This was the British Ministry of Magic, and Evan was in for the first time.
Dumbledore and Sirius hadn't come yet. The green flames flashed from time to time in the golden fireplace, and he was crowded forward by a stream of people coming out from the fireplace.
All of them were the Ministry's workers, wearing glum, early-morning looks, striding meteorically toward a set of golden gates at the far end of the hall.
Evan noticed that some of them were carrying tottering piles of parchment, others battered briefcases, still others reading newspapers as they walked to learn about the news that happened in the Wizarding World yesterday.
Most of the newspapers were "The Daily Prophet", but not all of them. Evan was delighted to find that many people actually held the "Hogwarts Magic".
Under the chairmanship of Professor Lupin, the newspaper created by Evan had been developing rapidly, with a hidden circulation competing with "The Daily Prophet".
With the help of Nearly Headless Nick, they had their own unique sources of information. If Evan could publish the Dark Mark that appeared last night in the Forbidden Forest, no one would have any newspaper in hand but the "Hogwarts Magic"!
It would absolutely be a great achievement, beyond everyone's imagination.
As the Wizarding Word's largest circulation newspaper, no one had challenged the dominance of "The Daily Prophet" for centuries.
...…
In front, halfway down the hall was a fountain.
A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool.
The tallest of them all was of a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air.
Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a Centaur, a goblin and a house-elf. The witch nestled beside the wizard. The Centaur, the goblin and the house-elf were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard.
Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the Centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears, so that the tinkling hiss of falling water was added to the pops and cracks of Apparators and the clatter of hundreds of witches' and wizards' footsteps.
Evan felt that his eyes were not enough. He followed the crowd to the central fountain.
He saw a lot of Silver Sickles and bronze Knuts glinting up at him from the bottom of the fountain.
A small, smudged sign beside it read: All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Although this group of statues were vivid, they were absolutely not realistic.
According to Evan's knowledge on Centaurs and the goblins, unless they fell under the Imperius Curse or were badly hit on the head, they would never look so worshipfully at human wizards. As for house-elves, they would bury their heads under their feet more prominently.
Just as Evan was looking at the statues with interest, a bored man's voice sounded behind him. "Boy, where are you from?"
A badly shaven wizard in peacock-blue robes approached Evan.
Behind him was a small wooden desk, over which hung a sign saying "SECURITY".
"I have something to do in the Ministry of Magic." Evan replied briefly.
He was not sure if he was going to name Dumbledore, Sirius or Fudge. If he told the security wizard the truth, and that he was coming to see the Minister of Magic for permission to enter Azkaban, would he think he was crazy?!?
"Something to do?!" The security wizard narrowed his eyes and said doubtfully, "A young wizard of your age is not allowed to come here at will without the company of an adult. Do you have a magic wand? Show me it! "
This guy was so annoying that Evan even wanted to pull out his wand and give him an Imperius Curse.
Then he remembered that he could not use this profound magic for the time being.
However, he could still do a small Full Body-Bind Curse.
"Evan, what are you doing here?" Just then, Mr. Weasley, suddenly appeared in Apparition not far away in worn-out wizard's robes.
He looked at Evan with surprise and waved to the suspicious guard on the side. "Hold on, Eric! I know this kid. He's a friend of my son."
"Arthur, do you know him?!" The security wizard, like a balloon, lost his breath and returned to his former lifeless appearance. "All right then…"
"Good morning, Mr. Weasley!" Evan explained. "I'm here with Dumbledore and Sirius. I came from the Floo Network, and they'll be there in a minute."
"Together with them, what happened in Hogwarts?"
Evan had not answered yet, and there was a sudden commotion at the other end of the golden hall.
Dumbledore and Sirius, who had just stepped out of the fireplace, were recognized almost instantly.
Many wizards yelled and rushed there, and the hall was in a mess.
Both of them were great celebrities in the Wizarding World and had many admirers.
Dumbledore, widely recognized as the top wizard in the World, had been secluded in Hogwarts in recent years, rarely making public appearances, and adult wizards rarely had the opportunity to meet him.
And of course, Sirius, since he was cleared, took over the post of professor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, and he had had no contact with the outside world.
The truth about his escape and what happened 20 years ago was a heated subject in public opinion, and had not yet faded away.
Everyone was full of curiosity about Sirius, hoping to see him in person, and some more fanatic ones even asked him for an autograph.
"It seems that they will be there for a while. Let's not stand here foolishly. We can go ahead and wait." Mr. Weasley took Evan to the security wizard.
"Eric, we're going in. You can check for Evan."
The wizard, Eric, gave an absent-minded answer, not at all alert when he questioned Evan. His eyes were always looking down the hall. It looked like he wanted to go over and see Dumbledore and Sirius.
"Step over here!" he muttered.
Eric held up a long golden rod, thin and flexible as a car aerial, and passed it up and down Evan's front and back.
"Okay, wand!" He put down the golden instrument and held out his hand.
If any outsider wanted to enter the Ministry of Magic, this was a security check that must be carried out. No one could be an exception. Evan handed over his wand.
The wizard dropped it onto a strange brass instrument, which looked something like a set of scales with only one dish.
It began to vibrate slightly. A narrow strip of parchment came speeding out of a slit in the base.
Eric tore this off and read the writing upon it.
"14 inches and a half, grapevine wood, been in use for two years, the core is…" Eric stopped and frowned at the note in his hand.
"Is there any problem?" asked Mr. Weasley.
"No, you can go in!" Eric returned the wand to Evan.
He patted the instrument there, whispering, "Damn, this thing must be broken. The core of the wand detected is an unknown substance."