Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 184 Why did Voldemort love England so much?

Lupin gradually clenched his teeth, which forced Kingsley to look at him frequently, lest his colleague become jealous and rush up to bite the Muggle politician to death.

After waiting a while longer, not only Lupin, but Kingsley also began to grow anxious.

According to the plan they had discussed with Tonks beforehand, Tonks should have already subdued William and obtained the confidential documents by now.

Why is there still no signal?

Lupin gripped his wand tightly, still staring intently at the small building, while Kingsley slowly shifted his gaze away from it.

Then, he lowered his voice and spoke in Lupin's ear:

"Remus, something's not right."

"What?"

"There's not a sound on this street!"

As Kingsley spoke, he slowly drew his wand, his gaze sweeping over the empty, clean streets.

No one is normal, but... why are there no insects chirping in those flowerbeds?

Then, just as he became alert, the attack suddenly occurred!

.........

Let's go back to the afternoon.

The lobby of the Woolworth Building is bustling with people, just like at any time of day.

Hidden among the walls, numerous elevators go up and down.

An elevator that had just risen from underground opened, and Donald Graves, dressed in a rather old-fashioned sheepskin suit and wearing a top hat, stepped out. He ignored the few young wizards who were chattering by the elevator and immediately shut up when they saw him.

He strode out of the elevator and saw another wizard in a suit walking hurriedly toward him.

"Deputy Minister Donald, we..."

Donald raised his hand to interrupt him: "Where is Jacob?"

"Uh, he's injured, he's in the medical room."

The medical room was on the second floor. Donald, having received the answer, walked toward it with a somber expression. The wizard hesitated for a moment, then quickly caught up with him.

"Deputy Minister, the Minister has ordered us..."

"Let me finish reading Jacob first!"

Sensing that the deputy minister was in a bad mood, the male wizard wisely kept quiet and followed silently behind.

Donald was indeed in a bad mood. Anyone who knew that their brother had been beaten, and that the assailant was their own boss with virtually no hope of revenge, would feel aggrieved.

With a sullen face, he walked through the hall, pulled out his wand, and tapped a statue in the corner. The statue, which was just about to move aside from the one next to it with its bas-relief of boasting, revealed a winding spiral staircase.

That's the Capitol Medical Area.

Led by the wizard, Donald arrived at a ward, took off his hat and tucked it under his arm. He gently pushed open the door. The ward was small, with only one bed. An Auror lay on it, his clothes cut open, and a healer was treating his injuries.

Donald didn't disturb the doctor. He quietly walked to the bedside and sat down. Jacob, who was lying on the hospital bed, smiled at him, indicating that he didn't need to worry: "It's just a few broken ribs, nothing serious."

Donald did not speak.

Only after the therapist had straightened Jacob's ribs, given him the "Bone-Generating" potion, and left did he ask in a deep voice, "Michael is angry with you just because you told him some bad news?"

"I'm just unlucky." Jacob forced a smile. The potion, which was starting to take effect, made his chest and abdomen ache and itch. "I just happened to run into some terrible news. Those Muggles may have betrayed us... You know the minister, he's always looked down on Muggles, but he was betrayed by those trash who he couldn't stand to look at. It's normal that he couldn't control his temper."

"snort!"

Donald snorted, but he knew Jacob didn't want him to clash with Michael Graves, so he didn't say anything more in a fit of anger.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I was supervising the executions in the Death Hall before, but the information from the department wasn't very detailed. What exactly happened?"

"It's from Boston. The Dreamcatcher Control Bureau reported an anomaly to us about an hour ago. The person we were monitoring appeared at a rally that shouldn't have been there, and the speaker was also an unplanned Muggle-DPP politician..."

"...We believe that someone in the Muggle government, which is part of a family-run operation, deliberately leaked the documents to a Muggle named William, and then used him to pass the documents on to Vaughn Weasley and Babajid Akinbad."

After saying that, he took a breath.

Donald, who had been listening quietly, quickly patted his hand: "I understand the situation. I will handle the next steps. You should rest and recover first."

"No, I want to go too. A broken rib isn't a serious injury..."

Jacob struggled to his feet.

He didn't try to be brave. While he was talking, the pain in his chest did lessen a lot. After all, it was just a broken rib, which was nothing in the magic world.

The main thing is that the potion is amazing.

Jacob touched his chest, picked up the bottle of Bone-Growing Elixir that the healer had left at the foot of the bed, glanced at it, and laughed, "I just asked the healer to give me the best medicine, but I didn't expect it to be brewed by him."

Donald glanced at the bottle and saw the label on it:

[Produced by Potions Master Vaughn Weasley]

His lips twitched involuntarily. The best medicine recommended by the Magic Congress actually came from the person being monitored. Why did it feel somewhat darkly humorous?

"It's probably fake. After WAC was established, a lot of potions claiming to be made by Vaughn Weasley suddenly appeared on the market. Where would he have so much time? Most of them are just some apothecaries using his name to ride on his popularity."

“No, Congress is different,” Jacob said. “The Medical Office has a special allowance to buy high-value potions on the black market. This one is very likely to have come from the English black market… I’ve seen Michael approve purchase permits for the Medical Office. He wanted Wolfsbane Potion, but unfortunately, he couldn’t buy it.”

"..."

There were too many things to complain about, and Donald was speechless for a moment. Seeing his younger brother get out of bed, stretch his arms a few times, and seem determined not to stay in the ward, he frowned slightly.

Why are you so determined to participate in this operation?

"Because I felt something was wrong. Why did those Muggles suddenly betray us? Why did they want to leak the cooperation documents to the WAC and the Federation? It all happened without any warning. Don't you find that strange?"

"Most importantly, ultimate control of the 'Purgers' is in the hands of Michael and a few senators. I really can't understand why Muggles, who can't use magic and have lost control of the 'Purgers,' would dare to betray us?"

These are indeed points of suspicion.

Donald couldn't understand it when he received the news in the Hall of Death.

The Muggles knew about the Dreamcatcher, this magical alchemical artifact; they couldn't possibly be unaware of it. Their little tricks couldn't be hidden from the pure-blood families.

Once the pure-blood families realize their betrayal, Michael Graves and several other family councilors can immediately strip them of their control over the "Purgers" if they rush over.

What are these chickens after?

Just then, the ring on Donald's hand suddenly emitted a few faint flashes.

Jacob saw it too. He looked up at the ceiling, as if gazing at a floor above him: "Michael and the others have activated the door key... We have to go too."

"you……"

"Donald, I really have a lot of questions and I need to go and see."

Seeing his brother's insistent expression, Donald remained silent for a moment before finally giving in: "Fine, but you have to stay with me and don't try to command your squad on the front lines."

"good!"

Jacob agreed, because his insistence on participating in the operation was not for the sake of fighting...

.........

In the evening, Donald and Jacob arrived in Boston with eight Auror squads.

The Aurors of the Federal Magical Congress not only share the same name as England, but also have a very similar system. According to Muggles, they are both civil servants with lifetime tenure.

The only difference is that the role of the English Aurors is more like that of the police. Although they also have the responsibility of protecting national security, they mainly maintain order in the wizarding world and combat smuggling.

The Federal Congress of Aurors is different. It is a paramilitary agency. Since its establishment more than 200 years ago, its responsibilities have not been to handle trivial matters such as law enforcement cases, but to fight against internal and external enemies as a purely violent institution.

Therefore, this is the purest and most direct lineage of martial power held by the 12 purebloods. After all, even its composition pays homage to the former 12 Aurors, maintaining the structure of 12 branches.

On the outskirts of Boston, in a desolate wasteland far from any shabby buildings, a large number of figures carrying brooms suddenly appeared. With their arrival, a completely different scene gradually emerged from the void on the otherwise empty wasteland—

It was a two-story building, in the classic New England countryside style, clean and tidy, standing out from the surrounding dilapidated and desolate landscape.

Two fireplaces stood beside the small building, green flames constantly rising, from which wizards emerged one after another.

Donald, along with his brother Jacob and two other Aurors stationed at the outpost, rode broomsticks into the air and gazed at the city in the distance, which shone brightly against the night sky.

"How's the investigation going?" Donald asked, turning his gaze away.

The two Aurors who were with him knew that the deputy minister was asking them a question, and they quickly replied, "As you instructed, we have mobilized local MSA agents, including local Muggle informants, and have located all the residences of that Muggle named William in Boston."

MSA is short for the Department of Magical Security, another armed force under the Department of Magical Security.

However, unlike the Aurors, their role is more like that of a Muggle intelligence agency. Those so-called "agents" are all "employees" hired by the Magic Congress. They are usually scattered in various places and have a very complex composition. Some are even multi-faceted spies.

As they spoke, the two cast a mist spell, using the hazy mist to outline a map of Boston. One of them used his wand to point to several locations on the "map," drawing circles around them, and finally dotted one of the circles:

"Based on our speculation, he most likely hid the documents at this property."

Why?

"Because it is located in an affluent area, these streets have a fairly comprehensive security force, making it relatively safe. It is also the furthest away from his property in another affluent area, making it the most secluded."

Donald frowned: "Based on what?"

"Uh, this Muggle is rather... outgoing... We suspect that his offer to possess classified documents was likely an attempt to attract the attention of Ms. Nymphadora Tonks, the English Auror protecting the WAC..."

"..."

Donald was stunned for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Jacob, both feeling it was absurd.

"...So, that classified document that could very well lead to conflict between us and the WAC, and the Federation, was leaked simply because that bastard politician wanted to use it to pick up girls?"

Donald was gritting his teeth almost the entire time he said those words.

The two Aurors looked embarrassed: "Yes, Deputy Minister... Based on the detailed surveillance intelligence sent by the Dreamcatcher Administration, and the past experiences of this Muggle gathered by our agents and informants, that's roughly how it is..."

Donald suddenly understood why Michael was angry.

This is utterly inexplicable, unbelievable, and incomprehensible!

Damn it, don't they have any sense of confidentiality at all? Using classified documents to pick up girls? What kind of brain does someone have that kind of stupidity?

Barely suppressing his destructive urges, Donald forced himself to calm down before continuing, "What about WAC?"

"There are currently three people involved in the classified documents incident: in addition to Ms. Tonks, whom I just mentioned, there is Remus Lupin, the vice president of WAC and a trusted right-hand man of Vaughn Weasley; and Kingsley Shackle, a senior Auror from England who once accompanied the Muggle Prime Minister on a visit to the Commonwealth."

As they spoke, they handed over the three people's files and continued:

"So far, Dreamcatcher has not found any other wizards in the vicinity, and the WAC and the Federation members are all staying at the hotel without making any unusual moves."

No unusual activity?

Donald was somewhat puzzled. He glanced at the three men's files, pondered for a moment, and then waved his hand, signaling the two Aurors to leave.

After the two left, before he could speak, Jacob said, "Donald, shouldn't we reconsider our actions?"

"Although I don't know exactly what happened, it's clear that those three WAC wizards didn't report the classified documents back. Otherwise, the WAC and the Federation wouldn't have remained completely silent... Since they're not involved now, I think we don't necessarily have to resort to force to get the documents back!"

As he spoke, he looked down at the procession below, where a group of over a hundred wizards had gathered, their expressions filled with worry.

"Eight Auror squads, nearly 200 people, are battling the visiting WAC and Federation in a Muggle city... Do you want to see this headline in tomorrow's Daily Prophet?"

Upon hearing this, Donald hesitated.

During their previous conversation, Jacob had already mentioned that there were many strange aspects to the leak of the confidential documents.

Jacob shared the same concerns.

but……

Donald sighed. "It's the minister's order, you know. Even though I don't like him, an order is an order."

"I know I didn't want to disobey Michael's orders; he'll kill us. But Michael only asked us to get the documents, not to use force, right?"

This argument is, of course, sophistry.

Before leaving, Michael issued eight Auror mobilization documents. If the other four teams hadn't had their own missions, he probably would have wanted to bring all the Aurors over.

Michael's intense reaction might suggest he was blinded by anger, but his attitude has already made it clear—

Perhaps the protracted wrangling in Congress had exhausted his patience, and perhaps he was indeed angry, but compared to anger, he wanted to take this opportunity to completely break with WAC and the Federation, so as to prevent Congress from continuing its endless wrangling!

Donald, who understands Michael's temperament, can naturally grasp Michael's subtext.

He believed Jacob understood, but it was clear that Jacob had his own ideas.

Donald remained silent.

He hesitated for a long time between faithfully following orders and his brother's advice, finally sighing to himself, "I hope your intuition is right..."

"I just don't want the family to get involved in any potential conspiracies. Don't worry, if I'm wrong, I'll go to Michael and admit it myself. At worst, he'll break a few more bones!"

Upon hearing Jacob's words, Donald sighed and said nothing more.

As the last rays of dusk completely disappeared, the team below assembled, the two returned to their unit, and a series of orders were issued.

Soon, a force of nearly 200 Aurors, under the cover of dreamcatchers, entered Boston.

At this moment, dear William was still sitting in a leisurely luxury car, trying to get closer to Miss Tonks.

Tonks and he played along.

Lupin and Kingsley followed at a distance behind the car, casually acting as helpful citizens and cracking down on street crime.

By the time this intelligence was being gathered by Donald, his Auror squad had completely taken over William's residence.

More people scattered around, setting up protective barriers and driving away the Muggles.

Although they agreed to refrain from using force for the time being, some preparatory work still needed to be done, since anything could happen.

"Teams 1 and 2, search the entire residence. Find any documents marked 'Confidential,' and any places where things can be hidden. Don't miss a single brick mortar joint!"

"Teams 3 and 4, go and drive away the Muggles from the surrounding buildings, especially those patrolling Muggle police. I authorize you to use memory magic to make them stay far away from this place."

"The other squads are following standard operating procedures to locate and pinpoint tactical positions within 100 feet of the mansion... Jack Graves, you are in charge of compiling and recording tactical information."

After skillfully assigning tasks, Donald surveyed the Muggle politician's residence, habitually moved a sofa over, sat by the fireplace, and looked at the parchment in his hand, where writing was constantly emerging.

That was surveillance information transmitted by the Dreamcatcher Management Bureau.

Even before they launched their operation, the Dreamcatcher Authority had already "dropped" a large number of nets to confuse wizards with alchemical talents and prevent them from realizing their surveillance intentions.

Now, all the wizards of the Dreamcatcher Authority are on duty, working diligently to analyze information about the hotel area where the WAC and the Federation are located, as well as information about the vicinity of this mansion.

Apart from the sewers, even a single mosquito flying through these two places wouldn't escape the dreamcatcher's net.

"So far, there hasn't been any unusual activity from the WAC and the Federation at the hotel. Any slight magical fluctuations are just everyday magic like cleansing spells... Could it be that they really haven't received any information?"

Donald frowned and reviewed the intelligence again. He suddenly noticed a name that had never appeared on the parchment: "Vaughn Weasley is not here?"

Upon hearing this, Jacob, who looked somewhat anxious, stood beside him and replied, "He was carrying a briefcase that had been enchanted with a 'Seamless Stretch' spell. Michael had been inside it before; it was his testing ground. Since arriving in America, he hasn't left that briefcase. WAC explained that he was busy with potion experiments, but Michael didn't believe it."

"I don't believe it either," Donald scoffed. "This performance only proves that he most likely has alchemical talent, and not just any alchemy, but the ability to clearly sense the movement of the Dreamcatcher... Why do such geniuses always appear in England? Dumbledore isn't even dead yet, and here comes another one. What's even more troublesome is that he's also a Potions Master!"

Dumbledore doesn't know any potions!

Jacob shrugged: "When I was in school, I heard that prophet from the Wilkinson family say that fate was once again favoring England, and perhaps it would be him?"

"That prophecy was about Potter and Voldemort... oh, Voldemort, I almost forgot about him..."

Without a doubt, Voldemort was a genius and a legendary wizard.

Donald felt increasingly aggrieved by fate, and the only thing that comforted him was that Voldemort seemed to be mentally unstable.

More than a decade ago, the whole world feared that the legendary Dark Lord would set foot in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

However, he never left England until his defeat and death.

This is truly true love!

Even now, many international tabloids are still enthusiastically speculating about why the Dark Lord is so devoted to those three islands. A few years ago, some newspapers even dug up the fact that Dumbledore made a blood pact with Grindelwald, trying to steer Voldemort's emotional inclinations in some strange direction.

Unfortunately, under pressure from the federation, the tabloid in France soon stopped updating their "tumultuous" story.

Lost in his own thoughts, Donald continued to focus on the parchment in his hands.

At this point, the searches conducted by Team 1 and Team 2 finally yielded results.

An Auror approached, a stack of dozens of documents marked "Confidential" floating beside him: "Deputy Minister, Captain Jacob, these are all the confidential documents we found."

"Thank you for your hard work, Tom."

Jacob took the documents, quickly flipped through them, and finally pulled out one of them, letting out a soft sigh of relief: "This is it... Heh, that Muggle is quite honest. Judging from the emblem, it's a budget approval document signed by the Muggle Congress. It records our experimental projects with the Muggles, the size and address of the laboratory, as well as the asset and results assessment."

"No wonder Michael's so nervous; if this gets leaked, we'll be infamous all over the world!"

With a sigh, Jacob handed the document to Donald, and as Donald looked at it, Jacob asked, "Should we destroy it immediately?"

"Wait a minute, there's also that Muggle, his memories need to be remembered too..."

As they were talking, Donald suddenly stopped.

Jacob also looked out the window.

Concealed by the magical illusion, the windows, from which no light or sound could penetrate, revealed a small glimpse of a car slowly approaching along the streetlight-lit road.

Donald and Jacob exchanged a glance.

Snapped!

He snapped his fingers, plunging the cabin into darkness. He rose and, along with Jacob and the other rigorously trained Aurors in the cabin, silently disappeared into the shadows.

Nymphadora Tonks was in high spirits all afternoon.

She proved her ability by uncovering a crucial clue when Lupin and Kingsley were at their wits' end.

The intense sense of accomplishment even made her temporarily tolerate the verbal harassment from the middle-aged Muggle beside her along the way.

Of course, patience doesn't mean indulgence. Once she gets the documents, she'll make that lecher know what the consequences are!

And this goal will be achieved soon; all he needs to do is open the door and she just needs to walk in!

Then, she was taken hostage...

What would it be like to walk into a room, turn on the lights, and see dozens of wizards emerge from the shadows, pointing their wands at you?

Tonks didn't know what it was like for others, but she was so scared that her legs were shaking, and she wisely raised her hands.

In contrast, the ignorant William was rather clueless. When he saw a group of strangers pointing at him with small sticks, his first reaction was to laugh out loud.

Her second reaction was to hide behind her "dear Miss Tonks" and then loudly order her bodyguards:

"Shoot! Shoot them!"

boom!

It wasn't the sound of gunfire, but the sound of the door closing automatically.

As for the two bodyguards... to Mr. William's astonished gaze, they turned into two cats, squatting on the ground with blank expressions.

Two feathers fluttered around me—

He swore that just a second ago, those two feathers were shaped like a pistol!

"You...you all..."

"Gag this bastard." Donald glanced at William with annoyance, ignoring the man's panicked struggle as his lips suddenly stuck together. He walked up to Tonks and looked him up and down. "Madam, we are Aurors from the Magical Security Department of the Magical Congress. We hope you will cooperate with us. I can assure you that you will not be harmed."

Tonks blinked and raised her hand a little higher: "I'm cooperating!"

"Not just you, but your companions too."

As he spoke, Donald gestured for her to look out the window. Tonks turned around and saw that the enchanted windowpane clearly and prominently reflected Lupin and Kingsley, who were crouching furtively in the shadows across the street.

"..."

Tonks was speechless and could only manage a weak smile: "Uh, I think there might be some misunderstanding. We had legitimate sex with this Muggle guy..."

Before she could finish making up her lie...

Donald held up the document in his hand: "You want it, don't you?"

"..."

Staring intently at the documents, Tonks' smile faded. After a moment of silence, he finally lowered his hands: "Alright, it seems you guys were faster... I told you long ago, when that greasy Muggle leaked the information to me at the rally this afternoon, we should have arrested him and gotten the documents as soon as possible. But Vaughn wouldn't let us, always saying we should take it slow, take it slow, I..."

"Um?"

Donald, who had been relaxed, suddenly realized something was amiss after hearing Tonks's words.

Beside him, Jacob, who had drawn his wand and was preparing to work with the other Aurors to examine William's memories, also turned around with a surprised expression.

"etc!"

They interrupted Tonks, who was still muttering and complaining, "What do you mean? Vaughn Weasley? He knows the classified documents? And he's letting you take your time?"

Tonks blinked. "Yeah!"

wrong!

Donald and Jacob simultaneously formed the same judgment.

Just as they were about to ask further, the opportunity had already passed.

A sudden burst of intense light erupted on the street outside, reflected in the glass that held the images of Lupin and Kingsley.

The enormous fireball expanded, instantly engulfing the area where the two people were located, and even the surrounding area.

The next instant, a deafening sound and a terrifying shockwave roared over.

The glass shattered instantly!

As the shockwave surged into the house, almost simultaneously, Donald, Jacob, and the other Aurors inside summoned the Ironclad Charm.

The milky-white protective shield protected them.

Only the room was torn to shreds by the sweeping air currents.

But Donald couldn't care less about any of that now. He stared in disbelief at the destroyed street, shrouded in thick smoke, with Jacob's desperate roar echoing in his ears:

"Who! Who acted without orders?"

Jacob grabbed everyone and questioned them loudly, but no one answered; everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Tonks stared blankly in that direction as well. She blinked hard as before, but the cunning was gone, replaced by confusion, as if she couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.

The silent stunned silence lasted for a while before ending with a scream:

"Listen, someone's shouting in the smoke! They're still alive!"

……

"Cough cough—"

Thick smoke billowed amidst the ruins, and Lupin coughed violently, waving his wand to push aside a piece of wall debris that was pressing down on him.

The light emanating from the armored spell surrounding him flickered a few more times before fading away.

He didn't care about any of that and quickly cast a smoky spell on himself. The spell filtered out the thick smoke, and he finally took a long breath.

"Phew, I almost suffocated, though I wasn't killed by the explosion... Kingsley! Are you alright?"

After calling out several times without receiving a response, just as Lu Ping thought something was wrong, a few steps away, a pile of bricks and rubble wriggled a few times, and a black hand emerged.

"Kingsley!" Lupin quickly crawled over, dragged Kingsley out, and cast a bubbling spell on him.

"Cough cough..." Kingsley coughed up blood. He glanced at Lupin, then at Tonks running across the street through the occasional gap in the billowing smoke, and at the Capitol Aurors behind her, who were on guard in all directions. He laughed:

"Mr. Weasley was right. There really is a third party trying to manipulate us, incite conflict, and start a war!"

"Yes..." Lupin lay wearily beside him, hearing screams and cries mixed with the whistling of spells tearing through the air from many hidden corners near and far.

"They finally couldn't hold back anymore!"

(End of this chapter)