Even after death, magic remnants typically remain in their blood, muscles, and bones, gradually fading over time.
Alex had done plenty of experiments to confirm this before, so he could tell the difference clearly.
'Why was Pete's body different?'
'Could it have something to do with the last time Pete gathered magic power?'
These questions kept spinning in Alex's mind.
Everything pointed to one conclusion: Pete's death was not normal.
Alex knew he had to start tracking another Golden Snidget as soon as he returned.
Meanwhile, as Alex carefully examined Pete and took some blood samples, Andre watched him with a puzzled expression.
"Is something wrong with Alex? Is he okay?" he asked.
"It's nothing," Alex replied. "Just a routine inspection. Even when wizards lose their vitality, there can be hidden dangers on their bodies, like viruses or curses, that need to be completely cleared out, just like what happened with the Phoenix before."
Alex chose not to share the strange doubts he had just uncovered with Andre.
Alex hadn't planned to involve the Ministry of Magic in their next move against the club, so he simply found an excuse to stall.
"You're really cautious," he said. "Whether it's during the battle or the preparations before and after, you act more like an Auror than any of us."
He remembered how careful Alex had been handling the Phoenix's corpse during the Phoenix War and couldn't help but admire him.
Then, with a teasing smile, he added, "By the way, are you going to include all this in your 'Tactical Training' textbook? I can't wait to read it."
Andre was well aware of the book Alex was writing and had even made several reservations with him early on, ready to incorporate it into the Law Enforcement Department's training plan.
"There'll be everything it needs, but I'm still sorting it out. You can take a look when it's ready," Alex replied with a chuckle, clearly pleased by the compliment.
Then he pulled out the space bag from Pete's body to check its contents in front of Andre.
Andre didn't mind.
After all, he had been one of the main fighters against Pete, and Alex promised to share any important information once he finished organizing it.
But after a careful search, Alex found the space bag's contents disappointingly sparse: just a few Galleons, some Ministry of Magic documents, and some common magical potions.
There was nothing related to the club, no elixirs or anything valuable.
The only item that stood out was a door key, but they'd have to test it to find out where it led.
"Other than some internal Ministry documents, there's nothing valuable here," Alex said, shaking his head. "These papers are standard files, nothing illegal. Pete must've been very cautious, not carrying anything risky on him."
Aside from the Portkey, he handed the space bag back to Andre.
"Given Pete's careful nature, this is hardly surprising."
Andre nodded, not too shocked.
"So, is the next step still going as planned? I didn't expect Pete to be so decisive when it mattered, trying to kill us."
"And that possibility was something we had already prepared for. We never expected him to be so powerful, and the magic he used was so strange," Alex said as he stood up and stretched, feeling exhausted after the battle.
At that moment, Andre also stood and glanced at the Auror beside him.
"Pack up Pete's body. Let's go meet the others. The second team will head straight to each department to secure the director's and minister's offices."
After securing those offices, the first team would take Pete's body to their residence outside the Ministry of Magic, seal it off, and conduct a thorough investigation later.
"Yes!"
The group of Aurors responded immediately.
They had been working closely with Andre and Alex for a long time, so they understood the situation perfectly and didn't hesitate.
Alex returned to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with Andre, knowing there was still plenty to handle.
First on their list were the wizards who had witnessed everything in the courtroom.
These weren't members of the Wizengamot but representatives from various wizarding walks of life, including wizarding families and reporters from major magical newspapers.
To keep Pete's identity as a Silver Wand secret, they had to be silenced and prevented from spreading panic.
This was part of the plan Andre and Alex had devised.
Though Edmund had been given instructions, Andre knew he had to be firm with them.
Even those "separatist" wizards had to be dealt with harshly when necessary. There was no need for politeness with these suspects; coercion was allowed.
Officially, the story would be that Pete conspired to manipulate civil society groups to twist public opinion, and his connection with the silver wand was nothing more than a routine collaboration.
The conflict couldn't be hidden; it would be presented as Pete violently resisting the law, with solid evidence showing he was killed on the spot by Alex and the Aurors after a tough fight.
Beyond that, there was plenty of work to do in the Ministry of Magic itself: filling vacancies left by dismissed staff, calming the emotions of the employees, and ensuring the Ministry kept running smoothly.
Besides working to unify public opinion both at home and abroad, another key focus was boosting Andre's image to stabilize the German wizarding community.
After this Split incident, Andre's reputation was bound to soar, which would help overshadow the negative impact Pete had had through his own publicity.
Regarding the Split Act, Alex advised against rushing to abolish it completely.
Instead, the plan was to gradually restore the previous sense of unity.
Since many German wizards had long been influenced by Pete and had grown accustomed to the divided state, sudden changes could backfire.
The next step was to ramp up public messaging that placed blame on the civil society leaders, Pete, and others for causing the split.
With consistent outreach and measures like reconnecting the domestic flyway network and easing the soft isolation, the German wizarding world should be able to regain its vitality within a year or two.
When they arrived at the Department of Legal Enforcement, Alex first headed to the area where the 'split faction' wizards were being held.
He brought out Matthew, who had been causing a scene during the hearing and was later the first to defect.
Andre was a bit surprised.
Once free, Matthew immediately came over to Alex's side with a sly smile and asked, "So, master, how were my acting skills?"
Alex smiled and replied, "You did great. Your skills definitely didn't let me down."
Then, he pulled out a bottle of potion and tossed it to Matthew.
Confused, Andre watched as Matthew drank the potion and suddenly transformed.
The rough-looking man instantly changed into Shalltear's appearance.