bacchusnovels Chapter 235 Sean's Arrest
Chapter 235 Sean's Arrest
Chapter 235 Sean's Arrest
"Scrimgeour, what are you doing here?" Sean frowned, his tone displeased.
He disliked such sudden disturbances, especially when Scrinker barged into his office without even knocking.
Scrimgeour seemed oblivious to Sean's displeasure, a cryptic smile playing on his lips. "Phillips, I know you're busy, but I'm here on important business."
"What important thing?" Sean said in an unfriendly tone. "I expect you to explain to me what the important thing has to do with you barging in without even knocking."
Scrimgeour shrugged, seemingly indifferent.
"Phillips, that young wizard, I've found some information that might be of interest to you."
"What information?" Sean's brows furrowed even more.
"We're still investigating, but...we need your cooperation." With that, Scrimgeour suddenly pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sean.
In fact, when Scrinker barged into his office without permission, Sean already had a vague suspicion about this.
When Scrimgeour put on his signature smug smile, the kind he wore when facing criminals, and glanced at his waist every now and then to check if a wand was hidden there, his suspicions were confirmed—Scrimgeour must have discovered something.
As for what Scrimgeour discovered, Sean is not yet sure.
In any case, Scrimgeour's discovery must be related to the young wizard who just came out of the secret chamber.
Sean only has two paths ahead of him.
War and compromise.
To put it another way with high emotional intelligence, the latter is to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.
For Sean, the former had always been within a certain range of consideration.
In other words, from the very first day he entered Hogwarts, he was ready to go to war at any time.
Moreover, as time passed at Hogwarts, his strength underwent a tremendous change, and even the power he possessed increased significantly.
All these changes undoubtedly mean that his chances of winning in potential conflicts have also greatly increased.
Although he is still somewhat inferior to Dumbledore in terms of strength, he now holds a damaged version of Voldemort as a bargaining chip.
After administering drugs to Voldemort and helping him gradually revive, the two joined forces, and even with the most modest words, they could certainly be considered formidable opponents to Dumbledore.
However, if we set aside his humility, Dumbledore might not seem so arrogant after all.
Looking back at the original book, everyone knows how Dumbledore handled Voldemort's resurrection, not to mention that Sean, whose strength was close to the top (T0.5 level), was also there to help him.
What's more, this T0.5 level Sean also possesses a series of strange items from the "cheat device".
Therefore, would Sean be afraid of Dumbledore?
Objectively speaking, he had no fear. If he truly had fear, he wouldn't have engaged in so many overt and covert provocations against Dumbledore after Dumbledore stepped down.
The reason Sean hasn't publicly declared war yet is actually to further increase his chances of winning. For example, if he were to start a war now, his chances of winning would be around 70%.
However, as he teaches at Hogwarts and his own abilities gradually increase, his chances of winning are expected to rise to 75%.
Since there are more reliable methods, such as 80%, 85%, or even as high as 98%, why not use them?
This is the key to his current strategy.
Secondly, the premise of his high win rate is the help of the incomplete version of Voldemort.
Although Voldemort is now bound by the master-servant contract of the system, in summary, Voldemort's strength is not equal to Sean's own strength.
No one can feel more at ease than someone else's strength.
Furthermore, Voldemort's resurrection and recovery take time, which is the third factor.
Adding the fourth factor, besides Dumbledore, there's Grindelwald in this world, and besides Grindelwald... there's Voldemort, who's currently in Albania.
To be precise, Sean's opponents include not only Dumbledore, but also the real Voldemort.
He was confident that he could defeat Dumbledore by teaming up with the damaged Voldemort, but he wasn't confident that he could take down the real Voldemort as well.
Ideally, he would step in after the two have fought to a standstill, reaping the benefits of the conflict.
Therefore, in conclusion, Sean did not want to expose himself at this time.
Moreover, exposing himself so quickly would cause all the reputation and status he had painstakingly built up over the years to vanish.
You should know that these are the things he will need most in the future to rule the Ministry of Magic and even the Muggle world.
It's easy to create, but very difficult to recreate once broken.
A rule that presents itself as a righteous and noble "gentleman" is often more likely to gain people's acceptance and recognition because of its superficial justice and nobility.
Such rulers are adept at using moral pretense to portray themselves as role models in the eyes of the public, so that their actions and policies, even if they conceal ulterior motives or cruel methods, are often tolerated by the masses and even regarded as legitimate and reasonable.
In contrast, those regimes that appear to be ruled by villains are more likely to provoke resistance and discontent due to their obvious evil and brutality.
Therefore, judging from historical and contemporary experience, a ruler who is good at disguising himself as a virtuous gentleman often has a more stable and unshakeable rule than a ruler who openly displays his evil side, doesn't he?
Oh, I'm sorry.
If we include this, then it becomes the fifth factor.
The second summary appeal, revealed at this point, would undoubtedly do more harm than good to Sean's long-term plans.
So... should we remain unchanged in the face of all changes?
This seems to be the more rational course of action.
First, Sean is currently unsure what clues the young wizard provided or what evidence Scrimgeour possesses.
Now that it's been exposed directly, it's like being tricked into revealing it.
It's like in League of Legends, where someone else just throws a small auto-attack, but you end up using Flash.
This is a very foolish thing to do.
Secondly, thanks to his strength and the tools he has, Sean is able to escape when things go wrong.
He has a margin for error.
So, why wouldn't he continue playing a game where he was invincible?
So Sean feigned surprise and angrily shouted at Scrimgeour, "What? What do you mean by this, Scrimgeour?"
Scrimgeour still wore that enigmatic smile, but his eyes had turned unusually cold. "Phillips, I am now formally informing you, in my capacity as the head of the Auror Office, that I need your cooperation with the Auror Office's investigation. If you refuse, the consequences will be dire."
Sean clenched his fists, struggling to suppress his anger and confusion. "Cooperate with the investigation? What did I do that needs to be investigated? You're being unreasonable, Scrimgeour!"
Scrimgeour shook his head slightly, seemingly having anticipated Sean's reaction. "Phillips, don't get agitated. I'm just doing my job; there are some things I need your help to clarify. As for what those things are, you'll find out when we get to the detention room."
"You mean I'm going to solitary confinement? Like Hagrid did before?" Sean looked incredulous. "I'm Minister Fudge's senior advisor, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, Second Class. What right do you have to lock me in solitary confinement?"
Scrimgeour's lips curled into a cold smile as he slowly approached Sean, his voice low and threatening: "With the evidence I have now, it's enough to keep you temporarily deprived until we've investigated thoroughly. Phillips, don't think too highly of yourself. Even if you're Minister Fudge's senior advisor, you're not above the laws of the Ministry of Magic."
Sean "felt" a chill rise from the soles of his feet. He had never imagined he would face such a situation. He tried to remain calm, attempting to find a flaw in Scrimgeour's words: "Evidence? What evidence? You at least need to tell me, what am I suspected of?"
Scrimgeour shook his head, seemingly unwilling to reveal too much: "Once we get to the solitary confinement room, someone will tell you. For now, you have two choices: either you voluntarily return to the Ministry of Magic with me, or I forcibly take you away. Choose, Phillips."
With that, Scrimgeour pulled out his wand again and aimed it at Sean.
At the same time, several Aurors outside the room burst in, one of them showing Sean an arrest warrant personally signed by Amelia Borns, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The moment Sean saw the arrest warrant, it was as if he had been struck by an invisible hammer. All the strength in his body seemed to drain away in that instant, and his eyes immediately became empty. He completely gave up the idea of resisting.
He muttered to himself, "I want to see Minister Fouché, I want to see Minister Fouché..."
However, Scrimgeour just looked at him indifferently, a victor's smile playing on his lips.
He waved his hand, signaling the other Aurors to step forward and take away Sean, who was already powerless to resist.
For Scrimgeour, this victory seemed too easy; he seemed to have already foreseen the outcome of the struggle: