bacchusnovels Chapter 236 All power, large or small, serves the wizards and the people.
Chapter 236 All power, large or small, serves the wizards and the people.
Chapter 236 All Power, Great or Small, Serves the Wizards and the People (Two Chapters Combined)
The confinement room is located in a secluded corner deep inside the second floor of the Ministry of Magic.
With the doors and windows tightly closed, the sound insulation is excellent, completely isolating the noise from the outside world.
The walls of the room are made of light gray.
Such neutral colors are neither oppressive nor too glaring.
In the center of the room stood a rectangular interrogation table, its surface as smooth as a mirror.
Sean sat in the lonely chair behind the interrogation table, smiling as he looked directly at Scrinker sitting in front of him.
This was the first time Sean had ever been put in solitary confinement.
But he didn't show the panic he should have; instead, he remained calm as if he were the master of this solitary confinement cell.
According to the persona he is supposed to maintain, he should be fearful and panicked.
In fact, he has already tried to do the aforementioned things.
But faced with the absurd and baseless evidence presented by Scrimgeour, he couldn't force himself to look like an idiot. The best he could do was to give Scrimgeour, the Auror's chief of staff, the respect due to him and force himself not to laugh out loud in this solitary confinement room.
He even planned to apply for the remodeling of the solitary confinement cell immediately after his release—to transform it into something like the Swiss Wizarding Prison, where each person would have their own bedroom, study, game room, gym, and bathroom. In such a prison environment, the only thing people would need to worry about would probably be whether they had enough conditioner.
Therefore, it can be concluded that his acting skills need to be further improved, or rather, his emotional immersion is insufficient.
Let's rewind five minutes.
"You mean... that dark wizard said I'm the murderer in this whole series of cases? Are you kidding me, Director Scrimgeour?" Sean shook his head slightly, a hint of helplessness and mockery in his eyes. "He's a dark wizard. Does he think whatever he says is true? You Aurors speak based on facts and evidence."
"Can I really be convicted based solely on an accusation by a dark wizard? That's far too hasty."
Sean paused, then continued, "I have always followed every rule of the Ministry of Magic and diligently performed my duties, yet now I am being framed as the murderer of a series of cases. This joke has gone too far."
"I've already sent people to search your office," Scrimgeour replied calmly.
"A search?" Sean's voice was filled with disbelief. "No, what is there to search about me? Just for that baseless accusation? Scrimgeour, you should know that my office, everything about me, is completely transparent to the Ministry of Magic."
"I have never hidden anything, nor have I ever done anything illegal or disorderly. This search is not only an insult to me, but also a great disrespect for my loyal service over the past two weeks."
"If..." Sean paused abruptly.
"If what?" Scrimgeour asked, somewhat puzzled.
"If you absolutely have to search, could you at least give me a bowl of Zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste)?" Sean looked earnestly at Scrimgeour. "It's not far; there should be some in the nearby Chinatown. I don't know why, but as soon as I heard they were searching my office..."
I always felt that eating noodles with soybean paste would be more appropriate for the occasion.
"After all, the Auror office wouldn't target an innocent, ordinary wizard like me, would they? I'm hungry now."
"Can't I even enjoy a bowl of noodles in peace?" Sean was extremely indignant about this.
"Noodles with soybean paste?"
This was the first time Scrimgeour had ever heard the name of this food.
He gave Sean a deep look, then waved his hand and ordered the wizard on guard duty on the right side of the door in the solitary confinement cell, "Go and buy him a bowl of noodles with soybean paste."
"Yes, Master." The wizard on guard nodded and turned to leave the confinement room.
Sean seemed to have thought of something and called out to the wizard's back, "And ask that boss for two cloves of garlic."
"Thank you, Scrimgeour," Sean said gratefully. Then, he sighed deeply and earnestly advised, "By the way, when you're catching murderers, put yourself in their shoes. Which murderer works at the Ministry of Magic like I do?"
"I'm almost always the first one to arrive at the Ministry of Magic and the last one to leave. If any murderer could work as diligently as I do, then frankly, the ordinary wizarding community would have to set off fireworks to celebrate."
"You've certainly tried your best," Scrimgeour said with a mocking laugh.
"Isn't this how all Ministry of Magic employees work?" Sean remained unmoved by Scrimgeour's attitude, responding calmly as if stating an obvious fact. "Regardless of rank, everyone has their responsibilities, don't they?"
"Oh, really?" A hint of amusement flashed in Scrimgeour's eyes. "But you're not just any ordinary wizard; you're a senior advisor to the Minister for Magic."
"Senior advisor is nothing," Sean scoffed, seemingly unimpressed by the title. "In the Ministry of Magic, one wand can hit a whole bunch of directors and ministers."
After he said that, the atmosphere between the two became somewhat awkward.
Just then, the wizard who had just left returned to the solitary confinement room with a steaming bowl of noodles with soybean paste.
"Here you go, Phillips." The wizard handed the noodles to Sean and then returned to his original position.
Sean took the noodles with soybean paste and took a deep breath.
"Thank you, I'm really hungry." He said as he ate large mouthfuls of noodles with soybean paste.
"But you're different as a senior advisor; you have a lot of power. I've heard people say they offered you the position of Director of the Department of Magical Transportation in exchange, but you wouldn't trade it." Scrimgeour said, leaning forward in front of Sean.
The aroma of the fried noodles inevitably wafted into Scrinker's nostrils.
The rich aroma of the soy sauce intertwined with the wheat fragrance of the noodles, instantly awakening his long-dormant taste buds.
To be honest, he hadn't had a proper rest or a good meal in a long time, all in his efforts to pry information out of that dark wizard.
Seeing Phillips, the suspect, sitting there leisurely eating noodles with soybean paste, he felt a strong sense of imbalance.
However, considering that this bowl of noodles might be Phillips' last lunch before being imprisoned in Azkaban, Scrimgeour felt somewhat relieved.
Upon hearing Scrimgeour's words, Sean's hand holding the fork suddenly stopped. He slowly looked up at Scrimgeour and retorted, "You'd trade the Director of the Department of Magical Transportation for your position as the Chief of the Auror Office?"
Don't ask him why he's eating noodles with a fork; he doesn't want to do it that way either.
The reason is that the Auror just now didn't know that chopsticks were needed to eat noodles with soybean paste, and he didn't bring back disposable chopsticks for him. In his current state, it was even more impossible for him to use Transfiguration to conjure a pair of chopsticks for himself in the interrogation room.
So he found himself in the awkward situation of eating noodles with soybean paste using a fork.
Upon hearing Sean's question, Scrimgeour was momentarily speechless.
That's obvious, of course he wouldn't change it.
Who wants to deal with FiloNet and DoorKey every day?
Seeing Scrimgeour's stunned expression, Sean took a bite of the garlic in his hand and pressed his advantage, saying, "Whether power is great or small, it's all for the service of the wizarding people."
"Whether your position is high or your title is prestigious doesn't mean anything. What really matters is how much you've accomplished and how much change you've brought to the wizarding world."
With that, Sean slammed his fork into the noodles with exasperation. "Just because you have power doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. I'm not talking about you personally, but as the director, your ideological awareness really needs improvement."
As soon as he finished speaking, the wizard who had just gone to buy fried sauce in the corner instinctively wanted to clap.
To be fair, he thought what Phillips just said was much better than Fudge's manifesto when he ran for Minister of Magic.
If Phillips were to run for Minister of Magic someday, I might vote for him.
Of course, this is contingent on him proving his innocence during the trial.
The scene shifts to several Aurors escorting Sean back to his office.
The office was now in complete disarray.
Sean stood to the side, holding his half-eaten bowl of noodles with soybean paste, grumbling sullenly.
"What are your bases for accusing me of suspecting me?"
"To be honest with you, there are many people who are jealous of me in my position."
"I am also a senior advisor to the Minister of Magic, the former acting headmaster and current professor of Hogwarts, a recipient of the Order of Merlin, a second-class member of the Order of the Lords of the Order, a famous bestselling author, and a recipient of several Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award."
"For example, Lockhart, who was recently sent to Azkaban, was one of the people who was jealous of me."
"It's perfectly normal for people to want to see me make a fool of myself."
"You've all seen my situation today. I advise you not to do anything reckless."
"Haven't you all eaten yet?" Sean said, waving his hand. "Go back and eat quickly."
"Phillips, in my opinion, no one can outdo you in making a fool of yourself."
"Anyone who makes a fool of themselves does so because they brought it on themselves."
"Under the instructions of 'Minister Fudge,' in order to avoid embarrassing you, we brought you to this interrogation room today while all the staff on the second floor were in the cafeteria for lunch. We kept an eye on your office from outside the Auror office for over an hour."
"Thank you." Sean continued eating his noodles without looking up.
He always felt that the taste of this bowl of fried noodles was somewhat similar to the familiar taste in his memory.
Perhaps...:: It depends on whether the customer who made the purchase is a self-reliant individual.
The owner in Chinatown made him a bowl of British-style fried noodles with soybean paste.
It seems that anyone or anything will change when it leaves its original country in order to serve the local market.
Even a small bowl of fried noodles with soybean paste is no exception.
Just then, the Auror, who was rummaging through the cabinet, suddenly exclaimed, "I found it!"
"What did you find?" Scrimgeour asked, looking at the Auror.
"I found two books about dark magic," Auror added, flipping through the contents of the books.
"Just two books?" Scrimgeour frowned and asked.
"Just two books," Auror replied again.
Sean sighed. "I mean, Scrimgeour, I used to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Surely we shouldn't have a single book about the Dark Arts?"
"No, no, it's not that bad. You don't have as many black magic books as I do at home," Scrimgeour shook his head.
He then looked at the Auror, "Any other discoveries?"
Several Aurors scattered throughout the office answered in unison, "No."
"Scrimgeour, I think you've made a mistake." Out of habit, Sean was already summarizing the day's events. "You have to be strong yourself to succeed. Minister Fudge entrusted me with such an important task; do you think I could let him down?"
Before Scrinker could speak, Sean answered to himself, "No."
"It is precisely because I have a strong sense of justice that I am often subjected to such malicious slander."
"I've already learned how to do it." Sean burped and then put the bowl of noodles with soybean paste on the table next to him.
By this time, he had eaten every last bit of the noodles with soybean paste in his bowl.
"Could we have made a mistake? Did we really find the Ministry of Magic's Office of Outstanding Employees?"
As Scrimgeour spoke, he made eye contact with Sean, and they both smiled.
To Sean's surprise, Scrimgeour remained completely calm, his face still bearing the confident expression of someone who had everything under control.
Could it be...?
As expected, Scrimgeour spoke up.
"Phillips, could you please take us somewhere next?"
"My home?!" Sean answered instinctively.
"That's right, you're right." Scrimgeour took the arrest warrant handed to him by the Auror next to him, the final payment of which clearly bore Minister Fudge's handwritten signature.
at the same time.
The Minister of Magic's office is located upstairs from Sean's office.
Amelia and Fudge were sitting facing each other, watching.
"Borns, are you absolutely certain that Phillips is the culprit in these cases?" Fudge's eyes were fixed on Amelia, as if seeking a definitive answer.
Amelia took a deep breath. "Minister, the only lead we have now points to Phillips. We've also found relevant witnesses and physical evidence... We can't find anyone else besides him."
Upon hearing this, Fudge frowned, his fingers tapping lightly on the table with a dull thud. "Impactful evidence is certainly important, but you know how much trouble it would cause to directly accuse a senior wizard, especially an influential figure like Phillips. We must proceed cautiously, ensuring that every step is taken with utmost care."
Amelia nodded in understanding. "I understand, Minister. I have assigned my best agents to conduct a thorough investigation, including his background, social circle, and any possible motives. Meanwhile, I am also preparing a detailed report."
List all the evidence and reasoning process in detail to ensure that our actions are well-founded, justified, and unassailable.
"Very good." Fudge seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief. "Remember, we want justice, but we also need to maintain the stability of the wizarding world. Before we take any formal action, I want you to have an interview with Phillips to see if he's willing to turn himself in, or at least provide some useful information. Sometimes, direct dialogue can uncover more of the truth."
"Understood, Minister. I will arrange the interview and make sure the entire process is in accordance with procedure," Amelia replied.
I've already started planning every step I'll take next.
After Amelia left, Fudge picked up the proposal that Amelia had brought him that morning and fell into deep thought. The cover of the proposal clearly displayed the following words:
The UK Wizarding Information Database has granular access controls: "You think my house is a free market where you can come and go as you please?"
Standing in front of the Floo Powder tunnel, Sean rebuked Scrimgeour.
But Scrimgeour simply waved the arrest warrant in his hand and said nothing.
In fact, Sean never hid the fact that his home was on Privet Road.
Or rather, with Aurors watching over Harry, he simply couldn't hide.
However, Sean was not afraid of Scrinker investigating his home.
Bella was already at the factory in Bristol at this time, and her home contained nothing but books in her study and letters from her fans.
Some of his alchemical artifacts were left at Hogwarts and never retrieved because he had to return to Hogwarts for the start of the school year.
Therefore, he did not panic.
Scrimgeour, with Sean by his side, stood in the center of the Auror squad and used Floo Powder to return to his home, which he had been away from for several hours.
Sean never expected that he would be able to return home again just a few hours after leaving home that morning.
If it weren't for Scrinker next to me, this feeling of slacking off at work wouldn't be any better.
Scrimgeour waved his hand, signaling the accompanying Aurors to split up and investigate the house.
He was chatting idly with Sean.
"I heard you've been providing Minister Fouché with a lot of management assistance lately, is that right?"
Sean corrected him, "You can't say that. I'm serving the Minister of Magic."
"Management is a service," Scrimgeour continued, digging deeper into the topic. "So your job is a service job with a lot of power, am I right?"
Sean thought for a moment and nodded.
indeed.
From Jorkins to Savage, every assistant under him, and even the assistant's assistant, belonged to those who had been ostracized by the Ministry of Magic.
After receiving instructions from Sean, they became even more proactive in gathering information about "some" "loopholes" in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, causing considerable trouble for Amelia and Scrimgeour's work.
"By the way, Phillips, could you satisfy my curiosity?" After a moment, Scrimgeour suddenly spoke up.
"you say."
"How did you turn those Squibs into wizards?" Scrimgeour's gaze was fixed on Sean's face, trying to catch a clue from Sean's expression.
Sean was stunned.
He repeated the question incredulously, "Turn a Squib into a wizard?"
He then continued, "What do you mean 'transform'? If I really had the ability to turn Squibs into wizards, I should be the Minister of Magic."
This is the third heartfelt statement Sean made today.
The first two sentences were blurted out when I was ordering noodles with soybean paste and garlic.
Sklin's masterpiece seemed to suddenly realize something, "I was just asking."
Meanwhile, the Aurors in the basement made a new discovery.
As the group hurried from the living room to the basement, they were greeted by several of the shovels that Sean used when brewing potions.
Ravenclaw's study was only sufficient for his needs to simulate recipes, while Shaun chose to conduct the actual practice and experiments in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts and in his own basement.
The Auror took bottle after bottle of potions containing different liquids from the shelf behind the cauldron and brought them to the two of them.
Pointing to the bottles of potions, Scrimgeour asked, "Mr. Phillips, can you tell me what these potions are for?"
Sean's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
He slowly glanced at the potion bottles, then looked up, his gaze meeting Scrimgeour's, and calmly replied, "Of course, I can explain."
"These potions are not for illegal activities; they were made by me during my research and study of potions."
"Each potion has its specific use and effect. For example, this pink one is an aphrodisiac."
Upon hearing Sean's description of the first reagent, Scrimgeour's expression immediately became tense.
As an experienced Auror, he had carried out countless missions and faced all sorts of complex situations, but at this moment, a sense of absurdity arose within him.
Sean introduced the potions with a serious and focused tone, but the content of the potions contrasted with this solemn atmosphere, giving people an inexplicable sense of absurdity.
"This is choke gas," Sean explained, pointing to a seemingly empty bottle. "Once the gas is released, it will choke people as they pass by."
"This is truth serum."
"This is the water of life and death."
"This is..." Sean finally found a potion that seemed relatively normal. If this continued, he even considered sending himself to Azkaban. So he quickly pointed to the blue potion in the bottle and explained, "This is an energy potion. It can be used to..."
"No need for introductions, Phillips. I took Potions at Hogwarts." Scrimgeour interrupted Sean impatiently, looking at him without saying a word, seemingly waiting for a reasonable explanation.
Sean unconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said seriously, "I have always been passionate about Potions, and these potions are the result of my personal study and research. If the Auror Office has any doubts or needs further information,..."
I am willing to cooperate and provide all information and materials.
Although... the names and effects of these potions seem a bit scary.
However, some of their potions were indeed part of the potions that were learned to make or tested in Hogwarts Potions class.
Strictly speaking, the Ministry of Magic does not exercise any control over these dangerous potions.
However, Scrimgeour's expression did not relax much as he listened to Sean's explanation.
He scrutinized the other person carefully, as if judging the truthfulness of their words.
Then he nodded, signaling the Auror to put the potion bottles into the evidence bag he carried with him.
"We will investigate this, Phillips. We hope your explanation is true and that there is no potion inside that could turn a Squib into a wizard, or you will face serious consequences," Scrimgeour said in a cold, hard voice.
Sean nodded indifferently.
All the magic potions he made by hand immediately went into his stomach.
How could they have stayed until now?
However, Sean did not believe that Scrimgeour had begun searching him without any preparation.
In his view, these two searches were merely incidental actions taken by Scrimgeour to hunt rabbits in the grass tower.
He had tried countless times to get information from the dark wizard, but Scrimgeour remained tight-lipped.
He had been waiting for him to draw his sword.
Just as all the Aurors, having searched in vain, gathered together and prepared to leave.
Scrimgeour finally drew his sword.
He stared into Sean's eyes and spoke slowly.
"So, Phillips, can you tell me where your wand is?"
Upon hearing Scrimgeour's words, Sean suddenly remembered the wand that had recently gone missing from his home.
Yeah, where did his wand go?