The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Scott was somewhat taken aback.

Dumbledore laughed again. "Surprised? Despite being given such high expectations, I am only a mortal, and I am quite old."

Scott gave an awkward laugh.

He did not believe that Dumbledore's fighting ability would decline due to age.

Although his physical strength may not be as good as when he was young, the magic of a wizard of Dumbledore's caliber does not diminish with age.

On the contrary, he has gained countless more experiences than when he was young, and his control over magic is even more consummate.

And with the Elder Wand in hand...

Decreased combat effectiveness?

nonexistent.

In the original novel, Dumbledore's death can only be described as a coincidence.

He was bewitched by the Resurrection Stone ring and cursed by Voldemort, which is why he meticulously planned his own death when he was already nearing his end.

Dumbledore asked him with great interest, "If you were Minister of Magic, Scott, what would you do?"

“Me?” Scott asked in surprise.

Dumbledore nodded, looking at him expectantly.

"If it were me, I wouldn't give those Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban a chance to regain their fighting ability."

Scott was telling the truth.

"Since we can't stop Voldemort's prison break, let's make sure that the people he wants to save are no longer worth saving."

“You mean…” Dumbledore’s expression remained unchanged, “the death penalty?”

Scott said, "The wizarding world has a history of the death penalty; there have been wizards sentenced to the kiss of a Dementor before."

He really couldn't understand how the Ministry of Magic sentenced those criminals.

Many people could be killed a hundred times without injustice, yet they still managed to eke out a living in Azkaban.

Dumbledore said, "One must be very careful when it comes to taking another's life."

Scott had no intention of arguing with him about this topic.

He simply said, "It's not about executing all criminals, but about finding ways to completely incapacitate them."

"Take away magic?" Dumbledore said. "The Ministry of Magic has been doing that all along."

Scott said, "What's the point of just breaking a wand? Those guys will always find a way to get a wand once they escape from prison."

Dumbledore added, "To take away a wizard's magic is no less than to take away a life."

"They don't need magic."

Scott said it was only natural.

“Especially those guys who are sentenced to life imprisonment, under normal circumstances, they would never have had the chance to use magic again.”

"You should be able to imagine that such a policy will inevitably cause a huge uproar." Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "Most wizards will oppose it."

Scott shrugged. "I know, that's why I don't get involved in politics, because I don't like compromise."

Dumbledore smiled again.

"I think so too. Fortunately, your ambitions do not include a political career."

Scott was somewhat helpless.

Having brought the topic to this point, he couldn't help but say a few more words.

“Those people, I mean some Death Eaters, who have killed countless Muggles and righteous wizards in the past, and even cruelly tortured them.”

“They are all heinous executioners with blood on their hands. I can’t think of any reason not to execute them.”

Chapter 480 Clues about Voldemort

Dumbledore remained silent in response to Scott's exclamation.

Scott and he exchanged a glance. Neither of them brought up the topic again.

In fact, he wasn't unaware that the Ministry of Magic had no choice but to make necessary compromises in order to maintain its rule.

Most Death Eaters come from pure-blood families, and their influence is immense.

Although not all pure-blood families share the same stance, Death Eaters are only a portion of them.

No one would object to imprisoning those people in Azkaban, or even putting them in life imprisonment.

However, if they were to be executed or rendered completely Squibs, they would certainly face fierce opposition from all pure-blood families.

Unless the magical world is ruled by an absolute dictatorship through force, no one can do whatever they want.

These are things that Scott gradually learned over the years after entering the wizarding world.

Thinking about all this, Scott felt utterly disheartened.

He asked Dumbledore, "If there's no way to carry out the death penalty, is there any way to deprive them of their ability to cast spells, even if only temporarily?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly and told him more of the truth.

“You’re not the first person to have this idea, Scott.”

"But we don't have a completely effective solution."

"Even if such an effect can be achieved, it is very easy to crack."

"So, there's no point in doing this."

"That's why the Ministry of Magic chose to cooperate with Dementors in the past."

"This is also an effective way they can think of to continuously weaken the criminals."

Scott was quite surprised to hear him say that.

It wasn't surprising that someone shared his thoughts.

He's not the only smart person in the magical world.

Such thinking is unacceptable.

What surprised him was—

"Potions, alchemy, spells—with so many ways to become a wizard, how come not a single effective method can be found?"

"Even an indestructible pair of shackles?"

"A pair of shackles that Voldemort can't break?" Dumbledore shook his head. "At least I can't do that."

Scott immediately thought of the door to Russell's alchemy classroom.

He told Dumbledore.

"Lucio told me that the material used to forge that door was an alloy transformed through alchemy, known as Roselle alloy. It is said that no wizard can break it or cast any magic on it."

Of course, that could also be an exaggeration.

Perhaps that alloy is something that ordinary wizards cannot break.

But it's okay to give it a try.

Dumbledore also became somewhat interested after hearing about it.

“I will speak with Professor Roselle. If that Roselle alloy truly possesses such strength, then the Ministry of Magic can consider importing it.”

"If we can really make shackles that even Voldemort can't break, it would be a great solution to a problem."

Afterwards, Scott chatted with him about the next round of the Triwizard Tournament before saying goodbye and leaving.

Scott had a peaceful few days ahead of him.

His time was filled with classes, alchemy experiments, drawing, practicing Apparition, and creating "summoned beasts."

When his paintings were almost enough to fill a book, Rimbaud finally received news.

“The crows have indeed seen Death Eaters in various places, but they never stay in one place.”

Rimbaud in [The Magic Mirror] said to Scott.

"But we were obviously lucky, and eventually we found some clues."

Rimbaud gradually became smug.

“I’m eighty percent certain that Voldemort is hiding on the Isle of Man, in the Yaxley family’s cliffside castle by the sea.”

“I personally kept an eye on it for a few days, and several Death Eaters quietly appeared there.”

"Although their actions were very covert and they left quickly, I still managed to discover them."

“Most importantly, I saw Mrs. Rowe.”

“You’ve shown me her picture, I can’t mistake her.”

“The Yaxley family?” Scott laughed.

This is also an old friend with whom he has dealt before.

Of course, the other party was unaware of this.

He said, "If I remember correctly, only the head of the family is left, and he is also the only Axley who has ever worked at the Ministry of Magic."

They then tried to bet on both sides, but it ended badly, and even Mr. Yaxley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, lost his job.

"That's probably why."

Rimbaud said with a smug look on his face.

"No one would have thought that Voldemort was there, after all, he shouldn't have trusted Yaxley anymore."

Scott said sarcastically, "It has nothing to do with trust. As long as Voldemort is there, Yaxley can only kneel at his feet and kiss the hem of his robe."

Rimbaud added, "Because of your instructions, I did not approach the castle, so I am not entirely certain."

“That’s enough,” Scott said. “Let the crows take a few ‘eyes’ over there. They don’t need to go inside the castle. Just install them on the cliff so they can see the castle from a distance.”

Rimbaud accepted the task.