The Minister of the Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was short in stature, and in Harry's view, dressed in a rather peculiar manner.
He wore a purple striped suit, green pointed leather shoes, looking like a clown ready to take the stage for a performance.
At this moment, he stood beside Dumbledore, feeling immense pressure.
He saw the giant maze and the students with eager eyes, seemingly yearning for a fight.
The changes at Hogwarts made him feel terribly unfamiliar.
Just two and a half years earlier, when he took office and came to visit Dumbledore, he marveled at how everything was exactly the same as when he was a student.
But this time, he almost suspected he had taken the wrong path.
Extremely active yet orderly students, more than a third not wearing school robes but dressed in outfits akin to soldiers, facilitating intense activity.
Their arms showed obvious muscles, magic wand holders were strapped in easily accessible places, and some young wizards even carried something akin to shields.
Each looked even more adept than the tall and thin Ministry of Magic employee beside him.
But what made him feel even more unfamiliar was Dumbledore.
This former gentle counselor, an elder who yielded time and again, sometimes making Fudge feel he was becoming senile, appeared much colder this time.
Though he merely refrained from smiling and his words became a bit concise and direct, it already made Fudge, who was plotting to shake off Dumbledore's influence, start feeling frightened.
Thus, words of questioning couldn't escape his lips, and he instead began inquiring about the arrangements for this event.
On a lawn by the Black Lake, house-elves had placed many benches, with temporary tiered steps stacked at the back.
At this moment, Dumbledore was accompanying visitors from the Ministry of Magic sitting at the front, followed by the school's professors, and on the steps at the back sat students not participating in the competition.
In the crowd, a blonde girl stood out conspicuously.
Because she wore a bizarre and brightly colored flamingo hat, with a somewhat dazed expression, her yellowish-brown attire made her resemble an oversized Tree-Protector Lofa.
Due to her odd outfit, other students preferred to cluster together rather than sit next to her.
In front of everyone loomed the high walls of the maze.
Sitting in his seat, Fudge posed a sincere question:
"Sitting like this, aside from the leaves on the wall, what else can we see?"
"Oh, about that, I believe Vid will help us solve it."
Dumbledore said lightly:
"I assume you know Vid Gray?"
"Yes, yes… I saw this kid last time..."
Fudge looked at Vid who was busy in front, answering somewhat absent-mindedly:
"When taking Peter Pettigrew away, I remember he was there too..."
Actually at that time, Fudge's mind was entirely occupied with questions about Peter, Sirius, the decade-old injustice, and who Voldemort's loyal followers really were, leaving no room to focus on an "ordinary eyewitness student."
It was only after hearing his subordinates discuss that he realized that student was the inventor of recent popular products, regretting not paying attention then.
Currently, Fudge's gaze tracked Vid's movements, hoping he might notice their discussions about him and approach to introduce himself.
——Just like those senior students watching them with eager eyes.
This way, Fudge could naturally praise him a bit, showcasing the ministerial grace and friendly demeanor he hadn't had the chance to before.
For Fudge, the Malfoy family's vault was like an inexhaustible well; although it hid plenty of water beneath, sending a bucket down only brought up a little.
For this, he still had to play nice, paying costs he wasn't originally willing to bear.
Whereas Vid, a young, talented alchemist, once unearthed, was a massive gold mine ready to convert to money.
But Vid never turned back.
He was like an ordinary repairman, seemingly oblivious to the fact that sitting over there were the Minister of the Ministry of Magic or the greatest wizard of this century, focusing solely on fixing three mirrors with several others.
With a swipe of his magic wand, mirrors already one person high quickly began enlarging, soon reaching 10 feet tall, each almost resembling a wall.
"What's that?"
Fudge couldn't help but ask, hearing the Ministry of Magic officials and Aurors behind him beginning to discuss.
"Hmm..."
Dumbledore was watching those arrangements with appreciative eyes, upon hearing, he paused for a while before saying:
"Magic television?"
Fudge: "… What?"
He wasn't unfamiliar with what a television is, just doubted whether Dumbledore was mistakenly and whimsically saying the wrong thing.
Then, he heard someone speaking not far behind:
"Allow me to introduce to you, Minister, this is Mr. Vid Gray and his two friends—Mr. Fred Weasley and Mr. George Weasley's latest creation—a magical version of television—the Flow Mirror!"
Fudge turned around to see Machioni pressing his hat to his chest with one hand, courteously speaking.
He was stunned for a moment, feeling like he had heard a familiar name—
"Weasley?"
He suddenly turned to look at the tall, raggedly dressed Ministry of Magic employee not far from him.
Arthur Weasley was equally shocked:
"Fred and George? My...my two sons? They're only in fourth year!"
He really wanted to ask if this gentleman had mistaken the names, but under the gaze of many colleagues, Mr. Weasley still painstakingly held back.
Machioni chuckled: "Mr. Vid Gray is only in second year, and he invented the Friendship Book a year ago."
Arthur Weasley closed his mouth in a daze, brushing against the edge of the bench to sit down, still finding it unbelievable.
On one hand, he knew his twin sons were indeed very smart, while on the other hand, he kept fearing receiving notifications of them being held back, dropping out, or being expelled someday.
Meanwhile, facing curious inquiries from the crowd, Machioni calmly began introducing:
"The Flow Mirror was modified based on the Two-Sided Mirror. It can transmit images and sounds in real-time, and later we'll witness its effects, surely leaving you amazed..."
"When I first saw it, I could hardly believe my eyes..."
"Mr. Gray and the two Weasley gentlemen have commissioned us at Aslan Magic Workshop to produce and sell it, and soon, everyone will be able to see it at home..."
"Is it a bit pricey? ...Sir, have you seen a Muggle's television? Since Muggles can enjoy the pleasures of television, why should we wizards only listen to the radio? Don't you want to watch a concert of Miss Sedina Wobek at home?"
"Think of the joy it can bring you; the price is actually quite worth it... And the usage time of a Flow Mirror is permanent, averaging to less than 0.1 Knut each day..."
Upon hearing familiar sales pitch, even busy Vid turned back to glance.
He felt he saw the sneer of a capitalist from behind Machioni.
The magical Flow Mirror indeed had a long usage life... But after technological advancements, who would still view a 9-inch black and white television?
Only those drawn away by Machioni's attention-grabbing were completely unaware, including Fudge who was noticing Vid just moments ago.
Soon after, a sudden flicker appeared on the silver-white mirror surface, displaying a scene inside the maze.