From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

'What are you going over there for?'

Mr. Weasley was a little curious, but he still cooperated and followed along.

-

"Have we spread ourselves too thin?"

Inside a hotel in France, the twins looked at each other, clearly terrified by their own recent experiences.

If we follow the latest invitation, their business has even expanded to other places. The Magic Institute has sent letters inviting them to give lectures and exchanges, and even specially rehearsed a program for them.

The opened greeting card was showing a video praising their behavior.

[...

Four seasons warm める

…]

"Something feels off, and it's actually quite far away..."

"Yes, there's always this inexplicable unease..."

"Should we leave sooner?"

"The awards ceremony is almost over, and some of the donations have already been made—could it be that the news was reported because of the donations?"

The two looked helpless, probably because after donating some supplies, the voices that had accused them of being scammers had disappeared, and now they were so popular that even they were afraid.

"Fortunately, because we've been using compound decoctions to change our appearance, our identities haven't been exposed yet, and according to our investigation, we haven't actually broken any laws..."

"Yeah, it's not illegal, is it..."

"That's right—hmm?"

The twins paused for a moment, then immediately drew their wands and waved them toward the source of the strange sound, preparing to take control of it.

However, with just a sharp pain in their wrists, their wands were disarmed by a disarming charm.

"poison?"

Only then did the two notice the unusually faint smell—because of the medal-making process, their room had always smelled strange, and they only realized something was wrong now that they had been affected.

"No, no, it's just a little bit of a paralyzing potion..."

William sat between the two men, holding their wands, a broad smile on his face.

"professor?"

The twins immediately relaxed—they had thought they were being attacked.

"We weren't vigilant enough..."

William shook his head. "You're really bold. Do you know how I reacted when I practically forced this information out of Karkaroff?"

Before the twins could respond, he unceremoniously poked their stomachs hard with their wands, making them wince in pain.

"You've learned it!"

"How many times have I told you not to try to exploit loopholes in the Ministry of Magic's laws? Have you all forgotten?"

"Arrogant and self-important. It's one thing to cooperate with someone like Karkaroff, but to commit fraud?"

"You think donating the money will solve everything?"

"It's just that things aren't stable at the Magical Congress of the United States. If you plan to do this in Britain, you'll be spending all your time in Azkaban prisons!"

"Do you even know how much money you've embezzled? And how you've been extorting money from those guys who specifically look for loopholes?"

"Accept invitations from various magical worlds?"

"Thinking of using this or that simple method to escape being chased?"

"Do you know how many lurking guys are tempted by the Gallon you've collected? Do you know what double-crossing is? They're not making a move because they can't find you? Foolish! They're fattening up sheep, waiting for you to collect enough Gallon before robbing you too. It'll be faster than your business!"

"Your concealment was inadequate, and your material procurement channels were closely monitored. It was only because you donated a sum of money that you reduced the desires of many people; otherwise, I wouldn't know where to find your corpses!"

"I've seen far more capable people than you at finding loopholes and exploiting weaknesses. Only those who are desperate choose this path. You're practically gambling with your education and future. It's a good thing you knew to use the compound decoction; otherwise, if it had been exposed, you'd never have escaped being despised for the rest of your lives!"

"Look, this is the number of people who have inquired about you on the black market, this is the estimate of the funds you're carrying, this is the estimate of your destination, this is the estimate of your mode of travel! All of this information is readily available on the black market with just a little inquiry! You won't even know how you died!"

He kicked both of them in the buttocks in an annoyed tone, "Get back to school today and clean toilets until you graduate!"

The two were startled by the intelligence report thrown on the table. Their initial resentment had vanished, replaced by a profound fear of the darkness within the magical world…

"What other loopholes are you trying to exploit? Should you try selling the aphrodisiac to students again when you get back to school? Hmm?"

The two bowed their heads. "Professor, we were wrong..."

"Ugh…"

William sighed. "Fine, think it over carefully."

"Um…"

"Alright, I've finished speaking. It's Mr. Weasley's turn."

William shook his head, but what he said startled the twins. They turned their heads with difficulty and found Mr. Weasley carrying the willow branch.

Immediately, the two understood why the paralyzing potion on their bodies hadn't worn off.

However, Mr. Weasley threw the willow branches on the ground—which puzzled the twins and disappointed William.

But the plot quickly took a turn. Just as William was about to leave the room, Mr. Weasley produced a very beautiful brass scalp belt from somewhere.

Even after William closed the door, a series of wailing sounds still emanated from behind the thick door panel…

Chapter 591 I, the Dark Lord, need money.

"That's incredibly audacious..."

In the self-defense office, William, who had taken the two students to the school hospital, briefly explained what had happened, causing Lupin and Moody to both shake their heads.

It's like a joke...

"But honestly, the school rules forbid corporal punishment of students, and you even brought the parents along..."

"Breaking their legs would be better than them going to Azkaban, where they almost lost their lives—did they really think they could spend the money just because they were alive?"

Scammers who make such a big splash are practically asking for trouble...

"Yeah, it's complete nonsense..."

Even the usually mild-mannered Lu Ping was getting angry. His reckless behavior at this critical juncture was truly appalling.

"Their intentions were good, but they underestimated others," William reassured them. "Besides, they didn't come away empty-handed. If they hadn't acted so recklessly, I can't believe this would have happened..."

"Um, what's up? Scam?"

Moody shook his head. The two weren't exactly committing fraud, but they were definitely skirting the line.

"No, no, it has nothing to do with that, but rather with the state of the American magical community."

William's eyes revealed a hint of excitement. "I've already asked Professor McGonagall to write to Dumbledore, and I believe he'll be back soon."

"What is it that's so mysterious?"

"Please allow me to keep this a secret for now."

-

"What exactly happened?"

Dumbledore, who had rushed back to the school, still looked hesitant. "Professor William, what is it that requires us all to be present before we can talk about it?"

The headmaster's office now contains all the professors from the Self-Defense Office and Dumbledore; there is no one else there.

"I see the decline of the Magical Congress of America."

?

Everyone, even Dumbledore, was astonished. If William hadn't always been so reliable, they would have definitely suspected that something had gotten into his head.

“I said, the twins’ outrageous behavior shows me the decline of the Magical Congress of America.”

William, with a hint of joy on his face, announced this major news.

What does it matter?

“It has a lot to do with it,” William finally stopped hiding the smile that appeared on his face when he heard the twins being whipped like tops. “Very much. Their trick was ingenious, but it was by no means sophisticated. There’s no way they could fool a normal Ministry of Magic.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, his first since the Dark Lord seized control of the Magical Congress of America. "I had overestimated the terror of our enemy."

William said, wagging his finger, "I didn't realize how weak those guys were until I caught the twins."

???

The remaining people looked at each other with strange expressions on their faces.

"Let me explain..."

William knew that these people were misled not because they weren't smart enough, but because they weren't familiar with fraudsters and those gray-area crimes. Lupin had always disdained such things, which was why he lived a life of poverty. Moody, on the other hand, had spent his life handling major cases, dealing with at least dark wizards. He couldn't concern himself with such small fry. As for Dumbledore, who would associate him with fraudsters?

“A properly functioning Ministry of Magic would never associate with such a business association. They would never allow anyone to tarnish their reputation under such a name, unless the successor is completely ignorant of this and their subordinates are disloyal to them…”

"Just like the British Ministry of Magic, both strikers and Aurors are indispensable. You can't imagine an Auror knowing anything about smuggling, fraud, or even manufacturing counterfeit products. And these things aren't learned during routine training; they require gradual exposure and passing down from generation to generation."

"Even in the British Ministry of Magic, if you transferred Aurors to do those things, they wouldn't do them well either."

William explained, suppressing a laugh, and Dumbledore's eyes brightened—he simply lacked knowledge in this area, not a sense of intuition.

"So, Professor William, you mean that although they've taken over the Ministry of Magic, they've lost the ability to motivate the strikers?"

“That’s right, those people are deliberately sabotaging them, or they might be sabotaging the strikers—or they might be sabotaging each other. They’ve made too many blood feuds in the previous wars, and that obviously can’t be offset by the establishment of a new Magic Congress.”

William nodded and continued to explain, "Besides, I've always been terrified of the Death Eaters."

He couldn't help but laugh again. "Really, professors, you may have experienced it firsthand, but all my knowledge tells me that they are an organized, idealistic, founder-driven, and goal-oriented evil organization that almost took over the entire British magical world."

"In my understanding, Death Eaters naturally have people capable of handling such trivial matters—a mature organization must be able to manage finances and personnel on a large scale. And then Umbridge...it only intensified my fear; they actually managed to produce so many outstanding individuals..."

“Umbridge is indeed evil, but she can handle political affairs, build an organization on her own, cover up secrets, and carry out operations time and time again without exposing herself. She is truly remarkable. Even now, I still find the Death Eaters terrifying…”

“But,” William pulled out his notebook, which contained a lot of information about the Death Eaters, and casually placed it on the table, “the Death Eaters are almost finished now—they are the most loyal, but even they couldn’t handle a small problem like twins—which proves that the Death Eaters’ talent pool has been almost completely depleted over the years and by our repeated attacks.”

"There may still be a few capable individuals left, but those who can handle government affairs are almost nonexistent—the Ministry of Magic has emptied their coffers, and they can't spare any more manpower."