Chapter 287: Ministry of Magic General Assembly
The Little Goldie and the Swooping Evil soon returned. They brought back one other person: Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office.
Scrimgeour's perception of Lockhart had undergone multiple changes: first, the accumulated disgust for the boastful peacock from years ago; then, the revulsion and dislike for a fraud after reviewing Lockhart's files; followed by his personal experience during the 'Rainstorm Mountain Fire' and the compromises and political hypocrisy after Fudge's warning. Now, he didn't even know the psychological journey his inner self had endured, but he had slowly moved toward respect.
Respect for a Magical Master.
Arriving at the cottage, Scrimgeour respectfully bowed and asked if he could request the Auror Office for help. His attitude was sincere. He gestured to the 'Memory Mirror' he had received from Professor McGonagall, pleading for Lockhart's assistance in judging the Purifiers.
Lockhart did not refuse.
However, he had one thing to do first.
He turned back to the Purifier's corpse on the floor and waved his wand. "Evanesco ascendat!" (Vanish and ascend!)
The body instantly disintegrated, turning into ash that flew high into the sky, scattered, and then completely vanished.
Scrimgeour's cheek twitched.
He knew the spell. He had learned during Lockhart's review that the professor was promoting this spell at Hogwarts as a starting reaction for young wizards facing uncertain danger, creating time and space for situational assessment.
But he hadn't known the spell could achieve this level.
What was that? A more permanent Cleaning Charm?
Scrimgeour even harbored a suspicion: could this spell be used on living people?
Casting the spell on a street and seeing everyone on that street vanish entirely—one moment, it was bustling, and the next, it was deadly quiet... The mere thought sent shivers down his spine.
Did this spell have a counter-curse?
If not, this magic was even more sinister than the Killing Curse!
Yet, he dared not say or ask anything. He simply pulled his lips into an awkward smile and remained respectfully standing beside Lockhart.
Lockhart was no Dumbledore. Scrimgeour dared not be so arrogant as to question the terrible consequences of teaching this spell in school, forcing the professor to abandon its spread or provide a counter-curse solution.
One extra question, and there was no saying whether he'd experience "Evanesco ascendat" himself.
He wasn't ready to die.
The two quickly arrived at the Ministry of Magic, taking the lift to the tenth sub-level, and walked along a row of courtrooms to a dark corridor at the very end.
A large door was open in the depths of the corridor, and a great deal of noise spilled out with the light.
Lockhart followed Scrimgeour inside, finding the room larger than a standard courtroom. It was filled with desks and chairs, piled with files and various office supplies. In some areas, Goblins were busy organizing documents.
Iron-barred cages lined the walls, acting as cells. People could easily see Aurors interrogating criminals inside, and they could hear the shouts emanating from within, though the exact words were unclear.
While they were looking, another group of Aurors rushed in, arresting more people. They immediately saluted Lockhart and Scrimgeour, then separated the criminals into the iron cages.
"Chief!" Kingsley Shacklebolt walked over to Scrimgeour. "All captured."
Scrimgeour nodded and looked at Lockhart. "After capturing the Purifiers in Hogsmeade, we used a rapid interrogation mechanism to get information on their accomplices. We've caught everyone we could for now."
Lockhart nodded, surveying the surroundings. "What information do you need me to find?"
Scrimgeour's eyes narrowed. "I want to know about all Purifiers through them, preferably all of them!"
Lockhart smiled. "Are you sure? All of them? Some things you might not be able to handle."
Some matters were an open secret, such as the ambiguous relationship between the Magical Congress of the United States (MACUSA) and the Purifiers, and the unclear ties between ancient European pure-blood families (some members of the Wizengamot) and MACUSA and the Purifiers.
Surely, they couldn't investigate everything? What if they uncovered too much?
Scrimgeour remained silent for a long moment before finally nodding. "Within the jurisdiction of the British Ministry of Magic, I want to know about all Purifiers. I want them cleaned out!"
Lockhart nodded. "Alright."
Scrimgeour immediately asked, "Which one will you start with?"
Which one?
Oh, no. Lockhart looked at the dense array of iron cages. Going one by one would take far too long.
"All at once."
"???" Scrimgeour was completely confused.
"The mutual verification of memories—individual memories differ, but collective memory forms time, and time is the imprint of the real world."
Scrimgeour and Kingsley didn't understand Lockhart's explanation, but when a great master speaks, you comply.
Scrimgeour nodded to Kingsley, who quickly waved his wand. Soon, the sounds from all the iron cages were truly transmitted, as if an invisible obstruction had been removed.
The Aurors inside the cells also seemed to sense the change, quickly exiting with their files.
Scrimgeour immediately stepped back, signaling Lockhart to begin his performance. Kingsley, being quick-witted, approached to ask if any arrangements were needed.
"No need to bother."
Lockhart drew his wand and shook it gently. In that instant, all the prisoners in the surrounding iron cages floated up. Massive silver threads emerged from their heads, swaying and writhing, floating and stretching to converge above the central office desks in the courtroom.
The silver light converged, shimmering and rippling, and dozens of scenes simultaneously emerged.
Purifiers living across the UK were using various means of transportation and methods to converge on London.
"Hmm?" Lockhart, looking at the memory scenes, was stunned. "They're actually two separate factions? And they don't know about each other?"
Scrimgeour's eyes lit up. "Who else is there besides the Purifiers?"
Lockhart rejected that notion. "It appears to be only Purifiers, but they seem to be different factions, with distinct origins, systems, and goals."
Kingsley looked up at the scenes and nodded. "Chief, it seems they deliberately fragmented themselves, hiding in different corners."
But this fragmentation could only apply to the lower ranks. By focusing on the figures at the top, they could trace the core group of troublemakers.
However, the reality developed in an odd direction.
As the scenes merged one after another, finally converging into three main visuals, everyone could clearly see a white-haired, exquisitely dressed man in a white suit presiding over the activities in all three scenes.
"Did they use a Time-Turner?" one Auror exclaimed curiously.
"It could also be Polyjuice Potion, using the same person's hair," another Auror analyzed. "If that's the case, either this man in the white suit is very important, or they have a common source of Polyjuice Potion."
"Find that man!" Scrimgeour glared at the figure, knowing full well that the man wasn't among the captured group.
Even Kingsley, a meticulous and experienced Auror, had naturally overlooked this figure during the previous arrests.
Some kind of magic must have been used.
"It's not just him; several others are not among this group you arrested."
Lockhart waved his wand, duplicating the content of the scenes. Silver threads floated and gathered, ultimately solidifying into several silver mirrors.
"Each mirror represents a person. The memories of everyone present regarding this person are inside."
Then, he duplicated a slightly larger mirror, which contained only fragmented scenes. "The figures in here are people related to them but who were not involved in this particular operation."
As for whom these people might implicate, Lockhart couldn't guess. He trusted Scrimgeour to carefully consider the appropriate scope for the investigation.
After finishing his business with the Auror Department, Lockhart planned to return home to study the Ghost Ship, but he received a notice for a Ministry meeting.
Every important figure in the Ministry of Magic received the letter. Clearly, this incident of Muggle infiltration into the wizarding world was being taken seriously and wasn't being treated as a typical Statute of Secrecy breach.
The Ministry of Magic rarely held general assemblies; it wasn't a tradition here, mainly because meetings often devolved into arguments or even fights. Wizard duels were not like Muggle fistfights, and conflicts between groups were disasters. In this unique social environment, authority could not truly constrain every wizard's behavior. Even in an authoritative body like the Ministry, people fundamentally trusted their own magic more.
My sword is sharp, too!
Aurors are nothing! The Minister of Magic can go jump!
To let the situation become so embarrassing was deeply humiliating, so it was more practical to negotiate and have smaller meetings at different levels.
The location of this meeting was nearby, in the First Courtroom on the same floor, which was large enough.
When Lockhart arrived, many people were already there.
There were about fifty members in crimson robes from the Wizengamot. There were also about a dozen figures in matte black robes from the Mute Order (likely an interpretation of the 'Mute' figures, potentially representing an advisory or ancient order).
These two forces, derived from the International Confederation of Wizards and the Wizarding Council, respectively, were not directly governable by the Minister of Magic. In fact, the Minister of Magic had little influence over most of the other Departments.
For example, the Department of International Magical Cooperation, which governed the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Law Office, and the British branch of the International Confederation of Wizards—this was a force born of compromise and mutual support between the International Confederation of Wizards and local ancient pure-blood families (members of the Wizarding Council).
Even without mentioning the influence and power of Old Barty Crouch, the Department Head, it would be difficult for Fudge to interfere.
There were too many of them.
Every department here represented its own interests, and the people within the departments also represented their own interests. It was extremely difficult for Minister Fudge to unify a single ideology.
Unless a certain event occurred.
Like a war.
"This is a war!" Minister Fudge immediately waved his fist as the meeting began, looking around at every face and shouting. "A war capable of destroying wizarding society!"
"Here, I want all of you to be clear on this point!"
"My enemy is not Muggles! Remember, NOT Muggles!"
"It is the Purifiers!"
"They are attempting to reignite a terrifying Witch Hunt! We will never allow it, never agree to it!"
"We must stand on the same ground as the Muggles and resolutely oppose this act of inciting war! It will harm the interests of everyone on this planet! They are the sinners of humanity!"
As Fudge shouted from the podium, everyone secretly looked at Albus Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot Administration Services, under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Dumbledore showed no expression, simply sitting quietly.
Silence is sometimes a statement.
So, everyone turned back to Fudge, beginning to seriously listen to and analyze the pig-headed Minister's words.
"I will activate the Wartime Protocol! I require all departments to unconditionally abide by every clause of the protocol! Violators will be prosecuted for crimes like collusion and aiding and abetting!"
Next was a barrage of bureaucratic jargon that Lockhart, for once, didn't fully grasp.
Fortunately, Umbridge was beside him to explain. "There's nothing much for the Department of Mysteries, but your post in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has some tasks."
"Under the principle of strengthening the management of Magical Creatures, you must begin to constrain every House-Elf under your 'House-Elf Relocation Office'."
This was an interesting decision.
When wizards face a great enemy, the first thing they think of is to restrain Magical Creatures.
Especially sentient beings.
Goblins, Centaurs, Merpeople, Giants—
And the House-Elves, who were deeply involved in wizarding life.
House-Elves belonging to wizarding families were, naturally, managed by the families themselves; the Ministry couldn't interfere. But those House-Elves without masters had to be brought under absolute control.
No one could imagine the devastation that would occur if these House-Elves and the Purifiers joined forces.
House-Elves could easily bypass Hogwarts' Map and Castle Magic, effortlessly entering the school even when most people didn't know where Hogwarts was.
What if they brought Muggle combat units?
Or simply brought a large cache of explosives capable of blowing the entire school sky-high?
If this were to happen just once... one-third of Europe's new generation of wizards would be completely wiped out.
If this were carried out simultaneously across all three European schools, well, European wizarding society could declare that it had no future.
The destructive power of other Magical Creatures was the same. Even though humans live on land, 71% of the planet's surface is ocean, not counting lakes and rivers. Those areas belong to the Merpeople.
Muggle aircraft carriers? Destroyers? Submarines?
They weren't enough to contend with Merpeople who possessed magic and knew how to raise other magical creatures as their subordinates.
Fudge was still shouting on the podium.
"I hope the Order of Merlin members will clearly explain this logic to the Muggle dignitaries!"
"Muggles need Wizards!"
"Without wizarding protection, Muggles will face doom. All their so-called technology will lose the very foundation needed to sustain its development!"
"And I hope you remember!"
"Wizards also need Muggles!"
"Without Muggles, without the population replenishment from Muggle-born wizards emerging from the Muggle world, the most pressing problem for wizards today would be debating whether our dwindling population means we're headed for extinction!"
"Gentlemen!"
"This is a war!"
"This is a war to defend the sacred Statute of Secrecy!"
"Please keep in mind the fundamental reason for the Ministry of Magic's existence!"