At this moment, Fudge glanced at Dumbledore, whose expression by the hospital bed was quite something, and for the first time, he felt a sense of vindication.
Heaven knows how much he feared Dumbledore's threat to his position of power!
After all, this renowned White Wizard was not only powerful but also had disciples everywhere. Fudge believed that if Dumbledore had even the slightest thought of taking over as Minister of Magic, he would be swept out of office the very next moment.
Therefore, every time he faced Dumbledore, Fudge felt immense pressure.
But this time, Fudge felt he was truly a genius.
With only a small price, he had resolved a political crisis.
Surely Dumbledore would see this and be wary of his methods, no longer daring to underestimate him.
Immediately after, as if afraid Charle would change his mind, Fudge instantly summoned the Ministry of Magic officials responsible for drafting proposals and quickly drew up a document on the spot.
Then, after Charle signed his name, Fudge forcefully stamped it with the seal representing the Minister of Magic.
After the seal was affixed, Fudge let out a long breath, as if a huge stone pressing on his chest had been removed.
"Well then, my dear Charle, you rest well. Eat whatever you want, don't worry about saving the Ministry of Magic money."
"The Ministry of Magic exists to serve wizards, especially young wizards like you."
"We still have some matters to attend to, so we'll see you later, Charle."
Fudge warmly bid farewell to Charle before leaving St. Mungo's Hospital with his staff.
As soon as they left the ward, his staff couldn't hide their admiration and were utterly convinced by Fudge.
"Minister, this move of yours is brilliant, simply brilliant."
"When I heard Charle say he wanted to make the truth public, I was already panicking, not knowing what to do. Only the Minister could come up with such a genius solution."
"Covering food expenses? Such an insignificant condition, yet it directly solved such a big problem. We can even use this for publicity and show the entire Wizarding World that the Ministry of Magic cares for the vulnerable."
"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"
Facing the flattery of his staff, Fudge felt a surge of elation, his smile as uncontrollable as the trajectory of an AK bullet.
While his staff usually flattered him, it was often somewhat exaggerated. How could it compare to this genuine praise?
"Just average, average. He's just a child, easy to handle. The key is to understand people's hearts."
"Dumbledore is powerful, right? Heh heh, but he doesn't understand people's hearts, which is why he can't be the Minister of Magic."
Just as Fudge was boasting to his staff while leaving St. Mungo's Hospital, an owl flew out of St. Mungo's Hospital and dropped a bill into Fudge's arms.
Fudge chuckled.
"It seems our Charle couldn't wait to use his privilege. He's a child after all, he can't resist good food."
As he spoke, Fudge opened the envelope, intending to take out the bill and hand it over to his staff to handle.
But the next moment, Fudge suddenly froze, looking at his staff with some suspicion.
"Can anyone answer me a question?"
"How many copies of the bill does St. Mungo's Hospital issue now?"
"Why is this bill over a dozen pages long? They can't possibly be using a billing method that counts every single Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, can they!"
Suddenly, Fudge had a bad feeling.
He quickly examined the details of the bill and then was completely dumbfounded.
"St. Mungo's Hospital Magical Recovery Meal, large size, total twenty portions."
"Bruise and Injury Rapid Recovery Meal, total twenty portions."
"One hundred Chocolate Frogs."
"..."
"Damn it, they even ordered fifty bags of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?"
"Is Charle planning to open a convenience store?!"
Fudge abruptly turned his head, looking at the staff he had brought to draft the magical agreement, and asked with a hint of displeasure.
"When you drafted the agreement, did you make it clear that this agreement is only valid when Charle himself consumes the food?"
"The Ministry of Magic does not reimburse for packing or reselling. Did you make that clear?"
The staff member swallowed hard and nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, I swear I wrote it, I didn't leave any loopholes for Charle to exploit!"
Fudge was stunned for a long time.
"Then what does this mean? You mean, Charle ate all of this by himself?!"
"Damn, is he a reincarnated Hufflepuff?!"
After standing in a daze for a long time, Fudge finally recovered from his utterly bewildered state, forcing a smile, both comforting himself and his staff.
"Forget it, forget it. Having a large appetite is nothing. The Ministry of Magic isn't so poor that we can't afford this small expense."
"At least Charle is eating normal food, not rare magical materials or potions. We can afford this."
"This deal... it's not a loss, not a loss at all."
...
Fudge and his staff left amidst repeated cries of "not a loss."
At St. Mungo's Hospital, Dumbledore was having something akin to a dessert sharing session with Charle.
Upon seeing Charle's astonishing appetite, and how he seemed to eat anything and everything without any reservations, Dumbledore, who had always enjoyed strange candies, couldn't help but pull out his treasured collection.
A pile of candies called Cockroach Clusters, which burst with juice like real cockroaches, were a particular highlight recommended by Dumbledore.
To his delight, facing these candies that almost all the staff usually avoided, Charle showed a look of joy and devoured them one after another with gusto.
This made Dumbledore feel a sense of finding a kindred spirit.
Charle, at this moment, was overjoyed.
The food, desserts, and snacks in the Wizarding World could indeed provide quite a few deduction points.
At least dozens of times more than ordinary food!
Charle estimated that if he ate like this for every meal, he could gain three to four hundred deduction points a day.
That would be over ten thousand in a month, more than the total from the past ten years!
And this was just ordinary Wizarding World food. If Charle ate something even stranger, like magical creatures containing a large amount of magic, or certain alchemical items and potions, the points he could gain would increase significantly.
Of course, if he ate like this, Charle's current financial situation wouldn't be enough to sustain him.
Furthermore, buying things in the Wizarding World required Wizarding World currency, and there was an annual limit on converting Muggle currency to Wizarding World currency.
In the original story, Hermione's father was a dentist, and their family was quite well-off, so Hermione would not have lacked pocket money.
But even then, Hermione had to save diligently to buy things she wanted.
With Charle's eating habits, the small amount of Galleons he could exchange within the annual limit wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in his teeth.
But who could blame the kind and benevolent Minister Fudge for signing such an agreement with Charle, completely removing all his worries?
Thinking of this, Charle's impression of Fudge was completely refreshed.
What Death Eater spy, what Death Eater without the Dark Mark, what meritorious official for Voldemort's return...
I, Charle, will not allow you to slander Minister Fudge like that.
Minister Fudge is truly a great benefactor!
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