Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 145 Arrest Warrant

Murphy glanced at the other person.

He remembered the question Laura Kruger had asked him.

She asked if Murphy would mind sharing the power if a way were found to turn ordinary people into wizards.

Murphy's answer at the time was that he didn't know yet, and that he would ask him when such a possibility arose.

Now, that moment has arrived.

"No," Murphy said, "there's no need to stop."

"The authority over magic does not belong to me alone, nor do I have the right to refuse others access to magic. On this path leading to the end of magic, we are all fellow travelers; I have merely taken a few steps ahead."

If his goal is simply to gain dominion, then the more people who possess magic, the less power he will have.

But that wasn't his goal; what he wanted was to reach the pinnacle of magic.

This is not a zero-sum game of competition, but a cooperative path where the more partners you have, the further you can go.

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Director."

Murphy nodded. "Let's get back to the present."

"You just said you were aiming to create potions with wizards in mind, but wizards possess magic and can't be considered ordinary animals; they should be considered magical creatures, right? Could it be that there's been a breakthrough in Magic Magus technology?"

"Actually, there's no real breakthrough," Andrew said, scratching his head. "The difficulty of Magic Magus compared to Higher Magus lies in the fact that when adding magical creature tissue to potions, the magical power in the tissue will disrupt the magical balance in the potion, and may even conflict with the wizard's own magic, leading to more intense mutations."

"Compared to higher Magus, the degree of this mutation is so great that even the guardian deity cannot suppress it, which will greatly increase the probability of the potion developing into a malignant mutation."

"But since this time it's just using the 'aura' of a Muggle to guide the wizard's magic, and there's no magic in the aura of a Muggle, there won't be any conflict. The magic is still the same magic, only the labels and attribute distribution have changed, just like using a mold to shape clay into the shape you want."

Murphy understood. "Okay, how long will it take you to finish this magic potion?"

"Because the process is similar to making Animagus potions, I estimate it will take at least half a month."

"Half a month? Patrick doesn't have that much time..." Murphy thought for a moment, "Could we slow down organ failure and inhibit viral replication by lowering his metabolic rate through petrification and freezing spells, as well as hypothermia and anesthesia?"

After listening to their discussion, the medical experts said, "Yes, it's possible. But given Mr. Patrick's condition, it might only delay things for about two days at most."

Two days is still not enough.

After thinking for a moment, Murphy suddenly asked, "What about real petrification?"

For example, the petrification ability of basilisks; the magical world does have methods to truly petrify living beings.

At worst, once we find a way to treat Patrick, we can restore him with something like mandrake juice.

"It should be feasible."

……

Murphy immediately went to Knockturn Alley, found Lisandro, and told him what he needed.

The latter went out for a while and returned shortly after, saying, "I'm sorry, we're out of petrifying lizard venom. Those creatures are very rare, but their venom isn't very useful. We haven't received any of this material for two or three years."

"If we try to acquire it now, is it possible to find one?"

"It's difficult. This kind of material is hard to store for a long time. Usually, once a wizard gets it, he either uses it himself or resells it quickly. The chances of acquiring it are slim."

Murphy was a little worried. Should he go to Hogwarts and bring back the Basilisk?

"However, I did hear something about petrifying lizards a few months ago. If you'd like, I can inquire about it for you."

"Oh? Go quickly!"

A little while later, Lisandro returned. "I have a customer whose relative is an explorer. He said he saw a petrified lizard last year."

"Where?"

"The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA."

"USA?"

……

"I'm going on a long trip," Murphy said to Laura Kruger. "I'll be back in two days at most. Take good care of the research institute, and if there's any news of Ares, send the Watchers out and make sure they bring the child back."

After arranging the next steps, Murphy took out an empty Coca-Cola bottle.

Apparition has a maximum distance limit, making it difficult to use for intercontinental travel. While international air routes between countries can also facilitate interstate travel, they require numerous procedures and are quite cumbersome.

In contrast, door keys became the most common way for wizards to travel across continents.

Generally, port keys also need to be registered with the Ministry of Magic, but that's just a legal procedure. Murphy was in a hurry at the moment and didn't care about that. He directly asked Lisandro to find a wizard who had been to America to make him a port key that could reach San Francisco.

"Good luck, Director."

"I'm gone."

……

Auror Command Center, Auror Director's Office.

"Director Robazs," Kingsley knocked on the door, and entered when it opened, "I request an immediate arrest warrant for Murphy Darkholm!"

"A...a wanted poster?" Gadwin Robards was fiddling with a small gold statue, a gift from the Murphystos when he took office a few months ago. It was specially carved in Gadwin's own likeness, and he liked it very much, taking it out to play with it from time to time.

"Murphy stormed into St. Mungo's and took away a witness we were monitoring! He's blatantly interfering with the Auror's investigation! Chief, this is the perfect opportunity! We won't be able to find any more dirt on him! We must seize this chance to launch a full investigation!"

"St. Mungo?" Gadwin paused, taken aback. "I thought it was Azkaban. Is taking away a few patients a crime?"

“Those are a bunch of Muggles bitten by werewolves!” Kingsley said. “I suspect some of them have a grudge against Murphy, and they’ve started fighting amongst themselves. But that’s our chance, Master. Those Muggles are connected to evidence of Murphy selling potions to Muggle society, which is why he’s taking them away!”

"He's preparing to destroy evidence!"

"This..." Gadwin looked somewhat troubled. "Sirius is still out there, and there are werewolves too. With so many things to deal with, why are you so fixated on Murphy?"

"Because he is our true enemy. Sirius and the werewolves will only cause temporary trouble, but Murphy, as long as he is at large, we will be in more danger."

“Master, don’t forget, he’s also Mr. Barty Crouch’s enemy,” Kingsley said. “If you don’t intend to deal with him, I will apply directly to Mr. Crouch for an arrest warrant.”

"You..." Gadwin paused for a moment, then his face turned bright red, but he finally said, "Alright, I'll go report to Mr. Crouch."

……

Port of San Francisco, USA.

Murphy appeared next to a dock warehouse.

Looking around, Murphy took out a GPS locator, found his location, and discovered that he hadn't strayed too far from his destination.

He then took out a map, a simple map drawn by the explorer who had seen the petrified lizard.

According to the other party, he found the petrified lizard in a desert valley at the northern edge of the Colorado Canyon. Judging from the location marked, it seems to be a thousand kilometers north of a place called "Ceproial".

A thousand kilometers is just a matter of minutes for Murphy now.

He first put on a titanium alloy helmet.

This thing was specially designed for high-speed flight. At its maximum speed of Mach 3 or higher, if it were to collide with a small bird or something, even with its current physical abilities, it would be difficult to guarantee that it wouldn't get injured.

But with this helmet, there's nothing to fear. Moreover, the helmet will still cover the front of his head and beak when he transforms into crow form, forming a cone-shaped structure to reduce wind resistance and further increase flight speed.

After putting on his helmet, he cast a Muggle Exorcism Charm on himself, followed by a Disillusionment Charm, and then transformed into a plume of black smoke that shot into the sky.

Midway through his journey, he suddenly transformed into a black raven, doubling his speed. With a loud "bang," he created a white shockwave behind him, breaking the sound barrier and disappearing in an instant like lightning.

(End of this chapter)