stonecrandall Page 397
Page 397
Crouch Jr.'s expression instantly turned terrified, as if he had seen something extremely frightening.
He screamed, his voice filled with despair and pleading: "No... Master... Don't abandon me... Mother... What's wrong with you... Mother..."
The Aurors looked on with disgust as they saw a yellowish puddle of water beneath him.
[Fear Spell: 3rd Circle Necromancer, causes all living beings affected by the spell to see terrifying illusions and fall into a state of panic.]
Ciri watched Crouch's miserable state with indifference and scoffed dismissively.
You dare to insult Levin in front of me?
She thought about it fiercely, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
Then several more spells flashed by like lightning. Crouch's limbs lay paralyzed on the grass in an extremely contorted position, his bones shattered into powder under the merciless destruction of the spells.
However, even though Crouch Jr. was powerless to resist, the other six Aurors still gripped their wands tightly, pointing them at him without letting up.
"【Wand Flying In】!"
Even though she was furious because Crouch Jr. had insulted Levin, Ciri remained calm and left no loose ends.
The wand, which had just fallen into the Black Lake, seemed to hear a summons. It flew out of the lake, leaving a trail of water, and landed steadily in her hand. The next moment, the wand broke in the girl's hand, shattering into four pieces.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Magic was also staging a thrilling arrest operation, or more accurately, a thorough purge of hostile forces.
Gianna Proudmoore had been meticulously preparing this plan for a whole year.
Using the fact that Barty Crouch Jr. was still alive and the stadium attack as a pretext, she launched a sudden attack on the Ministry of Magic, using various pieces of evidence she had already collected and prepared to successfully link Barty Crouch and his followers closely to the Death Eaters.
Then, she led the wizards of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Wizengamor to arrest the Ministry of Magic employees who were affiliated with Crouch's cronies.
Accompanying Jaina Proudmoore were the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and wizards from Wizengamor, who were arrested and put on trial one by one on the spot.
Of course, there were those who resisted, such as Jaina's superior, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia Bornes.
Frankly, she was indeed an upright official who did not side with either Crouch or Jaina, but she was also an incompetent one.
After Crouch was transferred from the Department of Enforcement, Amelia served as the head of the Department of Enforcement, but she was always sidelined by Crouch and was essentially a rubber stamp, unable to wield any real power.
After Jaina's rise to power, Amelia was sidelined by Jaina and Crouch. The entire Department of Law Enforcement only knew of Jaina as the deputy director, and no one knew of Amelia as the director.
Now, Amelia Bornes has suddenly become the powerful director, and many of Crouch's cronies, with the leader absent and the Ministry of Magic under lockdown, have gathered in her office to complain about Jaina's abuse of power.
· ········Requesting flowers···· ·········
In their words, they had all become Amelia's most loyal subordinates, and Jaina's actions were undermining Amelia's power—as if the previous fictional world had never existed.
Amelia also seemed to feel she had found an opportunity to seize power, and immediately objected to Jaina's large-scale trial.
Besides her, a small number of Fudge faction members who remained at the Ministry of Magic also joined the protest.
The most typical example is Ulimch, the pink toad who loudly proclaims that he must wait for the Minister of Magic to return before he can be judged.
However, Jaina completely ignored their protests and declared a temporary state of emergency for the Ministry of Magic due to Fudge's attack by Death Eaters, allowing for temporary enforcement measures.
As Jaina brought up Bertha Jorkins as a witness, along with physical evidence gathered through intelligence provided by Percy Weasley and a wealth of other evidence collected over the past year, the protesters' morale plummeted.
When news of Crouch Jr.'s arrest arrived, everyone realized that Crouch was truly doomed.
.... .... 0
So no one stopped Jaina, and the trial was quickly completed, with all of them imprisoned in Azkaban.
In fact, the reason Jaina dared to take such decisive action when the Minister of Magic was absent was entirely due to the unique status and authority of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement, led by Jaina, has always been not only the largest department in the Ministry of Magic of the Underworld, but also a crucial core within the entire Ministry of Magic system.
Apart from the Department of Mysteries, all other departments are required to obey the orders of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Therefore, among all the ministers of the Ministry of Magic throughout history, the majority came from the Department of Law Enforcement, while Fudge's case is relatively rare.
When the minister is absent, the director of the law enforcement department can temporarily assume the minister's functions.
Even with the director being sidelined, she, as the deputy director, was able to perform the work of a minister.
After successfully sending the criminals to prison, the vacant positions provided Jaina with an excellent opportunity.
She cleverly took advantage of Fudge's absence and, by virtue of her authority, promoted her cronies who had infiltrated various departments over the past year to key positions, and quickly completed all the necessary onboarding procedures.
During this operation, the new Aurors assembled at Jaina's behest demonstrated exceptional execution and professionalism.
They quickly sealed off the Ministry of Magic, ensuring no one could enter or leave at will, and demonstrated unwavering resolve in the arrests, showing no mercy even to former colleagues.
Meanwhile, in the Auror's office, Penelope, who was attending a meeting, received mission instructions.
While she was explaining the materials to everyone, she suddenly took out her wand and, under the astonished gazes of the staff, used her superb Transfiguration skills to turn the two panels of the conference room door into one piece, making it impossible for anyone to open.
“Crivart, you’ve gone mad!” Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic, stood up angrily. “Who gave you the right and the guts to run wild in the Auror office?”
However, his anger seemed so powerless.
Because his people had been transferred away from the very beginning.
Apart from a handful of his subordinates, all of his old-school Aurors, and even his clerical staff, were sent by Jaina to maintain order in the Triwizard Tournament and Hogsmeade, citing a shortage of manpower.
Seeing that their leader was angry, the remaining three meager men could only timidly follow Scrimgeour to their feet.
Chapter 438 Karkaroff's Escape
Facing the enraged Scrimgeour, Penelope remained extremely polite, but this only made her seem more like she was sarcastically saying, "Director, please forgive me. You need not worry about the commotion outside; I have not lost my mind. This is an order directly from Deputy Director Gianna Proudmore."
“Deputy Director Jaina’s orders?” Scrimgeour frowned. “Are you kidding me? What orders do you need to do this?”
Penelope's tone remained calm: "Just now, in the Triwizard Tournament arena, more than ten Death Eaters, along with wizards controlled by the Imperius Curse, launched an attack on the audience. The mastermind behind all of this was Barty Crouch Jr., who, with the help of Barty Crouch Sr., faked his own death and successfully escaped from prison."
"Barty Crouch Jr. is still alive? How is that possible?"
Not only Scrimgeour, but all the Aurors present expressed disbelief.
But Penelope said with certainty, "In fact, he is still alive. Fortunately, Captain Ciri has successfully arrested him. Combined with the evidence gathered earlier, he, his father Crouch, and all the Death Eaters hiding in the Ministry of Magic are in deep trouble."
Even after hearing this, Scrimgeour "740" remained unmoved, expressing his position firmly: "As the highest-ranking official in the Auror office, why wasn't I informed of this event? I want to see Minister Fudge."
Penelope gestured with her chin towards the seats in the conference room. "Director, I suggest you rest in the conference room for now. These are critical times. There are people within the Ministry of Magic colluding with Death Eaters, and our colleagues are conducting an intense manhunt. Going out now might risk being accidentally injured."
As she spoke, she gestured for him to sit down: "Director Scrinker, please take a seat."
"You dare order me around?" Scrimgeour's eyes widened as he said angrily, "You are my subordinates and should obey my commands!"
“I’m sorry, Director,” Penelope bowed slightly in apology, “Aurors do indeed obey the orders of the Auror Office, but the Auror Office is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Minister Fudge is currently not in the department, so we must now obey the orders of Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Jaina Proudmoore.”
Whether Scrimgeour flew into a rage or tried to reason with him, Penelope retorted with her gentle, unhurried tone, leaving Penelope sulking alone.
-
While Cirra was capturing Crouch Jr. and Jaina was carrying out a major purge at the Ministry of Magic, Onyxia was also operating in the shadows.
She located Karkaroff using the precise location provided by Gwen, the artificial maid number one.
However, the Durmstrang principal had already left the "lively" Quidditch pitch and was having a heated argument with Snape in a quiet corner.
“I…can’t go see him!” Onyxia noticed that Karkaroff was trembling slightly all over.
On his bare left arm, the Black Demon Mark had now turned a dull, charred black.
This is Voldemort's sign of summoning his Death Eaters back to him.
According to the rules, when this dark signal is delivered, all Death Eaters must immediately Apparate and appear beside him.
“I must…escape…” Karkaroff whispered desperately. “Severus, I still have the same request as last time: let’s escape together, hide under assumed names, and go somewhere far away so we can look after each other.”
Snape was silent for a moment, then shook his head, his voice calm and firm: "You go... I'm staying at Hogwarts."
"Why, why don't you run away? Do you think you're safe hiding here?" Karkaroff asked anxiously. "Dumbledore is old! He can protect you for a while, but not forever! The Dark Lord will kill you sooner or later. There's no need to risk your life for Dumbledore!"
Snape did not answer.
Seeing that his persuasion was ineffective, Karkarov said no more and turned to leave in a hurry.
Snape's dark eyes remained fixed on Karkaroff's departing figure.
He suddenly murmured to himself, "Lily."
Snape's voice carried a deep sense of desolation, and his back appeared somewhat hunched in the dim light. When he turned around again, his face had regained its usual expressionless indifference.
"Human emotions are so complicated," Onyxia murmured, then turned and quietly followed Karkaroff, who was fleeing in panic.
Both Karkaroff and Crouch were trying to escape, but Karkaroff's situation was not as urgent as Crouch's.
After all, Voldemort had just been resurrected and needed time to sort out the relationships among his subordinates. He wouldn't notice Voldemort's disobedience anytime soon, let alone come to hunt him down immediately.
This gave him ample time to prepare for his escape.
Thus, Onyxia witnessed Karkaroff rushing toward Durmstrang's large ship.
He was indeed going to flee, but before leaving, he needed to pack up his valuables; he couldn't just leave empty-handed.
He's been running Durmstrang for so many years, cutting corners on school expenses everywhere, which has led to a significant drop in the skill level of Durmstrang graduates. Isn't it all because he wants to save up more Galleons so he can retire somewhere unfamiliar in the future?
Now, although the principal's term has been forced to end prematurely, he is clearly unwilling to give up the wealth he has painstakingly accumulated before fleeing.
Furthermore, all of Durmstrang's educational funding, from grants from various national magic ministries and donations from students' parents, is now in his hands.
This money is his retirement fund; he can't let it go to someone else.
As for how Durmstrang would continue operating after he absconded with the funds, that was clearly not within his consideration.
"Oh!"
Just as Karkaroff was quickly stuffing the valuables in the room into a box that had been enchanted with a [Spatial Extension Charm], the door was suddenly blasted open by a tremendous force.
"Who?" Karkaroff panicked and raised his wand, almost instinctively casting a spell backward.
Entering the room was a graceful, black-haired woman. She deftly sidestepped the oncoming curse, a deep, enigmatic smile spreading across her face.
"What are you busy with, Karkarov?"
Karkaroff recognized the newcomer immediately, and his attitude softened instantly: "It's Ms. Katlana. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you... I just... I just had some urgent family matters to attend to and needed to return to Norway."
"Are you sure it's as simple as just going home?" Katlana's smile grew even more sinister. "I've heard some interesting news, Igor... Your old master, Voldemort, has been resurrected. You're not in a hurry to pledge your loyalty to him, are you?!"
"Don't mention that name again!" Karkaroff's voice revealed an instinctive fear.
But soon, his fear of the woman in front of him outweighed his fear of Voldemort.
Voldemort is far away, but this woman can capture him immediately.
Considering Ms. Katlana's position in the Ministry of Magic of the Underworld, the Durmstrang headmaster turned ashen-faced.