The Ravenclaw Temple on the floating city did not look like an enlarged version of the Ravenclaw Temple in Diagon Alley. There were large, elegant arched windows on the walls, hung with blue and bronze silk. The ceiling was a dome, and the main background above was decorated with stars, while the dark blue carpet below was also decorated with stars. There were many ravens flying and resting under the stars above the dome, adding a mysterious atmosphere to the temple.
Many members of the Ministry of Magic, as members of the pure-blooded families, had never personally visited the shrine. Even though some of them had personally experienced the descent of God when the former headmaster of Hogwarts was chased away, it was difficult for them to change their habits as they lived a rich life and had nothing to ask for. Hence, it was difficult for them to change their habits and worship something.
However, at this moment, as they slowly gazed at the scenery that even the silent people of the Department of Mystery Affairs rarely saw, they could not help but feel as if they had heard thunder, as if thunder was rolling past. They would feel proud that they, as adepts, had built such a majestic and solemn magic palace.
When the visiting wizards looked up, they would see some of the things that Ravenclaw had done when she was the Queen of Gods. They would see the huge statue of Loynar Ravenclaw in the empty hall that connected heaven and earth, as well as the relief of the headless dragon that was her mount, and some ravens that were reared inside the temple flew around under the stars above the ceiling.
When they looked at the same level, the themes of the murals and reliefs became the things that everyone was familiar with when Ravenclaw was still a human, such as the creation of the academy or the spreading of knowledge. The wizards could only find their own kind in these paintings when they looked at the same level. Between the murals on the temple walls were countless huge bookshelves, just like Ravenclaw's common room.
At the front of the temple, the usual pulpit and blue cushioned benches had been temporarily arranged into a meeting room.
Noticing that the head of the Ministry of Magic had come in, the wizards sitting on the benches, who had not spoken, quieted themselves down to avoid their voices being too conspicuous in this temple that had been proven to have the existence of a god. The internal structure of the temple was similar to the Muggle Church and had been specially designed so that the sound could be amplified as needed.
Tall, spacious, and domed ceiling were the characteristics of the space. In order to emphasize the ethereal effect of multi-part music in the temple, the temple had punched holes in the walls and embedded pots in the walls. While the height of the pulpit that Owen was heading to was raised, making full use of the echo on the ground to improve the transmission of the speech, the domed ceiling above the pulpit, which was outlined as a universe, became more and more important. They could not reflect echoes, so as to prevent the echo from interfering with the speaker due to the distance.
However, whether it was the structure or the atmosphere of the entire shrine, people couldn't help but speak slowly and calmly.
After a while, the meeting officially began.
"Ladies and gentlemen, from today onwards, the temporary office of the Ministry of Magic will be set up in the floating city. Today is our first meeting." Owen's hands were on the pulpit, and his eyes swept across the staff of the Ministry of Magic who were sitting upright in their uniforms. His voice was also slower than usual. "The arson that happened last night was completely trampling on our Ministry of Magic … The United Kingdom welcomes wizards of different customs and religious beliefs to join us with a tolerant and open attitude, but this is based on the premise that their beliefs and customs do not affect other wizards. Now, some extreme protests caused by the Italian immigrants about their native religious beliefs have seriously affected others, and even been used by the Death Eaters, causing our Ministry of Magic to suffer heavy losses … "
Owen waved his hand down heavily.
The members of the Ministry of Magic who were sitting on the long benches listened quietly. Everyone knew that the opening words were leaked out to the ordinary people outside. The reason was not the main point, but the specific measures to counteract the situation was the main point today.
"In order to build a peaceful and safe living environment for the wizards in the United Kingdom, I think the Ministry of Magic will further strengthen the supervision." Owen's tone became firm, and he raised his head and said with no room for argument, "I request the Ministry of Magic to set up a monitoring organization in this area and establish a review committee. This committee will be led by Morgan-le-Feil Harris, who is currently in charge of television censorship. Director Harris will take the lead and expand this function with her department as the prototype. The members of the committee will be the Bowens, Longbottom, Foley, and other families who have been serving the United Kingdom wizards loyally and have continued to contribute to the development of the Ministry of Magic, as well as members of some families who have performed well in the Ministry of Magic this year, such as Grimson and Barsa. "
Suddenly, the positions of the family members named by Allen became the focus of the wizards' attention. Some of the wizards who were not named were obviously not prepared for this. They did not expect that these 'family members' would be on Harris's list of measures, which made them feel deeply uneasy.
"Next, let's talk about the current functions of the monitoring department. In view of the identity of the suspect in the arson case, now all demonstrations and other protest actions must be reported to the monitoring committee with detailed information. In view of the fact that many media outlets have reported a large amount of false information that should not be disseminated, which has stirred up the emotions of the wizards and caused a negative impact on the stability and harmony of the magic world, the monitoring committee will continue to comprehensively and continuously clean up the publication market to ensure the authenticity of the reports … In view of the fact that there are cases of illegal organizations in the country from time to time, the monitoring committee can review their accounts under the premise of obtaining the permission of the Law Enforcement Division. However, the companies and families that have been found to have previously funded Lord Voldemort will not be subject to this restriction." In the uproar and the noise of the Aura trying to maintain discipline, Owen said in a sonorous and forceful voice. His voice, which was enhanced by magic and combined with the special structure of the temple, was clearly transmitted into the ears of every wizard. "In short, the monitoring committee now has the right to investigate these situations in order to bring peace and stability to the United Kingdom's magic world."
The pure-blooded British wizards who were still in the Ministry of Magic instantly understood after hearing the members and functions of the department. Bowens and Longbottom had abandoned them. They no longer maintained a relatively neutral position and had turned to Harris. Now, there was no doubt that this department would let these people become members of the new ruling class. All opposition would be sanctioned by the committee and labeled as illegal.
The wizards, who were originally in the core ruling class of the magic world, realized that they had been kicked out of this class. Their family and personal interests would be damaged. They immediately went into an uproar, completely unable to accept the taste of losing power. Like boiling water, these wizards instantly stood up in anger, waving their hands and arms, accusing and protesting at Owen. Some of the pure-blooded wizards who were originally neutral secretly regretted that they did not seize the opportunity to become the new ruling class because of hesitation when the outcome was already clear.
However, as one of the parties involved, Amelia Bowens' two thick eyebrows were raised high, and her monocle was about to slide off. Beside her, Algie Longbottom's round face was frozen with his mouth open. At this moment, it was obvious that he was related to his nephew, Neville. He looked very similar to Neville's stunned expression.
What Owen, the head of the Ministry of Magic, had just announced was quite different from what they had discussed in the early morning. Previously, they had discussed that the investigation would only target the families who had connections with the Mysterians. For those families who had too many black magic and black industries, they were considered decent people and hoped to use this to clean up the United Kingdom's magic world. At the same time, they could also annex the legitimate businesses of these families and gain some benefits. But now, in Owen's words, it had become targeting everyone, and they did not intend to use this opportunity to cast aside the other families.
"Minister Harris! I object! " Amelia Bowens stood up from her seat. It seemed that she had taken a long time to organize her words because of the accident. "This is an act of expanding the scope of the investigation! If it's too extreme, it will easily increase the atmosphere of unrest in the magic world. Many families have not made any mistakes before this! "
Algie who had reacted immediately stood up as well. He said with a hoarse voice, "… I don't understand. This is different from what we said …"
"I agree." Suddenly, Josephine Harris's clear and cold voice interrupted Longbottom. She stood up and tidied her wide-brimmed hat with her head held high.
Following her footsteps, the higher-ups who belonged to the Department of Mystical Creatures Management and Control also stood up to express their agreement. Some of them tried to stand up to express their objection, but they were surprised to find that their voices seemed to be much softer in this temple than before.
"I agree." "I agree." "I agree." "I support."
With Lunn, Daisy, and Albert taking the lead, the forces under their command also expressed their agreement. John Bartha followed closely behind. Grimson rubbed his red nose and stared at the wizards who expressed their opposition with his hawk-like sharp eyes. He also expressed his opinion very seriously.
These adepts who had completely thrown their lot in with Harris stood up one by one. Voices of agreement could be heard everywhere, almost merging into a continuous string of notes. These adepts who had stood up seemed to have joined together, taking up more and more space in the temple. Under such circumstances, other than the wizards who had violently objected and shouted the loudest just now, more and more people were wrapped in this wave of agreement and stood up.
Bowens looked at the changes in the scene in shock. She opened her mouth and wanted to continue arguing, but she was stopped by Algie who was beside her. She looked at Algie in confusion. Following Algie's line of sight, she saw the hostile gazes of the neutral pure-blood families who were forced to stand up and agree.
"It's useless to say anything now." Foley, who had been silent all this while, said in a low voice, "There's no other choice. If we continue to object at this time, not only will Bowens be kicked out of the committee, but she will also be completely isolated and helpless. We were tricked by Owen."
Now, Harris' people had occupied most of the advantageous positions in the Ministry of Magic. However, if these neutral families were unified like before, they would also have a certain number of people who would be able to hinder or even make Harris more restrained in the function of the committee. But now, after the seeds of mutual distrust had grown, they understood that if they did not object, at least they would be accepted as the new true ruling class. If they objected, not only would they not be able to change the situation, but they would also lose their family's future development potential.
"Amelia, forget it." Algie Longbottom did not seem to be as anxious as before. He looked at the aggrieved witch and said, "At least we are still in the committee. If we are in the committee, compared to if we are kicked out … it's better to ensure the fairness of this organization, isn't it?"
Amelia narrowed her eyes so tightly that the edge of her monocle sunk into her flesh. Hearing Longbottom's words, she fell into a dilemma. But in the end, she gave up on protesting and arguing. Of course, for the sake of the so-called bottom line, she did not agree, but that was not important.
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