At Hogwarts, the story begins with deconstructing Avada Kedavra.

Chapter 88 The Sealed Files

In the London Underground, on the ninth floor of the Ministry of Magic, the Department of Mysteries.

The corridors here have no windows, and the walls are made of black stone.

The torchlight cast an eerie, distorted light.

Codenamed "C" pushed open a heavy iron door and entered the archives room.

The archives were filled with the smell of old paper and preservatives.

The shelves stretched all the way to the ceiling, piled high with yellowed files, crystal balls, and items sealed in glass jars.

C walked into an area where there was no lighting.

He waved his wand, and the tip of the wand shone with white light.

He stopped in front of an iron cabinet engraved with "1920-1930: Unusual Events in North America and Transoceanic Areas".

Three brass locks hung on the cabinet door, their keyholes filled with lead.

C drew his wand and made a gesture in mid-air.

The lead melted and flowed out of the keyhole.

All three locks clicked simultaneously.

He opened the cabinet door, and a cloud of dust rushed out.

He put on gloves and rummaged through the dense folders.

His finger traced across the label.

"The Ashford Descendants — The Magical Parliament Turmoil — The Dark Alley Incident —"

His finger rested on a black leather folder, the edges of which were weathered.

There were no labels, only a branded symbol:

An eye pierced by a longsword.

Bing pulled out the folder, walked to a wooden table in the center of the archives, put the folder down, untied the leather cord, and opened the cover.

The first page is a yellowed copy of a telegram.

From: The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA).

Recipient: International Magical Exchange and Cooperation Division, Ministry of Magic, United Kingdom.

Time: 1927.

C's gaze moved across the text of the telegram.

[Top Secret. Request for assistance in surveillance. Surviving members of the Ashford family may have returned to Europe via Muggle channels. The family is involved in serious violations of the Secret Service Act and conducting forbidden magical experiments.]

C turned to the next page, which contained an investigation report written by the Auror Office of the British Ministry of Magic.

Most of the report was smeared with black ink, leaving only a few scattered paragraphs of text.

[—They established a Tantric religious organization underground in Boston—]

[————Refusing to acknowledge the source of traditional magic————Attempting to analyze the soul using mathematics and a structure called "arcane"————]

—Extremely dangerous. They do not use conventional spells.

C turned to the last page. It was a black and white photograph.

The photo shows the ruins of a manor after it was burned down.

At the center of the ruins, a huge, radiating, charred spot remained on the ground.

Below the photo is a handwritten note:

[The energy dissipation caused the magical rules to collapse, beyond repair. It has been permanently sealed away. —Eugenia Jenkins (then Head of the Auror Office)]

C took out the photos taken in the forbidden forest today.

He placed the two photos side by side on the table.

The charred spots from fifty years ago and the grayish-purple spots in the Forbidden Forest today show a striking similarity in the erosion marks at their edges.

All of these involve the forced erasure of the original environment.

Bing closed the folder and tightened the leather strap again.

He took the folder and walked out of the archives.

Ten minutes later, he was standing in A's office.

A sat behind a table, on which sat the crystal vessel containing the sample.

C pushed the folder over.

"Found it."

Bing's voice carried an undisguised urgency. "It's the Ashford family. Those exiles from the New World, followers of Tantra and arcane arts."

A picked up the document, but a few seconds later, he withdrew his hand.

His expression remained completely unchanged, as if he had just read not a top-secret file that could overturn the magical world, but yesterday's weather forecast.

"They're back," A said calmly. "Should we notify the Auror office immediately? Or should we go straight to the Minister?"

Bing asked anxiously, "If this arcane power gets out of control at Hogwarts, those students won't even know how they died!"

The commotion in the Forbidden Forest last night wasn't just one person casting spells; it was some kind of higher-level confrontation!

"Notify the Auror office?" A sneer appeared on A's lips, and C felt that he had been seen through.

"C, you've worked here for ten years, don't you understand the nature of the bureaucratic system?" A leaned back in his chair.

"Aurors cannot deal with arcane magic."

They were used to using the Ironclad Curse to ward off evil curses, and to using the Stunning Curse to capture criminals.

When they encounter someone who can analyze and negate their magic before they even cast a spell, the Aurors are nothing more than a flock of lambs to the slaughter with sticks in hand.

"What about Minister Fouché?" C was still unwilling to give up.

“Cornely Fudge?” A sneered. “He’s busy covering up any news of the Dark Lord’s possible return. He’s busy using this to seize control of Hogwarts and weaken Dumbledore’s prestige.”

A leaned forward and pointed to the crystal vessel on the table containing purplish-gray clay: "If I put this on Fudge's desk now and tell him:

"Your Excellency, a heretical force has emerged, more terrifying than Voldemort, capable even of destroying the very foundations of magic." What do you think he'll do?

C was stunned.

"He would think it's a lie Dumbledore made up to divert attention," A answered for him, his voice icy cold. "He wouldn't admit, nor would he dare admit, that there are threats in this world that he can't understand."

He will only use this pretext to send a large number of Ministry of Magic officials to Hogwarts, turning the place into a chaotic mess, so that they will become the first cannon fodder to be wiped out when the true arcane power erupts.

"So we're just going to stand by and do nothing?" C felt a sense of absurdity.

They are the Silent Ones, who guard the deepest secrets of the magical world, and now they stand idly by as the rules are corrupted.

All we can do is abide by the "blindness protocol".

A waved his hand, and the blood in the crystal vessel on the table vanished into thin air.

"Dumbledore was there last night, and with his intelligence, he must have also sensed the terror of arcane magic."

But he chose to keep it a secret, chose to send Hagrid to seal off the scene, and chose to tell the students the fairy tale that "love and courage defeated the dark wizard."

"Since the wizard chose to keep quiet for his savior-making plan, and since the higher-ups of the Ministry of Magic chose to be blind for their power games."

Then we'll grant their wish.

A's voice was cruel and indifferent: "Observe, C. Activate the highest level of silent observation order."

Do not contact anyone from Ashford, and do not disturb them.

"People are obsessed with chess games in the sunlight, cheering and jumping for joy over the gain or loss of one or two pieces."

"Let them play. What we need to do is keep a close eye on the abyss that is spreading beneath their feet."

Bing remained silent for a long time, and finally, he lowered his head.

"Yes, sir."

He picked up the black folder, turned, and left the room that symbolized the highest secrets of the magical world. The triple-layered lead lock would seal this secret once more, until the abyss finally opened its jaws wide.

The second level of the Ministry of Magic, the Division for the Enforcement of Magical Laws.

The door to the deputy minister's office was tightly closed.

Dolores Umbridge sat behind a large desk.

On the table was a plate with a kitten pattern printed on it, and the kitten was moving silently inside the plate.

She held a quill pen in her hand and was writing on a piece of parchment. Her movements were slow, and each letter was written smoothly and clearly.

[A contingency plan to strengthen administrative and security oversight at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]

She wrote the title and then began listing the terms below.

In light of the recent unnatural death of Quirinus Quirrell in the underground annex of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the resulting serious student safety crisis, the Ministry of Magic has expressed serious concern and questions about the effectiveness of the school's existing background checks on faculty and staff, as well as its internal security measures.

She paused her writing and admired the passage.

There was no direct criticism of Dumbledore, but every word undermined his authority.

She continued writing.

To prevent the recurrence of such egregious incidents that harm students' physical and mental health, the following corrective measures have been drafted with the authorization of Secretary Cornell Fudge:

[Article 1: The Ministry of Magic shall immediately establish the position of "Hogwarts Senior Investigator".]

This position is held by a senior official directly appointed by the Ministry of Magic. The official has absolute authority to access all school administrative files, financial expenditures, and personnel appointment records at any time, and also has the right to correct deviations from the curriculum.

[Article Two: From the date this plan takes effect, for any unnatural injury or death, or any destructive, unknown magical disturbance occurring within the Hogwarts campus, the school must submit a detailed written report directly to the Minister for Magic's office within two hours of the incident, without any concealment.]

[Article 3: In response to recent reports of "leaks of highly toxic substances" and abnormal discoloration in the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the Ministry of Magic will send a professional review team to the school to assess the school's ability to control the surrounding dangerous areas.]

If necessary, the Ministry of Magic has the authority to take over security duties in the Forbidden Forest.

After writing these three points, Umbridge let out a long sigh of relief.

She could almost see Dumbledore powerless in the face of these laws.

She put the quill back into the ink bottle.

Then, she opened the drawer of her desk and took out a document.

That was a report on administrative negligence issued by the Ministry of Magic.

At the very bottom of the document was Albus Dumbledore's signature in his fancy handwriting.

Umbridge looked at the signature and a smug smile appeared on his lips.

This was the result of Lucius Malfoy's pressure at the school board meeting a few weeks ago.

In order to protect the students (especially Harry Potter) who were embroiled in the Midnight Wanderer and dragon trouble, Dumbledore was forced to back down and sign the document, legally acknowledging that the school had indeed been "negligent" in its security.

Umbridge picked up a paperclip and carefully pinned the report, bearing Dumbledore's signature, to the very end of her newly drafted "Proposal".

This is her sharpest weapon, and this is the legal basis.

With Dumbledore's self-reproach signed by himself, the Ministry of Magic's subsequent intervention and power grab at Hogwarts was no longer seen as political persecution of Dumbledore by Fudge, but rather as the Ministry of Magic "openly and legitimately assisting the school in carrying out security reforms."

"Knock knock knock".

There was a knock on the office door.

"Go in," Umbridge said in her distinctive, girlish, high-pitched voice.

A clerk walked in and placed a newspaper sample on the table.

"Please take a look at the layout of tomorrow's Daily Prophet, as requested by the Minister."

Umbridge picked up the sample.

The large headline, taking up the entire page, was printed in bold:

Tragedy and Heroism: Professor Quirrell's Unfortunate Death and the Savior's Courageous Choice

The subtitle is:

Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge highly praised Harry Potter and announced that he would be awarded a medal for outstanding contributions.

The article details how Quirrell attempted to steal the Philosopher's Stone out of greed, but was ultimately discovered and stopped by Harry Potter.

There is no mention of Voldemort or the final whereabouts of the Philosopher's Stone; it is only said that the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed in the chaos.

"The layout is excellent." Umbridge nodded in satisfaction, poking at Harry Potter's face on the newspaper. "When has Minister Fudge decided to present this medal?"

"The plan is to do it when the Hogwarts Express arrives at King's Cross Station in London tomorrow."

The clerk quickly replied, "His Excellency the Minister will personally greet Mr. Potter at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

We have already arranged for reporters and photographers from several major media outlets, including The Daily Prophet and Wizarding Weekly.

"very good."

"Go and inform the editor-in-chief and the photographer, and tell them that they must capture the moment tomorrow when Minister Fudge personally pins the medal on Harry Potter's chest."

We want all the wizards in Britain to see how much the Ministry of Magic cares for and values ​​our savior.

She paused. "Also, make sure that Albus Dumbledore's face absolutely does not need to, and is not allowed to, appear on the front page of any photo. Understand?"

"I understand, Your Excellency. I'll take care of it right away." The clerk bowed and quickly left the office.

After the door closed, Umbridge stood up, humming an unknown tune, and walked to the office window.

She looked at the simulated sunlight on the fake glass outside the window.

"Your savior, Albus," she whispered to the air, "we will make him the most dazzling emblem of the Ministry of Magic."

She walked back to her desk, rolled up the "Administrative Negligence Contingency Plan," and tied it with a pink ribbon.

She picked up her wand and tapped the scroll.

"Go to the minister's office."

The scroll floated up, turned into a paper airplane, and flew out the window.

A war without gunfire has begun.

Dumbledore teaches love and courage at school, while the Ministry of Magic uses documents, seals, and regulations to gradually tighten the noose around Hogwarts' neck.

Under all of this, Fudge, Umbridge, and even Dumbledore, who was far away at the school, all tacitly avoided the purple spot hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest.

They are all playing power games.

Meanwhile, the one who actually possessed the Philosopher's Stone was sitting on the Hogwarts Express returning to London, quietly reading a book while watching the scenery flash by outside the window.