Chapter 650: Ambush (Part 1)
Chapter 650: Ambush (Part 1)
"An arms dealer who doesn't sell to both sides of a war is a failed arms dealer." Liam joked, taking the bracelet and checking the number on it. "Fortunately, this is from the batch we sold to the Ministry of Magic before the war broke out. Sometimes, it's hard to prevent mid-to-low-tier products from falling into enemy hands."
"This must be an elite squad", Hermione said, looking at the stack of bracelets beside her. She had found six copper bracelets and one silver bracelet from the seven bodies, along with a bunch of items like smoke bombs and refraction rings. If these people hadn't initially dispersed and hadn't expected their brooms to malfunction mid-air, dealing with them would have been much more difficult.
"Indeed, they are elite", Liam replied. "Mad-Eye Moody told us that very few Aurors truly stayed loyal to the Dark Lord. So, London's Ministry of Magic wouldn't have more than five squads like this one."
"A great victory, Big Brother", Rose Crystal raised her right hand in a toast. "We should definitely throw a celebration when we get back."
"Sure thing", Liam said, placing his hand on Rose Crystal's silky-soft hair. Rose Crystal gently nuzzled against Liam's palm. "What do you want to eat? List it out for me. Rivendell's Hobbit Bistro has hired a new group of Hobbits, one of whom was the champion of last year's cooking tournament at Bag End."
Twenty minutes later, Ryan and the others had looted everything of value, even the copper knuts from the seams of the dead men's clothing. As Rose Crystal stored the seven bodies, now stripped to their clothes, into the Multiverse General Store, Liam said, "Alright, the next step is to return these items to the London Ministry of Magic. We need to teach them fear and make them stop persecuting Muggle-born wizards and Muggles."
"Agreed. We should start the next phase now. I can't believe they dared to do this. I'm ready, let's go!" Hermione put away the parchment she had found on Delius and stood up, then she and Rose Crystal each took one of Liam's hands. With a loud crack, they vanished from the room.
With a soft thud, Ryan and the others appeared in a small, dimly lit room. The broken furniture, cracked tiles, and stacks of discarded files clearly indicated that this was a storage room.
"Good, they haven't changed the use of this storage room since last time. Judging by the dust, I'd say this room hasn't been entered in at least a year", Liam said, looking around the dark space. "We need to plan our next move. After all, we're only three people."
"I can call the sisters", Rose Crystal raised her hand.
"No, that won't be necessary", Liam said, looking into Rose Crystal's large purple eyes. "Our goal this time is to intimidate and show our presence, so we don't need more people."
The wizarding world differs from the Muggle world in that wizards still respect power above all else. For example, Dumbledore is considered the greatest White Wizard not because he discovered new uses for dragon blood or served as Headmaster of Hogwarts, but because he defeated the most powerful Dark Wizard in Europe, Grindelwald.
So, for Liam, who wanted to make a move in the current situation, he needed to demonstrate his strength to attract like-minded individuals. This attack on the London Ministry of Magic served the same purpose.
Of course, to avoid Dumbledore intervening for some reason, Liam only told him that he would use Lucius Malfoy to lure the enemy into an ambush, without revealing that he planned to attack the Ministry after the ambush.
"So, what is our main target this time, Liam? You saw the information I found—" Hermione pulled out a map of the current Ministry of Magic. "Although we had a plan for a large-scale war, it involved too many targets. We need to narrow it down with just three of us."
"Today, we'll only attack this area", Liam pointed to a red-marked section on the first floor. Hermione leaned in and saw that it was labeled as the Muggle-Born Registration Committee. "Destroying this place serves two purposes. First, it sends a message. Second, it destroys the records of Muggle-born wizards, making it easier for them to escape persecution in the occupied zones. Most importantly, the people working in this department are not innocent, so we can minimize collateral damage."
"Good idea", Hermione and Rose Crystal nodded in unison. They then opened a small portal and retrieved magic artifacts to arm themselves, with the most common being bottles filled with green liquid.
"Everyone ready? We’ll set the timer for 30 minutes", Liam said after everyone had prepared. He twisted the metal ring on a pen-sized fuse to set the timer and placed it with a large box of Weasley’s fireworks. "We need to complete this mission within half an hour, or the increasing number of enemies will make it too risky."
After setting the timer, Ryan and the others donned a series of invisibility spells and left the storage room. They were currently outside the Department of Mysteries on the ninth floor. Since Apparition could only take them to places they had been before, and they were only familiar with the Department of Mysteries and the hall on the eighth floor, it made more sense to Apparate near the Department of Mysteries rather than the crowded hall.
The ninth floor had very few people, but it wasn’t completely empty. They soon joined a lift heading to the hall and then followed a group of wizards in black robes to another lift, which took them to the ground floor.
The golden gates opened to reveal a corridor lined with thick carpets. On either side were shiny wooden doors, each with a small plaque displaying the name and position of the occupant.
"The scale here is quite impressive", Hermione’s voice echoed in Liam’s mind through the Phoenix Mark. "It seems the Ministry of Magic is taking the Muggle-Born Registration Committee very seriously, otherwise, they wouldn’t have placed it on this floor."
"You’re right, but this is good news for us", Liam replied. "We might even gain some unexpected benefits from this raid."
The corridor was quiet, with only the three of them present. There were no usual office sounds of bustling, talking, or hurried footsteps. The deep purple carpets muffled their steps, ensuring no noise betrayed their presence.
After turning a corner and walking a short distance, the corridor opened into a spacious area. A dozen or so wizards sat at small desks, similar to school desks.
Every wizard behind a desk waved and swirled their wands in unison, causing many square sheets of colored paper to float in the air like dark green kites. The papers quickly filled with content, folded neatly, and were magically bound and stacked beside each wizard.
"Mudbloods threatening the peaceful Pureblood society?" Rose Crystal quietly flew to a desk and relayed what she saw to Liam through their mental link. The images she sent showed silver text printed on dark green covers, with a red rose being tightly wrapped by a venomous, menacing green plant, and a grinning face in the center of the rose.
"Truly ignorant and outdated propaganda", Liam thought. "But those who read these magazines probably have similar intelligence levels."
Opposite the small printing factory was a polished red wooden door with a brass plaque: "Lancorn Albert, Muggle-Born Registration Committee Director."
"I know this person", Hermione said through the Phoenix Mark. "Ginny once told me he used to work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was famous for his Pureblood ideology. Mr. Weasley had several arguments with him. I can’t believe he’s now in charge of this."
"It’s not surprising", Liam replied. "Under the Dark Lord’s rule, the Ministry of Magic has become a den of scoundrels. While some clerical workers might be forced into service, it’s safe to assume that all civil servants are supporters of the Pureblood ideology and the Dark Lord’s regime."
(End of Chapter)
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