[Half A Month Later]
Link and Dumbledore left Hogwarts and stepped into the Floo Transit Hall of the British Ministry of Magic.
The hall was already packed with staff from the Department of Magical Transportation.
The moment Link and Dumbledore appeared, the current Head of the Department of Magical Transportation hurried over and said respectfully, "Commissioner Frey, everything is prepared."
As he spoke, he waved his hand. The transportation staff immediately stepped aside, revealing the carriage they had been surrounding.
It was an extremely ordinary-looking carriage.
Its appearance was almost identical to the carriages Hogwarts used to transport returning students.
If anything, it actually looked even shabbier.
And yet everyone present, including the senior Head of Magical Transportation who had originally belonged to the former Minister's faction and later Percy's faction, treated it with utmost seriousness as they personally escorted Link and Dumbledore aboard.
Only after entering did Link suddenly realize that the entire interior of the carriage had been reinforced with an enormous number of Undetectable Extension Charms.
The originally cramped compartment had effectively become a luxurious small suite, decorated with extravagant furnishings.
The technique was exactly the same as the one used in Beauxbatons' winged horse carriage when it had arrived at Hogwarts.
"We equipped it with the latest technology and the finest materials. Not only does it contain every living necessity imaginable, but the outer shell of the carriage is made from a special mithril alloy with wood-like properties!"
"This alloy is not only lightweight, but also possesses extremely high resistance to both magic and physical damage. Most importantly, its texture and appearance are almost indistinguishable from real wood!"
Taking advantage of Link and Dumbledore inspecting the carriage, the Head of Magical Transportation rubbed his hands together and said ingratiatingly, "This carriage can be said to be the most comfortable and safest in the entire wizarding world."
"You've put a lot of thought into this."
Dumbledore said with a smile.
Link also turned around, gave him a smile, and said, "Not bad. Your name is Digaro, correct? I remember your grandson is also in Slytherin at Hogwarts. He's a good kid."
Link's words immediately filled Digaro with delight.
At his age, climbing any higher was already impossible.
The only thing he could hope for now was the future of his descendants.
He understood that very clearly himself, and Link saw it just as clearly.
Digaro respectfully withdrew from the carriage and closed the door behind him. The moment he stepped outside, he returned to his original solemn and dignified expression.
At his command, the walls of the entire Department of Magical Transportation hall slowly rose, revealing the enormous magical teleportation array hidden behind them.
Newland and Skren immediately boarded the carriage.
But neither of them moved right away.
Only after the remaining gates inside the Department of Magical Transportation were also opened, and over a dozen carriages nearly identical to Link and Dumbledore's rolled slowly into the teleportation array under the escort of Aurors and Hunters, did the two finally flick their reins and guide Link and Dumbledore's carriage into the convoy.
Inside the compartment, watching the scene outside, Link sighed and said, "Honestly, I never expected the travel arrangements for someone at the level of a Minister of Magic to be this troublesome."
It really was troublesome.
Half a month had already passed since Link and Dumbledore received the invitation and decided to attend the mediation conference at the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards.
During that time, Link had immediately notified the Department of Magical Transportation to handle all travel-related matters.
At the same time, he and Dumbledore joined forces to carry out another round of deeper reforms at Hogwarts.
The core of the reform was straightforward. Given the current situation facing the British Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts would begin increasing the proportion of practical combat training in its curriculum so students could develop stronger combat abilities.
There were already precedents for this kind of educational reform.
Many magical schools had shifted their educational focus toward combat subjects during wartime.
In fact, Durmstrang had already undergone similar reforms years ago when Link became a school governor. Beckman, acting under Link's orders, had implemented the changes there long ago.
So Link and Dumbledore had examples they could follow.
The only issue was that Hogwarts differed from other magical schools in one key aspect. It didn't have a dedicated combat subject.
As a result, they could only use Defense Against the Dark Arts as a shell to carry out the reforms.
But doing so directly caused the workload for Defense Against the Dark Arts to explode.
No matter how much of a Potions Master Snape was, even with access to practically unlimited stamina potions, there was no way he could handle such an insane workload alone.
Snape probably never imagined that after finally achieving his dream of becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Link and Dumbledore would end up treating him like a draft beast, the kind worked to the bone without the slightest restraint.
Under Snape's roaring protests, Link and Dumbledore had no choice but to mobilize the D.A.
They personally designed an assistant teaching system and tutoring structure, and only then did the educational reforms finally proceed smoothly.
But the Hogwarts-related matters were already troublesome enough.
Link's own work was only just beginning.
The Ministry of Magic had also reached a critical stage in its development.
The opening of the domestic market had caused huge amounts of foreign capital to pour in, while local emerging capital rapidly rose alongside it.
During this process, the International Magical Trade Standards Association, together with the Joint Ministerial Office Logistics Department, issued a warning to Link, the true controller of the Ministry of Magic.
They had to establish a whole series of new laws and future development plans to regulate the increasingly bloated domestic economic market.
Otherwise, the originally weak market regulation mechanisms could produce catastrophic consequences, potentially even triggering an economic crisis and causing massive outflows of domestic wealth.
This work was mainly handled by old Barty, Percy, and a group of senior officials from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Link's role was more that of a supervisor, so comparatively speaking, it wasn't too much of a headache.
But at the same time, the Auror Headquarters was carrying out an important military expansion plan.
Link also had to devote energy to supervising and even directly controlling the implementation of that project.
Only then could he ensure that after receiving huge numbers of recruits and integrating the Hunter Corps, the Auror forces would increase in strength according to the original projections instead of becoming a paradise for parasites.
By the time this entire process was completed, half a month had already passed, and Link himself had become mentally and physically exhausted from overwork.
Then when he finally looked back, he was shocked to discover that the Department of Magical Transportation, the very first department assigned the task, had only barely finished preparing everything needed for their journey to the International Confederation of Wizards at the very last moment.
That level of efficiency could no longer even be described as sluggish.
"Actually, you can't blame the people in the Department of Magical Transportation too much."
Dumbledore was in an excellent mood. Stroking the leather sofa beneath him, he smiled and said, "Although traveling to the International Confederation of Wizards is quite easy once authorization has been granted, a simple Floo Network connection would be enough."
"But right now, we represent the entire British Ministry of Magic. So the proper display is still necessary. Otherwise, what suffers is the reputation of the entire British wizarding world."
"And from my experience, the Department of Magical Transportation has already simplified things considerably."
"You probably never witnessed Fudge during the height of his glory, did you?"
"Back then, the spectacle surrounding his attendance at international conferences was a hundred times grander than this."
"The Department of Magical Transportation spent years preparing for it, and the amount of Galleons consumed was incalculable."
"At the time, the British wizarding world's finances weren't exactly abundant either. Yet not a single citizen protested. Everyone supported it, because it brought them pride."
Link shook his head disdainfully.
"Real pride is won with your fists. Only the weak need these superficial displays to preserve their dignity."
Dumbledore shook his head and replied, "Not every ruler of a Ministry of Magic possesses strength like yours."
"Specialized carriages, Auror escort units, clearing obstacles along the route, dedicated teleportation arrays, all of these measures are absolutely necessary."
Link sighed and chose not to continue arguing with Dumbledore.
He himself understood perfectly well that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the Department of Magical Transportation's arrangements. More than anything, he was simply venting his frustration.
At the same time, as the convoy completely entered the activated teleportation array, the light outside the carriage suddenly dimmed.
The specially crafted alloy shell of the carriage absorbed the overwhelming majority of the spatial turbulence.
Inside, Link and Dumbledore barely felt any shaking at all. There was only a faint tremor before the enclosed Ministry parking area outside silently vanished, replaced by an enormous castle floating above the clouds.
A massive sun slowly rose from behind the castle alongside the movement of the flying carriage convoy.
Bathed in sunlight, the entire floating castle gleamed brilliantly like a divine palace. The holy radiance it emitted was so intense that Link's eyes hurt from looking directly at it.
A group of wizards in white robes flew out from the castle riding broomsticks of wildly different designs.
After coordinating with the British branch officials of the International Confederation of Wizards leading the convoy, they began guiding the carriage procession toward a massive gate along the side of the castle.
And only as they drew closer did Link realize in astonishment that the castle before him was far larger than he had imagined.
Its size was at least a hundred times greater than Hogwarts Castle.
It was practically a small city.
Most importantly, the surface of the floating castle was lined with an enormous number of cannon emplacements.
Just from the dense magical fluctuations radiating from them, Link could already tell that the power of these magical cannons was likely no weaker than the dragon-hunting ballistae the Hunter Corps had spent vast sums creating.
"Ah, the headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards. We've arrived."
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes and spoke expressionlessly.
"Link, we'll have to be careful. I have a feeling this conference won't be as simple as it appears."
[T/N: If you are liking the novel so far, considering leaving a review, power stone and comment below the chapter. You can also join the p@treon to support if you want. Enjoy~ Have a great day.]