"Could you elaborate on this operation?"

"How is the Auror Office preparing to respond to the escaped werewolves' retaliation?"

"But Fenrir Greyback is still at large. Does this indicate that the Ministry of Magic underestimated the connection between dark wizards and werewolves?"

Rufus Scrimgeour heard the increasingly sharp questions from the reporters, but he didn't intend to respond to each one.

He didn't know how Umbridge dealt with reporters' questions, nor why all the microphones were being thrust at him, but the one thing he knew was the kind of enemy he was facing—according to Lovegood, an Imp was preparing to gnaw at his soul.

"How many escaped former Death Eaters did the Ministry arrest in this operation?"

"After the previous failure, how did the Ministry of Magic learn from its mistakes and successfully complete this operation against dark creatures?"

Dark wizards… dark creatures… secret arrests… werewolves… a successful Ministry operation…

Scrimgeour frowned slightly, the flashing lights in front of him were somewhat blinding.

The other Ministry officials present at the press conference had all spoken, and now the reporters had all shifted their attention to him. Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge were the same, their faces flushed as if they had just returned from a cocktail party.

"Director Scrimgeour!" Umbridge said, her voice sounding particularly shrill, "Would you like to say a few words?"

Scrimgeour's memory quickly began to unlock, Cornelius Fudge's instructions… Umbridge's hints… the soon-to-retire Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement… cracking down on dark wizards… the dubious werewolf community operation… Imp…

"The trial hasn't started yet, so I have no comment at this time."

He said, his suddenly hoarse voice startling the surrounding reporters and officials.

"We haven't mentioned the trial," Umbridge's smile faltered slightly, "We're talking about—this operation—the fact that we successfully captured fifty-one werewolves, and as Head of the Auror Office, you played a very important exemplary role in this…"

"Don't be nervous, Scrimgeour. Just talk about the results of the operation, the results of cracking down on dark creatures, that's what you're good at."

Cornelius Fudge said with a relaxed expression, nodding lightly to the surrounding reporters.

If it hadn't been for that terrible secret arrest some time ago, perhaps he and Umbridge could have just attended today, but at such a delicate juncture, and with such a large-scale Auror deployment, Scrimgeour, as Head of the Auror Office, naturally had to say a few words.

"The next full moon hasn't arrived yet," Scrimgeour said stiffly, "We can't confirm the number of werewolves yet. And the extent of their collusion with dark wizards is still under investigation. Werewolves cannot be completely equated with dark creatures. Therefore, no comment."

The harmonious atmosphere of the press conference froze.

Scrimgeour clearly saw the flashes of displeasure on Umbridge and Fudge's faces.

However, compared to climbing to a higher position in the Ministry, he cared more about avoiding getting tainted by disgusting things in the process of fighting dark wizards.

"Those fifty-one people—they all came from the werewolf community where Fenrir Greyback was active, suspected werewolves."

"This is a very dangerous sign, and the Ministry of Magic noticed it in time! Werewolf community, obvious danger."

Cornelius Fudge quickly took over the conversation, looking at the somewhat dazed and confused reporters around him, directly taking over the subsequent remarks.

"This means that they are starting to form organized werewolf groups from scattered, disorganized actions, and when the power and voice in this community are still in the hands of guys like Fenrir Greyback, the danger is conceivable—fortunately, Senior Undersecretary Umbridge keenly realized the crisis and preemptively controlled those dangerous elements from the source… The operation was extremely successful."

"Most of them gave up resistance in the first place. And those who resisted were not much of a threat—"

Scrimgeour added, he had been thinking about this issue for some time.

Except for that inexplicable explosion at the end, the Ministry of Magic Aurors and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures officers encountered almost no resistance. They broke into the homes of innocent residents, waving their wands and easily arresting those werewolf families who had no awareness of resistance.

"The Ministry of Magic attaches great importance to this operation," Umbridge said loudly, "Almost all arrests were completed without any fighting. The fact proves that no matter how fierce and dangerous a dark creature is, it will understand its own ridiculousness in the face of the Ministry of Magic's strength."

No, that's not how it is—

Scrimgeour's gaze darted away, and he clenched his right fist suddenly.

In fact, the notice they received from the Ministry was to eliminate and arrest Fenrir Greyback's werewolf army.

He and his Aurors were all mentally prepared for a fierce battle. In that ordinary town called Cwm Coumb, they broke in groups of three to five, casting Stunners at all moving human bodies according to the battle plan—however, no one ever told him that the targets they were facing included a large number of cubs and old people in addition to the extremely ferocious adult werewolves.

Some of them were werewolves, and some may not have been werewolves, but ordinary people who were taking care of "werewolf family members."

The subsequent perfect arrest operation was the same. They used the captured "werewolf hostages" to lure out most of the residents of each werewolf community.

Rufus Scrimgeour was a decisive person, and most of his energy after starting work was devoted to dealing with dark wizards.

But this was the first time ever that Scrimgeour saw familiar hatred and fear in other people's eyes.

Those were the gazes he had only ever seen in people looking at dark wizards.

"Those living in the werewolf community…"

"Alright, Scrimgeour, I understand your humility, and your strict demands on yourself as Head of the Auror Office!"

Cornelius Fudge patted Scrimgeour's tense arm forcefully, interrupting Scrimgeour's words impatiently and loudly.

"You always think that the 'next' dark wizard is more dangerous, and those barbaric werewolves are naturally no match for you, but for most people living in a peaceful world, your recent actions have been very heroic and effectively curbed the threat of dark creatures…"

"A milestone-like achievement, almost controlling more than ninety percent of the werewolves in Britain," Umbridge added.

"But the most dangerous Fenrir Greyback is still at…"

"This is of course the next task, I don't intend to let you relax—Aurors are the bulwark guarding the peace of our world."

"Oh, let's talk about the arrangements afterwards, um. Regarding teaching at Hogwarts…"

Umbridge exchanged a glance with Fudge, her face filled with a fake smile, and coughed lightly twice.

She and Fudge had anticipated Scrimgeour's situation beforehand, after all, this old lion was notoriously stubborn in the Ministry of Magic.

Perhaps Rufus Scrimgeour was irreplaceable in terms of fighting dark wizards and performing Auror tasks, but he was much worse in some situations that required political wisdom, which was why he hadn't even become Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after so many years.

However, even without Scrimgeour helping to smooth things over, it wouldn't have much impact on her and Fudge's plans.

At most, the publicity effect would be slightly worse. Anyway, the subsequent trial and centralized detention plan had already been arranged. The Ministry of Magic's newly passed *Werewolf Restriction Act* had a very good response in society. If Scrimgeour himself wasn't willing to "drink the soup", they didn't need to bother persuading him.

"That's right, just as the Minister has previously informed everyone, I will temporarily cease to perform my duties as Senior Undersecretary…"

"Hogwarts is the future of the magical world, and we have an obligation and responsibility to monitor the fluctuations in the school's educational level…"

"Yes, yes. I will return to Hogwarts starting next week and continue to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. After personally leading the team to complete this arrest of high-risk gregarious dark creatures, I have a greater and better understanding of this course…"

"Is the High Inquisitor a signal that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts? Of course not, this is the magical world's supervision of the school…"

"The danger of being half-human, half-beast? Have I said that before… I don't deny this, we must be cautious. Humanity and animality are two completely different sides. For example, werewolves, giants, and goblins are special categories. They have many eccentricities in their thinking, ethics, and excessive actions that are different from ordinary people. I will also pay attention to reviewing this aspect during my time at Hogwarts to ensure the safety of students and faculty…"

"Werewolves are cruel, ruthless, and dehumanizing dangerous creatures. They can talk to you kindly one second and turn into bloodthirsty and evil beasts and attack you the next—even their closest and dearest loved ones are hardly spared. I never regret this arrest plan. This is an incredibly just action. I believe that we will eventually be able to completely eliminate werewolves. I only regret that it was carried out too slowly…"

Scrimgeour sat there, not saying a word.

He might be wrong, the legal justice of the Ministry of Magic is not the real justice of this world…

The old lion felt a trace of confusion and disgust for the first time in his career, perhaps he should have refused that arrest operation from the beginning.

About half an hour later, Cornelius Fudge's assistant stood up and informed the reporters that the press conference was over.

"Alright, don't always keep a straight face." Fudge patted Scrimgeour's shoulder, "This is a bit difficult, Rufus. You are the best Head of the Auror Office I've ever seen. Countless families have been destroyed by werewolves, and I will apply for a Merlin Order for you later."

After Cornelius Fudge finished speaking, he left to accept an exclusive interview with *The Daily Prophet*.

Umbridge also led a few reporters towards her office, glanced at Scrimgeour standing in place before leaving, raised her eyebrows and whispered a few words to the surrounding Ministry of Magic employees, and the reporters still remaining in the venue were quickly asked to leave.

Umbridge then turned back and walked back to the Head of the Auror Office.

"I hope you understand that the werewolf capture plan is over," Umbridge said in a coquettish whisper, "Most of the Aurors in the Auror Office participated in this operation, which is an honor. If you have any questions and confusions, think about your subordinates before speaking. They risked their lives to fight dangerous werewolves and dark wizards, and this resume can help many of them get more bonuses after retirement. And most importantly, in order to maintain the Ministry of Magic's dignity and authority and maintain peace in the wizarding world, sometimes we have to accept imperfections…"

"Starting next week, I will be staying at Hogwarts Castle all the time," Umbridge said, "But before leaving, I signed the proposal to merge the Werewolf Support Services Department and expand the Auror Office's establishment. Perhaps one day, we will have to again…"

Her voice gradually lowered, but Scrimgeour didn't pay too much attention.

Expanding the number of Aurors was something he had often mentioned before, but after the recent operations, he began to realize another problem…

In peacetime, so many combat wizards were not needed. If it was just to solve wizarding cases and handle emergency magical accidents, the current Auror team, although not more than enough, could at least barely cope. Adding manpower was not very important.

In fact, since Cornelius Fudge came to power, he had been somewhat wary of the Auror Office's combat power.

And now there was only one reason for him to change his attitude one hundred and eighty degrees—the Ministry of Magic was planning something big, or rather, a war was about to break out.

Whether the hypothetical enemy was Gringotts, Hogwarts, or even the Magical Congress of the United States of America far across the ocean, Scrimgeour had to start seriously considering his next stance and code of conduct: if the senior management of the Ministry of Magic became corrupt and degenerate, where should the Aurors go?

"Director? Mr. Scrimgeour?"

Scrimgeour looked up and saw Umbridge raised her eyebrows, looking him up and down with a meaningful expression.

The most urgent task at the moment was to ensure the independence of the Aurors, at least they were still within his sight and management at any time.

In just that instant, Rufus Scrimgeour suddenly thought of another reason why he might be promoted—compared to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, the Head of the Auror Office was clearly more likely to influence the Aurors' actions, and that was not just a sweet bait.

"Cough, sorry, I may have been a little excited just now…"

Scrimgeour coughed lightly, and said after hesitating for a few seconds.

"Undersecretary Umbridge, regarding unrecognized matters, I cannot make too rash conclusions for the time being. But if you have some, um, appropriate and proper statements to respond to the media, perhaps I can follow you and Minister Fudge later and add a few extra words."

After pausing for a few seconds, the old lion looked at the fat witch whose expression didn't change, and sighed incredibly naturally.

"Well, to be honest, I still want to receive something like the Order of Merlin while I'm alive—"

"At least a Third Class, don't worry."

Umbridge carefully looked at Scrimgeour, and a smile slowly bloomed on her face.

"Ah—this is indeed my oversight, after all, you don't have much contact with the media, so it's not a problem to be more cautious in your speech. Yes, I have some suggestions here. We can talk while we walk. After doing the exclusive interview in my office later, we will go see the Minister…"

She stretched out her short, stubby fingers with ugly rings and patted Scrimgeour's arm with satisfaction.

Umbridge looked kindly at the Head of the Auror Office, who finally chose the correct answer, and the smile on her face stretched her loose and puffy wide mouth wide. With the support of the Auror Office, she would be more confident in her actions at Hogwarts in the future.

Perhaps Albus Dumbledore and Paracelsus could withstand five or ten elite Aurors.

However, with the Auror Office officially starting to expand its recruitment, that would be different.

If the number of Aurors could reach a hundred, then even forcibly removing Dumbledore from his position as Headmaster would not seem to be a very difficult thing—in the wizarding world, there had never been a wizard who could fight one against a hundred.

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Good!