Chapter 716: Chapter 716 The General Assembly that is destined to go down in history (2 in 1)
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the general assembly was held at the Headquarters of the International Confederation of Wizards.
It was a spacious room, comparable to a standard basketball court, but it was a bit crowded when more than four hundred chairs were placed there, not to mention an empty space in the middle, covered with a purple and gold-trimmed carpet for occasional speeches. In the front of the meeting space, there was a large seat that was specially cushioned, the seat of the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and near the Supreme Mugwump's seat, there were some reserved seats that were allocated for the Deputy Supreme Mugwump, the Recorder, along with some unmarked seats, which were not permanently designated for anyone, as they were reserved for people who were invited according to the theme of the assembly, such as Amelia Bones.
Some people followed Ms. Bones' line of sight to the young man diagonally above her, the man's expression was not as serious as hers, he carried a smile on his face, as he fiddled with a peculiar hat in his hand, and the two were having a quiet conversation. Felix Hap, it is unknown how many people recite this name in their hearts with awe, with Akingbade's prestige alone, it is simply impossible to assemble these people all together, this current scenario is almost single-handedly brought together by him.
Felix Hap is seated next to Akingbade on his right side, looking pretty radiant as if the pressure has been lifted from his shoulders. He was dressed in a layered and finely detailed robe and sat high on the platform. A ripple ran through the hearts of the delegates participating in the general assembly. The seat of Deputy Supreme Mugwump on the left side was currently vacant and seemed to be reserved for Felix Hap - it is not unprecedented in history to see the Supreme Mugwump ignoring politics and the Deputy Supreme Mugwump taking the helm of leadership.
In fact, the last Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore did the same thing, except for the fact that he was the one who took the initiative to distribute his control.
"You dyed your hair?" Felix asked with interest.
Ms. Bones, who was in the process of checking the materials, gave him a blank look and hummed through her nose, "Hmm." "-and your complexion is much better, did you take a beauty potion?" Bones' movements froze. Felix whispered, "If I look more closely, your hair seem--" "What happened to my hair?!" "-it seems to have grown longer, wait let me check through my memories-" After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and said with a definite look, "Yes, it has grown longer. "
Ms. Bones who seemed slightly embarrassed, whispered, "Felix, this is a serious occasion today!" But she seemed visibly distracted, as she flipped the material in her hand over and over.
"What occasion?"
"You mentioned it that da--"
"A happy occasion!" Felix said with a straight face, "The last time when we were at Bill and Fleur's wedding, I saw Sirius posing like a little Love God Eros with a chicken leg, well, or maybe I was wrong, it was more like--"
"Bah, shut up."
...
When the current Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Babajide Akingbade tapped a small wooden mallet, the crowd gradually quieted down.
"Three centuries ago, we formulated the Statute of Secrecy here, which worked splendidly until the wizarding world was completely exposed. Therefore, I would like to ask for all of your help to formulate a similarly guiding and forward-looking law with the same sense of historical responsibility."
"I am honored to have Ms. Amelia Bones, who was involved in the whole process of negotiating with the Muggle government and smoothly reached a common consensus, the details of which are written in the book "Enabling the Exposure of Magic", which can be found right at your reach ... Mr. Felix Hap, an expert who was also deeply involved in the negotiations described the finer points of the book to me; no hasty sentences were allowed in the agreement, each line of text was carefully chosen to fit the moral tone of both sides, and you may notice that the second and third parts of the book were referred from time to time. He will assume the right to maintain order in this General Assembly and to mediate on controversial issues."
Akingbade paused for a moment after saying this, and when no one objected, he looked to his right, "Felix?"
Felix nodded and said briefly, "Amelia, you may begin."
Ms. Bones' calm, and collected voice echoed through the open conference hall. She wore her familiar monocle lens on her eyes, her face was half hidden in the light and shadow.
" ... The second part mainly covers the progress and results of the negotiations between the Ministry of Magic and the local government, as well as a part of the unsettled segments of the negotiations; the last part covers the cooperation that has been initiated or soon going to be implemented, such as joint law enforcement, magic stores --oh, and we chose to include some books for sale together with complimentary products, assuming that this would facilitate a better start ..."
"As you might have guessed," she said as she glanced at the chattering crowd, "I will do my best to offer everyone here support in terms of relevant background information and specifics." She sat down.
"Thank you, Amelia, and thank you, Babajide." Felix said in a booming voice, as his eyes darted over each face.
"We will formulate a far-reaching law that will rival, and in some places even surpass, the Statute of Secrecy."
"It is not meant to only last a year or two, but rather, it will stand the test of time, just like the Statute of Secrecy. Because of this, we will not spend time deliberating specific by-laws, much less discussing trivial issues like 'how much should a drunken wizard be fined or imprisoned for blowing up a dustbin' - that's the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Magic, you can go discuss and negotiate with your local government, follow local customs, adapt to local conditions - what we need to determine is what is acceptable and what is not, in terms of emotion, in terms of belief, and in terms of principle."
"It will become the common guidelines for the future wizarding communities, a shared belief in the hearts and minds of all, and once established, no individual or group, no subsidiary law can violate them."
"Well, everyone is now free to speak, to offer independent opinions, or to ask your queries in response to Ms. Bones' previous speech."
The representatives from various countries began to speak after a period of silence, and as if to liven up the atmosphere, a witch with thinning yellow hair asked spiritedly, "Bones, why did you choose to sell children's books, is it because you believe that those muggles are in dire need of additional common sense?"
There was a low chuckle arose from the crowd, but many more choose to refrain from laughing.
"For two reasons," Ms. Bones said calmly, "first, I and-" she glanced at Felix, "we believe that magic is mysterious in the eyes of the outside world, so in the first one to two years after the initial contact, whatever we come up with will attract huge attention, and we want people to understand the culture and concept of wizards more than about potions, food grown with magic and magic items with various special functions, and also to prove one thing: except for magic, there is no essential difference between wizards and ordinary people. "
"The second reason - which is also mentioned in the book "Enabling the Exposure of Magic" - is that the wizarding community should be integrated into the outside world in a gentle way, with as little impact as possible on the existing systems and social orders on both sides; thus the logical reason behind why we did this is obvious; it's no big deal for ordinary people to have an extra comic book at home that could automatically flip pages or story frames that moves, but if they have an extra invisibility cloak at home, something is likely to go wrong."
The questions became too sharp for Ms. Bones to handle alone, so Felix joined in, looking as comfortable as if he were answering questions in a classroom - and the key point was that there was no one present who dared to be unreasonable with him.
Some new Departments also took shape during the process of discussion. For example, the International Magic Technology Collaboration Review Committee - is responsible for reviewing collaborative projects between the two sides; the International Magic Trade Association - is responsible for transnational trade as well as the vetting and certification process for the list of Category 1, 2 and 3 items; the Emergency Issues Investigation Division -responsible for communicating and dealing with difficult and potentially high-risk emergent situations.
The quill in front of the Registrar scribbled furiously.
A red-haired wizard mentioned the Pan-Magical Alliance. "At the moment, there are many local branches being established voluntarily, and although the pace of development varies, they are all at least in the process of establishment, but not even a shadow of the Headquarters of the Pan-Magical Alliance is in sight."
"Perhaps we can make it a subordinate division of the Confederation?" A wizard suggested.
"Doesn't that mean the other races would still live subordinate to the wizards?" The red-haired wizard objected, "We definitely need to concede some rights in exchange for their support to the wizards. The old way won't work in this new era, and those races are our natural allies ..."
"You mean to let the Pan-Magical Alliance reign supreme over the Confederation?"
"I didn't exactly mean that."
"Then what do you mean?"
"Well, at least I am not like you who only knows how to evade questions! Cowardly Diricawl!" The red-haired wizard spewed an expletive.
"Beware of spit, you slimy ghoul!"
Seeing that both sides were arguing fiercely and no one could convince the other, Felix cleared his throat and the crowd quieted down.
"This issue will be noted down first, when the conference gets further in-depth maybe there will be an unexpected solution."
After a few moments, there was a commotion outside the door. People who were in the middle of a heated discussion stopped and looked toward the door. Immediately after a sharp knock was heard on the door, Akingbade frowned, and waved his wand, layers of magical light converged, and a man pushed in the door with a panicked look.
"What's wrong, Claude?" Akingbade shouted at the man, "Didn't I tell you to guard the door and strictly forbid anyone from disturbing?!"
Claude stammered for a few moments before saying, "Gr, Grindelwald--"
"He actually dared to come?" Akingbade's face showed astonishment, and the conference hall was horribly quiet as if the pause button had been pressed. Then many people sprang up from their chairs with a look of panic, and the room suddenly became a chaotic mess.
Felix frowned, realizing that he had overlooked the fact that the people attending the conference were not young, and most of them had witnessed first-hand how Grindelwald had reigned supreme and stirred up the entire wizarding world.
Just when everyone was at a loss for words, a calm and loud voice hammered on their hearts like a drumstick -
"Silence..."
The crowd looked at Felix, who was sitting upright on the stand, then he stood up and calmly turned to Claude and asked, "Claude, finish your sentence."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Hap." The man stammered, "Grindelwald didn't personally show up, it was his men - I mean," his half-bald head was covered in fine sweat, "he sent a delegation, too, nearly twenty men, saying they are here to attend the conference!"
The conference hall seemed like it had exploded.
"Let them in." Felix said as he suppressed all the murmurs. The various countries' ministry of magic delegates looked at him as if they had found their backbone, and then turned their eyes to the door again with an expectant expressions in their eyes. After waiting for a few seconds they heard messy footsteps, and then a line of people came in from outside.
The leader of the group is a tall woman with dark skin, gray eyes, a few yellowish brown markings painted on her face, and her dark, brownish red hair neatly combed behind her head, held tightly by a spiked iron ring-like headband.
"Leibert?" Akingbade said, looking at the woman in surprise.
"Akingbade, it's been a long time." The woman said, in what seemed to be a sigh of relief. The two people's greetings indicated that they knew each other. She calmed herself and spoke aloud in a monotonous voice, a bit like a theatre actor reciting lines for the first time on stage: "Margate Leibert, Egyptian Minister of Magic, meet you all."
"There is no Ministry of Magic in Egypt." Akingbade shouted in a muffled voice.
"There is one now." The woman with the headband said, looking over at Akingbade and Felix and choosing her words carefully, "We were ordered by Gri... to attend the Confederation's conference, and that man said that African wizards make up a tenth of the entire wizarding world's population, and since it's an international conference, we certainly should have to come along for the ride. "
Akingbade said hesitantly: "In that case ..." he was a bit indecisive, his expression kept changing as if he was having a complicated mental struggle, then he froze in place for a while.
Felix waved his hand, and a row of seats and desks appeared out of thin air, then he gestured with his eyes to Margate Leibert, "Welcome - perhaps there will be division among us in the future; but when our deeds incorporated in the world-historical database, we all will share the same common alias 'wizards'." Margate Leibert inhaled and walked toward one of the seats, exchanging glances with the people who had varying expressions as she passed along the way.
The man behind the woman intended to follow suit but was stopped by Felix with a look.
"Those who come in will need to state their names and identities in turn." He said calmly.
Right behind her was a clean-skinned, short, chubby man who stopped with a jerk on his heels and introduced himself somewhat awkwardly, "Mu, Muto Tobias, Minister of Magic of Nigeria." After saying that, he carefully glanced at Felix, and when he saw Felix nod slightly, he quickly walked to follow her in front, and the crowd noticed that his clothes were already soaked with sweat -
If Akingbade or Hap ordered these two dozen people to be locked up, there was nothing they could do.
Well, if there were those who cooperated, then naturally there was also a rash fool, but that fellow had now turned into a painting, which was picked up and carried by the Confederation's clerk who hung it on the back of a chair, leaving the man with nothing but a pair of dark eyes that turned from side to side in terror, which looked surprisingly rather comical.
"What nerve." The old wizard next to him muttered, "He won't be able to recover forever, will he?" As soon as the words left his mouth, the pair of black and white eyes turned even more. The old wizard sneered a bit and rolled up the painting on the chair as if it was a piece of paper.
Another older witch reached out and touched it with her fingers, then hastily retracted her hand and made a disgusted sound.
Felix looked at the first woman who sat down and asked as if nothing had happened, "Nona Leibert is your-"
"Second daughter." The woman looked a bit flattered.
"She made quite an impression at the Goblet of Fire." Felix said.
"Oh, thank you-"
When the group of people sat down one by one after introducing themselves, all of them present was a bit dumbstruck, not to mention anything else, just the extra two dozen Ministry of Magic in Africa was enough of a surprise, but some people also secretly exclaimed, if they were to hold a gathering previously, Africa was capable of sending over more than two hundred people as representative. But the question is, whether Grindelwald is actually sending them to the front as puppets, or is he really prepared to implement reforms and establish a new system in Africa?
Akingbade froze for a moment and accepted Felix's way of proceeding as well, and after they all settled down, he asked with a sharp look in his eyes, "What does Grindelwald exactly mean by this?"
Margate Leibert shook her head, "No one knows what he has in mind."
"Then will he abide by the resolutions made by the Confederation's General Assembly?" Akingbade pressed on, and Margate Leibert proceeded to shake her head, and he sighed in disappointment. Despite expecting it, he couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment.
"At least he's willing to send someone over, which means he's not planning to cut off contact with us completely." A wizard said. His words drew a low murmur of agreement. "No matter what, we are all wizards."
These words had an effect, and those attending the conference no longer treated these uninvited guests as outsiders, but the next point of focus seemed to be off-topic, as the delegates from various countries began to ask about the situation of the African wizards living in the 'enemy-occupied zone'.
"Mr. Grindelwald ... he brought together the originally loose autonomous organizations and gave us a clear division of authority, such as the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, which was forcibly united on the foundation of the previous twelve regional autonomous organizations; he also introduced the Wizard Code as basis guiding for ruling and management. I have carefully studied the content of the above, and it has many similarities with the book published by the British Ministry of Magic, except it is more sharply worded, and demands the prohibition of action on some matters ..."
"Can you tell us about that part?" Felix asked coldly, "It might help with the topic of this conference."
"Oh, uh, yes." Margate Leibert said.
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