days at Hogwarts

Chapter 684 Situation

An unknown street in London.

In early spring, there is still a lingering chill in the air.

The news that the Dark Lord had captured the Ministry of Magic had spread throughout the wizarding world. Although mainstream newspapers had not reported it in detail so far, Scrimgeour had published soothing messages in the Daily Prophet many times, causing unrest throughout Britain.

As the long-standing center of wizarding politics, London, where the Ministry of Magic is located, has suddenly become deserted. Some people have moved away, some have relocated. Even Diagon Alley, which is also located in London, has become much quieter. Even if people are not targeted by the Dark Lord or the Death Eaters, they are worried about being too close and being accidentally killed by a misfired Killing Curse.

The half-blood or Muggle-born wizard residents were filled with panic, the pure-blood wizards were worried, the families associated with the Death Eaters were undecided, there were rumors through the grapevine that Scrimgeour was preparing to lead the Aurors in a counterattack, and there were black market rumors that Voldemort wanted to expand his rule. There were all kinds of outrageous news.

The whole of London has been shrouded in thick dark clouds, and the wind and clouds are surging.

伦敦大概有几百条街道，没人能记得它们的所有名字，更不用说其中还有重复的，这个城市有25条阿尔伯特街、25条维多利亚街、37条国王街、27条王后街、22条王子街、17条公爵街……此外还有64条查理街、37条爱德华街、47条詹姆士街、36条亨利街……

Among them is a street that is not so prosperous and famous, and can even be described as dirty and dilapidated. Everything on the street can be seen at a glance. Several dilapidated buildings seem to be completely abandoned. The bar signs are not even visible. There is no business at all. The nearby walls are painted all over. If there is anything useful, it is probably the shabby red telephone booth.

Passersby hurried past, and it seemed that no one ever noticed the telephone booth.

A cold wind blew and two pedestrians came on the street.

One of them was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe, with drooping eyelids, dark and deep eyes, slightly long hair that was a little greasy, not very handsome, and the way he swung his robe with long strides looked like a bat, but his expression was indifferent. The other one was much older, also wearing a black robe, thin, like a skeleton crawling out of a grave, with even greasy hair, pockmarked face, and a disgusted and sinister expression.

The bat and the skeleton were walking side by side across the street. Suddenly, three pedestrians passing by on the opposite side noticed the strange attire of the two men and couldn't help but cast their eyes over. The middle-aged bat man had a blank expression on his face and didn't react much, but the skeleton-like man next to him would look at them, and his eyes revealed undisguised malice that was chilling.

Passing by the bar, the two of them slowed down their pace at the same time, waiting for the passers-by to leave tacitly.

Snape's eyes were indifferent, and his lips seemed to be completely motionless, but a cold voice sounded: "Rookwood, restrain your gaze. There is no Ministry of Magic memory cancellation officer to help you deal with the turmoil caused by violating the Statute of Secrecy."

Rookwood said nonchalantly: "I used to be an employee of the Ministry of Magic. Maybe I can become an employee of the new Ministry of Magic soon. I can also perform memory cancellation."

Snape responded indifferently and the two of them stopped in front of the phone booth.

The old Ministry of Magic was in pieces and was even forced to give up its territory. The new Ministry of Magic was still being prepared... but it was not the one organized by Scrimgeour.

Rookwood's full name is August Rookwood. He was an employee of the Ministry of Magic at first. Later, he was recruited by Voldemort as a senior Death Eater. After the fall of the last Dark Lord, he failed to conceal his identity and was exposed by Karkaroff and imprisoned in Azkaban. Later, the dark magic made a comeback and this group of old friends were rescued and participated in the mission of snatching the prophecy. As a result, they were petrified by the sudden appearance of the Basilisk.

Then there was treatment at St. Mungo's, interrogation at the Ministry of Magic, transfer and interrogation after the transfer... In short, the senior Death Eaters were strong-willed.

The Ministry of Magic was occupied by Voldemort, and Snape negotiated with Scrimgeour on behalf of the Death Eaters. During the Christmas holidays last year, the two sides exchanged prisoners, and Rookwood was freed at that time.

Voldemort once wanted to dig out the location of the Ministry of Magic's new prison from his mind without considering the consequences, but Snape talked him out of it. Rookwood didn't say anything to express his gratitude, but just became more friendly.

The other Death Eaters now completely obey Snape's orders and are lying in wait to collect intelligence. Rookwood is preparing for the next exchange of prisoners.

The Muggle pedestrians passed by them, and the sound of their footsteps gradually faded away. Rookwood caught a glimpse of their figures disappearing around the corner and said sinisterly:
"Severus, I heard that you hid a spy among the Ministry of Magic employees you released? I'm not surprised at all. After all, you were able to lurk around Dumbledore for more than ten years. It would not be difficult for you to persuade one or even several cowardly guys to lurk in the Ministry of Magic.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm complimenting you. I'm not like a fool like Bellatrix. As long as the Dark Lord is willing to believe you, I'm willing to believe you too. It was thanks to you that the incident of more than a decade ago was not repeated. How are things going?"

Snape's voice was cold: "What's the matter?"

"Hey..." Rookwood sneered twice, "Why are you pretending to be confused with me? Just tell me directly, have you figured out the temporary base of those guys? Have you found the address of the new prison?"

"No."

"These stupid guys have become smarter." Rookwood narrowed his eyes to hide the cold light, and his voice was cold and cruel. "I really don't want to drag out the exchange with them. I can't wait any longer. If I know the address, I will go there directly with my master and let the Dark Mark float over the Ministry of Magic again. This time, all those who are unwilling to surrender will be killed."

Snape glanced at him calmly: "Bellatrix and the others haven't come back yet. Do you want to abandon the Death Eaters who are still imprisoned?"

"Of course not." Rookwood sneered twice, "Just dig the address out of those people's minds. There are always some smart people willing to cooperate."

Snape shook his head and didn't talk about it any more: "Let's go and see the master."

The telephone booth was opened and it was a bit crowded for two adult men to enter together. Snape dialed the number with ease. There was no female voice asking for the purpose of the call in the receiver. After the Death Eaters took over, the way of entry was much simpler, probably the same as the combination lock.

After entering the correct number, the space in the telephone booth slowly fell.

The building underground was even more damp and cold. The candlesticks and torches had been extinguished, and the fireplace in front of the main hall was completely blocked. There was only sporadic dim magical light. The entire Ministry of Magic was in silence and deep darkness. The two of them entered the elevator with the help of the dim light. Instead of going up to the Minister's office, they sank down.

On the ninth floor underground, they walked through the corridor, pushed open a black wooden door, and entered the room of the Department of Mysteries. One of the doors was open, and bright light shone from inside. Without hesitation, the two walked into the Big Brain Hall.

Metal chains hung the chandelier from the ceiling. In the middle of the empty room stood a huge glass water tank. Inside the dark green liquid, many white objects were constantly floating up and down.

Next to the water tank, Voldemort stood silently, his hairless brows slightly furrowed. His already pale face became even colder, his expression focused, a faint light flickering in his eerie snake pupils, his gaze alternating between obsession and confusion, his black robe dragging on the ground, like a dead statue.

Rookwood glanced at the tank, while Snape observed Voldemort calmly, and both made the same respectful noise.

"Owner."

"Owner."

"Another work report?" Voldemort did not move his eyes away, and his very light voice was filled with impatience. "If there is no important news, don't bother me every week." Snape lowered his head slightly: "There has been some progress in intelligence gathering. With the help of that lady, we have found the temporary base of the Ministry of Magic. According to the data monitoring of the Floo Network, we have already grasped the locations of thousands of wizard families, including most of the half-blood wizards and some Muggle wizards..."

Snape paused at the right moment, causing Voldemort and Rookwood to unconsciously imagine what would happen next: "The last batch of Death Eaters will return, including Lestrange and his companions. By then, with just one order from you, the British wizarding world will fall under our control..."

"Except Hogwarts!" interrupted Voldemort harshly.

"The biggest obstacle is Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore..." Voldemort whispered softly, finally moving his eyes away and setting his gaze on the two loyal servants, "Do you have any ideas, Severus?"

Rookwood: “…”

Unconsciously lowering my head.

"I can't think of any idea, but I can feel that the master is becoming more powerful." Snape said slowly and expressionlessly, "Even if Dumbledore can temporarily resist our invasion by relying on the terrain of Hogwarts, the final winner will still be us, or rather, you..."

Voldemort looked interested. "Oh, why?"

"That prophecy has no basis in reality. At least for now, I can't think of any possibility that Harry Potter would resist. And Dumbledore, that old man is over a hundred years old. He is getting older and older. His stubborn and pedantic personality makes him unable to accept any method of prolonging his life. Even if we are deadlocked with Hogwarts for decades and wait for him to die of old age..."

Snape paused, staring at the floor beneath his feet. "No one will be able to resist the rule of the Death Eaters then."

"what……"

Voldemort chuckled with joy: "Yes, you are right, Severus, I shared the most powerful magic in the world with you, which is the right choice."

“Your gift.”

“But I don’t want to see Dumbledore grow old and die in despair.” Voldemort turned and looked at the brain floating in the tank, and whispered, “I want him to live and see with his own eyes the Death Eaters break into Hogwarts and the Dark Lord rule the wizarding world!”

Snape lowered his head, his eyes dim and unclear: "It is his honor."

……

It was Scrimgeour's decision to settle down in Devonshire, and with the help of Kingsley and others, he established a temporary base. Later, several high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic were rescued. Without time to mourn for their deceased colleagues, Ms. Bones immediately mobilized the staff to restore some of the functions of the Ministry of Magic here, including the Floo Network.

In order to ensure the security of the temporary base, the staff are picked up and dropped off by Aurors when they go to work every day. They are directly transported using portkeys, just like the Quidditch finals venue. They are transferred after arriving at the assembly point. The interior of the base is anti-Apparition.

The staff worked hard, regardless of the troublesome confidentiality, just to keep the wizarding world running normally.

Bertha Jorkins was very clear about the current situation. Not only wizards in London were fleeing, but wizards throughout Britain were fleeing. At the beginning, they were quite panicked, acting hastily and without order, and fled without knowing the situation. After the Ministry of Magic resumed some of its functions, the situation eased a little, and the fleeing wizards would apply for exit documents.

The wizarding trade is also shrinking. A large number of shops in the country have closed down. Goods are no longer purchased from abroad, and foreign suppliers dare not deliver goods to the country.

Bertha Jorkins looked at the letter from the French Ministry of Magic on the table and couldn't help but sigh. The American Magical Congress had sent a similar letter before. On the surface, it was asking whether they needed assistance, but in fact it was asking whether they needed to prepare for war and whether Voldemort's Death Eaters would expand outward.

Not just in Britain, people everywhere are in panic and unrest.

Unsure how to reply, Jorkins picked up the letter, stood up, and went to Ms. Bones' temporary office next door.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Please come in."

Minister Scrimgeour was there too, conferring something with Madam Bones, but he stopped immediately at the knock at the door.

Jorkins pushed the door open and glanced at the two of them calmly.

Ms. Bones was fine. She had experienced Voldemort's inhumane torture, the torture and interrogation of the Death Eaters, and several months of imprisonment. After being rescued, she adapted very well to this high-pressure environment. She thought that things couldn't get any worse, so she worked hard and tried to get as much as she could.

Minister Scrimgeour looked increasingly haggard, and his condition was visibly worse. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was greasy and sticky, even matted into clumps.

"Jorkins, what's going on?"

"I've received a letter from the French Ministry of Magic, and I'm not sure how to respond."

"Let me see……"

Jorkins handed the letter over and waited silently by the side. Looking at Scrimgeour's tired expression, he remembered the news he had heard and asked softly, "Minister, I heard that you went to Hogwarts. Did you gain anything?"

Perhaps because he was too tired, or perhaps because he was facing his own staff, Scrimgeour rubbed his brow and temporarily let down his guard: "Harry Potter does not agree to cooperate with the Ministry of Magic. He claims that he is Dumbledore's man, Dumbledore's man completely."

"..."

Jorkins had a strange expression on his face, and asked tentatively, "Since the situation has become like this now, why don't we cooperate with Dumbledore?"

Scrimgeour paused, looking deeply at the employee in front of him, the rookie of the Ministry of Magic.

(End of this chapter)