"Hmm…"
The masked witch nodded lightly, offering a terse greeting to the assembled Aurors.
"…"
The Aurors all turned to look at Head Auror Scrimgeour, fully expecting him to reprimand this bizarre consultant. But Scrimgeour was not angry. Instead, he observed the masked witch with deep interest, finally nodding in return.
"Since Miss Hamier has arrived, let us begin today's inspection," he said slowly, walking to the steps of the Auror Office.
Looking at the dozen Aurors standing below, he continued, "Today is the first official Dark Artifact inspection operation by our office. Our primary goal is to investigate whether major pure-blood families or magical artifact shops are secretly hoarding illegal items."
As he spoke, his sharp eyes flicked back to the masked witch. Through the blank silver mask, he couldn't begin to guess what the person in front of him was thinking.
Of course... of course, she wasn't thinking anything profound at all!
With her head down, the heavily disguised Lyla was simply trying to survive. She hadn't been listening to Scrimgeour's speech in the slightest; she had been nervously muttering about Magic Array Studies just to keep herself from passing out.
'The engraving of an energy storage array requires potent magical materials, usually the blood of a magical creature…' she chanted silently in her mind. 'While Veela are not officially classified as mere creatures, their blood is a suitable substitute…'
It was no wonder she was so terrified. She was entirely surrounded by Aurors! Aurors!
'Those exact Ministry busybodies who loved to meddle and ruin Lord Grindelwald's great plans!'
If it weren't for the silver mask Dumbledore had given her to conceal her identity, they would have instantly seen her pale, panicked face. With her features completely hidden, even if she was so nervous she had to constantly recite Magic Array formulas, they wouldn't find out!
If Dumbledore knew exactly what Lyla was using his thoughtful gift for, he probably would have found it highly amusing.
Soon, Scrimgeour's briefing ended, and the squad of Aurors began to move out.
Lyla quickly shuffled behind the group. However, with her black hood, silver mask, and trembling posture, she didn't look like a prestigious special consultant... She looked exactly like a Dark Wizard being marched away under heavy guard.
"…"
The large group of Aurors marched directly through Diagon Alley. Passing witches and wizards stopped in their tracks, curiously observing the grim procession.
"Are they arresting some dangerous criminal?" Arthur Weasley, with his shock of red hair, curiously observed his Ministry colleagues.
He remembered that there was indeed a Dark Artifact inspection scheduled for today. 'Which pure-blood family's wizard have they already managed to arrest?!' he wondered.
The whispered guesses of the other shoppers were even more exaggerated. Some even suspected that one of You-Know-Who's fugitive Death Eaters had finally been caught!
Of course, Lyla didn't notice any of the staring. She was wholeheartedly reviewing the great knowledge of Magic Array Studies in her head, right up until the Auror walking directly beside her spoke up.
"Hello... Professor." A young man with short brown hair suddenly lowered his voice. "I am Guster Parkinson... It is a true pleasure to meet you."
"Ah..." Lyla gasped. Startled by the sudden interaction, she subconsciously quickened her pace.
Guster smoothly sped up to keep pace with her.
"You must be the new DADA professor at Hogwarts, right?" Guster seemed to be an absolute chatterbox. Even if Lyla didn't say a single word, he was perfectly happy to carry the conversation on his own.
"I am also a Hogwarts graduate! Ah... well, I suppose everyone here graduated from Hogwarts."
'I... I don't know you... Don't be so... so enthusiastic!' Lyla panicked internally.
Her most feared profession was an Auror, and her most feared personality type was someone overly familiar. Mr. Guster of the Parkinson family was officially the most overly familiar Auror Lyla had ever met!
'After all... who just suddenly starts talking to a stranger in a mask?!'
Lyla had no idea how to respond. Luckily, she was wearing the silver mask, so she didn't have to worry about him seeing her terrified expression.
Unaware of her panic, Guster continued chatting casually. "You can probably guess which House I graduated from..."
"…" Lyla silently pursed her lips beneath the mask.
She guessed that this Mr. Parkinson was probably from Gryffindor House. 'After all, isn't it a well-known fact that Gryffindors are obnoxiously enthusiastic?'
"I suppose I asked a rather silly question," Guster laughed to himself, seeing that Lyla didn't respond but didn't seem angry. "People from the Parkinson family are, of course, all sorted into Slytherin."
"After all, we are proud members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight," he said, though there seemed to be a distinct hint of sarcasm in his tone.
But Lyla had already mentally labeled Slytherin House as "Terrible!"
'Students from Slytherin House are all so... talkative... I must strictly avoid them when I get to Hogwarts!'
Guster, completely unaware that he was single-handedly ruining Slytherin's reputation in her mind, continued chatting.
He seamlessly transitioned from discussing which pure-blood families would be attending Hogwarts this year, to debating whether the school should admit magical creatures, to speculating about what color socks Head Auror Scrimgeour was wearing today.
In a mere ten-minute walk, he had forcefully dragged her through no less than eight different conversational topics.
Lyla simply couldn't keep up with his jumping thoughts. Sometimes she felt she should politely say something, but before she could formulate a response, Guster had already moved on to the next subject!
Walking at the front of the formation, Scrimgeour would occasionally turn back to cast a calculating glance at them. He nodded thoughtfully.
'This Miss Hamier seems much more cautious and disciplined than I imagined...' Scrimgeour had deliberately assigned the most talkative, annoying wizard in the entire Auror Office to walk directly beside her. He wanted to see if Guster could glean any accidental information from this strange lady.
Scrimgeour was an exceptionally perceptive man. Last night, he had thoroughly checked all the family registries of the British Wizarding World. He hadn't found a single record of anyone named Lola Hamier.
Naturally, he couldn't help but be deeply suspicious of the true purpose of this mysterious witch Dumbledore had forcefully shoved into his operation.
If Lyla knew that the reason for her current "torture" was merely an interrogation tactic, she might have just cried and confessed that she was a dark acolyte working hard to revive the Wizarding Supremacist Party!
"Ah... I almost forgot." Guster seemed to have thought of something else, abruptly jumping from the male-female ratio among House-elves to an entirely new topic.
"Today, we are heading to a rather prominent pure-blood estate for our first inspection," he said casually. "As a newly hired consultant, you probably aren't very familiar with the logistics yet. But there is absolutely no need to be nervous."
'If you just stop talking to me, I won't be nervous!' Lyla pursed her lips and shook her head slightly. Guster's relentless talking made it impossible for her to recite her Magic Array formulas to relieve stress.
Guster, of course, didn't know her thoughts. "With Head Auror Scrimgeour personally leading the charge today, there's no need to worry. We could be raiding Malfoy Manor itself and we'd be perfectly safe."
"However, the family we are investigating today shouldn't be much trouble. They originally hail from France, and they have always been very outwardly supportive of the Ministry's work."
"Ah... Did I forget to tell you which family it is?"
"It is the Rosier family."
'The Ro-ro-ro-ro-Rosier family?!'
Lyla's steps suddenly halted. Guster couldn't stop his momentum in time and took a few more steps forward before turning back.
"Do you know someone from the Rosier family?" Guster asked, momentarily stunned by her reaction.
"No..." Lyla stammered, shaking her head frantically.
She forced her stiff, terrified legs to move forward again. However, if anyone observed closely, they would notice her knees were visibly trembling beneath her robes.
Lyla was absolutely terrified... Even more afraid than when she first faced Albus Dumbledore.
The reason was incredibly simple.
'The Rosier family!'
'That was... that was the noble family of Madam Vinda Rosier! Lord Grindelwald's most loyal and ruthless lieutenant!'