoming increasingly uncertain about Felix's identity. Was he a bodyguard or a staff member?
Mrs. Bonham sat upright in the hard wooden chair opposite the Prime Minister, while Felix sat beside her, lowering his head slightly and fiddling with his fingers. The Prime Minister had no choice but to focus his attention on Mrs. Bonham.
"You know," the Prime Minister said sternly, "despite meeting twice before, and even with your predecessor Fudge several times, and there's even a portrait behind my desk that picks its nose and yawns...," his eyes bulged slightly, "I still held onto a faint hope that perhaps you're all just clever impostors, or that after countless sleepless nights since taking office, I'm hallucinating..."
"Prime Minister—"
"I've been discreet about all this, but all illusions shattered today! The country is in chaos! Officials from over fifty counties have been blowing up the phones at Downing Street, reporting a group of strangely dressed individuals flying around overhead, performing all sorts of magical tricks—there was even a cow in Kent that leaped over the Thames in broad daylight, witnessed by over two thousand people! Good Lord, even my niece sobbed to me that her pet hamster turned into a teacup right before her eyes, and I've never felt so helpless."
"I'm sorry, did you say hamster?" Felix politely inquired. The Prime Minister's niece being a potential young witch was good news for the upcoming negotiations.
"Fudge turned the teacup into a hamster the first time we met," the Prime Minister gritted his teeth.
"Oh," Felix drawled, tapping his index finger on the armrest of the chair.
The Prime Minister regained his composure, straightening his tie, though he was slightly out of breath from his rant.Mrs. Bonham finally found an opportunity to speak. She got straight to the point, saying, "This is why we're here. Wizards can no longer remain hidden. The integration of both societies is inevitable."
"The integration of both societies," the Prime Minister repeated slowly, "how is that supposed to happen?" He was completely calm now.
"In the past, we only revealed our identities to the sitting Prime Minister, as it was most conducive to secrecy. But after today's events, it's clear that the old methods no longer suffice," Mrs. Bonham said gently. "We need close cooperation between both sides: you'll need to explain to the public why there's a group of wizards living on British soil, and I'll need to reassure wizards accustomed to secrecy to adapt to a vastly different environment."
"But you've withdrawn," the Prime Minister said nervously. "I haven't seen any news about wizards in any publicly circulated newspapers—maybe there will be after today—now you want the integration of two societies, how am I supposed to convince the public that you're not clandestine figures undermining British order? Moreover, I have to consider the opinions of Parliament, the Church, and the military. They were unaware of you before; perhaps one or two families knew, but would they dare to speak out? Hmm, unless—" his expression changed.
"Unless what?"
"Ah, I can't just speak without evidence, perhaps you don't know our stance on refugees—"
"Wizards are not refugees!"
"Yes, yes, I know, but to the average person, the difference may not be so apparent, especially with you lot appearing and disappearing at will. Who knows when one might suddenly emerge from the fireplace? Good Lord, wizards stealing things, you might find it amusing, but it's how the public perceives it..."
Felix didn't laugh, and neither did Mrs. Bonham. Because there were indeed many thieves in the wizarding world, and quite a few of them, though mostly uninterested in Muggle possessions, faced far more severe consequences than mere theft.
"...I suppose," the Prime Minister wiped his forehead with a green-striped handkerchief, "if wizards could nominally fall under government jurisdiction, be legally supervised, and simultaneously pledge allegiance to the Queen—of course, only nominally—I think the situation would be much easier."
Mrs. Bonham stared, restraining herself from turning to look at Felix. He had anticipated the Prime Minister's reaction entirely.
"We must win over the Muggle Prime Minister," Felix analyzed. "I know he can't fully decide on this matter. The Cabinet, Parliament, the military, the public, and even the Queen residing in Buckingham Palace—they all have opportunities to exert influence, but the Prime Minister is the most crucial, as he connects them all and has the power to influence them."
"Ah, I don't know how to persuade him," Mrs. Bonham said wearily, rubbing her temples.
"Persuade?" Felix looked at her seriously. "That's the outcome we hope to achieve. But in the process, you have to appear more assertive."
Mrs. Bonham hesitated, looking at him. "But—what if—"
"Oh, Amelia. We fret over war, but do they not fear as well? Yet upon reflection, it's not that we fear war, it's the concern that their arrogance might misjudge the situation, sparking a conflict that should never have ignited."
"That's a bit different from what we were discussing," Bones objected.
"That's the strategy for the common folk. Of course, we could take a gentler approach to gain widespread support. But with politicians? You must regard them as entirely different creatures. You concede an inch, and you must extract something from them in return. It's almost encoded in their veins."
"Does conceding imply weakness?"
"It could also signal a trade of interests."
Bones huffed.
"You seem to understand them quite well."
"I just skimmed through a few 'storybooks' before coming here. I can only say the content was fascinating," Felix vaguely remarked.
...
"If you persist with this notion, Prime Minister," Mrs. Bones spoke sharply, "then we have nothing further to discuss. We engage in negotiations, stipulating obligations for both sides, but we will never capitulate to any group or individual, not even in name!"
The Prime Minister hadn't anticipated such a vehement rebuttal. There was a moment of silence.
"I recall you have an organization similar to the United Nations?" he asked cautiously.
"The International Confederation of Wizards," Mrs. Bones pursed her lips.
"Yes, the International—ahem—Confederation of Wizards, that's it, Fudge mentioned it once." The Prime Minister asked hopefully, "What are their thoughts?"
"They haven't decided yet," Felix interjected suddenly, "they're concerned about war."
"War?" the Prime Minister exclaimed.
"Yes," Felix blinked, as if he had stumbled upon something interesting, "You may not know, but not all Ministries of Magic have friendly relations with their local governments. Britain is quite fortunate in this regard. In fact, many Ministries of Magic have had very tense relationships with their governments, and they don't hesitate to speculate about each other with the utmost malice, weighing the balance of power, using terms like 'nuclear bomb'..."
"Nuclear bomb?" The Prime Minister's eyes bulged out completely, he jumped up excitedly, hands bracing on the table, spittle flying, "Do they still think there might be a nuclear war?"
"Oh, they are genuinely concerned about that," Felix spread his hands, 'confessing,' "Some Ministries of Magic severed ties with Muggle governments early on. Their information channels are quite limited... I've never worried about being hit by a nuclear bomb."
"Of course not!" the Prime Minister roared, "No leader of any country would agree to detonate a nuclear bomb where their own people live, let alone allow another country to do so! It's utter nonsense, and if anyone dares to issue such an order, his political enemies will laugh him into oblivion, and angry mobs will tear him apart."
Felix cast a discreet glance at Bones.
Bones caught the signal, she cleared her throat, saying, "Mr. Prime Minister, nobody wants war. We sincerely hope that both sides can reach a consensus and make every effort to facilitate negotiations. During this period, to avoid unnecessary conflict, we will recall wizards living in seclusion in Muggle society and retract, going into hiding."
The Prime Minister nodded, feeling the sincerity from the other side.
"But... I hope your deliberation won't take too long," he said, "On one hand, I can't suppress the will of the wizarding public for too long, and on the other hand, our concessions may also create a vacuum in local wizarding power. At this critical moment, that may not be a good thing."
"A vacuum in power? What do you mean?" the Prime Minister asked shrewdly.
"While we strictly enforce our policy of isolation, other wizarding powers may come in," Mrs. Bones warned sternly, "They could be foreign wizards—like those from Africa or the Americas, as Felix mentioned earlier, they have strained relations with their local governments and might seek refuge in Britain; or black wizards driven out by Aurors who could cause trouble; but the most likely are Voldemort's core saints."
At the first point, the Prime Minister merely furrowed his brow. Compared to outsiders, he naturally trusted the wizards of his own country more. But as a seasoned politician, he was well-versed in the art of negotiation and compromise, willing to use this as an excuse to gain benefits. However, when he heard that the Ministry of Magic intended to let black wizards run wild, he immediately became restless.
"This is a threat!" he exclaimed, "You've had this up your sleeve all along, haven't you? Nurturing black wizards in secret just so you could—"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Mrs. Bones retorted angrily.
"Don't deceive me, I'm not completely ignorant of your affairs," the Prime Minister said, adopting a pensive recollection, "Your former Minister of Magic, in several conversations, revealed quite a bit of insider information—Knockturn Alley, isn't it? One time, Fudge complained that the Death Eaters kept smuggling cursed items out of Knockturn Alley, it's been an ongoing problem... You won't deny that, will you!?"
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