Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 521 Tragedy in Diagon Alley
The chaos in Diagon Alley continued, and through the dedicated Floo network, reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic quickly arrived at Diagon Alley, but when they actually arrived, the two teams of Aurors had already been beaten to death.

The Muggle wizards didn't even use any spells, but just beat them to death with their fists and feet.

Benjamin at the top of Gringotts Tower didn't know which was more painful, dying like this or being killed by a curse, but there was no doubt that the Aurors who came to support must have been very angry after seeing the miserable state of their colleagues, because at this moment they had all pointed their wands in unison at the crowd rushing towards them!
"On your marks! Attack!"

Following an order from the on-site commander, dozens of scarlet rays of light suddenly shot out.

This time they did not hold back, but attacked with all their might!

In their eyes, these guys who hurt their colleagues don't need any sympathy at all!
Their attack had a very good effect. As soon as the red light, as thick as substance, rushed into the crowd, screams were heard one after another in Diagon Alley.

Under the effect of these high-intensity disarming spells, those people at the front of the crowd were knocked away like rag dolls, falling into the crowd behind them, knocking down a large number of people.

However, there were simply too many people gathered in Diagon Alley, and the attacks of these dozens of Aurors were simply a drop in the bucket. Although they had tried their best, they were still forced into a desperate situation in the end.

Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic had already known about the situation here, and subsequent reinforcements continued to rush in from all over the country, which enabled the Aurors to hold out under the attacks of a large number of rebels.

Eventually, with the continuous support from the Ministry of Magic, the combined forces of Aurors and Striker finally gained the upper hand and defeated a group of enemies that was several times their number.

But this was only a repulsion. Looking at those attackers who were running away in all directions with their own skills, the victorious Aurors and strikers were filled with helplessness.

The number of the enemy was simply too large. Although they were no match for us in a head-on fight, we had no choice but to stop them now that they were breaking up into small groups and retreating.

In desperation, they could only try their best to intercept, but the effect was not very good. In the end, the number of ** personnel killed was pitiful, and most of them were injured and unable to move.

After the battle, Diagon Alley finally returned to peace, but the prosperous Diagon Alley no longer existed. In this battle, except for some places including Gringotts, other buildings were damaged to varying degrees. The area at the center of the battle was almost razed to the ground!
The dusty wizards crawled out of the collapsed houses with difficulty, and then looked at the ruins around them in a daze.

These people were all customers and merchants in Diagon Alley. In today's battle, the ones who suffered the most were not the rioters or any party in the Ministry of Magic, but these ordinary people.

Some of them lost the property they had worked hard for all their lives, some lost their families, and some simply lost their lives.

For a moment, the ruins were filled with cries, and even the sky above everyone's heads, which had turned gray due to black smoke, was filled with a sad atmosphere.

Many Aurors and strikers showed sad expressions on their faces when they saw this. They also lost many of their colleagues in this battle.

Out of sympathy and duty, many Aurors began to spontaneously go forward to comfort and rescue the disaster-stricken people. However, when they actually began to come into contact with these people, they were shocked to find that things were far from as simple as they thought.

"It's all your fault! Why did you choose to start the fight in Diagon Alley?"

"Give me back my son's life!"

"Hey! My store was damaged by you, you must compensate me! Do you hear me?!"

"You executioners!"

……

The scene that had originally settled down became chaotic again. The dusty survivors were entangled with the Aurors and the striker troops. One of the mothers who lost her son even hung on an Auror, opened her mouth and bit the Auror's shoulder tightly, refusing to let go no matter how the Auror shook him off.

In the minds of these innocent bystanders, all of this is to blame on the Ministry of Magic. If they could do their job better, then these things would never have happened.

The businessmen's thinking was even simpler. Someone must compensate for their losses. Now most of the rioters were nowhere to be found, and judging from the way they were dressed, they didn't look like they were worthy of the money.

Then things would be very simple. After all, the Ministry of Magic is not short of money, so just throw all the responsibilities to it.

In the chaos, the rioters who were arrested seemed to be inspired by something and started shouting that the Aurors had arrested the wrong people and that they were also innocent passers-by.

Some of them even threatened to go to the Ministry of Magic to complain about these Aurors, but were kicked hard by a nearby striker and knocked unconscious.

On the top of Gringotts' tower, Benjamin watched all this silently, then took out a pen and paper and wrote something down. Finally, he sighed deeply, and the Masonic gold coin in his hand disappeared.

When he appeared again, he had already returned to the secret realm of Freemasonry.

Unlike the chaotic Diagon Alley, the Masonic Secret Realm was filled with a festive atmosphere. Mike, Zhou Hong and other Freemasons were accompanying Emily to celebrate the great success of their operation.

Shuke and Beta served as waiters at the banquet. Countless fine wines and delicacies were piled on the exaggeratedly large round table in the reception room. In the corner, there was a bunch of musical instruments playing elegant music.

Benjamin's sudden intrusion stunned Mike and others for a moment, but they quickly reacted.

Mike excitedly stepped forward and patted Benjamin on the shoulder twice, then said with a smile:

"You're finally back! Our great hero."

Other people around also gathered around, laughing and praising Benjamin.

They all knew that as the most capable field staff of the Freemasons, the reason why the Freemasons could succeed this time was because of Benjamin's help.
"This is what I should do."

Benjamin responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, appearing extremely elegant.

But he soon lost his grace, because Zhou Hong, with a smirk on his face, pushed Emily to Benjamin's side.

Today's Emily is no longer the same as she was in Loya's cottage. With the careful decoration of Penelope and others, she is now wearing a snow-white dress with many shining ornaments hanging on her body. She looks dignified and generous, but her face is frighteningly red at this moment, and she looks shy, lovely and pure, making people want to hold her in their arms.

She must have been pushed over by Zhou Hong, so she was extremely shy, especially when Benjamin was looking at her. Even her earlobes had turned into an attractive pink color.

But even so, she still plucked up the courage to force herself to look Benjamin in the eye and said:
"Thank you... thank you!"

After saying that, she quickly took out a bracelet woven with various wild flowers and plant roots from her back and stuffed it into Benjamin's arms.

"This……"

Benjamin was a little overwhelmed, but looking at the girl's pleading eyes, he finally put it on his hand. "You're welcome."

Benjamin nodded and said politely.

But at this time Emily had already run back to her original place, and was hiding behind Penelope, secretly looking at Benjamin.

'She likes herself.'

Benjamin made this judgment immediately.

This is not surprising at all. Emily, this little girl, has some slight intellectual problems. In addition, she was rescued by myself and was treated very well during her recuperation in the Freemasonry. It is not surprising that she would have such feelings.

The reason why Emily cooperated so well was based on the above reasons.

It's very easy to fool this kind of girl as long as you treat her well.

But...she is only fourteen years old!
Although she is well developed... ahem... but she is still too small!
Benjamin believed that he would never do such a thing. Copper smelters were really disgusting!
Besides, I already have a girlfriend!

Thinking of this, Benjamin almost instinctively raised his head and looked in the direction of Soraka.

But as soon as he raised his head, his body froze.

Because at this moment Soraka was waiting for a pair of murderous eyes staring at him.

As if she noticed that Benjamin was also looking at her, Soraka thought for a moment and then stretched out two fingers and made a scissors gesture!
Benjamin took a deep breath and instinctively felt a chill in his heart!
You have to know that Soraka is a healer, and the best one at that.

If the other party really wants to do this, it is not impossible.

Benjamin was so terrified during this banquet that he even didn't dare to eat anything, fearing that Soraka had drugged it. Based on his understanding of Soraka, he knew that she was definitely capable of doing such a thing.

Fortunately, the party did not last long. When Mike announced the end of the party, Benjamin followed Mike's body and went into Mike's office.

Benjamin breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the office door closed.

The feeling of being stared at by Soraka was really terrible. At the same time, a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes. Zhou Hong's pranks were getting more and more excessive.

Mike, who was not far from him, put away the smile on his face, sat down behind the desk, and asked seriously:

"How's the investigation going?"

Hearing this, Benjamin's expression also became serious. He straightened his body and answered in the same serious tone:
"The Ministry of Magic is indeed in a very weak situation right now. The total number of Aurors and strikers they can mobilize is estimated to be no more than two hundred."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, the incident in Diagon Alley was so serious this time that the Ministry of Magic must have mobilized all the armed forces they could. But even so, there were only a little over a hundred Ministry of Magic personnel on the scene. Add in the personnel who were stationed at the Ministry of Magic, and the number would not be too different."

The corners of Mike's mouth slightly raised, he snapped his fingers, and said in a brisk voice:

"Then the next step is to send out that statement, arrange for Emily to give a few live speeches, and also be prepared to receive a large number of new recruits."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Benjamin said hesitantly, "You know, if you do this, it means that our intentions will be exposed."

"Don't worry, just do as I say." Mike said meaningfully, "The Ministry of Magic and Voldemort are not worth mentioning now."

Hearing this, the worry on Benjamin's face still did not disappear. He seemed to want to persuade Mike, but looking at the determined expression on Mike's face, he finally responded and backed out of the office.

……

The next day, what happened in Diagon Alley finally spread.

Almost all media outlets reported on the Diagon Alley incident, even traditional large media outlets like the Daily Prophet.

Mike believed that the Ministry of Magic must want to silence these media and had made attempts.

Unfortunately, this incident was so serious that even the Ministry of Magic’s direct media, the Daily Prophet, could not turn a blind eye.

Because if they did, the reputation of the Daily Prophet would be severely damaged.

No one likes a media outlet that speaks exclusively for the Ministry of Magic!

Therefore, all they can do is to use the Spring and Autumn style of writing to cover up some of the facts, so as to throw all the responsibility onto the perpetrators.

But this is really an act of covering one's ears and stealing the bell, because even if they don't say it, other media will say it.

For example, "The Quibbler".

This newspaper, which has been privatized by Mike, has been acting as Mike's mouthpiece from beginning to end in this incident, transmitting the most authentic information to the outside world. Even the magic portrait that was previously hung on the storefronts of Diagon Alley was perfectly reproduced in the newspaper.

This has also led to a recent surge in sales of "The Quibbler". Luna's father is very happy. He firmly believes that the huge sales of "The Quibbler" are entirely due to him.

Mike is naturally not interested in this kind of credit. If Luna's father wants it, then give it to him.

What Mike is interested in is the current social form and the current status of those activists.

As he expected, those protesters became more radical and irrational after being inspired by Emily, so much so that since yesterday, various demonstrations and magic exposure cases have increased sharply across the country.

All of this has put tremendous pressure on the Ministry of Magic, and many staff members in the Ministry are even thinking about resigning!
(End of this chapter)