Babajide was immediately stumped by Tver's question.
The only reason those wizards would knowingly break the law and use magic was usually because of sudden disasters.
If saving people could be called a bad thing, then what exactly was the point of the Statute of Secrecy the Confederation had always upheld?
The thought left him opening his mouth, only to find his throat so dry it hurt, and no words came out.
"You should be happy, Babajide. The Statute of Secrecy hasn't made wizards indifferent to Muggle lives."
"They're doing good. They're saving human lives!"
Sensing the moment was right, Tver deliberately softened his tone so he would not push Babajide too hard.
"Do you remember what Modesty said at the Confederation? That magic had made wizards arrogant."
"But fortunately, it's only arrogance."
"They still feel sorrow when Muggles are hurt, and they're still willing to lend a hand to people in trouble!"
"Do you know what that means?"
"What?"
Caught off guard, Babajide instinctively followed Tver's lead and asked the question.
At that, Tver's expression turned solemn, as if a sacred light had fallen over him.
"They know that wizards came from humanity. They still identify as human!"
"Shouldn't that make you happy, Babajide?"
His earlier confusion had only come from being too shocked by Tver's words. After thinking it over, Babajide quickly understood.
"You mean wizards aren't actually all that unwilling to live alongside Muggles?"
"That's still a rather arrogant way to put it." Tver shook his head, though he did not completely disagree.
"It would be more accurate to say that the divide between wizards and Muggles exists entirely because neither side understands the other."
"But the situation with the Office makes one thing very clear. They, or rather all of us, share the same fundamentally kind nature."
"When the future comes, if the wizarding world is forced into the open, do you really think wizards would be willing to harm the Muggles they once helped? Or that so many Muggles would turn out to be thankless ingrates and harm wizards in return?"
"You mean to turn this Office into a bridge for wizards to help Muggles, and use it to show goodwill to the Muggle world?"
Babajide seemed to grasp what Tver was getting at. He found it hard to believe, yet he could not help being tempted by the idea.
"It doesn't have to mean quite that much," Tver said with a light chuckle. "But at the very least, it would be the first step in wizards extending a hand of friendship to Muggles."
"But what about the Statute of Secrecy?" Babajide asked uneasily.
"I agree with what you're saying, but there's no question that the Statute will be violated over and over again in the process."
"What you're imagining is a situation where the wizarding world has no choice but to reveal itself. But right now, things haven't reached that point yet, and we'd be exposing magic ahead of time instead."
"I just feel..." He paused, unable to find the right words for the strange feeling inside him.
"It feels like we'd be breaking the Statute of Secrecy in order to protect it."
Tver's eyes widened slightly in surprise, though he quickly hid it again.
As expected of the Confederation's rightful new President. Tver had gone around in circles precisely to get Babajide, and the Confederation, to stop focusing on the Statute of Secrecy.
He had not expected Babajide's logic to remain so sharp. He had seen straight through Tver's disguise in an instant.
"The Statute of Secrecy never completely forbade contact with Muggles. Even Rappaport's Law, the strictest law of its kind in the world, was repealed in 1965," Tver said as lightly as he could.
"The Office is only turning what used to be covert contact with Muggles into a semi-public, more orderly platform for communication under official supervision."
Babajide knew that perfectly well.
In truth, the Confederation would not actually punish wizards for using magic to save Muggles. Afterward, they would simply use Memory Charms to erase the memories.
But the Office was different. Just as Tver had said, it was an official department promoted by the Confederation itself.
The Confederation, which had always defended the Statute of Secrecy, was now pushing a policy that kept testing the edge of that very law.
That was exactly why Babajide was so troubled. Otherwise, he would already have handled it as just another ordinary case.
"But now too much has been made public. It's one thing for the Office and a few related government departments to know about magic."
"But once wizards start taking part in large-scale disaster relief, unless the Ministry of Magic puts all its energy into wiping memories, word will spread too quickly, and magic will be exposed far too fast!"
"There are always going to be problems somewhere." Tver took a casual sip of pumpkin juice.
"Policy is never about choosing between good and bad. Reality is never that kind."
"In practice, all we can usually do is choose between one kind of good and another, or rather, between one kind of bad and another, then deal with the problem in the way we want, and whose consequences we can bear."
Using good and bad to describe policy was far too naive. Babajide was not under the illusion that every Confederation policy could be perfect.
What he wanted was the influence the Office could bring. He just still could not fully accept the consequences that came with it.
So Tver promptly and considerately offered him a new suggestion.
"The Office's wizards are always going to end up involved in Muggle affairs. Since that's the case, instead of letting them act in secret, why not be more direct and bring all of it under the Confederation's supervision?"
"If it's a minor incident, then the Confederation can naturally turn a blind eye. There's no need to waste manpower and resources."
"If it's a large-scale disaster, then the Confederation can work together with the Muggle authorities and handle it from both ends at once."
"It's better to guide than to suppress. People are naturally curious, but as long as most of them feel satisfied, then whether they believe us or not, we've already given an explanation, and their attention will naturally move elsewhere."
"That's a great idea!" Babajide was instantly delighted.
This idea did not really change the Office's function. It only broadened its scope, while the general working model stayed much the same.
And with the Confederation directly supervising it, the Office would be less likely to leave behind any loopholes and trigger even bigger leaks later on.
"I really did come here today for the right reason. Since this Office's jurisdiction is still unclear, we might as well treat it as the first action department ever established by the Confederation!"
The Confederation had never had an action department of its own. Most of the time, all it could do was pressure the Ministries of Magic in various countries to deal with leaks.
But things were different now. With the Office in place, the Confederation had much more leverage when dealing with the Ministries of Magic.
Tver, meanwhile, shot him a slightly surprised glance.
He had not expected Babajide, who looked so honest and straightforward, to have a trace of ambition hidden inside him.
Ambition was a good thing...
Tver gave him a long, searching look.