The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 598 The Shadow Over the Ministry of Magic

"Minister Fudge, that's all for the latest news from Hogwarts."

In the dead of night at the Ministry of Magic, Fudge sat upright in his office and nodded gently: "I understand."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly to look at the report that had been handed to him.

"Um—Minister Fudge." Scrimgeour, who handed him the report, pursed his lips and then slowly said, "I have some questions for you regarding matters within the Ministry of Magic."

"Director Scrimgeour—I remember the Auror's office should be very busy, shouldn't it?" Fudge didn't look up, but said to himself, "I'm naturally aware of what's going on inside the Ministry of Magic."

"Then it's nothing serious."

"It's like this, Minister Fudge—" Seeing Fudge's reluctance to answer, Scrimgeour couldn't help but say a few more words: "Many Aurors feel that regarding Hogwarts and Headmaster Dumbledore—"

"Are you one of those who sympathize with Dumbledore?" Fudge immediately interrupted Scrimgeour. "Director Scrimgeour, although you are the head of the Auror office—you'd better not associate with certain groups."

"Dumbledore is undoubtedly a fugitive—I believe you and I both know that, right?"

"————" Scrimgeour was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

"I understand, Minister Fudge."

"And—" Seeing him about to leave, Fudge suddenly called out to him, "Director Scrimgeour, what's the status of the internal investigation of the Auror office?"

"We've already fired a third of the Aurors," Scrimgeour said, pausing for a moment. "We can't fire any more."

"This could affect the work of the Ministry of Magic."

"I remember you recruited a new batch of Aurors, didn't you? Most of them were from Slytherin House." Fudge said, frowning slightly. "Currently, the Ministry of Magic's main responsibilities lie in only two areas."

"One task is to track down the fugitive Dumbledore and his cronies, and the other is to clean up the traitors within the Ministry of Magic."

""

"I understand, Minister Fudge."

"So you still need to keep up the good work, Headmaster Scrimgeour." Fudge said, glancing at the report. "You should learn from Deputy Minister Umbridge—under her management, Hogwarts is increasingly returning to the high-quality house it once was."

"I hope your Auror offices can be like that too."

"I understand, Minister Fudge," Scrinker said with a slight sigh, then walked out of the office.

Even as the door behind him slammed shut, the gloom on Scrimgeour's face did not dissipate. He strolled through the Ministry of Magic's corridors, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Even as the head of the Auror's office, he had to be careful, careful of the shadowy figures lurking in the Ministry of Magic's shadows—

The Ministry of Magic is no longer the same as it used to be, and the Auror's office is no longer the same as it used to be. Even though a third of the Aurors have been dismissed, the Ministry of Magic's work has not been greatly affected.

This already explains the problem—Fudge has another force under his command that doesn't belong to the Ministry of Magic, but to a department outside the Ministry's various divisions—a department hidden in the shadows.

Because of this shadow department, Scrimgeour receives instructions from Fudge almost daily to dismiss an Auror or label a wizard as a Dumbledore follower.

But actually?

Scrimgeour shook his head. He didn't know who had sympathized with Dumbledore, or who was the traitor—because he didn't even know if he was a traitor himself.

"Director Scrimgeour." As he walked down the street, Scrimgeour suddenly heard a greeting.

"Good evening." The person who greeted him was none other than Miss Nymphadora Tonks, one of the few people in the Auror office who still came to get off work on time.

Frankly, the fact that she goes to get off work on time is already suspicious, because the last Mr. Parkinson who went to get off work on time was proven to be a Dumbledore supporter.

"Good evening, Miss Tonks." Seeing her rather unusual rainbow-colored hair, Scrimgeour didn't criticize her at all, and simply nodded slightly.

In today's Ministry of Magic, casual chatting is a very dangerous thing —

Seeing that he seemed to be taking the elevator, Tonks quickly followed him in. Seeing the slightly surprised expression on his face, Tonks smiled gently.

"Did you just go to see Minister Fouché?"

Inside the elevator, Tonks asked slowly.

"Miss Tonks—I know you're a very curious person—but at a time like this, for the sake of your job—you should really keep your mouth shut." Scrimgeour had to speak slowly and gently, reminding her, "Just the fact that you followed me onto the elevator is enough—"

"Enough to arouse suspicion, is it?" Tonks chuckled softly. "To be honest, I'm not afraid of any suspicion."

""

"Because I have always been the most loyal employee of the Ministry of Magic."

"I've heard this from over a dozen expelled Aurors," Scrimgeour said helplessly. "You should know that this isn't the reason why Minister Fudge wouldn't suspect you."

"In the Ministry of Magic now, everyone is a potential Dumbledore follower." He paused, then continued, "You don't want to be seen as one, do you?"

Tonks raised an eyebrow at this and said, "That's not necessarily true, Director Scrimgeour."

"Huh?" Scrimgeour paused for a moment upon hearing this, then saw the elevator doors open and Tonks step out.

What does she mean by this?

As the elevator doors slowly closed, Scrimgeour sensed something was off—then he stood quietly in the elevator until he reached his floor, at which point he slowly stepped out with a normal expression.

There weren't many people in the Auror office late at night. Most Aurors would just nod slightly when they saw him, and no one would try to talk to him, since talking was inherently a dangerous thing.

After walking alone to his office, Scrimgeour let out a soft sigh of relief, then slowly closed the door and sat down in his chair.

"Pat-pat-pat"

The clock in the room ticked slowly, and before long, a paper airplane flew in through the crack in the wooden door.

"Director Scrimgeour, please dismiss Miss Nymphadora Tonks. She is suspected of having ties to Dumbledore."

Looking at what was written on the paper airplane, Scrimgeour wasn't surprised at all. He nodded slightly and then put a checkmark on the paper airplane.

As he watched the paper airplane fly away, he gently closed his eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, he slowly and carefully took his left hand out of his pocket.

There was a note there, from the daring Miss Tonks in the elevator.

The note had an address on it.

"Godric Valley —"