Although most of the officials in the Ministry of Magic merely go through the motions and try to maintain appearances, they do have their merits.
For example, they are highly skilled in the use of the Obliviate Charm, as they effortlessly and swiftly erased several days' worth of memories from a group of people.
Additionally, their abilities in the Mending Charm and Cleaning Charm are top-notch.
In just over ten minutes, the parking area had been restored to its original state.
The slime and blood stains inside and outside the truck vanished, the broken glass caused by the spiders, the side mirror knocked off during the brawl with the bearded man, and the dents on the truck were all repaired as if nothing had happened.
As for the group of people lying on the ground, the Ministry officials thoughtfully stuffed each one into a different car, as if worried they might catch a cold.
In reality, they were just concerned that someone might discover a bunch of people lying on the ground and raise the alarm.
"What will they think when they wake up?"
A young Ministry employee looked back at the people they had dumped and asked worriedly, "Appearing on a ship out of nowhere will surely make them report it to the authorities, right? It might even cause a big commotion."
"It's fine," an older employee replied with a smile. "As long as they ask their relatives, friends, or the staff on the ship, they'll be told they boarded the ship on their own. As for the memory loss..."
Another chimed in, "There are countless reasons that could cause memory loss—like accidentally hitting one's head or the effects of medication. Stupid Muggles would never suspect magic, would they?"
Everyone burst into laughter, their laughter was filled with disdain for the other group.
Laughing and chatting, they returned upstairs and were ready to continue enjoying their trip.
Hidden behind the pipes as a peregrine falcon, Wade poked his head out and watched the group leave without a care in the world, and then shook his head helplessly.
No wonder someone like Fudge could maintain his position as Minister of Magic.
If it weren't for Voldemort's resurrection being revealed in the original storyline, Fudge might even have been able to smear Dumbledore as a crazy old man and drive him out of Hogwarts without much opposition from most Ministry employees.
After all, for many people, Fudge represented their interests—a life where they didn't have to take things too seriously or bear too much responsibility, where mistakes didn't matter, and they could still slack off at work…
The abilities and conduct of those in power inevitably influence all those beneath them.
Wade left the parking area. After dealing with the bombs planted on the ship, he returned. He stayed above the pipes and patiently waited for the people below to wake up.
It didn't take long before someone stirred.
The first to wake up found himself in an unfamiliar car. Panicked, he fumbled for his weapon and scanned his surroundings cautiously.
After confirming he was safe, he carefully opened the car door and slipped out. He moved stealthily and used other vehicles to shield himself as he made his escape.
One after another, the others began waking up. Their actions were almost carbon copies of the first person's.
Because the Ministry of Magic had placed them in separate cars, the people waking up seemed to think they had been individually ambushed and had no idea that there were multiple "companions" in the parking area.
Some of the more cautious individuals took a moment to gather information from the car they were in, but even they only spent a minute or two before hastily leaving the unsettling location.
The white-haired old man, being the oldest, was the last to wake up.
To be precise, he was woken by the ringing of a phone.
Those who had left the parking area earlier had pieced together their situation and called the old man to report their experiences, only to be surprised to find that he had gone through the same thing.
"Wait, don't talk over the phone," the white-haired old man said quietly while sitting in the car and scanning his surroundings cautiously. "Gather the others, and let's discuss this back at the safe house."
He hung up and also left in a hurry.
Wade followed him silently and discovered that their so-called safe house was just a room on the seventh floor.
It was the white-haired old man's bedroom, with a small living room attached. The six or seven people crammed inside made the space feel overcrowded.
"...Here's the situation," the white-haired old man said, trying to remain calm. "Carter, Julie, Tom, and I—we have lost the past three days of our memories. Sitaya has lost five days. What do you all think? Share your thoughts."
One by one, the others began to speak:
"Magic."
"The Obliviate Charm."
"I've heard of that... the incantation is 'Obliviate!'"
"But the information we got said a group of werewolves kidnapped some alchemists, right? Most werewolves wouldn't be able to use such a spell."
"Generally speaking, that's true, but we can't rule out exceptions."
"However, I think... it's very likely that someone else is involved in this—like the British Aurors coming to rescue the alchemists."
"The Obliviate Charm is definitely a favorite tool of the Ministry of Magic."
"If that's the case, then those werewolves have probably been taken down."
"Can we still contact the person who sold us the information?"
"More importantly," someone interjected, "is it really safe for us to be discussing this here? What if there's a wizard hiding nearby, and we have no way to detect them?"
The room instantly fell silent. For a moment, no one spoke, and their suspicious gazes instinctively scanned every corner of the room.
"Don't worry."
The white-haired old man was the only one not glancing around nervously. He spoke calmly:
"I thought about this on my way here. The Ministry of Magic typically looks down on Muggles and wouldn't bother playing tricks on us. If they wanted to know something or do anything to us, they would've already done it while we were unconscious."
"So panicking now won't help in the slightest—Carter, continue reaching out to that bounty hunter and find out if the werewolves are still around. Julie, figure out a way to obtain the ship's surveillance footage…"
He assigned tasks one by one, keeping his subordinates occupied. Then, he rubbed his temples and leaned back into the sofa.
After a long moment of silence, the old man suddenly spoke: "Wizard sir, do you have any instructions for us? Or... is there something you want from us?"
The room fell into dead silence.
It was only after a long pause that the old man rubbed his brow and murmured, "No one? I guess I was overthinking things…"
Struggling to his feet with the help of the sofa, he trudged toward the bathroom.
It wasn't until the sound of running water came from the bathroom that Wade used a Shrinking Charm to miniaturize the location tracker hidden in his book of friends and slid it into the crevice of a suitcase. Then, without a sound, he opened the door and slipped out of the room.
Using the same method, he planted a tracker on another group of Muggles who were seeking out a wizard to cure cancer.
Wade could understand their pursuit of magic, but he would never allow himself to be dissected on an operating table for research—nor could he tolerate anyone else being subjected to such treatment.
[Wade: Miss Skeeter, please keep an eye on that person for me.]
[Rita: No problem! This ship is far more interesting than I expected! I have a feeling... I'm going to uncover a story here that will shock the whole world!]
[Wade: Be careful. Being an Animagus isn't foolproof! Don't let anyone catch you.]
[Rita: I know, relax… Oh my goodness, you wouldn't believe what I've just seen! That Umbridge woman...]
Rita Skeeter's writing became hurried and chaotic in her excitement, and soon enough, she forgot she was even messaging Wade.
Watching the unfinished sentence linger on the parchment before gradually disappearing, Wade smiled and closed his book of friends.
A journalist's pen is as sharp as a blade.
For now, he and Skeeter shared a relationship that was part threat and part collaboration—not friends, and not exactly allies either.
Such a tenuous alliance was, of course, far from secure.
If one day Skeeter decided to register her Animagus form with the Ministry of Magic, it would undoubtedly mean she intended to write something harmful to Wade.
How, then, can I ensure that this blade remains on my side?
Wade pondered this, feeling a bit weary.
All he had initially wanted was to accompany Professor Murray to a private exhibition… and then to eliminate threats to his loved ones and friends.
But the situation had grown increasingly complicated, straying far from his original intentions.
Yet still…
Since it was impossible to immediately locate the leader of the werewolves, the concerns Wade had previously about certain individuals being overly protective of human life were no longer an issue.
Perhaps now was the time to seek their help.
...
The freckled driver and the mustached man only discovered the absence of their companions the next morning when they switched shifts.
The truck was completely empty, not even a single hair remained, it clearly had been meticulously cleaned.
Aside from us, who else could possibly know the secrets of this ship?
"Damn it!" the mustached man growled angrily. "Dahl must have abandoned us! He's planning to take all the money for himself!"
The freckled driver looked confused. "...What money?"
It was only then that the mustached man realized he had let something slip. His face darkened, and with a loud "thud," he knocked out the driver before making a call.
"It's me, Garro," the mustached man said in a low voice. "Something's wrong... Dahl and Donovan emptied the entire truck while we were off shift resting! They must be spies for the wizards!"
There was silence on the other end of the line before the voice finally responded: "Where's Lars?"
"He went to check Dahl and Donovan's rooms to see if there are any clues."
The mustached man nudged the unconscious freckled driver at his feet, his tone was urgent and filled with guilt. "I'm sorry, the transportation mission has failed this time! But I swear, I'm telling the truth—Dahl must be a spy."
The voice on the other end paused before saying, "...No, he's not."
The speaker's voice wavered slightly, almost choking. The mustached man froze. "What do you mean...?"
"Dahl came back, but he... he's already..."
The mustached man's disbelief was clear. "What happened? How did he... how did he return? The ship is still at sea! Did the two of them take all the alchemists by themselves?"
"No, there were no alchemists. No Donovan either. Just Dahl... and a giant Acromantula."
The person on the other end of the phone tried to steady their voice. "The wizards were ruthless. Dahl was injected with deadly venom by the Acromantula and brutally impaled through the head..."
In a sterile hospital ward, Dahl's lifeless body lay on a bed. Several visible holes marred his head, with black blood oozing out.
He was dead, his face was still twisted in an expression of utter terror and agony.
The person on the phone, initially sniffling, broke into uncontrollable sobs. The mustached man held the phone in silence for a long while and felt deeply unsettled.
After waiting for the crying to subside, the mustached man quietly hung up. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he turned and dialed a new number.
"Donovan must be a spy for the wizards. He killed Dahl and stole all the alchemists!"
This time, the voice on the other end was much calmer:
"Have the alchemists left the ship?"
"I think so. Wizards can Apparate."
"After capturing the alchemists, there will be countless more opportunities, but a traitor can never be forgiven! Find Donovan and kill him!"
"Yes."
"I will send people to assist you. Do your job well, and don't let me down a second time."
"Yes!"
"Eliminate the guy beside you and start your infiltration again... I heard there's a werewolf support association in London, England. That will be your next target."
"...Understood."
After hanging up the phone, the mustached man grabbed the freckled driver and dragged him to the lower deck at the rear of the ship. From here, he could see the spiraling propellers churning up sprays of water.
He pushed the freckled driver into the water and watched as a dark red stain quickly spread through the sea.
"Sorry, brother," the mustached man murmured as he gazed at the blood in the water. "You didn't do anything wrong, but with you here, I can't stay hidden... Werewolves can always find werewolves, can't they?"
...
The ship finally docked.
The passengers had no idea that their cruise ship had narrowly avoided disaster at sea. They simply grabbed their luggage and happily disembarked.
This time, inspections at the American port were particularly strict, causing long delays. Passengers waited impatiently, grumbling, until they were finally allowed to leave.
"I must say, Muggles are so inefficient!" Umbridge complained to her subordinates. "If it were us, these procedures would be completed in seconds, or wouldn't even be necessary at all."
Her subordinates didn't point out that their own processes were often equally slow. They simply smiled, nodded in agreement, and threw in some flattery for their superior.
Umbridge soon plastered on her own smile and jogged ahead to catch up with a French official. The hem of her robe carried a tiny beetle, but Umbridge didn't notice it.
She also didn't realize that when she uttered the word "Muggles," a few pairs of eyes in the shadows turned toward her.
"Wizard..."
"These people are all wizards..."
The hidden gazes exchanged looks. Some grew excited, while others were filled with hatred.
Meanwhile, Wade did not linger. As the ship neared the American shore, he transformed into a peregrine falcon and flew to a nearby airport, where he promptly bought a plane ticket to London, England.
It was far less exhausting than flying back himself.
Wade's haste was spurred by a message he had received in his Book of Friends:
[Harry: The Ministry of Magic is trying to take Sirius. I can't reach Dumbledore. What should I do?]
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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