The golden grille slid open once more. When Tver stepped out of the lift, a quiet corridor stretched out before him.
A thick dark crimson carpet ran the length of the hall, and his leather shoes made no sound on it.
He passed one gleaming wooden door after another, each with a small plaque bearing the name and position of the person inside.
The whole corridor felt like a tunnel in the deep sea, and those wooden doors were like the jaws of sea monsters waiting to swallow people whole. The silence and weight of the place pressed down on everyone who walked through it.
The Ministry of Magic's authority, complexity, and inscrutability were all laid bare in this single corridor.
But Tver walked through it as lightly as though he were taking a stroll at home, even studying the nameplates he passed with obvious interest.
"Barty Crouch, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic."
"Percy Weasley, Assistant to the Minister of Magic."
And then...
"Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic."
Just as Tver reached that door, someone suddenly opened it.
"P... Professor?"
Joy flashed across Percy's face at once, but remembering where he was, he quickly suppressed it.
"Good morning, Percy." Tver cooperatively responded with no more than a nod.
"I need to inform Minister Fudge of something. Is he in his office?"
"He is."
Percy hesitated for a moment. Even Fudge, he figured, would probably be curious why Tver had suddenly appeared here, so he stepped aside.
Fudge, who had just been about to leave, stopped short and looked in confusion at Percy in the doorway and Tver standing there.
"Tver Fawley!" A trace of irritation appeared on his face.
These days, he was barely able to move forward at the Ministry at all. If not for the fact that he was still the Minister, and that title was enough to keep many employees in line, he probably would not even have been able to keep this office.
In Fudge's eyes, although Tver rarely caused him trouble directly, the group of people constantly giving him trouble all had close ties to Tver.
So naturally, he had lumped Tver in with them and come to resent him as well.
Still, with Percy, his thoughtful little assistant, standing right there, he restrained his anger and looked up at Tver expressionlessly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I am now the British representative to the Wizards' Confederation. I am here to inform you of the Confederation's latest revised legislation, as well as the duties that will be carried out under it."
"The Confederation?" Fudge froze for a moment, forgetting to be angry with Tver.
Tver had become the British representative because Dumbledore's sole condition for stepping down as President of the Confederation was that Tver take the position, and Fudge had agreed to that.
It was just that the Confederation rarely ever handed down duties to the Ministry of Magic. As for revised legislation, he had never heard of such a thing happening since he took office.
"That's right. The Confederation has decided to strengthen its communication mechanism with the muggle government, so..."
"Wait!" Fudge hesitated. If he mishandled Confederation business, Barty would probably seize the chance to attack him again.
"I have other business to attend to right now. Percy, stay here with Fawley for a while. We'll talk when I get back."
He glanced at the time. It was already half past seven. Then, after giving Percy a look that clearly meant keep an eye on Tver, he hurried out.
"What's Fudge rushing off to do? Harry's hearing isn't supposed to start until nine, is it?"
As soon as the door shut, Tver began looking around Fudge's office while asking curiously.
Fudge's spacious office was not especially remarkable. The most eye-catching things were the medals hanging on the walls and the photographs of him with ministers from various countries.
"Fudge moved it up by an hour and changed the location of the hearing. He's planning to catch Harry and the others off guard."
Percy explained helplessly, then took out the tea Fudge reserved for important guests and expertly began brewing a cup for Tver.
"...That really is the limit of Fudge's vision."
Tver sat down at ease. If he had not avoided taking Fudge's main seat, he would have looked almost completely at home in the office.
"So there's no need for you to stay by Fudge's side any longer, especially if it means your relationship with your family, and with Penelope, only gets worse."
Because of Fudge, Percy's relationship with the rest of the Weasley family had become rather strained. And in order to better remain undercover at Fudge's side, he had flatly refused to let Penelope enter the Ministry of Magic.
Because of those two things, Fudge trusted and valued Percy even more, but Percy's relationships with the people close to him had inevitably deteriorated.
That was not something Tver wanted to see.
If Percy had broken with his family because he was obsessed with power, Tver would not have interfered. But Percy was doing this because Tver needed him to, and that left Tver feeling a little guilty.
"It's fine..." Percy's hand paused briefly as he poured the tea. "Once the bow is drawn, there's no turning back. Since I decided to stay by Fudge's side as an undercover agent, I had already imagined things turning out like this."
"But there is still a chance to fix things, and Fudge is not worth this."
"He is."
Percy's voice was calm and clear, and even the way he handled the tea became cleaner and more decisive.
"I know the truth behind Harry's Dementor attack, and I know that Umbridge will enter Hogwarts to interfere with Dumbledore, while Fudge works from the inside and outside to disrupt the Order of the Phoenix."
"I also know that Fudge intends to use the Ministry of Magic, along with the wizarding world's love of peace and quiet, to stir everyone into isolating Dumbledore and Barty Crouch."
"And all of that is thanks to my staying undercover by Fudge's side!"
Tver, who knew some of the plot, could predict those things as well.
But the more he interfered with this world, the more changes appeared, so he could not be certain that Fudge would still act exactly according to the original course of events.
And Fudge's next moves were directly tied to whether Barty Crouch could surpass Scrimgeour next year and become Minister of Magic.
So Percy's work really was indispensable to Tver's side...
Tver looked at him in silence. After a while, he finally spoke.
"Doesn't it hurt? Betraying the people close to you. Your family and your girlfriend are hurting because they do not understand. The people who love you, and the people you love, have all been wounded because of this..."
"That is exactly why I have to do what I should do, and protect them."
Percy smiled at Tver. His voice was gentle but steady, and the resolve in his eyes was unshakable.
"I know I'm doing this for their sake. Not only am I not sad, I feel stronger because of it."
"I understand." Tver picked up his teacup. "And thank you for everything you've done."
Smiling, Percy raised his own cup toward Tver, and the two lightly clinked them together.
"You're welcome."