https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1683-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Three-/12567903/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1685-A-War-with-No-Victors-One-Hundred-and-Thirty-Five-/12571896/
Chapter 1684: A War With No Victors (One Hundred and Thirty-Four)
Chapter 1684: A War With No Victors (One Hundred and Thirty-Four)
Lupin naturally understood what Sirius meant. After much consideration, he immediately abandoned his bold idea. As Albert had said, this was never something that could be accomplished on a whim.
First and foremost, they needed enough manpower, which was precisely what the magazine lacked.
Of course, they could hire additional staff, but the remaining funds in the magazine's coffers did not permit such an endeavor. Even with the small profit the magazine had made recently, it was still not enough to cover such an ambitious venture.
Once Lupin calmed down, he realized that he had almost acted impulsively and made an irreparable mistake.
This wasn't entirely Lupin's fault. Watching the number of subscriptions to the Wizarding Times plummet and seeing the favorable situation slip away was frustrating, and it was understandable that he would be anxious and his judgment clouded.
It was no surprise that Lupin wanted to try something to attract more readers and turn the tide for the Wizarding Times.
"Sorry, I..." Lupin trailed off.
"It's alright, old friend," Sirius said, patting Lupin on the shoulder. "You just wanted to try something new, but we don't have the luxury to experiment."
Indeed, they lacked galleons, and they didn't have the resources to make mistakes.
Lupin fell into a slump for several days, mocking his own wild fantasies. Just when his difficult life had begun to improve with the help of others, he had dared to entertain the idea of doing even more? Thankfully, his attention was soon diverted elsewhere.
Tonks brought back news from the Ministry of Magic, saying that Kingsley was vigorously promoting legislation related to werewolves to ensure they were controlled during the full moon.
The general idea was to find a place where werewolves could transform during the full moon, allowing for centralized management.
"Do you think such a bill can be implemented?"
Sirius was the first to express skepticism. While there had been similar bills in the past, they had all ended up as scrap paper.
No one wanted to admit to being a werewolf.
No one wanted to face discrimination because of their condition.
"Yes, many people think the same," Tonks said, glancing anxiously at Lupin. "But I heard that Kingsley intends to enforce the law forcefully."
"Perhaps we can ask Kingsley or Percy directly," Sirius suggested without hesitation. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind sharing some useful information with us."
However, contacting Kingsley proved challenging. Ever since he had become the new minister, their old friend had grown distant. So, Sirius had to go through Mr. Weasley to get in touch with Percy, who, fortunately, as the minister's assistant, was privy to many secrets.
"Yes, the minister wants to address the werewolf issue at its root," Percy clarified, understanding Kingsley's intentions.
"That will be difficult," everyone frowned, as there had never been a successful case in the past.
"At least now is the best time," Percy explained. "The number of werewolves in Britain is at an all-time low."
"That's true."
Everyone exchanged glances, remembering the large number of werewolves who had perished during the Battle of Hogwarts.
"As long as we control the remaining werewolves, we can control the werewolf population at its source."
"Control the remaining werewolves?"
Lupin repeated Percy's words, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Yes, and it's quite simple," Percy said, stunning everyone with his suggestion. "We find the werewolves decent jobs."
"Decent jobs for werewolves?" Everyone wondered if they had heard him right.
"I don't have all the details, but it won't require a lot of galleons according to the budget."
"What if they don't want to?" Lupin suddenly asked.
"Of course, it's not mandatory, but during the full moon, they must submit to centralized management," Percy explained. "Also, most werewolves lead miserable lives and often can't find work. It's better to work for the Ministry, where they'll have food, lodging, and an income, not to mention being surrounded by fellow werewolves, and they won't have to worry about discrimination from others."
"I bet this is Albert's idea, and only he would dare to propose such a bold plan," Sirius muttered.
"What if there are werewolves who don't want to comply?" Lupin asked suddenly. "You should be aware that many werewolves are reluctant to reveal their identities."
"Then they had better pray their identities don't get exposed, or they'll become targets for the Aurors to hunt down," Percy said calmly, delivering the most terrifying news.
"After all, once the majority of werewolves are under control, the small number hiding will naturally need to be forcibly excluded."
"Do you think Kingsley will succeed?"
Lupin fell silent for a moment, then turned to Sirius. "I don't know, but the probability isn't low. I suspect Kingsley plans to promote this idea worldwide?" Sirius thought it would be a good thing if it succeeded, as it could solve the werewolf problem at its root.
Most werewolves would probably welcome the opportunity to have decent jobs and lead somewhat fulfilling lives.
Their expectations for life were truly not high, and the Ministry could easily provide these jobs without spending a lot of money.
After all, werewolves were still people; they could work and produce value, so the Ministry didn't need to spend a fortune to address the significant threat they posed.
The biggest problem now was where to get the startup funds!
Raiding Voldemort's remaining Death Eater funds was undoubtedly the quickest way, but this endeavor faced obstacles and was even blocked, as pure-blood wizards feared setting such a precedent.
Sterling had actually done something similar, but not as radical.
"I think the probability of them agreeing is not high."
"I know they don't want to set this precedent, and I understand what they're afraid of. But we need a large sum of galleons to push for subsequent bills... They'll have to compromise eventually." Kingsley was not worried about this issue. He believed that after the recent werewolf incident, British wizards would want to eradicate the werewolf threat once and for all.
Once this matter was brought to a public discussion, it would become inevitable to use the fortunes of the chaotic Death Eater families to clean up the mess they had left behind.
However, this was a powerful weapon, and Kingsley did not dare to use it lightly, so he patiently gave others time to think through how to solve the funding problem.
During this time, Kingsley steadily promoted the bill, educated people on how to identify werewolves, and gradually revealed his plans for managing werewolves in Britain and the subsequent werewolf legislation he intended to push, thus eradicating the potential crisis werewolves could bring.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
