After Lucius and Draco left, the meeting room became quiet again. Ivan sat alone in front of the fire for a long time, deep in thought.
"What do you think, Dougatt?"
The dull flames of the fire rose up, and the scarlet flames coalesced into Dougett's large face, and his deep voice rose.
"Lucius is a man who knows his place. He probably really wants to betray You-Know-Who and join us. Seven hundred thousand Galleons is also very sincere. I think his words are trustworthy!"
"In addition, Malfoy is one of the most powerful wizarding families in Britain, and things will be much more convenient with him in the picture…"
Yvonne nodded. Counting the Malfoys, who had won the support of nearly forty percent of the wizarding establishment in recent months, the next Minister would be one hundred percent in their favour.
"Who's our candidate, by the way?" Yvonne asked curiously.
"Pierce Thicknesse!" Dagget replied.
"The executive director?" Yvonne was surprised. She had thought Pierce was a hard-ass.
"I investigated for over a month and found out that the old man was a bit more shady than we thought, and easier to deal with than we thought…" said Doggett smugly.
He had come into contact with both of the most likely candidates for Minister for Magic these days, and Rufus Scrimgeour was as stubborn as Ivan suggested, as hard and smelly as a stone in a latrine.
However, it was different for Pierce, the executive director. He had a loving family as his weakness, as well as a lot of shady material to dig up, so he did not have to worry too much about betrayal.
"In that case, come out and meet him sometime. I'll personally place a magical seal on him and accept him as one of us," Ivan said noncommittally.
"I'm sure Thicknesse would be extremely honored…" Douget said with a smile. He could naturally guess that Ivan could influence, punish, and even kill those who had been marked by his magic.
Doggett wisely chose not to mention this and instead asked, "Shall we stick to the original plan? What about Lucius?"
"Of course, it's just a few minor adjustments, nothing more! When the operation begins, Mr. Malfoy will know exactly what he has to do! It wouldn't be a lie to say that we changed our plans at the last minute, would it?" Ivan said casually.
"You're very careful… but yes, Lucius might not have agreed so readily if you'd just told him!" Dougett exclaimed, shaking his head.
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Ivan said, waving his hand dismissively. "If something goes wrong with Lucius, and Voldemort learns of our entire plan, we'll be the ones to be killed!"
"Even with the Ministry and You-Know-Who working together, they are no match for us…" muttered Doggett to himself. The boy was ridiculously strong, but surprisingly cautious…
Of the hundred or so people involved in the operation, he and Alicia were the only ones who knew what the real plan was, and Fran and Gleason might have been able to guess. The rest of the wizards were mostly in the dark about their part of the operation.
According to Ivan, even if someone suddenly turned against them, it would not affect the overall plan.
"Have you arranged everything I asked you to do?" Ivan asked again.
"Mrs Edgecombe of the Floo Network Authority has thrown her lot in with us. She assures us that all the fireplaces going in and out of the headquarters will be closed if necessary! Also, we have people in the Department of Mysteries. Once the operation starts, Pierce will send people to help us take the place as fast as possible!"
He paused for a moment before adding, "According to reliable sources, Fudge is calling a meeting of high-ranking Ministry officials, and none of them are going anywhere!"
Ivan nodded. One of the keys to this operation was to catch Fudge and use him as an excuse to get rid of some political enemies.
"What about the Daily Prophet?" Ivan asked.
As soon as Ivan finished speaking, the flames in the fireplace suddenly rose again, and Doggett's large face contorted in anger, but he gave way slightly. The fire-sized apparition shrank, and a human head appeared next to it. It was Gleason!
"Sir Harls, please allow me to report that the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet retired yesterday. It will not be long before this newspaper speaks for us…" Gleason said confidently.
"Well done, Gleason. You're a lot quicker than I thought you'd be!" Ivan was pleased. The Daily Prophet was the most influential newspaper in the wizarding world, and the Ministry's mouthpiece. To control it was to control public opinion in the wizarding world!
This was an extremely important part of the plan, as it concerned the integrity of their operation!
In a mere five months, Gleason was able to deal with the Daily Prophet without anyone noticing. It was clear that she was skilled, but Ivan was not interested in whether she was using legal means.
"When this is over, I will set up a Department of Propaganda at the Ministry of Magic, and you will be the first Director, Gleason!" Ivan promised.
"Thank you for your trust, Sir Harls!" Gleason said enthusiastically, and the fire shook.
"So, get ready to move, people!" Ivan boomed, standing up. "For the future of the wizarding world!"
"To…the future of the wizarding world!" Dagget and Gleason shouted in unison, and the two fiery apparitions shattered.
Ivan waved his hand to extinguish the remaining flames. He looked at the golden fireplace in front of him and felt troubled.
He had previously managed to turn the fireplace to gold in one go in an attempt to intimidate Lucius, and while that had been shocking enough, it was now a major problem.
It would not be easy to move such a large fireplace.
As for putting it here?
Of course not, too noticeable!
Besides, he couldn't let all that magic go to waste!
"I should have attacked the table or the sofa…" Ivan sighed, thinking he had miscalculated.
Ivan was rubbing his chin in thought when footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a hoarse voice.
"Who … who was in the conference room?"
"Filch? As luck would have it?" Ivan raised his eyebrows and waved his wand to lock the door.
Filch was quickly at the door, tugging at the lock and yelling, "Get out of there, I've got you!"