Dumbledore: What? I'm Running for Minister for Magic?

"You're finally back…" Ivan breathed a slow sigh of relief.

In Dumbledore's absence, he was terrified every day that something would go wrong.

"It seems that many things have happened in my absence, and although I have been able to learn some things from the Daily Prophet, I'm afraid they are not quite accurate enough…" Dumbledore said meaningfully, glancing at the letters and papers on the table.

Not knowing exactly how much Dumbledore knew, Ivan started at the beginning.

"Professor, here's the thing… I got a magical map from George and Fred that shows people's names, and while looking at it, I accidentally found a name on Ron's mouse head…"

Ivan gave a half-hearted account of his discovery of Peter's identity, as well as the events of recent times and how he had dealt with them.

Dumbledore applauded when he learned that Ivan had been able to identify Peter with only a name from the Marauder's Map and knowledge of Animagus Transfiguration.

"What a brilliant deduction, Hales! Minerva would be so proud of you if she found out you were using her Transfiguration knowledge!"

"Severus was right, you are a genius!" Dumbledore exclaimed, looking at Ivan with great emotion. It had been many years since he had met such a talented young wizard.

Among his students, Tom was the only one who could compete.

No… At this thought, Dumbledore shook his head to himself, thinking that even when Tom was the same age, his strength and temperament were far inferior to Ivan's.

At that time, Tom had his own ideas and liked to be clever, but he could still guess what the other party was thinking.

Now, however, when it comes to Ivan, Dumbledore is more tired than ever. This young wizard is as elusive as the Mist.

Sometimes Ivan's behaviour made him feel that the young wizard was very passionate about fame and power.

At other times, however, Ivan seemed indifferent, as if he wanted nothing more than to focus on his studies…

In summary of Ivan's behaviour in recent years, it can only be described as the annual Wizarding Confusion Award…

Ivan did not dare to accept the old professor's praise, and very modestly stated that he had only done a small amount of work that was really not worth mentioning.

From this incident, Ivan learned the hard way that the greater the ability, the greater the blame!

He was only a child! How could Dumbledore blame him for Sirius's downfall? Did he not have a conscience?

Ivan looked at Dumbledore with resentment in his eyes.

Dumbledore, however, was remarkably thick-skinned, and seemed not to notice the resentment in Ivan's eyes as he continued to ask detailed questions.

Dumbledore is particularly curious as to how Ivan managed to convince the Daily Prophet to report on Peter Pettigrew on a large scale, thus putting pressure on the Ministry.

It must be noted that the Daily Prophet had always been the Ministry's mouthpiece, and it was impossible not to consult with the Ministry about such a major scoop.

Ivan was embarrassed at Dumbledore's mention of the Daily Prophet.

"Professor, you're not going to believe this… but the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet has expressed their full support for your candidacy for Minister for Magic because of some misunderstanding!"

What? I'm running for Minister for Magic?

Dumbfounded, Dumbledore looked at Ivan with an odd expression.

He couldn't understand what Ivan had said to him to cause such a misunderstanding.

No wonder he had seen the Daily Prophet report on the Ministry's shady dealings, such as the Ministry's mismanagement of Dementors, the frequent rioting of Dementors, the alleged corruption of high-ranking officials, and so on…

At the time, he thought it was strange, but now he understood…

Dumbledore's head began to ache at the thought of Ivan's mischief.

He began to wonder if he had done the right thing in leaving this to Ivan…

Ivan seemed to have handled the situation well, better than he had originally intended, but he had also caused a lot of trouble.

Minister for Magic Fudge had always been wary of him, and now Ivan's actions had caused a rift between them!

He also had to explain himself to the Daily Prophet. After all, he had too much on his mind to be Minister for Magic.

With that thought in mind, Dumbledore was suddenly glad that he had returned in time, or who knows what would have happened.

Ivan knew that he was in the wrong, and before the old professor could ask, he poured his heart out, indicating that his naivety was not easy!

Trying to convince the Daily Prophet, scheming against Minister for Magic Fudge, and cleaning up the mess that Harry is in… If Dumbledore had been a few days late, I would have died on the spot!

"Is that so?" Dumbledore looked surprised at Ivan's complaint, and pushed a letter across the table to him before continuing.

"I would have thought you'd be comfortable with this sort of life. After all, I can't remember ever sending a nomination letter to the Order of Merlin…"

"Ahem… you'll have to ask Minister Fudge. He thought it necessary to commend me for my service to the wizarding community, so he suggested that we apply for a First-Class Order of Merlin for me!"

Ivan glanced at the letters on the table, his expression unchanging, and promptly passed the buck to Fudge. How could an impostor like him refuse Minister Fudge's kindness?

Dumbledore was very suspicious, and did not think Fudge would be so kind, especially as Ivan had been making life difficult for Minister for Magic lately.

However, the Merlin did mention Fudge's name in their reply, which was what puzzled him the most…

"Professor Dumbledore, has the Order of Merlin agreed to the nomination?" Ivan asked cautiously, as this was a matter of legend.

"There is no conclusion yet, and they will not consider issuing it until the trial is over and Peter Pettigrew is convicted," Dumbledore replied casually, not bothering to pursue the matter.

Ivan's imposture of applying for the Order of Merlin under his name was tolerated.

When he delivered the magical letter to Ivan, he suspected that Ivan might use it for something else.

It's just that he thought of so many possibilities and never expected Ivan to use them on this one…