I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 497 National Power

"National Security Agency?" Hermione asked, momentarily lost in thought.

Then, his eyes widened suddenly. "MI5?"

"It's MI5, it must be them!"

Hermione confirmed, "They were the ones who contacted my parents before, and they talked about a lot of things."

"MI5?" Harry was also taken aback.

Because he seemed to have heard about this British intelligence agency from his uncle, Dursley.

It seems the other party contacted him.

"Wait—" Hermione's eyes flashed, "But—MI5? Why would they contact you?"

"What is MI5?" Ron rubbed his head, looking puzzled.

"Military Intelligence 5 (MI5) is one of the world's most secretive intelligence agencies. Founded in 1909, it has a history of nearly ninety years. It is responsible for protecting national security, countering foreign espionage, terrorism and sabotage, and illegal activities aimed at subverting democratic systems through political, economic, or violent means," Owen said slowly, his eyes fixed intently on the twins. Things had suddenly become interesting.

"A Muggle Auror?" Ron said.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "It's complicated to explain. Just think of them as the elite of the Aurors."

"They've come to us seeking cooperation," the twins said, ignoring their younger brother. "They want to buy our alchemical magical artifacts, similar to the protective gear we sold to the Ministry of Magic."

"That's strange," Ron said. "You guys are doing business with Muggles?"

"We haven't agreed yet!" Fred said.

"But selling magical items to Muggles—that's illegal, isn't it?" Hermione said worriedly.

“Of course it’s illegal,” George said immediately. “But the Secret Service Act is practically dead. You should know that nobody cares about this kind of thing.”

"Tell me about their so-called cooperation," Irving interrupted the discussion.

He cared more about the so-called cooperation with MI5 than about some magical items.

"It's about maintaining long-term business relationships. We become their suppliers or magical advisors," George continued. "The British government is willing to trade gold, or anything that can be traded. Houses, land, factories, and so on. They're even willing to grant us knighthoods."

"Oh! A title?" Ron was inexplicably tempted.

Because the Malfoy family held British titles, and were even viscounts.

Someone from that family once tried to woo Queen Elizabeth. Although he failed, it became something to brag about.

In the past, the Malfoys often brought this up to mock everyone else as lowly people.

However, as the Law of Secrets became more firmly established, the Malfoy family had to begin to distance themselves from the Muggle world, and in order to maintain the nobility of pure-blood wizards, they no longer claimed to have a title.

However, the older generation of the family all knew about this.

The Weasleys, of course, knew this.

"Oh—there are quite a few benefits, aren't there?" Owen smiled slightly, but his eyes revealed a thoughtful look.

"Irving, do you think there's any possibility of this kind of cooperation going ahead?"

"It will definitely happen in a few years," Irving said.

"And now?"

"What? You're so eager to cooperate with the Muggle government?"

"It's not urgent." The twins hesitated for a moment, then George suddenly spoke in a low voice, "I have some inside information."

"As you should know, making magical items requires materials, and of course we have our own supply channels. A few weeks ago, when we placed our order, the wizard told us that some magical materials were sold out and that we would need a month to stock up."

We found it strange at the time, as those materials were just ordinary things, not anything rare or sought-after.

Later, we tried several different channels, but they were all out of stock.

Fred craned his neck and whispered, "According to our investigation, most of the goods went to France."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, frowning slightly.

"If those security officials hadn't come looking for us, George and I wouldn't have thought in that direction."

"but--"

"Do you think it's possible that the French Ministry of Magic, or some magical organization, has reached a cooperation agreement with the French Muggle government?"

"Hmph—a bold idea." Owen raised his eyebrows, acknowledging their guess.

"If this is true, then aren't we already far behind?" Fred said anxiously.

"It's not necessarily backwardness." He pondered for a moment. "We don't have any spies in the government. Nobody knows what the Muggles are up to right now. What if they use these things against wizards? You're aiding the enemy."

"We had the same consideration, so we didn't agree," George said.

"Let's wait and see," Irving said before he could finish.

The door to the Three Broomsticks tavern was suddenly opened.

The person hurried in, using a cloak to shield their neck and chin.

His gaze quickly swept around before settling on the twins.

"Kingsley?" George looked at the newcomer with a puzzled expression.

"You really are here!"

Kingsley lowered his hand, revealing a dark face.

Then, urgently, he asked, "Has anyone among the Muggles contacted you?"

"What's wrong?" George sensed a hint of danger.

"Yes, I did look for it," Fred replied.

"What do they want?" Kingsley then asked.

"Some magical items," Fred explained, "but we couldn't reach an agreement."

"Damn it!" Kingsley cursed upon hearing this, then turned to leave.

"What happened?" Owen called out to him. "You found a magical artifact at 10 Downing Street?"

Upon hearing this, Kingsley suddenly stopped and turned to look at Irving.

"No," he denied, "but other countries..."

As he spoke, he pulled a thick stack of newspapers from his pocket.

It was placed on the table.

"I couldn't persuade him." Then, Kingsley, in a great hurry, didn't linger any longer. "I'm going to find Dumbledore."

He walked straight out of the store.

"this"

Irving picked up the newspaper, glanced at it briefly, and immediately realized that something big was about to happen.

—The Crimes of Wizardry: Judgment Is Today

Daily Mail

"Oh my god!" Hermione exclaimed.

The news on the front page shocked her.

In short, on the European battlefield, an army accidentally captured a black wizard, and various countries planned to put him on a public trial in London.

Many political figures from various countries will gather in London at that time.

This is a blatant declaration of war.

"Is it really going to break out?" Even Harry could see through the red tape and the Muggle government's true intentions.

And—information about the start of war.

"Why would they do that?" Hermione asked, puzzled. "It will only invite Voldemort's revenge!"

"Holding a public trial in London could plunge the entire city into war," Harry quickly added.

"Yes, this is very strange!" Irving put down his newspaper, his brow furrowed. "Very strange. Britain shouldn't have gotten involved. To be honest, although the fighting in Europe has been going on for months, it hasn't affected the British mainland. Besides, even if the Prime Minister had lost his mind and agreed to make London a battlefield, the Cabinet Secretary and the secretaries of various departments would not have agreed."

"This is unreasonable, unreasonable." The boy stared intently at the newspaper, his left hand unconsciously propping up his chin on the table.

Reality is not a fictional story, much less a lighthearted portrayal of the state apparatus as depicted in the original work.

In real life here, the one thing Irving keeps in mind most is: don't treat everyone else like idiots.

Not to mention that the other party is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the former British Empire.

Irving would rather believe Voldemort had lost his mind than believe a national government had lost its mind.

Is it possible?

"They did it on purpose," Owen suddenly said, a sharp glint in his eyes. "They wanted to use this opportunity to wipe out Voldemort and his followers in one fell swoop."

"Catch them all?" Hermione asked in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"Yes! That's the idea!" The boy suddenly stood up and carefully examined the twins.

"What's wrong?" George and Fred felt a chill run down their spines from Owen's stare.

"If everyone thinks that Muggles can't beat Voldemort, then that's exactly what gives them a chance to win."

"Besides discussing business, what else has MI5 done with you? For example, subtly inquiring about the Ministry of Magic? The location of the wizarding community? Discussing Hogwarts or something like that?"

"Um—this—" The twins exchanged a glance, "It was just a very ordinary chat. The other person was very approachable, like a friend."

Of course we're not stupid; we'll tell them the location of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts.

However, the other person did bring up these topics, and we talked about some interesting experiences from the past.

"For example? Tell me exactly what happened!" Irving said with a serious expression.

Faced with Irving's pressure, the Gemini also became nervous.

George quickly recalled his conversation with the mysterious man a few days earlier.

"Hmm—we've said it before—exploring the castle, the portraits move, there are many magical plants and animals in the forest outside the castle, mermaids in the Black Lake that skate on the lake in winter, and—the sailboats in the sea—hmm—the ships of Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"What about the weather? Did you mention the weather?" Irving pressed.

"Of course there is. The man came in complaining to us about the weather in London, saying it was already so cold in October. We laughed at him, saying that the weather in London was nothing compared to the snow at Hogwarts in October."

"."

"Ha—" Owen suddenly sneered, "Two idiots."

"Owen, what did you hear?" Hermione asked hurriedly.

"They didn't encounter ordinary MI5 agents, they encountered elite agents." He sat down again.

"Elite agents?"

"007—" Irving said.

"007?"

"These two have already revealed the exact location of Hogwarts."

"No. We didn't do it at all," George and Fred immediately denied.

"Really?" Owen rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Snow in October is most likely to happen in Scotland among the British Isles."

Of the 32 administrative districts in Scotland, only a handful meet the criteria of being near the sea, surrounded by mountains, forests, and relatively sparsely populated.

Those are the two counties that the Granpin Mountains run through.

Although the Pennines are also located in Scotland, they are mainly situated in the Scottish Highlands, where the latitude is high and there are no extensive forests.

The main body of the Grenfell Mountains is located in Aberdeenshire and Perth-Kinrossshire. The River Thames flows through Perth-Kinrossshire, eastward into the North Sea.

Furthermore, the most likely route for German ships heading towards Hogwarts is through the North Sea.

So—do I need to continue?

"Is it really that hard for them to just study a satellite map of the coast of Beapers-Kinross and deduce the location of Hogwarts?"

"."

Several young wizards gasped in shock.

They knew exactly where Hogwarts was.

If what Irving said is true, it's only a matter of time before Muggles find this place.

"By the way—" Owen then looked at the Gemini, "he didn't give you any gift, did he?"

"."

The two exchanged a glance and remained silent.

"Well—you really did send it, and you even accepted it. Where is it?"

"Here it is," Fred said, pulling an object from his pocket with a troubled expression.

That's a model.

Rocket model.

Perhaps it was his constant boasting about the stars and the sea that made Gemini so interested in this kind of vehicle that flies out of Earth.

That's why they would send something like this.

Irving, his face dark, took the model.

Tap here, look there.

Then, he quickly discovered that the model seemed to have a section at the tail, and it wasn't heartless; the sound was somewhat hollow.

Immediately, he decisively used the cutting spell. A flash of gray light appeared, and the model broke in two.

The hollow section at the tail end was exposed.

"."

Irving stared at the metal device inside the model in his hand, which was flashing red dots.

It was cylindrical, about half a foot long, the size of a fingernail. A broken antenna was located at the top.

The red light comes from the bottom of the antenna.

The blinking is infrequent, occurring only once every ten seconds or so.

Irving quietly looked at the 'little gadget' in his hand.

After a long pause, he suddenly raised his head.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked quickly.

He had a feeling that George and Fred had definitely gotten themselves into big trouble.

"What are you looking at, Owen?" Hermione asked.

"Looking at the satellite above us," the boy said blankly.

"From then on, the roles of offense and defense changed."

"Wizards can no longer rely on hiding to escape the threat of war."

"A satellite?" Hermione stared intently at the "little gadget" in Owen's hand, and quickly realized what it was.

"Is this a—locator?"

"What else could it be?" Owen sighed and lowered his head again.

"Before, the sky above us was clear and blue, but now—there are many more dark clouds."

As the only one present who knew about Muggle military equipment, Hermione naturally understood what Owen meant.

Now the location of Hogwarts has been exposed.

From then on, they were completely exposed to the weapons of the Muggles, especially nuclear weapons.

A terrifying balance was thus achieved.

"The power of the state," the little witch murmured.

For the first time, the government of her own country had some concerns.

Perhaps it's because she's one of them, and knows them too well.

That's why fear arises.

"Sigh—let's go back!" Owen sighed, standing up. The unexpected turn of events had completely extinguished his interest in continuing his journey through Hogsmeade Village. Staying any longer would only worsen the weather.

George and Fred reacted strongly to Owen's sudden abrupt rise, scrambling to their feet and urgently demanding, "Isn't there any way to fix this? You at least have to tell us whether Muggles will attack us. Otherwise—"

"Otherwise what? A guilty conscience?" Owen shook his head. "What's done is done, there's no chance to make amends. As for whether they'll attack us, perhaps—" He glanced at the newspaper on the table, "we'll have the results soon."

"I wonder how the world will change after this?"

After saying that, he pulled up the girl next to him.

He walked out with three brooms, looking worried.

No one expected things to turn out this way!

The magical world has never taken Muggles seriously.

In the minds of most wizards, Muggles are a group of stupid, evil, and emotional creatures who are completely different from them.

Needless to say, pure-blood families don't even consider Muggles as human beings.

This is a rather alarming viewpoint.

Especially when the other side has the weapon to destroy you.

Moreover, they are not stupid.

How could someone who rises from among millions to the top of government decision-making be stupid?

Perhaps none of them were as wise as Dumbledore, but through collective decision-making and brainstorming, the collective wisdom of an individual far surpasses that of an individual.

Judging from the current situation...

Kyrie Irving increasingly has the feeling that they're planning something.

The web woven for the wizard is tightening.

I could feel a tightness in my neck.

Hermione stretched out her thickly gloved hand and tightened the scarf around his neck.

The wind and snow outside continued to rage.

The two of them struggled to walk on the frozen, stiff Snowy, toward Hogwarts.

"Don't worry," the little witch's voice came from her throat, sounding somewhat thick behind the scarf covering her chin.

"I just don't know what I'm worried about." Owen shook his head and lowered his head to prevent the wind and snow from getting into his neck.

"I both hope that the trial in London will be disrupted by the Death Eaters and thrown into chaos, so that the British government will back down and choose to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic, and I have a feeling that they might succeed. And they might achieve an unimaginable victory."

"I don't like this feeling."

"Feel?"

"The feeling that success or failure is not in our own hands." He silently looked up at the sky, the wind and snow instantly covering his eyelashes. "And the feeling that our safety is not in our own hands."

Hermione was silent for a moment, then looked up, gazed at the boy, and squeezed his hand tightly. She whispered, "I hope they succeed, successfully repel the Death Eaters, because that will minimize casualties."

As for our safety—hasn't the world been on the verge of destruction every moment in the past few decades?

We were forced to join one of two camps, no matter how unwilling we were in our hearts.

So—things haven't gotten worse—they've just gotten back to where they were supposed to be.

(End of this chapter)