With a look that told the increasingly pushy Viktor to rein himself in, Tver threaded his way through the crowd toward the staff table in the Great Hall.
The Beauxbatons students were already seated at the Ravenclaw table, clustered around the braziers to warm their shivering bodies. Gabrielle stayed close to her sister, repeatedly shooting aggrieved looks at Tver before being tugged firmly back.
As for the Durmstrang students led by Viktor, after a brief hesitation they were dragged over to the Slytherin side by Draco. No one knew what tricks Draco had used, but judging by the way he pointed at himself, he had probably bluffed Viktor by invoking Tver's name.
By the time Tver returned to the staff table alongside Dumbledore, everyone else had settled down. Still, two seats at the table remained empty, as if more guests were yet to arrive.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and especially our distinguished guests," Dumbledore said with a genial smile. "It gives me the greatest pleasure to welcome you to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."
"And the long-awaited Triwizard Tournament will begin after the feast, so I invite you all to enjoy tonight's banquet to the fullest!"
In the next instant, Tver's plate filled itself with an abundance of delicious food, accompanied by all kinds of tempting desserts. Dumbledore had more than lived up to his promise from the start of term. With the visiting schools in attendance, tonight's spread rivaled both the Opening Feast and the end-of-year banquet.
To accommodate their foreign guests, the menu also included a selection of international dishes, predominantly French cuisine. After all, Durmstrang's so-called specialties were hardly an improvement on British fare, and no one was particularly eager to try them.
Before long, a wave of excited murmurs rippled through the student body. Tver looked up from a small mountain of cupcakes to see Fleur removing the scarf from her face, revealing her flowing hair and exquisitely beautiful features.
"My apologies," Madam Maxime said, her tone a mix of exasperation and pride. "Fleur is a half-blood Veela. She does tend to attract a great deal of attention."
To keep her student's looks from causing too much trouble, she often reminded her to keep her face covered. Even so, scenes like this were sometimes unavoidable.
Tver's attention, however, was drawn to two figures entering the Great Hall at that moment.
Ludo Bagman, and…
Cynthia?
Cynthia wore a fitted pale lavender coat, her graceful bearing standing in sharp contrast to the pot-bellied Bagman at her side. She even drew some of the attention away from Fleur. The Durmstrang students, in particular, immediately recognized the familiar senior.
Cynthia merely smiled at them before taking the empty seat beside Tver.
"Why are you the one who came?" Tver asked in a low voice as he cut into his steak. "Did something happen to Barty?"
By all rights, as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Barty had both the status and the obligation to attend the opening banquet of the Triwizard Tournament.
"Barty's tied up with Fudge. The two of them are at each other's throats over Umbridge."
"Umbridge? What has she done now?"
Cynthia's lips curled into an odd smile. "Fudge plans to strip her of her position as Senior Undersecretary and promote Barty to that post instead."
"Ha." Tver let out a short laugh.
No one should mistake Fudge's move for goodwill. If Barty really became Senior Undersecretary, then no matter when Fudge eventually stepped down, Barty would be effectively cut off from ever running for Minister.
In the wizarding world, a Senior Undersecretary was usually seen as the Minister's personal lackey, a role often associated with incompetence or a lack of broader vision. Unless Tver could completely control the Ministry of Magic, Barty would never be elected Minister.
"I didn't expect Fudge to be this sharp," Tver said. "I wonder how Umbridge is taking it."
Cynthia sighed. "To be honest, this has put us in a very awkward position. We've had to suspend the impeachment proceedings against Fudge and slow things down for a while."
"As for Umbridge, I hear she's becoming more and more vicious behind the scenes. But at the Ministry, people are already used to that side of her."
Tver frowned.
He had planned to force Fudge out as quickly as possible, securing control of the Ministry before Voldemort's forces fully recovered. According to the original course of events, Fudge would step down two years later, which was not exactly too late…
"At least Barty has moved up," Cynthia continued. "And just as you planned, Marvolio is gradually taking over Scrimgeour's position in the Auror Office."
"If everything goes smoothly, then within two years, no matter how the election turns out, the Minister will be chosen from either Barty or Marvolio."
She spoke with confidence.
That confidence had a lot to do with Marvolio's outstanding performance at the Ministry, especially his relationships with senior officials, which were now even stronger than those of Barty and Cynthia combined. He seemed exceptionally good at dealing with powerful figures, winning them over with a few well-chosen words while quietly leaving them with the impression that he was someone not to be underestimated.
With both lines advancing in parallel, the Ministry of Magic was steadily falling under Tver's influence. Even Fudge would have limited ability to interfere with them over the next two years.
Taking that into account, Tver nodded reluctantly.
The position of Minister for Magic was effectively a lifetime post. Unless the Minister resigned voluntarily or was impeached for a major offense, it was extremely difficult to bring one down. That was precisely why Tver had invested so much effort in dealing with Fudge.
After the bad news, Cynthia moved on to something more positive.
"The Anti-Werewolf Law is basically a dead letter now. The Werewolf Capture Unit exists in name only and has been folded entirely under Marvolio's authority."
"To be honest, Marvolio can even use that unit as a pretext to help Lupin deal with some particularly troublesome werewolves."
"If Umbridge weren't such a lunatic, I'd almost think she passed that law to help us…"
"Ahem."
Tver choked on the piece of beef he was chewing.
The Anti-Werewolf Law had caused them a bit of trouble at first, but now it not only gave Lupin a ready-made list of people to win over, it also provided an excuse to crack down on dark wizards, benefiting both Lupin and Marvolio.
Thinking about it that way, Umbridge almost seemed like a good person.
"The Potions Laboratory is up and running now," Cynthia went on. "Production of the Beautification Potion has nearly doubled. It's more than enough to meet demand on the Muggle side."
As facial masks grew more popular worldwide, the pitiful output of Madam Primpernelle's beauty potion shop had long since fallen short. Now that the werewolf wizards were working, the problem had been solved at its root.
"Good," Tver said. "We can consider having Ian Russell use a few magical methods to win over some financial conglomerates."
By "magical methods," he meant potions that improved health. And health was exactly what the wealthy valued most.
"Oh?" Cynthia looked at him in surprise. "Aren't you worried about attracting attention? We still can't act recklessly in the Muggle world."
Even with control over the British Ministry of Magic, there were still countless other countries out there. Avoiding unnecessary conflict with their magical governments was always preferable.
However…
"The wizarding world will soon have other things to worry about," Tver replied calmly. "They won't have the time to pay attention to us."