The anger on Fudge's face froze. Looking at the equally irritated Prime Minister and Tver's faint smile, he immediately realized he had stepped right into a trap.
That brat set me up on purpose!
Fudge seethed inwardly.
"In that case, you two can settle the matter of the Joint Office yourselves!"
He turned away huffily and strode toward the fireplace without looking back. Of course, if the two of them asked him to stay, he might graciously consider remaining a while longer...
One step, two steps...
Damn it, this brat really knows how to keep his composure!
Whoosh.
The flames flared again and swallowed Fudge whole.
"Do the two of you have some kind of conflict?" the Prime Minister asked with interest.
Thinking back on Fudge's behavior just now, it was hard not to wonder.
Of course, that sort of thing was hardly rare in politics. People just usually did not put it on display in front of outsiders.
"You could say that. It mostly centers on whether that evil wizard has truly returned."
Tver shrugged and casually revealed the matter of Voldemort.
"Returned?" The Prime Minister's attention was immediately caught by that word.
"You mean... wizards can come back from the dead?"
Tver would have bet a bottle of pumpkin juice that the Prime Minister was already thinking about his own death and resurrection.
Faced with the temptation of immortality, a politician like this would not hesitate to start a war.
But Tver had no intention of allowing that...
"Not exactly. It would be more accurate to say he recovered from a weakened state. I imagine you still remember some mysterious incidents from sixteen years ago?"
The Prime Minister pulled his gaze back, confused and somewhat displeased by the change of subject.
"If you're calling them mysterious incidents, how would I know?" he said coolly.
Tver smiled.
"For example, a village suddenly disappearing. Or a city turning bitterly cold in the middle of summer..."
The Prime Minister immediately understood what he meant.
"Wait. You mean those incidents had something to do with your people?"
"To be precise, they had to do with Voldemort, the evil wizard who has now returned."
The Prime Minister slapped the desk in realization.
"So this Joint Office is meant to stop that Vol..."
"Voldemort."
"Right, thank you. To stop that Voldemort from causing those... bizarre incidents again?"
"Exactly." Tver nodded in approval, clearly pleased by how quickly the Prime Minister had caught on.
"I assume you would not want to see a bridge collapse for no apparent reason, or a building suddenly cave in, during your term of office?"
"But the problem is, this is a wizard matter. I remember Fudge saying your Ministry of Magic is responsible for handling things like this!" the Prime Minister said, clearly displeased.
After all, those mysterious incidents had been caused by wizards, so naturally they ought to be dealt with by wizards.
He already had more than enough problems on his hands. If he had to add a hidden magical world on top of everything else, he might as well be thrown out of office right now.
That was what people were already shouting for, anyway.
"If we were capable of handling it properly, then sixteen years ago you would never have learned those mysterious incidents even happened." Tver spread his hands helplessly, looking as though he had no better option.
"But." The Prime Minister leaned forward, bracing both hands on the desk, his face grave as he looked at Tver. "You say Voldemort has returned, yet I have not received a single report of any mysterious incident so far..."
"That is because Voldemort's plan to return quietly failed. We have a large number of people prepared to oppose him, so for now he has gone into hiding and is plotting his next move."
Seeing that the Prime Minister was about to question him again, Tver cut in first.
"Prime Minister, do you really think that a vicious criminal from sixteen years ago, once he has regained his strength, will quietly hide his name and become an honest farmer?"
The Prime Minister opened his mouth, but in the end only let out a helpless sigh and sank back into his chair.
"I suppose I can understand why Fudge has been so irritable lately..."
A long while passed before he lifted his head again, still puzzled.
"But even if I do not wish to belittle us, if even you wizards cannot handle this, what help can we possibly offer? Send the police to arrest Voldemort?"
Realizing the Prime Minister's attitude had softened, Tver immediately began explaining the Joint Office in more detail.
"No, no. The actual operations would be carried out by professional wizards. What we need from you is support work."
"Normally, when an incident occurs in which muggles, that is, people like you, witness magic, we send in a joint task force made up of several departments."
"First, the incident is assessed. If it is highly dangerous, an Auror takes charge. If the threat is more moderate, the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol handles it."
"But no matter the level of danger, people from Obliviator Headquarters are always sent in to erase the memories of any muggles who witnessed magic."
"That is why none of you have ever known anything about the wizarding world."
After thinking it over for a moment, the Prime Minister understood how the whole system worked.
"So Voldemort's reappearance has broken your entire response system?"
"Exactly!" Tver nodded firmly.
"Voldemort's personal power, along with his large band of followers, means the crimes they commit go far beyond what the Ministry of Magic can handle."
"So sixteen years ago, all we could do was erase as many traces of magic as possible. There was no way to erase the memories of nearly a third of Britain's population."
"And now, we hope to get your help. For example, when crimes occur in your world, the information can be gathered and sent to us immediately, so that we can respond as quickly as possible."
In truth, because there were so few of them, the Aurors' control over British territory was nowhere near as thorough as people imagined.
By contrast, with modern communications, muggles could report dangerous incidents in less than half an hour.
So if muggles used technological methods to support them, many cases could be handled far more effectively, and not just those involving Voldemort.
"And once the criminals have been captured, we would also need you to provide the public with a reasonable explanation, or at least one that science can account for," Tver concluded.
The Prime Minister nodded slowly as he listened and thought it over.
"So in that case, you get to keep magic hidden, and I do not end up like my predecessor, treated like a senile fool who knows nothing?"
"You could put it that way."
Of course, things were not actually that simple, but Tver had no intention of foolishly revealing everything.
"This is something that benefits both sides. And the office would not necessarily exist only to deal with Voldemort. It could also help you better understand certain events happening within Britain, instead of being kept in the dark like other muggles."
Politicians always wanted as much information under their control as possible. That would inevitably stir in them a desire to control the wizarding world as well, but if used properly, that desire could also create a feeling in their minds. That British wizards were also British citizens.
That sense of identification was the real purpose of this office.
As for the chaos that desire might bring, that was unavoidable. But if everything went that smoothly on its own, what would Tver even be there for?