bacchusnovels Chapter 438 Strike First
Chapter 438 Strike First
Chapter 438 Strike First
Meanwhile, the office of the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was also bustling with activity, so much so that Belvina felt her scalp tingle.
The Auror's Chief of Staff, Scrinker, the batter, Griffiths, and the legal team leader, Field—almost all of the firm's top officials were present.
However, these people weren't there to cause trouble; they were there to get advice from Belvina.
After all, Belvina is the director and the backbone of the department; she's the one who caused this huge mess today.
The chain reaction caused by Yaxley's arrest was something Belvina hadn't anticipated. She had thought things would escalate gradually, but she never expected them to explode all at once.
Now, the department staff are indignant, and some radicals are even calling for a reopening of the investigation to bring all those who escaped justice back then to justice.
From the perspective of fighting Voldemort, this is a good thing.
The staff were united in their hatred of the Death Eaters' evil deeds and had zero tolerance for the cover-ups by some officials.
Either erupt in silence or die in silence. The lower and middle-level staff of the Ministry chose to erupt, and their eruption will determine the lower limit of the Ministry of Magic in wartime.
With popular support and manpower readily available, the Ministry of Magic, this political and war machine, began to operate in an unexpected way.
From the perspective of the higher-ups in the Ministry of Magic, this is a bad thing.
Yaxley's existence once again exposed the incompetence and corruption of the Ministry of Magic's higher-ups, and once again trampled the Ministry's credibility into the dust.
More than a year ago, Sirius Black was exonerated, and Barty Crouch, who was in charge of the case, announced his resignation. This time, who should bear the main responsibility?
Pulling out a radish brings out the mud; it's one thing for retired officials to lose their reputation in their later years, but what if serving officials are implicated?
From Belvina's personal perspective, this matter is neither good nor bad.
On the positive side, Belvina's personal prestige rose rapidly, while other high-ranking officials faced crises, she remained as steady as a rock.
On the downside, if this matter cannot be resolved properly, the Ministry of Magic may face serious consequences, and the situation will become even more difficult.
That's why Belvina felt a chill run down her spine. She was willing to pay any price to win the war, but if possible, she hoped the cost could be minimized.
"Miss Black, should we continue to keep an eye on those people?" asked Oswaldo Field, the captain of the law enforcement team.
Just hours earlier, Belvina had ordered the law enforcement team to closely monitor Malfoy and his associates, to arrest them at any opportunity, and even permitted the law enforcement team to fabricate charges against them.
A few hours later, Yaxley's Death Eater identity was revealed, triggering a series of chain reactions that would draw Malfoy and others into the vortex, making it seem like the law enforcement team wouldn't need to fabricate charges anymore.
"Of course we should keep an eye on it!" Belvina sat up straight, her hands clasped under her chin, giving off an air of deep cunning and confidence.
She continued, "Not only do we need to keep a close watch on them, but we also need to be prepared to arrest them at any time. If they escape, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves."
Once the department reopens the investigation, they will inevitably summon Malfoy and the others. If they dare to accept the summons, Belvina will cut off her head and give it to them to kick around!
Besides refusing to be summoned, Malfoy and his men are likely to flee ahead of time after learning of Yaxley's arrest. We must find a way to stall them and capture as many as we can.
"Oswaldo, go find Arthur immediately and have him search Malfoy and the others under the pretext of searching for illegal items!" Belvina said to Oswaldo Field, the captain of the law enforcement team.
Then, Belvina looked at the batter David Griffiths and said, "David, take your men to the Department of Magical Creatures Control immediately and take Walton McNeil into custody."
As she spoke, Belvina took out parchment and a quill pen and quickly signed the two orders.
She gave the orders to Field and Griffith, then said, "You two take control of the people first. I will take full responsibility for any problems that arise."
Griffiths and Field received the order and, without hesitation, walked straight out of the director's office.
"Gemma, come in!" Belvina called out.
The young female assistant, Gemma Farley, walked into the office and stood in the doorway awaiting orders.
"Go to the interrogation room right now and tell Pierce Walton McNeil's name. He knows what to do."
Gemma Farley obeyed and left without hesitation or question.
"You're faking it," Scrimgeour said. "I just went to the interrogation room, and Pierce didn't get anything out of him."
At this moment, only Scrinker and Gadwin remained in the office.
“In times of emergency, Rufus,” Belvina said. “McNeil has been prosecuted before and was close to Yaxley, so I have reason to suspect him.”
Belvina didn't tell the truth; it wasn't that she had reason to doubt, but that she was certain McNeil was a Death Eater.
"I'm not against what you're doing," Scrimgeour said. "What I want to tell you is that the Ministry of Magic's reputation is in grave danger and cannot withstand any further blows."
Scrimgeour felt that Belvina was being too aggressive; she was too eager to capture people.
"Crisis leads to change, and change brings opportunity, Rufus." Belvina resumed her pose with her hands supporting her chin, looking shrewd and calculating.
She continued, "Furthermore, does the Ministry of Magic still have any room for further decline?"
Rufus Scrimgeour was nearly choked to death by one sentence. He valued the reputation of the Ministry of Magic highly, but the Ministry's reputation was declining again and again.
Now, the Ministry of Magic's reputation, while not yet at rock bottom, is pretty much there.
"Why don't we take advantage of this crisis to sweep away the old problems, break down the old and establish the new, and show the public a completely new look?" Belvina continued.
Scrimgeour was once again shocked by Belvina's audacity.
"Do you know what the consequences of doing this will be?" Scrimgeour said seriously. "Even if you and Amelia want to reform, the Ministry of Magic will have to be able to withstand it."
Rufus Scrimgeour's concerns were not unfounded; the Ministry of Magic, beset by internal and external troubles, might not be able to weather this crisis.
Scrimgeour continued, "The Ministry of Magic, however bad, is better than no Ministry of Magic at all. If the Ministry of Magic were to be destroyed, who would fight against Voldemort?"
"Are we just going to let those who escaped from the net back then continue to roam free?" Belvina retorted. "If we let them continue causing trouble, the Ministry of Magic will be infiltrated again!"
Scrimgeour was speechless. Malfoy and his associates had been exerting influence on the Ministry of Magic; they had been infiltrating it.
"Imagine you wake up one morning and suddenly find a group of people standing beside your bed, all pointing their wands at you—" Belvina said. "Wouldn't you be scared?"
Scrimgeour wanted to say that this was alarmist, but he opened his mouth and couldn't say it.
More than a decade ago, Malfoy and his companions escaped because, firstly, the Death Eaters had used the Imperius Curse to control many people, and secondly, the Ministry of Magic was incompetent and unable to identify the Imperius Curse.
If the Death Eaters repeat their old tricks and use the Imperishable Curse on a large scale again, it's only a matter of time before the Magic Tribe falls into their hands.
"Strike first, strike while the mysterious man is still in hiding, and clip his wings first," Belvina continued. "The Ministry of Magic can no longer be controlled by pure-blood supremacists."
Scrimgeour remained silent, still stubbornly believing that Belvina's ideas and actions were too radical and risky, and that the Ministry of Magic would be doomed if things went wrong.
Thinking of this, Scrimgeour suddenly raised his head and looked at Belvina in disbelief. He suddenly guessed Belvina's true thoughts.
"You seem to have never cared about the survival of the Ministry of Magic, Black," Scrimgeour said incredulously. "All you want is to win the war against the Mystic."
"If we can't win the war, is there any point in the Ministry of Magic existing?" Belvina retorted. "If we lose, the Ministry of Magic will become a tool of Voldemort's reign of terror. Do you want to see the Ministry of Magic become an accomplice?"
"How could we have won the war without the Ministry of Magic?" Scrimgeour said, as stubborn and unyielding as a rock in a latrine.
"The Ministry of Magic has never defeated Voldemort, yet Voldemort disappeared for thirteen years," Belvina said, emphasizing each word, showing no mercy to Scrimgeour.
Rufus Scrimgeour was speechless again. If it weren't for Harry Potter's sudden emergence, the Ministry of Magic would have been unable to stop Voldemort.
Unable to contain Voldemort's rise or win the war against him, the Ministry of Magic has never seemed to have a dominant position in this wizarding war.
"The Ministry of Magic is a dilapidated building that's barely holding together and could collapse at any moment," Belvina continued. "Since it's going to collapse sooner or later, why don't we demolish it ourselves and rebuild a sturdy new building on the ruins?"
"This is insane. Have you and Amelia gone mad?" Scrimgeour said in a low voice, his lion-like eyes turning blank.
Belvina smiled nonchalantly and said, "Amelia and I are both mentally sound. We just want to win this war, by any means we can think of."
"What if the mysterious man launches a war while you're attacking the Ministry of Magic?" Scrimgeour asked. "Caught in a pincer movement, can you and Amelia hold out? Can the Ministry of Magic withstand it?"
"Albus Dumbledore, he's the only person Voldemort ever feared," Belvina said calmly. "Amelia and I both have complete faith in him."
Upon hearing this, Rufus Scrimgeour's expression changed slightly; like Cornelius Fudge, he did not trust Dumbledore.
"Rufus, the pain is only temporary. As long as the Ministry of Magic weathers this difficult period, we will be able to dominate this war and win the final victory."
Scringer knew perfectly well that Belvina was just making empty promises to him.
"From now on, the Auror office will be on call 24 hours a day," Scrimgeour said as he slowly stood up.
Rufus Scrimgeour walked slowly toward the office door, his steps heavy, a far cry from his usual brisk pace.
It feels like being decisive and efficient.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the new Ministry of Magic that you and Amelia have been talking about."
Rufus Scrimgeour suddenly stopped and turned to Belvina.
For the first time, a relaxed expression appeared on Scrimgeour's weathered face; this was the first time he had ever been so relaxed in front of Belvina.