Even so, it took Harker a while to come to terms with the reality of the situation. Wizards and magic still seemed incredible to him, but now that the evidence was in front of him, he had no choice but to believe it.
After calming his turbulent emotions, Harker suddenly realised his predicament.
This was not only because of the fearsome wizard at his side, but also because he, the British Prime Minister, was openly standing on top of the Arc de Triomphe with hundreds of tourists below him — Harker had a vague idea of what the headlines would be tomorrow.
However, he found it strange that even though they had been standing there for a long time, the tourists below did not seem to notice them. Many of them were standing under the Arc de Triomphe taking pictures, but they did not seem to notice anything amiss.
"What the hell is going on? Can't they see us?" Harker blurted out.
"You can take it as one of the magical effects!" Ivan explained with a smile.
As soon as he arrived, he cast the Confunding Charm without a sound, creating a magical barrier in front of him that could distort light to avoid being caught on camera, making it impossible for Muggles to detect his presence.
Hark looked around at the merry crowd and recalled how easily Ivan had pulled him out of the Prime Minister's office. He felt a surge of fear and dread.
Ivan was the first wizard he had ever known, but the extent of his magic was beyond his wildest dreams.
Hark even suspected that if the other party was determined to kill him, the British Supreme Ruler, he would not be able to escape even if he hid inside a nuclear bunker.
This feeling of having one's life in the hands of another was undoubtedly unpleasant, especially for a high and mighty Prime Minister.
It took him decades and untold hardships to ascend to the highest office, where he thought he would have great power and glory. Now, however, he learned that there were wizards in the world who could easily threaten his safety.
Harker was extremely frightened, but he tried to maintain his composure, his face as a Prime Minister, and his reluctance to show fear in front of Ivan…
He could also guess that Ivan meant him no harm, otherwise he would not be here wasting his breath on him.
Harker forced himself to speak in a quavering voice, then remembered Ivan's self-introduction about being a British wizard, and added, "Mr…Hales? You said you were here to answer my questions?"
"Of course, wizards are a group, spread across the world!" Ivan explained quietly.
"Then why have I never noticed the existence of wizards before?" Harker asked eagerly, which was the other thing that puzzled him the most. If there were so many wizards, it would be impossible to hide them.
"Because wizards tend to settle down in the wizarding community…" Ivan said, making no attempt to hide the truth. Under Harker's puzzled gaze, he gave a succinct summary of the basic facts of the wizarding community, which the British Prime Minister had every right to know.
When Hark heard that there was another magical world under the normal world he lived in, including magical creatures like dragons and unicorns, he couldn't help but feel a sense of yearning.
However, this sentiment was quickly dispelled by Ivan's introduction to the various policies of the wizarding world.
He was shocked and furious when he learned that wizards would often use Memory Charms to erase the memories of Muggles who had accidentally witnessed magic in an attempt to hide the existence of the wizarding community.
Who gave these wizards the right to tamper with and erase people's memories…
Harker would not have minded shouting at him if he could, but considering the extent of the man's magic, he decided to bite his tongue.
The only thing he was relieved about was that, according to Ivan, these wizards were effectively regulated, and were not allowed to do as they pleased in the world, but were subject to various laws and regulations.
Although these so-called laws were also written by wizards, Harker was well aware of how important this order was, and that even the most powerful politician would have room to maneuver if they were willing to play by the rules.
"If every British Prime Minister has the right to know about the existence of the wizarding community, why am I only aware of it now?" Harker asked, sounding offended.
It was a deliberate attempt to test the limits of his Muggle Prime Minister status, despite the danger it posed.
Whatever Harker was thinking could not be hidden from Ivan.
Ivan was not above being kind to the Prime Minister, who seemed calm on the surface, but was actually quite flustered, so he ignored Harker's slightly offensive questioning and calmly explained the situation.
"There's been some trouble with the wizarding community recently, so we've had to postpone our meeting with you."
"Ordinarily, however, Buckingham Palace and your predecessor would have informed you of such matters," Ivan added, not wishing to pass the blame off as his own carelessness, but rather placing the blame on the Muggle heads of state.
As expected, Harker immediately looked annoyed, and blamed his loss of composure on the irresponsible former Prime Ministers. Even though Harker had used underhanded tactics during the election to damage the peace between them, they should never have hidden something so important from him.
"By the way, did you just say that you wizards are having some trouble lately?" Hark asked curiously.
Somehow, when it came to this topic, Hark could not help but be secretly delighted, as he had discovered that even wizards who had mastered magic had issues that they could not handle.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Prime Minister, I believe this is more than just a wizarding problem…" Ivan said with a shrug. "Let's just say that an extremely dangerous member of the wizarding community escaped from prison over a year ago and is now gathering forces to start a war between wizards and mundanes!"