Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 284 The Purebloods Who Drove Through Yellow Mud

John Mill, the mastermind behind the conspiracy to split C, was confirmed to have died in retaliation after attacking a memory eraser during interrogation.

'

...and he's dead!

François struggled to control his expression; this outcome was inevitable when Mr. Weasley decided to close the net and sent him out as bait.

He wasn't sure if Mr. Weasley was silencing him or if something else was involved.

He only knew that he felt both sad and fortunate.

Remember our website domain name – it's super convenient! (e.g., .????.)

It is heartbreaking that the ultimate fate of someone you know is merely a trivial headline in a newspaper.

I'm also glad that he wasn't the one who ended up like that.

"Rest in peace, John."

In my next life, I hope I stay away from the great Mr. Weasley!

François glanced at the title one last time, feigned disinterest, and turned to the next page.

François, constrained by his circumstances, dared not express concern about John Mill's death.

But many people on the island of England don't have this concern.

"He was definitely silenced!"

At night, after a day of slacking off, Arthur Weasley, unusually, didn't go home immediately after work. Instead, he carried a stack of documents and pretended to be busy as he wandered around the various floors and departments.

While the Ministry of Magic has many leisurely departments, such as the Office of the Prohibition of the Misuse of Muggle Items where Arthur Weasley works, it manages and monitors tens of thousands of wizards and all Muggles within the country, making many other departments quite busy.

Take the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters as examples. Many employees don't even have time to go out for dinner. Like Muggle corporate slaves, they hold their boxed lunches and hide in twos and threes at their workstations or in the corners of corridors and stairwells, dawdling over their cold food and sneaking around during their hard-won social time.

The sentence above was a comment made by several employees who were gathered around reading newspapers as Arthur Weasley passed the corner on the third floor.

"Who silenced him? Didn't the newspapers say he attacked Fleming, and Fleming accidentally shot himself while retaliating—"

Before the employee could finish retorting, another scoffed, "You actually believe the nonsense in the newspapers? Fleming has worked in the Memory Deletion Command for almost 30 years, playing with memory magic for half his life. How could he possibly bring a defenseless wizard back to his senses? Do you think that werewolf wizard is Scrimgeour or Alastor Moody?"

"That makes sense—so someone bribed Fleming to get rid of John Mill."

The speaker ran his fingers along his neck, his expression a mixture of mystery and curiosity: "Who do you think it could be? Who could possibly make Fleming risk something like this?"

The person who first thought John Mill had been silenced sighed with a complicated expression: "Who else could it be? Those people on the list submitted by Vaughn Weasley. There are quite a few wealthy and powerful families on that list. Only they can afford to pay the price."

Another person held a different opinion: "Perhaps it's our respected Minister? The Memory Deletion Command Center belongs to the Department of Magical Accidents and Disasters. Doesn't the Minister always boast that it's his base, his old subordinates?"

"Ha, his so-called old subordinates will certainly listen to him normally, but in front of truly powerful people, even the fat man himself is just a yes-man, let alone those who follow him."

"There should be plenty of entertainment upstairs now," one person chuckled. "I heard that the Grand Tribunal has been arguing all day, still debating whether the list is accurate. And then, the witness who gave the list died. What do you think those gentlemen will do?"

Yes, what will happen then?

Arthur looked worried. The reason he wasn't in a hurry to go home was that he had noticed the news of John Mill's death while drinking tea and reading the newspaper before leaving get off work.

Like the other employees, he also suspected that John Mill had been silenced, and was therefore particularly worried about Vaughn.

He was born into a pure-blood family and had spent half his life fighting against those old and corrupt pure-blood ideas. He was even kicked out of the family for it. He knew better than anyone how stubborn and obstinate the old guys in power were.

This morning, he learned from the newspaper that Vaughn had a list of people plotting to split C, so he started asking around.

Finally, around noon, they managed to find out the specific list information—although Amelia had repeatedly emphasized that it was not allowed to be disclosed to the outside world, the lax Wizengamo was like a sieve, with no sense of secrecy whatsoever. Not long after the lunch break, he had leaked everything.

The moment Arthur received the detailed list, his heart leaped into his throat.

Although he knew his son was shrewd and not reckless, he still felt uneasy for Vaughn when he saw so many well-known families listed on the list.

His concerns proved to be correct.

The old guys acted very decisively. Whether it was to cover it up or muddy the waters, in any case, witness John Mill was dead, the list became a mystery, so what about Vaughn, who submitted the list?

Unfortunately, although Arthur works in the Office for the Prohibition of the Abuse of Muggle Items, which is under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and is located on the second floor of the Ministry of Magic, he is neither a member of Wizengamor nor an Auror, and therefore cannot approach the Great Inquisition.

Even spying or passing on messages is forbidden.

He could only wander around aimlessly, hoping to learn about his son or a few words from the conference.

After wandering around the third and second floors for a while, Arthur still couldn't find out Vaughn's whereabouts. However, he overheard two Aurors talking in the restroom that the Great Inquisition was temporarily adjourned again.

The impact of John Mill's death was more severe than outsiders had guessed.

Throughout the afternoon, before the evening recess, eight brawls broke out in the Great Inquisition. A group of elderly wizards, some in their seventies and eighties, exchanged blows. If Amelia hadn't foreseen the heated exchange of opinions and taken away everyone's wands beforehand, and activated the ancient interference ritual, the Great Inquisition might have been filled with spells long ago.

Even so, the eight brawls resulted in 16 elderly wizards being rushed to St. Mungo's with broken fingers, noses, or ribs.

Interestingly, all the fights occurred between families listed on the list.

The Roll, Nott, Avery, and McMillan families accused the Carroll, Foley, Flint, Yaxley, and Selwyn families of harboring malicious intentions and trying to drag everyone down with them. In turn, they accused the Roll families of making false accusations and framing others, claiming that almost all of the 16 injured were members of these families.

Arthur also overheard from the two Aurors that after the recess, Russell Lestrange had summoned all the purebloods of Wizengamor and was holding a private meeting next to the Grand Inquisition, seemingly to coordinate the current conflict and dispel suspicions.

Arthur curled his lip: "Coordination? It's that same old feigned innocence act again. Who would believe that? It's more like collusion!"

.

Meanwhile, in the small conference room next to the Grand Tribunal, a loud voice boomed out the same words Arthur was internally complaining: "What kind of coordination is this? The list was leaked at noon because of some idiots. Now everyone outside is saying that the purebloods killed John Mill, that they're silencing him!"

The male wizard who spoke was about 50 years old, his pale face flushed red, and he glared angrily at Carlo, Yaxley and the others opposite him: "What do you think we're angry about? We're angry that someone among you wants to drag everyone down with us!"

'

"Avery—"

""

"No need for persuasion, Russell. Just like those people outside don't care whether there are innocent purebloods on the list, they only know that purebloods are silencing witnesses. I don't care which of those idiots on the other side is involved either. I'm putting my words here today, you'd better give me an explanation, otherwise, don't blame me for turning hostile. Although the Avery family is weak, it has never had a tradition of taking the blame since 700 years ago!"

Looking at Avery, whose eyes were bloodshot and who had no sense of humor, and on the other side, the Caro, Yaxley and other family members, who also looked extremely wronged with their eyes wide open, I could see the same look on their faces.

Russell Lestrange felt a headache coming on.

The impact of Vaughn Weasley's list far exceeded his expectations.

In fact, when he first saw the list in the morning, he didn't pay much attention to it because it looked too fake. The list included more than 50 surnames, almost all of which were pure-blooded and more than half of which were wizarding families and social celebrities.

This is simply impossible.

It's not that there aren't many people who covet C.

To be honest, ever since Vaughn Weasley brought the werewolves under his wing, every pure-blood and wizarding family in England has been envious.

Even Russell once considered trying to see if he could share some of the power.

Before he could even put his idea into action, Cornelius Fudge couldn't wait to make his move, only to be outmaneuvered and humiliated by Vaughn Weasley.

This not only provided amusement for everyone during their leisure time, but also made the whole of England realize that the newly crowned Potions Master Vaughn Weasley, though young, had a strong personality and was not someone who could be easily fooled or manipulated.

Not to mention that the other side also had Dumbledore's full support.

Since then, everyone's restless thoughts have been suppressed, and they are preparing to wait and see, or rather, wait for another warrior to appear.

Purebloods always pride themselves on being clever and cautious, but in reality they are selfish and self-serving. Several families may even negotiate to advance and retreat together and share power equally.

But if the number is a little too big, say more than ten families, then they will all shrink back and wait to see which fool will be the first to step forward, and then get caught and beaten up by Vaughn Weasley and Dumbledore.

What convinced Russell most that the list was inaccurate was that two months earlier, he had received a letter saying that they were going to take action against C and asking if he was interested in participating.

Russell was certainly interested, but unfortunately the declining Lestrange family lacked the power to support his idea.

After declining the invitation, Russell investigated other families. He didn't know about those that were too distant, but at least the Rohr and Rozier families, both from France, had explicitly refused.

So when Russell saw Roll and Rozier on the list, he knew it was fabricated.

He thought Vaughn Weasley produced this list simply because he was furious at not catching the mastermind behind it all, and was just making it up to vent his anger.

Merlin only then realized how shocked he had been when Rufus Scrimgeour suddenly stopped the argument in the Grand Tribunal that afternoon and announced with a dark face that listed witness John Mill had "unfortunately been killed in the counterattack."

Let alone public opinion.

Even as a pureblood, when he heard this terrible news, he subconsciously glanced at the list of pureblood families in Wizengamori, wanting to see who was so insane.

Isn't this adding fuel to the fire and actively reinforcing the chain of suspicion?

When he saw the other Wizengamo members making similar gestures and looking at him, as well as the suddenly grim expressions on the faces of the family representatives, such as Rohr, Rozier, and Avery, his heart skipped a beat.

And then, just as he had feared, things turned out.

Believing themselves innocent and not wanting to be smeared, Roel, Rozier, and Avery immediately launched an attack, directly targeting their respective suspects.

The suspected family was not to be outdone, protesting their innocence while launching a counterattack.

The question of whether the list was genuine or not, which had been the subject of much debate, suddenly disappeared from everyone's attention.

Because everyone knows that with John Mill's death, even if the list is fake, it will be believed to be real by public opinion.

Just like an Eastern proverb Russell once heard: "If you get mud on your crotch, even if it's not shit, it'll still look like shit!"

The words are a bit crude, but they are perfectly suited to describe our current predicament.

Lost in thought, Avery heard the commotion again and rolled up his sleeves, seemingly preparing for another full-blown brawl.

This time Russell didn't step in to stop them. They probably knew they couldn't stop them; under the current circumstances, internal strife among purebloods wasn't a good option.

However, there are also conflicts between pure-blood families, some of which can be described as blood feuds. In addition, no one can tell which of these people who are making trouble and complaining are truly innocent and which are pretending to be innocent to take advantage of the situation.

Instead of trying to figure things out, compromise, and discuss countermeasures, sacrificing your own interests for the greater good, it's better to first label the enemy and hurl insults at them.

I don't know if others are happy or not, but I'm definitely happy!

As Russell was pondering this, he felt someone touch him. Turning his head, he saw a representative of the Shafik family winking at him.

Ok?

Russell frowned slightly, but still followed Shafik out of the conference room and into the corridor. As soon as they closed the door, Shafik whispered, "Russell, things aren't looking good."

'

'

That goes without saying!

Russell resisted the urge to roll his eyes and was about to speak when he heard Shafik continue to sigh, "You read the evening supplement, didn't you? To be honest, the detailed information in the report was leaked by me."

Huh?

Noticing his surprised expression, Shafik said with a worried look, "I have no choice. Wisengam is always leaking information like a sieve. Even if I don't say anything, others will. Since that's the case, I might as well do it myself—do you understand what I mean?"

"—What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice? The evening paper reported that the list was published!" Shafik said anxiously. "I did that on purpose!"

"you----"

Russell was about to question them when he suddenly realized, "You want to cut ties?"

"Of course!" Shafik nodded repeatedly. "The Shafik family is not on the list, and this matter has nothing to do with us. But look, even though I leaked the information, every word in the report does not mention purebloods, but every sentence refers to purebloods. If we don't publish the list to separate them, those ignorant people will not care who the purebloods are referring to. They will only think that all purebloods have a share."

"Who can stand this? We didn't do it, and we're not on the list. Why should we all get scolded? You agree, right?"

"6

"But that's not enough. I have an appointment with Rita Skeeter for an exclusive interview tomorrow to clarify the position of those of us families who aren't on the list—would you like to come along?"

Old man, you're really quick!

Are they really that eager to sell similar products?

Russell muttered to himself, but his expression remained solemn: "You're right, count me in!"

Sigh, although I don't want to sabotage things or cause internal strife, but—Shafik is right, we're not on the list, so why should we all get scolded? We should cut ties quickly and not get dragged into this mess!

The controversy surrounding the list continues to escalate. Lestrange, Shafik, and other pure-blood families have given interviews stating that pure-blood families are also part of the magical world and have an obligation to maintain order, not to resort to conspiracies and undermine peace and unity.

"Splash!"

Harry shook the newspaper, his gaze intently scanning the huge, floating headline on the front page, while unconsciously picking up a fried potato and taking a bite.

"Lesterrange — Shafik —"

After muttering a few words about the two unfamiliar names, Harry asked Ron, who was sitting next to him, "These two companies weren't on the list we released last time, were they?"

Ron was also reading the newspaper to tag along with Neville, since he didn't have any pocket money to subscribe to newspapers, even if it only cost 5 copper knuckles.

"No." Ron, who was browsing the newspaper and drinking pumpkin juice, quickly put down his glass. The thick juice clung to his chin, dangling precariously, which made Neville tremble with fear.

"It's not unusual that 12 out of 28 families didn't participate."

Upon hearing this, Harry sighed, "There are still good people among purebloods!"

Ronnaway: "—

Noticing the gloomy expressions on his two friends' faces, Harry suddenly realized that Weasley and Longbottom were also purebloods.

"Uh, I didn't mean to belittle your family, I just—"

"Alright, my family doesn't care about the pure-blood title anyway." Ron waved his hand, then shook the newspaper, looking at the names of Lestrange and Shafik with a sneer: "But don't think they're any good people just because they're not on the list. More than ten years ago, only the Weasleys, Prewitt, Longbottom, and Crouch explicitly opposed Mystic among the 28 families. The other families, hmph—"

"I've heard my dad say that Shafik is the most fickle person; they side with whoever wins, without any principles or bottom line. As for Lestrange—"

Ron suddenly stopped.

Harry, who was listening intently, asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

As soon as he asked the question, he realized that not only Ron's expression was strange, but Neville on the other side was even more unusual, his usually rosy round face had turned deathly pale.

Even the slow-witted Harry realized that the Lestrange surname might be related to the changes in the Neville family. Thanks to that bastard Malfoy's big mouth, all the students in the Class of '91 knew that Neville's parents seemed to have some kind of mental illness and lived in St. Mungo's for many years.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment.

The heavy atmosphere lasted for a while. Neville, pale-faced and restless, hurriedly said, "I...I'm done eating, Harry. Ron, I'm going back to the dorm."

Then he quickly left.

Only after Neville's figure disappeared into the distance did Harry look at Ron: "His mom and dad—"

Ron nodded: "When we were very young, my parents took us to the Longbottoms. They told us that Neville's parents were driven insane by the Lestrange brothers and Malfoy's aunt Bellatrix Lestrange using the Cruciatus Curse."

Harry took a deep breath, having been attacked by Quirrell with the Killing Curse last semester, and being a complete novice in magic, he had specifically looked into the three Unforgivable Curses.

Although he has never experienced it firsthand, the descriptions still leave a deep impression on him.

After all, anyone who sees a description like "the Crucifixion is like putting you in a frying pan until you're fried to the bone" would feel a chill run down their spine.

"Then why hasn't this Russell Lestrange been arrested?"

"Uh, I don't mean the Lestrange brothers—in fact, those two guys, including Malfoy's aunt, were imprisoned in Azkaban more than ten years ago, and their brains have probably been drained by the Dementors long ago."

"A Dementor?"

Harry realized that even after a year of exposure to the wizarding world, he still seemed incredibly ignorant.

Ron was about to explain when a gust of wind swept past him, and he plopped down in Neville's spot.

It's Hermione.

The little girl seemed to have just come from the library, carrying a stack of books and panting heavily. When she slammed the books down on the table, Ron swore he saw the spoons bounce.

"Merlin, what kind of species are you? Don't you need to rest?"

Ron grumbled as he glanced at the cover of the book Hermione had borrowed: "Advanced Potions Making, first edition, second edition, third edition—you brought the whole library collection? And if I remember correctly, these are topics you'd only encounter in 5th or 6th grade, right?"

Hermione, wiping sweat from her brow with her sleeve, glanced at him without saying a word, but the meaning in her eyes was clear: You actually know this too?

Ron retorted, embarrassed and annoyed, "I'm not Harry! I read Bill's books when they were in school!"

"?"

'

Harry, who was inexplicably OE, quickly got to the point, "Hermione, why did you borrow so many books on potions?"

Has Snape assigned any homework that's too difficult lately?

"It's not because of Professor Snape; this is my own plan for self-improvement."

"—What's being improved?"

"I need to improve my Potions skills!" Hermione said.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both feeling a little confused. Ron even spread the newspaper out in front of Hermione.

Hermione glanced at it: "I've already seen it in the library."

"Aren't you going to say something?" Ron looked incredulous. In his memory, Hermione was practically Vaughn's shadow, the ultimate brainwashed fan.

She would read any news about Vaughn in the newspaper several times over, and would even cut out and collect some of the more important ones, as if she were a psychopath!

Not to mention that in recent reports, Vaughn and C have been portrayed as victims. Yesterday, she was still criticizing the family on her list, so why has she suddenly changed her tune today?

"What do you want to say?" Hermione asked calmly. "They're all trivial matters. Vaughn will handle them. Instead of wasting energy, let's focus on something more valuable."