A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 661 A Complete Break with the Past

The night, like thick carbon ink, bathed Farbatton Castle in its darkness.

"Da da da……"

A rapid clatter of high heels pierced the silence of the night as Rita Skeeter, wrapped tightly in her leopard-print fur coat, hurried along.

The weather is cold now, and it's uncomfortable to get out of a warm bed, but the thought of another big news makes his eyes sparkle with barely suppressed excitement.

Just now, a mysterious informant revealed that a bizarre theft occurred at Farbatton Castle not long ago!
This is an exclusive scoop late at night!

The Daily Prophet has been notified and has agreed to re-layout the pages, giving this big news the front page headline.

The lights in front of the castle's massive oak gate were eerily white.

The foyer behind the main gate was brightly lit, with countless Shanghai-style humanoid figures holding weapons and standing ready. Dobby sat in a round, magically powered suit of armor, waiting in ambush.

Rita was terrified by the scene as she entered and hurriedly cried out, "Dobby, don't cast a spell, it's me!"

She was somewhat relieved that she had been writing advertorials for Dancing Grass Restaurant all along, and that she had a good relationship with Dobby; otherwise, she might have been taken advantage of and killed.

Dobby shouted nervously, "Did you lead the thief here?"

Rita immediately said, "I'm here for an interview!"

Dobby looked relieved and said, "Oh, then please wait in the reception room."

Rita didn't go to the reception room. Instead, she took out her notebook and quill and asked Dobby, "Mr. Dobby, what happened in the castle just now?"

To be a journalist, besides being able to ignore the facts and spread rumors, you also need to be able to speak to people in a human way and to speak to devils in a devil's language.

In several interviews, she noted that referring to Dobby as "Mr. Dobby" had a remarkable effect in the short term.

Dobby is rarely addressed as "sir" by outsiders, and he always feels a little dizzy when he is called that.

“Oh, how terrible!” he exclaimed, feigning shock. “There’s a robber who’s been working as a cleaner in the castle since the company opened. Who would have thought he’d steal something and trigger the latest defensive magic?”

"I really didn't expect that; I never noticed it all these years."

Rita's quill pen began to write rapidly and automatically on the notebook.

The criminal had been lying low for years since the business opened; the story was even more fascinating than she had imagined!

Footsteps echoed in the corridor next to the foyer. Moss Jeff, who was in charge of security, looked ashen-faced, followed by several serious-looking wizards dressed as Aurors.

“Mr. Jeff!” Rita immediately stepped forward, her quill poised to strike. “Could you provide some details? I heard the security system in the core area has been activated?”

Jeff turned his head, nodded seriously, and said in a deep voice, "Ms. Skeeter, you are very well-informed."

"The perpetrator sneaked into the core area at night in an attempt to steal, which triggered our newly installed defense system."

"The system has proven to be very useful."

He paused, carefully choosing his words, then pointed behind him and said, "When we and the Aurors arrived at the scene, this was all that was left."

He gestured to the silver tray in the hand of an Auror beside him.

Rita turned her head and saw only a few charred, bone-like fragments on the white silk cushion, the largest no bigger than a fingernail, with unnaturally broken edges.

“This is…” Rita felt nauseous, but her professional instincts compelled her to ask.

“Remains of the perpetrator.” Jeff’s voice was icy cold. “Judging from the location, it mainly consists of fragments of the mandible.”

"The defense system's response was very thorough."

Just then, a series of heavier footsteps sounded, and Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour strode into the room. His scarred face was expressionless, and his lion-like eyes swept across the room before exchanging a brief glance with Jeff.

Immediately afterwards, the fireplace flames next to the foyer turned green, and a figure staggered out.

Charles, having been informed of the incident at Farbatton Castle and with Dumbledore's permission, came directly through the fireplace in the common room using Floo Powder. "Mr. Smith! Minister Scrimgeour!" Rita immediately turned to them, like a shark smelling blood. "Any leads regarding the deceased's identity?"

"He's been lying in wait for a long time; what exactly is his goal?"

Her questions were met only with a polite but firm "no comment" at the moment.

Charles nodded slightly to her, then exchanged a few words in hushed tones with Scrinker and Jeff. Afterward, the group headed straight for the small side meeting room, closing the door behind them without any ceremony.

Feeling humiliated by being excluded, Rita bit her pale lips, which were devoid of lipstick, but she wouldn't give up easily.

She turned away dejectedly, her high heels clicking as she walked out, muttering, "Nothing gained."

Once outside and confirming that no one was watching, she quickly hid in the shadow of the dense elderberry wall, her body beginning to shrink and deform.

In the blink of an eye, an inconspicuous beetle flapped its wings and flew silently toward the castle, alighting on the glass window of the outer wall of the reception room.

The interior view was clearly visible through the gap in the curtains.

Several Aurors were drawing lots, and one unlucky Auror was chosen.

He carefully swept a small bone fragment from the tray into a small crystal glass containing a compound decoction.

The potion boiled violently and changed color upon contact with the fragments, and was eventually drunk by the unfortunate Auror.

Everyone held their breath and concentrated.

Soon, the Auror transformed into the appearance of the skeleton's owner.

Scrimgeour's deep voice rang out: "Confirmed. The reaction of the compound decoction shows that the bone fragments belong to August Lukewood."

Outside the window, the beetle's tiny legs suddenly gripped the window frame.

Rita was a little excited. It was Lukewood, the former Ministry of Magic's Silence, a die-hard Voldemort loyalist!
He was implicated back then.

They exchanged a few more hushed words inside, the content of which was unclear, but it was clearly about this astonishing discovery.

The conversation in the meeting room soon came to an end.

Rita dared not linger and immediately flapped her wings and flew away at full speed, reverting to human form in the distant woods.

She tidied her slightly disheveled hair and clothes before heading to the Daily Prophet office.

In the shadows, a pair of eyes watched all of this.

After Scrimgeour and the Aurors left, Charles went to his office.

He had just sat down when someone rushed in.

“August Lukewood is dead for good as of today,” Charles said to the visitor with a smile. “He will never come back to life.”

The visitor bowed and paid his respects to him.

From that night on, the Death Eater August Lukewood was gone forever, leaving only Chris Hemsworth, the Director of Magic at Falbotton Castle.

Charles said a few words to him, then got up and walked back to Hogwarts.

For Charles, his career is now of utmost importance. Voldemort, through Lukewood, has crossed the line by using his project at the Ministry of Magic as an opportunity to cause trouble.

If Lukewood hadn't genuinely enjoyed his current life and wanted to completely break with his past self, and hadn't told Charles about it, the entire business of Farbatton Castle might have been affected.

Charles originally wanted to have a proper talk with Voldemort, but since he seemed unwilling to, he decided to use this method to show him his position.

British wizards feared Voldemort, but Charles wasn't afraid of him; he just didn't want to waste his energy on him.

Suddenly, Charles, stroking his chin, had an idea that looked pretty good.

(End of this chapter)