Chapter 1414: Taking Action
Chapter 1414: Taking Action
That evening, Harry discussed the matter with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.
They had heard from Fred and George about their plan to claim the bounty on their heads from the Ministry of Magic. Although they didn't know the specifics, they all thought it was a brilliant idea and even considered doing the same. However, they were ruthlessly rejected by Sirius and the twins.
Now, Harry finally understood the method they had employed.
Although using a complex potion on the Death Eaters before killing them was a bit cruel, none of the four—Harry, Hermione, Ron, or Ginny—felt that Sirius was wrong. After all, those Death Eaters were murderers themselves, and under Voldemort's control of the Ministry, there was no way to bring them to true justice.
Undeniably, Sirius' approach was a bit beyond their expectations, but upon further reflection, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
After all, he didn't kill them with his own hands, so there was no psychological burden, especially since the Death Eaters had heavy sins on their souls.
Although it sounded like self-comfort, Sirius' actions had indeed brought retribution to the murderers, reduced Muggle casualties, and brought in some money to fill the gaps.
Whether it was the Order of the Phoenix or the Defense Association, they needed financial support to continue their operations.
After all, everyone had to eat.
It would be a joke if they had to disband due to a lack of funds.
When Harry was in school, he never had to worry about money, but after staying at the headquarters of the Order for a long time, he had come to understand many things.
Relying solely on passion to resist the mysterious forces was far from enough. Especially after Dumbledore's death and the loss of the Order's funding sources, they had barely managed to stay afloat, and even if they had persevered, there might not have been much left of them.
The only regret Harry and his friends had was that they hadn't been able to participate directly.
A few days later, people saw the "death notice" of Sirius Black in the Daily Prophet.
The front page of the newspaper was filled with photos of Sirius' "dead" face, as if to tell everyone that Sirius Black was truly dead.
The Death Eaters were elated to have successfully taken down a prominent member of the Order of the Phoenix.
Since Voldemort had taken control of the British wizarding world through the Ministry of Magic, members of the Order had been hiding like rats, making it extremely difficult to surround and capture them, or even find them in the first place.
Up until now, Sirius Black was the only successful case.
According to the detailed report in the newspaper, the squad tasked with capturing Sirius had suffered heavy casualties, and it was only through a sneak Avada Kedavra attack that they had finally succeeded in killing him.
However, the "Death Eater" who had successfully killed Sirius Black couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it, because the bounty offered by the Ministry of Magic had been severely reduced.
The excuse given was simple: there was a process to claiming the bounty, and it was hard to say how long that process would take. If it weren't for the need to set an example for others, who knew how many Galleons they would actually receive! For this reason, Sirius Black was so angry that he felt like jumping out of his grave. He personally led a group to visit the home of a senior official at the Ministry, and after learning the full story, he still couldn't get back the Galleons that were rightfully his.
The reason was simple: the bounty had been divided up along the way.
So, this "lucky" Death Eater began spreading the news far and wide and preparing to disappear suddenly.
As for why he disappeared?
Naturally, he was silenced by the Death Eaters within the Ministry.
Whether people believed it or not, that was the story.
It completely tore off the veil that hid the ugly faces of the Ministry and the Death Eaters, exposing their true nature to all witches and wizards.
Soon, news of a dog-eat-dog incident spread.
As for Black's "death notice," it was proven false on the radio.
"Up until now, we have been in contact with the Order of the Phoenix and can confirm that Sirius is still alive. As for the latest news in the Daily Prophet, we believe it to be a ploy by the Death Eaters."
That's right! What did it have to do with him, Black?
However, not as many people cared whether Sirius Black was truly dead or not.
People preferred to believe what they wanted to believe.
Countless onlookers delighted in watching the Death Eaters and the dark wizards turn on each other.
Thus, the incident spread throughout the British wizarding world at a staggering speed.
Almost no one discussed whether Black was dead or alive; instead, they focused on the corruption within the Ministry.
The fact that the Ministry and the Death Eaters had dared to reduce the bounty to only three-tenths of the original amount was shocking.
Of course, there were no shortage of dark wizards who took pleasure in this turn of events, and envy and jealousy were natural human emotions.
However, this "lucky" individual, who had just made a significant contribution to the Death Eaters, mysteriously disappeared a few days later, and many wizards suspected that he had been mercilessly killed by someone from the Ministry or the Death Eaters.
This was like poking a hornet's nest, causing an uproar among the dark wizards.
People may have taken pleasure in the misfortune of others, but killing someone to silence them was another matter entirely.
Even though many had anticipated that such a day might come, they still felt the need to express their dissatisfaction and prevent themselves from becoming pitiful sacrifices one day.
It could only be said that Albert's move was ruthless, directly causing the credibility of the Ministry and the Death Eaters to plummet.
Although they had little credibility to begin with, after this incident, many dark wizards became more cautious and vigilant towards the Death Eaters and the Ministry.
The original capture squads quickly disbanded, as no one wanted to follow in the footsteps of the unfortunate Death Eater.
The funniest thing was that the senior official at the Ministry who had handled the matter was robbed by multiple groups in just a few days.
And who were these robbers?
Naturally, they weren't all from the Order of the Phoenix.
While it was true that Sirius had started it, the power of example was strong. With Sirius as their model, those with grudges took their revenge, and those without grudges invented new ones and took revenge anyway.
No one knew if there was a problem with the bounties they had received.
Losing this group of dark wizards driven by self-interest, the Death Eaters soon found themselves in a difficult situation.
The number of Death Eaters was always limited, and they relied on the help of British dark wizards for many tasks. But after this incident, many of those dark wizards refused to cooperate, making it impossible for the Death Eaters to continue with their plans.
Upon receiving this news, Yaxley was so angry that he trashed his office. He didn't care about the Ministry's reputation or the opinions of other dark wizards, but this incident had tarnished their already poor reputation. Despite their lack of standing, this foolish act of exposing their own wounds and becoming a laughingstock almost made him twist his nose in anger.
The worst part was that the lucky fellow had disappeared, implying that someone from the Ministry had silenced him.
Looking at the group of idiots before him who still intended to quibble, Yaxley realized how stupid he had been and directly raised his wand, sending the most obnoxious one to his death with an Avada Kedavra.
After all, the one who died wasn't a Death Eater, so it didn't matter.
Seeing the fearful faces of the remaining wizards, Yaxley was somewhat satisfied with his intimidation.
On this day, the employees of the Ministry of Magic were once again reminded of the terrifying fact that they were ruled by Voldemort.
However, Sirius Black, the instigator of all this, felt no remorse. He even treated the whole affair as a joke, sharing it with everyone without caring about the cruel fact that he was supposed to be "dead."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
