The Butcher of Hogsmeade

In wartime, it would be inappropriate for a civilian to be overly keen on gathering battlefield information, and Arthur Weasley also knew the taboo of speaking too frankly with casual acquaintances. Thus, the discussion about the night battle at Hogsmeade was "tacitly" ended by the two at Alastor; the following conversation returned to their professional duties, with Arthur explaining to Shen Hou the functions of the office that prohibited the misuse of Muggle items.

"Nominally, we have enforcement powers against Muggle item abuse and smuggling cases, but in reality, we're more like an office worker; you should understand how this situation came about." The red-haired office manager gestured for the newcomer to look around. "This department is normally staffed with only two people. We have enforcement powers, but almost no enforcement capabilities."

"So what should we do when we encounter a case, such as searching, collecting evidence, and arresting criminals?" Shen Hou asked.

"Get the Auror office to coordinate manpower," Arthur replied. "That's the normal procedure at the Ministry of Magic. Most law enforcement operations—I mean those that might involve violent confrontations—are carried out by the Aurors. Of course, our situation is the worst; those departments with more manpower can handle less serious cases on their own."

"So what do we usually do in the office?"

Arthur gave a wry smile: "You might not believe it, but in my years of experience here, most of the time when we're sitting in the office, we're actually just waiting."

"Wait? Wait for what?"

"We're waiting for case requests from the Aurors and other law enforcement agencies; most of these are like this." Arthur pointed to a stack of folders on his desk. "You have to understand, many criminals don't just do one type of illegal activity; they do whatever makes money. A suspect or a group might smuggle magical creatures in the morning, resell magical materials at noon, make counterfeit magical items for fraud in the afternoon, and then transport illegal Muggle items at night. After the Aurors or other law enforcement agencies catch these people, they'll forward the cases involving the misuse of Muggle items to us. We'll assess and classify them based on the value of the case, the degree of harm, and so on, and then submit them to the court as a basis for sentencing."

"Does that mean we're just following in the footsteps of other departments all the time?" Shen Hou had an unspeakable expression on his face. This office, which prohibited the misuse of Muggle items, was even less prestigious than he had imagined.

"You're not entirely wrong to think that way," Arthur said with a wry smile, yet also with a carefree and easygoing air. "Of all the known illegal activities, smuggling and modifying Muggle items is probably the least profitable. No criminal would expect to make a living doing this. Most of the cases we handle are petty thefts, and there are even quite a few cases that are purely accidental and unintentional."

As Arthur recounted his story, Shen Hou gained a deeper understanding of the functions of his department. While the official job was to prohibit the misuse of Muggle items, much of the work actually involved preventing magically modified everyday goods from entering Muggle society. For example, a teapot or a chair—wizards and Muggles both have them—but teapots and chairs modified by wizards obviously couldn't fall into Muggle hands; otherwise, trouble would inevitably ensue.

At the same time, there are also reverse examples. Among the items strictly prohibited from flowing from Muggle society into wizarding society, firearms are undoubtedly the most targeted.

Under current British magical law, using Muggle firearms to attack others, regardless of whether it causes injury or death, essentially guarantees a life sentence in Azkaban—equivalent to illegally using an Unforgivable Charm. Even simply possessing the weapon without using it will result in confiscation and a fine. The penalty for harming magical creatures with firearms is slightly less severe, starting at ten years depending on the type and number of magical creatures harmed.

In response, the director of the Office for the Prohibition of the Misuse of Muggle Items remarked with some emotion: "Who would have thought that the weapons that Muggles created to imitate wizards' offensive magic, which were initially ridiculed as clumsy, heavy, and ridiculously slow, would now pose such a huge threat to wizards?"

"Firearms were invented by imitating offensive magic?" Shen Hou stared in disbelief. "Who said that?"

"That's what the history books say. Haven't you learned it? There are actually some interesting things in the history of magic textbooks, though not many."

"Oh..." Shen Hou thought for a while, and finally gave up arguing with his superior about this topic. "Those cases involving guns... and the use of Muggle firearms, are also handled by the Aurors, right?"

"certainly."

"That's good. At least it's a relatively safe job. I couldn't stand having to deal with werewolves and dark wizards every day like the Aurors I met in Hogsmeade."

Upon hearing this, Arthur's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked, "No offense intended, but as the head of this department, there's one question I must know beforehand: Are you a pure-blood, a half-blood, or a Muggle?"

Shen Hou frowned slightly and asked, "Is this question important?"

"It's very important; it concerns your personal safety."

Shen Hou was shocked: "What do you mean?"

Do you know why our former office manager resigned?

"Retire?" Shen Hou asked tentatively.

Arthur shook his head: "No, he was attacked by Death Eaters and died from his injuries. My other colleague, Perkins, was also attacked by Death Eaters, but he was lucky and was saved after being taken to the hospital; his year-long leave was partly to recover from his injuries and partly to avoid the Death Eaters. In fact, I'm very worried that if the security issue cannot be resolved, his year-long leave may turn into a permanent resignation."

Shen Hou looked worried: "Didn't you say we belong to the administrative department?"

"It's not about departmental function, it's about their background," Arthur explained further, lowering his voice even though the office door was closed. "Because our work frequently deals with Muggle items, the Ministry of Magic prefers to have at least one Muggle or half-blood wizard in this office, because they have a deeper understanding of Muggle society and may even live in Muggle communities. That was the case with our former head of office, and it was with Perkins as well. And the Death Eaters are obviously very aware of our department's practices, so... you should already know what those lunatics are after?"

"You mean eliminating Muggle wizards?" Shen Hou said.

"Yes, in fact their language is even dirtier, and their actions are extremely cruel, especially when they are dealing with weak and isolated commoner wizards."

"In that case, Mr. Weasley, what is your background...?"

"The Weasleys are purebloods, but... they are traitors among the purebloods, the entire family is!" Arthur's tone was full of glory and pride.