Chapter 1163: Bait
Chapter 1163: Bait
"Damn, am I being watched?"
Kenneth stood by the window, his hand pulling aside the curtain slightly as he peered out at the street below. Though he didn't spot anyone loitering around his residence, he felt certain that he was under surveillance.
His intuition was telling him that he had been marked ever since his trip to Zonko's Joke Shop for Albert. Despite his efforts, Kenneth couldn't pinpoint who was behind this, but his instincts honed from operating in the gray areas of the magical world left him with no doubt that he was a target.
This was definitely not a good situation.
But why would he be watched?
Because of his father? No, Kenneth attributed it more to Albert and that blasted 10,000 Galleon bounty.
Somehow, he felt that Albert had set him up.
It made sense; why would Albert need his help delivering goods to Zonko if there wasn't something fishy going on? Fred, George, or Lee Jordan could have done it just as well.
Damn it! Why hadn't he thought of this earlier? And to make matters worse, he had signed a magical contract, ensuring that even if he were caught, he couldn't reveal anything.
Could Albert be trying to get rid of him? No, that didn't seem likely.
Perhaps Albert was just passing the trouble onto him as a test of his trustworthiness.
The more Kenneth thought about it, the more annoyed he became. Initially, he had proposed a collaboration with Albert, thinking they could all benefit from working together. But not only had his father, Mr. Bole, refused, he had also tried to take advantage of Albert by asking for Dark Magic Defense artifacts.
In retrospect, it seemed laughable.
Was Albert the kind of person who let others take advantage of him?
Just look at what happened to the Death Eaters who tried to crash the wedding.
Mr. Bole had not only landed himself in Azkaban but had also muddled Kenneth's relationship with Albert.
If it weren't for this mess, they could have built upon their previous cooperation at Hogwarts. Even if they couldn't gain as much as Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, they wouldn't have been at a disadvantage like they were now, forced to sign a damn magical contract.
Kenneth regretted falling for his father's lies, which had led to this predicament.
Now that he was being watched, he didn't have many options. His best bet was to find Fred, George, or Lee Jordan and ask them to relay a message to Albert for help. But those guys had been lying low lately, and he had no idea where they were.
"Could I have been left out here as bait?" The more Kenneth thought about it, the more something felt off.
"I can't stay here. I need to lie low for a while."
He decided to bring up the issue at the next Dark Magic Defense training session at the Ministry of Magic with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
As he hastily packed his things to leave, hurried footsteps approached from the street outside. Before Kenneth could even attempt to Disapparate, the door was flung open, and several unkempt men with malicious expressions burst in, their wands pointed at Kenneth, who was holding a suitcase and preparing to leave.
"Damn!"
Kenneth threw down his suitcase and drew his wand, casting a Shield Charm to deflect the incoming hexes. However, the force of the spells still knocked him off-balance. Fortunately, the Shield Charm on his defensive bracelet helped protect him, or else he might have ended up like the nearby window, shattered by the hexes.
"Bloody hell, I knew I was being set up!"
While cursing Albert and his associates in his mind, Kenneth recognized one of the intruders.
After forcing the three men back with a well-placed Red Hex, he quickly took cover and shouted at the scruffy man named Paul, "What the hell do you want, Paul?"
"What do we want?" Paul flashed a grin, revealing a set of yellow teeth. "Someone wants to invite you to join us. Come on, little Bole; I advise you not to resist and come with us nicely. Otherwise, don't blame me for not considering your father's face."
"Is this how you invite people to join you?" Kenneth's face darkened. If it weren't for the magical contract, he wouldn't have minded going with them, and the worst that could happen would be joining their ranks. But now, he had no choice.
"I don't think you'd consider his face, seeing as he's locked up in Azkaban."
"Stop blabbering. I'm counting to three, and you'd better come with us nicely, or else we won't be so polite." The three men quickly surrounded Kenneth's hiding place, intending to take him by force.
"Not so polite? How exactly do you plan to be impolite?"
Kenneth suddenly cast a spray of red sparks toward the shattered window, hoping to startle the three men and create an opportunity to escape.
"Damn, is this a trap?"
Kenneth's actions successfully made the three men hesitate, as the Ministry of Magic had been using various tactics to capture Dark Wizards recently.
"Don't be stupid. I bet he's just trying to scare us off."
"Regardless, let's take him first."
Paul lunged at Kenneth, intending to knock him down, but he was sent flying by a well-placed Impediment Jinx.
"Just make sure you don't kill him."
After all, their orders were only to capture Kenneth. Since he wasn't cooperating, giving him a hard time wouldn't hurt.
As for his father's connections, how much were they really worth in Galleons? However, Kenneth proved to be a tricky opponent. He either dodged their hexes or blocked them with defensive artifacts he had on him.
Nevertheless, the three men eventually managed to corner Kenneth.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached from outside again, followed by unfamiliar shouts.
"Hurry, don't let them get away!"
A group of people was closing in on them.
The three men glared at Kenneth with hatred, but it was too late. Several spells shot through the door, knocking Paul and his companions to the ground.
"Looks like our luck isn't bad," Kingsley remarked as he glanced at a stunned Kenneth. He gestured to his companions to take the man away.
Once Kenneth regained his wits, he couldn't help but ask, "Who... who are you?"
"Fred and George told me you might be in trouble," Kingsley explained to the unlucky young man who was about to serve as bait. "Don't worry. After you've done this a few times, everyone will know you're bait, and no one will bother you again."
At these words, Kenneth's expression fell.
"Just cooperate with the Ministry, and we'll consider reducing your father's sentence."
Kingsley patted Kenneth on the shoulder and handed him a candy. "This is Fred and George's latest product. They say it brings luck, so if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, eat it, and you'll definitely be fine."
"Thank them for their concern," Kenneth said through gritted teeth as he took the candy.
"I will. Before that, I suggest you come with us back to the Ministry of Magic. It'll be safer there."
Kingsley and his team had rushed over and were now returning to the Ministry with the captured wizards in tow, intending to extract useful intelligence from them.
As expected, the three captives knew very little.
They were from the lower rungs of Knockturn Alley and had only recently joined the Death Eaters, or more accurately, become pawns of certain Death Eaters. Their orders were to capture Kenneth.
Kingsley promptly reported this information to the Auror Office, but he doubted they would be able to catch anyone. After all, their operation in Knockturn Alley had caused quite a stir, and many witnesses had seen what happened.
If the Death Eaters had any sense, they would abandon their base immediately, realizing that the Ministry was on to them.
Kingsley asked his assistant to quickly organize the information and then knocked on the Minister's office door.
"Well?" Scrimgeour asked without looking up from his desk.
"We only caught a few lackeys," Kingsley replied.
Handing over the file his assistant had prepared, Kingsley continued, "The Auror Office is probably following up on the lead as we speak, but I don't think we'll catch any big fish. This operation was too rushed, and we didn't have time to set up properly."
"What about Kenneth Bole?" Scrimgeour inquired, setting down his quill and quickly scanning the report.
"Mr. Bole is currently at the Ministry. We had a Legilimens communicate with him, but he doesn't know much either. Based on the information Mr. Bole provided, we suspect that Hogsmeade might have Death Eater informants. As for those three trying to capture him, it seems they were after Albert, hoping to use Kenneth to find him. The bounty on Albert is still up on the black market." Kingsley explained.
"Are they all complete idiots?" Scrimgeour muttered, his frustration evident. He considered going after Lucius again but ultimately decided against it. If he lost his credibility, it would be difficult to do so in the future, especially since the fines collected from those three Death Eaters had already depleted most of the funds obtained from the previous one.
"I think we should get them to remove that damn bounty," Kingsley said, "but... even if they do, the Malfoys might just pay others to keep the bounty on Albert." He wasn't too worried about Albert's safety, though. "We still haven't located Narcissa Malfoy, and we suspect she might be with Bellatrix Lestrange."
"That matter can wait," Scrimgeour said. "That guy is not to be trifled with. If necessary, he'll proactively cooperate with us again." He set down the file and looked up at Kingsley. "How's the Dark Magic Defense training coming along?"
"We have around a hundred participants so far, and the number is gradually increasing. The effect is even better than we expected. I believe that before long, they should be able to protect themselves." Kingsley pulled out another file from the folder and handed it to Scrimgeour.
"You're doing well. But regarding their training..." Scrimgeour paused, then continued, "I mean, teach them more self-defense skills, and if there are exceptionally talented individuals, consider recruiting them for specialized training." He took a file from the folder, signed it, and said to Kingsley, "I'll give you some temporary positions, with the same treatment as your current team members. Also, if you encounter any Death Eaters attacking Muggles, you have my permission to kill them directly. We need to send a strong message to those troublemakers. The Muggle Prime Minister has already lodged several protests with Fudge."
"Are we going to continue expanding the recruitment?" Kingsley frowned.
"We have no choice. We're severely short-staffed," Scrimgeour emphasized. "They will be considered wartime auxiliary personnel. We need more hands on deck."
"What about Kenneth Bole?" Kingsley asked again.
"It doesn't matter. Reduce his father's sentence," Scrimgeour suggested. "I predict that Voldemort will attempt a prison break soon, and we won't be able to do anything about it. So, it doesn't really matter if we reduce the sentence or not."
"What about the prophecy?"
"Yes," Scrimgeour sighed. "It's unavoidable. You should know better than I do that we have quite a few prisoners in Azkaban right now. To Voldemort, they are all disposable. You should be aware that he wouldn't hesitate to use them as cannon fodder."
"If possible, select a group of prisoners with lesser crimes. Fine them and then release them on probation. If they reoffend, increase the severity of the punishment. As for the money, we'll use it to expand the Crisis Response Team and counter the Death Eaters. For now, we need everyone to pull together to get through this difficult time."
"Are we really going to do this?" Kingsley was taken aback by Scrimgeour's proposal.
"Yes, we don't need to rush this. I'll find out the exact time of the prison break later. In the meantime, pass this on to Piers, and ask Gadwin to join us as well. We'll discuss this matter at the meeting promptly at 10 p.m. tonight."
"Alright, I'll do that." Kingsley left with the signed documents.
As the door closed, Scrimgeour heaved a heavy sigh.
If possible, Scrimgeour would have liked to set up an ambush for the Death Eaters, but ever since he learned about Dumbledore's injury, he had abandoned that idea.
Let Dumbledore deal with the Death Eaters.
No, he couldn't take that risk.
And prison breaks were notoriously difficult to prevent, especially when the perpetrators were Death Eaters. Even if they managed to drive them away, it would be a temporary solution at best.
For now, their only option was to empower the entire population, giving everyone the ability to defend themselves against dark wizards. Although he was well aware of the potential consequences, they had no other choice at this point.
While a docile populace was easier for the Ministry to manage, they were helpless in the face of danger. This was partly due to the Ministry's one-size-fits-all approach to regulating defensive education, as evident in the Auror training curriculum and the modifications made to Albert's Self-Defense Guide.
As for the future repercussions, Scrimgeour didn't want to think about them right now. The most important thing was to win this war and survive.
Could they win? Scrimgeour wasn't very confident, especially since he suspected that Dumbledore didn't have much time left.
Why had the Death Eaters tried to kill him?
A significant reason was their attempt to gain control of the Ministry, which made him their primary target.
Coupled with Dumbledore's injury, Scrimgeour feared that Dumbledore might not be around much longer. And without him, the Death Eaters would have no qualms about their actions. Although Albert had mentioned leaving a way out, Scrimgeour...
(End of Chapter)
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