Following the goblin, Ivan looked around and saw that the staircase ended at a magnificent, arched tower flanked by golden statues of bald eagles.
As they passed through the archway and entered the antechamber, their field of vision widened.
It looked like a large square, perhaps because it was newly built in the early 20th century. The MACUSA headquarters looked much more impressive than the British MACUSA headquarters, and the overall decor was somewhere between the old and the new.
The most eye-catching of them all was the four huge, clock-like roulette wheels floating in the air above the hall.
Yvonne almost mistook it for a timer at first glance, but upon closer inspection, she saw something unusual about it, as the dial of the clock showed not a time scale, but squares painted in different colours.
Seeing Ivan's interest in the clock, Pierce offered an explanation. "It's a Magical Exposure Level Clock, used to monitor global conflicts."
When the hands of the clock pointed to the first green square, they were non-threatening, and then gradually became a low-level threat, a medium-level threat, a high-level threat, a danger, an inexplicable grim situation, and a high-level emergency…
The hour hand is now stuck in the middle of the yellow and orange squares, indicating that the wizarding community is on the brink of being exposed.
Not only that, but the hour hand was moving very slowly as the golden circle inside the dial rotated.
When the needle reaches the final crimson square, it will mean that the wizarding presence is fully exposed and conflict and war could break out at any time.
Ivan nodded and looked away from the giant clock. This meant that the European continent was in a worse state than he had anticipated. The Aurors were probably unable to stop the vicious events that were occurring, causing the level of magical exposure to rise.
"This way, gentlemen, please!" the goblin attendant announced loudly, ushering Ivan and the others into a nearby conference room.
With only ten minutes remaining until the official start of the meeting, the hundreds of seats in the conference room were packed with representatives from all walks of life.
Ivan heard a lot of noise, and then an African wizard in special clothes with human bones hanging from his chest shouted at the witch next to him in unknown native language.
In addition, Ivan saw goblins and centaurs, all of which were placed in an area on the right where there were only fifteen seats.
Ivan was passing by when he heard one of the centaurs complaining about how small a position the French had placed it in.
The goblin led them to a long, semi-circular table at the front of the room, then excused himself. Ivan followed Pierce to his seat and scanned the room. There were five magical nameplates on the table, representing North America, Britain, France, Russia, and the Asian Association for Magic.
This was very similar to the political landscape of Muggles, and at first Ivan thought it was just a coincidence, but when he thought about it, he realised that because of the existence of wizards in this world, a world-class power would have to be highly skilled in magic.
While Ivan was lost in thought, a tall, thin wizard approached the stage, and the noise of the meeting room died down.
"That's President Wilkinson of the Magical Congress of North America," Pierce explained to Ivan, keeping his voice low.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the World Confederation of Wizards…" Wilkinson's deep voice, amplified by the resonant charm, drowned out the last of the whispers and attracted everyone's attention.
"I'm sure you've all heard the purpose of this early meeting. There is a new crisis in the wizarding world. Gellert Grindelwald, who started the Wizarding War more than fifty years ago, has escaped from the prison of Nurmengard seven months ago. In recent months, he has gathered thousands of followers in the European wizarding community and is plotting to start a war between Muggles and the wizarding world…"
As Wilkinson explained, he pointed his wand at the giant screen behind him, and a series of images appeared, all of which contained information about Grindelwald, as well as photographs of the conflict, as well as restored memories of the events that had transpired in the past few months.
The final image was of Grindelwald beating up seventy elite French Aurors and arresting them all.
There was an uproar among the wizarding representatives when they saw this. Many of them knew about Grindelwald's escape, but none of them could have predicted that he would be able to develop his power to such an extent in just seven months.
Grindelwald's power was beyond the imagination of many wizards, and they could not believe that anyone could be so powerful.
Ivan turned slightly to look at the table next to him. The French Minister's face was frighteningly dark, and he probably regretted giving this memory to MACUSA.
"Silence…Silence!" Wilkinson repeatedly waved his wand, sending magical beams of light into the sky, which took a while to quieten the noisy meeting room.
After clearing his throat, Wilkinsen got down to business, suggesting that all countries join forces to share information and form a special response force to deal with the crisis and bring Grindelwald to justice.
Ivan nodded to himself, thinking the meeting would probably work out soon.
The problem Grindelwald poses is not one region or country, but a crisis for the entire wizarding community, and if one chooses to ignore or even stand idly by, the consequences will be irreparable…
It was such a simple statement that Ivan was sure the heads of wizardkind would understand.
However, things did not go as smoothly as Ivan had hoped, and when discussing the matter, the President of the Asian Association of Wizards was put on the spot, stating that it was a European matter and that they were reluctant to interfere too much.
The Minister of Russia rebuffed Grindelwald's offer to form a coalition, not caring about the threat he posed, and even going so far as to mock him sarcastically. "We all know what the French are best at, and the fact that you sent so many elite Aurors only to be defeated by Grindelwald does not surprise me…"