Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 160 Reform Plan

Murphy removed the invisibility cloak from Barty Crouch Jr.'s body and casually cast a petrification spell on him—the standard version.

Then, he helped Barty Crouch Sr. up, sat him down in a chair, and personally patted the footprints he had left on Crouch's body.

Murphy gave a friendly smile, as if he wasn't the one who had just given the old man a good beating.

"Mr. Barty Crouch, the Ministry of Magic is having a leadership change this year. Would you like to be Minister?"

"What?!"

Old Barty was stunned.

He had expected Murphy to make some humiliating request, but instead, this is what he said.

Why?

Moreover, "How is that possible?"

His reputation has plummeted; he's not even in a position to keep, let alone remain a minister.

Murphy looked down at him. "If I can make you fall, I can also make you climb back up."

"..."

These words came from a young man in his early twenties. If it were anyone else, Old Barty would have scoffed. But having experienced the other man's methods firsthand and been beaten so badly that he had no chance to fight back, he knew that the other man was not exaggerating at all.

Unconsciously, a sense of hope quietly arose in his heart.

Perhaps I really can touch that spot?

"What, what should I do?"

"First, get that damn arrest warrant pulled right now."

"Second, go apologize to me."

"But……"

Old Barty hesitated, not because he was hesitant about whether to withdraw the warrant, since he had already been completely defeated and the warrant would be withdrawn anyway. He had already known this would be the outcome when he grabbed Murphy's leg earlier.

But if you apologize, isn't that admitting you were wrong?

If I admit my mistakes at this point, won't I be condemned by everyone?

Could Murphy just be fooling himself?

"Ha," Murphy rolled his eyes. He knew what the other was thinking without even using his mind control. "Don't you have any idea what your situation is right now?"

"If I wanted to get rid of you, would I need to waste my breath arguing with you here? Do you believe that tomorrow morning, impeachment letters will flood Secretary Millison's mailbox?"

Barty Crouch paused for a moment, then sighed.

Yes, and now if Murphy takes Barty Crouch Jr. away, he'll be on trial tomorrow and have a special lunch from Azkaban the day after.

If Murphy wants to ruin himself, there's really no need to waste any more words arguing with him.

"I understand, I will apologize."

Murphy nodded. "Not only for me, but also to Sirius, the injured Auror, and to you for not handling the werewolf problem properly."

"Okay."

Murphy wasn't intentionally trying to humiliate him. He explained, "The Auror's reputation is beyond saving now. It's time for a complete overhaul. If you stubbornly refuse to admit it now, you'll only be overwhelmed by public opinion."

"However, by stepping forward, attributing the problem to historical problems, and then proposing solutions, there is still hope of salvaging your reputation."

"The core idea is to separate you from the Auror."

In other words, they're pushing someone out as a scapegoat.

"Gardwin Robards is an idiot, let him take all the blame."

Barty Crouch nodded. He had done the same thing during the Nameless Crisis, but this time a scapegoat alone wouldn't be enough.

He raised this question.

Murphy said, "Gardwin Robards is just settling accounts with historical issues, but what people want to see is how to solve the problems. Therefore, you must come up with strong reform plans and actions."

"First, reduce the power of the Aurors," Murphy said. "The Wizarding Wars are over, and the Aurors are no longer necessary. Excessive power will only cause panic. Therefore, reducing the power of the Aurors is imperative."

"Now that there are no Death Eaters outside, where are the Aurors going to find so many dark wizards to arrest? And isn't the law enforcement team always extremely busy and short-staffed?"

"Let the Aurors do some proper law enforcement work, or help with disaster relief, let them interact more with ordinary people, and stop being so arrogant."

What do you think?

Barty Crouch understood that if he gave his approval, the Auror profession might become a mere shell of its former self.

Hunting down dark wizards isn't a job that can be done simply by working nine-to-five. If you're bound by too many rules and regulations, you simply won't be able to deal with those cunning dark wizards.

But doing so might indeed help stabilize public opinion, which would increase his chances of winning.

"I think...it's okay."

Murphy smiled at him. "Very good."

"Second, introduce a monitoring mechanism."

"Unchecked power breeds corruption," Murphy said. "We need to introduce third-party oversight bodies to monitor the work of the Aurors and the law enforcement teams."

Barty Crouch asked, somewhat puzzled, "What are you planning to do?"

"Wizengamor must be completely separated from the Enforcement Division, and then the Watchers should be incorporated into the system as a subordinate enforcement agency of Wizengamor to review the Enforcement Division's performance of its duties."

Barty Crouch paused for a moment, then understood. He looked at the young man before him with awe. "So, who will lead the Watchers?"

"The Watchmen should be an independent, self-governing body, accountable to all wizards in Britain, and its leader should be elected by the Watchmen themselves."

"But as a subordinate agency of Wissengamo, its oversight results will be directly submitted to the Wissengamo Trials, thus ensuring both independence and legitimacy."

They say the Watchers are elected by themselves, but would the Watchers elect anyone other than you?

Even if it's not you, it must be your puppet.

With this organization in place, the Aurors and the Legal Enforcement Division will henceforth belong to the Mexicans.

"Okay, is there anything else?"

If I could become Minister of Magic, what would it matter to me what the name of the Department of Law Enforcement is?

However, what he didn't know was that Murphy didn't intend for the Watchmen's oversight power to stop at the Department of Law Enforcement.

If you can supervise the Legal Enforcement Division, why can't you supervise other departments?

And when the Watchmen are able to oversee all departments and all members of the Ministry of Magic.

The Ministry of Magic will become a horse tethered by the Watchmen.

But in order to accomplish this step, he needs a Minister of Magic to push it through.

Barty Crouch Jr., who had absolute leverage over him, was the most suitable candidate.

"Third, you need to produce some tangible results immediately to prove the effectiveness of the reform plan."

"Coincidentally, I have a list of several Death Eaters here. Arrest them, and I'll make them talk."

As Murphy spoke, he handed over a piece of paper, on which was written: "Caro siblings, Yaxley, Avery..."

These Death Eaters are probably behind the werewolf attack.

If you're going to find someone to attack, why not target your own enemy?

(End of this chapter)