Chapter 825
Under the Curtain
Chapter 825 Under the Curtain
As soon as he stepped into the airplane cabin, Mundungus Fletcher rudely loosened his tie, muttering complaints under his breath:
"Damn tie! This thing is strangling me. Why do Muggles like to put a hanging thing around their necks?"
“Fletcher!” Kingsley warned in a low voice, “Watch your image, we’re government officials now!”
Mundungus pursed his lips, but still sullenly stuffed his tie haphazardly into his pocket.
Lupin had already strode past them and entered the depths of the cabin. Among the sleeping passengers, he spotted Wade flipping through a book at a glance.
The boy looked up, and Arthur Weasley, who was beside him, had already happily come forward and shouted:
"Good heavens, Kingsley, you've finally arrived! I was worried that the Ministry of Magic had sent Scrimgeour instead!"
Kingsley gave a faint smile, shook hands firmly with Mr. Weasley, and said:
“I told him that Wisengamour had proposed adding an inspector to the Auror office to oversee the legality and necessity of our work, and Rufus couldn’t wait to push this field assignment onto me, busy dealing with that thorny problem.”
Mr. Weasley's joy faded somewhat, replaced by a hint of worry as he said:
“Scrimgeour isn’t so easily fooled. Once he realizes you were just using this as an excuse to get him away, he’ll definitely suspect your intentions, and even your stance…”
"No, Arthur, I am not lying."
Kingsley calmly stated, "There are indeed several members of Congress pushing this proposal, claiming that the Auror Office is too independent and operates too aggressively, requiring 'more effective oversight.'"
"...Regulation?"
Mr. Weasley frowned.
Although he didn't like Scrimgeour either, Arthur Weasley was used to the freedom of his own office and disliked having a pair of eyes watching him while he worked.
Kingsley glanced around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before lowering his voice and saying:
"Some people say that their proposal is actually an attempt to curry favor with the new minister and deliberately suppress Scringer, who had previously run for minister, in order to weaken his influence in the Aurors."
Mr. Weasley's expression darkened slightly, his previous worries instantly replaced by a deeper anxiety.
If that's the case, then it would be an even worse sign.
Increased oversight can also be seen as a means to ensure procedural justice and to ensure that the interests of the people are not harmed by law enforcement officers who act arbitrarily. Although he doesn't like it, Mr. Weasley can understand it.
But if it is the latter... it means that the new minister, Sinkness, tacitly approves of his subordinates stirring up factional infighting and suppressing those capable and ambitious officials, proving that he is not at all as mild and neutral as he appeared during the campaign.
Kingsley knew he understood, so he changed the subject and said:
"In short, even if Scrimgeour goes to verify, he will only find that the information I gave him is true. He will not suspect me; on the contrary, he will thank me for warning him in advance."
Mr. Weasley: "..."
He almost forgot the problem he had been worried about earlier.
……
On the other side, Lupin walked quickly to Wade, who stood up to greet him. Lupin looked him up and down, and his tense expression relaxed a little.
"Wade, I'm so glad you're alright." Lupin didn't have time for pleasantries and asked anxiously, "How's Sirius?"
“Don’t worry,” Wade said. “Right after the plane landed, Mrs. Weasley Apparated Sirius and took him straight to St. Mungo’s. I just received word that the healer said his condition isn’t serious because he was given the antidote in time.”
"That's good...that's wonderful..."
Lupin instantly relaxed, as if his feet had finally touched the ground.
Recalling his experience of Apparating repeatedly until he almost vomited after approaching the island of England, Lupin felt as if a long time had passed.
He slowly sat down, supporting himself on the back of the chair, and after a moment, asked:
"After we left, how did you deal with the fire in the cargo hold? What happened to these passengers?"
……
While Wade was explaining the situation to Lupin, Mr. Weasley also put aside those struggles that were not yet relevant and quickly recounted what had happened on the plane.
He subconsciously concealed some unfounded suspicions in his mind, and in his description, those "heroic" passengers sounded like accomplices that Wade had hired in advance.
"These people are the ones who carried out this operation; they are the purgers from the United States."
Mr. Weasley gestured for Kingsley to look at the back of the cabin, at the several unconscious prisoners, his tone filled with undisguised disgust and incomprehension:
"This is the guy—Mordish. As a wizard, he actually joined the Purifiers, whose goal is to eliminate wizards; besides a bald leader who jumped out of the plane in the chaos, the rest of the assassins are all here."
Kingsley nodded and said, "That guy's name is Adebayo, and he's already been captured by Alastor and Remus. I'll handle all of them... I'll negotiate with the Magical Congress of America! They have to give us an explanation for this."
“Well…” Mr. Weasley, remembering Sinkness’s character, said worriedly, “If this causes an international dispute… wouldn’t it bring some trouble?”
"They're the ones who will get into trouble."
Kingsley said, "Allowing such an extreme organization to exist and to harbor dangerous magical artifacts, even allowing its members to infiltrate international flights to assassinate our Hogwarts students... is a serious dereliction of duty by the Magical Congress of the United States!"
"Besides..."
Kingsley paused, his gaze darkening slightly, and said:
"I prefer dealing with these external conflicts to staying in the country and dealing with those endless...fights. At least here, we know who the enemy is and how much force we should use to fight back."
Mr. Weasley remained silent.
In the eyes of others, Kingsley has always been an energetic and versatile figure, as if nothing could stump him.
Aside from his lack of qualifications, Arthur Weasley felt that Kingsley was more suitable than Scrimgeour to be the head of the Auror office... or even the Minister of Magic.
But at this moment, he understood Kingsley's weariness and alienation from the increasingly corrupt and scheming Ministry of Magic.
Mr. Weasley nodded heavily and said nothing more. He reached out and patted Kingsley's arm, his gesture conveying understanding as well as a hint of the same helplessness.
All the unspoken thoughts in my heart eventually boiled down to a simple sentence:
"Be careful in everything you do... It's better to be demoted and relegated to a less important department than to become a pawn caught in their middle."
“I know,” Kingsley said softly.
(End of this chapter)