Just as Draco quietly slipped out of Malfoy Manor, the wizarding world was already in upheaval.
Even without any broad public announcement, the news that Dumbledore had been injured had still reached a small number of wizards in high positions, along with that tiny group standing at the very top of the pyramid.
Among them, Dumbledore's side went without saying. As for those who currently knew of it, the main group was the pure blood aristocrats led by Lucius, those unwilling to continue living under the Dark Lord's brutal rule.
And Draco had learned of it through Kreacher.
As for the Dark Lord's side, it was only a matter of time before they found out as well...
...
Whitehall.
Also known to muggles as Whitehall in London.
It was a major road in the City of Westminster, and the surrounding area housed numerous important departments. It could be called the very core of the British administrative center in the muggle world.
The Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office, the Home Office, the Admiralty, and more. All of these important institutions were located along the avenue known as Whitehall.
Because of that, Whitehall had also become a byword for the administrative center of Britain.
And yet, in a place so important, the muggles above ground had no idea at all that beneath Whitehall there was actually a Ministry of Magic established by British wizards...
Who knew whether Whitehall had already existed when the Ministry of Magic was first built, or whether the Ministry had deliberately been placed beneath the muggles' noses.
In any case.
All one had to do was step into a small red telephone booth and dial 62442, and one could enter the Ministry of Magic, a place that could be said to gather together the elite wizards of the whole of magical Britain.
It was worth mentioning that wizards working at the Ministry could Apparate directly into it. Perhaps they had assumed no dark wizard would dare invade the Ministry, and so had never restricted that magic.
But in truth, not long ago, Voldemort had already succeeded in invading it...
In any case, if one walked into the Ministry of Magic now, it was easy to notice that there were far fewer wizards present than there used to be.
Such a desolate scene had not been seen since the first wizarding war, and this time, the culprit was the same as before.
Aside from the wizards who had resigned out of fear of Voldemort and left Britain, even some who should have been working at the Ministry had been replaced by unfamiliar faces.
Not only that, but on the faces of the hurried wizards rushing past without stopping to speak to anyone, one could clearly see gravity and unease.
And almost every wizard knew very well what had caused such a huge change.
Ever since the Ministry had been forced by mounting pressure to announce the Dark Lord's return, the atmosphere there had become completely different from before...
Aurors holding wands and patrolling the various floors with grim expressions. Departments deemed unimportant, their operations simply halted. The Minister for Magic, who had not stepped outside the Ministry even once. And the constant stream of orders being issued through Umbridge.
That was the Ministry's great transformation...
"Cedric, have you noticed? The expressions on the older Aurors' faces seem off."
These additional unfamiliar faces were graduates specially recruited through that Triple Decree.
And the one speaking was the very witch who had once reported to Umbridge. In truth, the parents of these graduates who had drawn close to the Ministry were, to varying degrees, all high ranking officials within it.
Cedric Diggory was naturally one of them, and he was also the best of that graduating class, as well as its leader...
Tightening his grip on his wand, Cedric Diggory merely cast a light glance at his companion. "You should understand. Because of the Triple Decree, we are guaranteed to become Aurors in the future, so... if it is not something you should ask about, keep your mouth shut."
"...I understand."
Although Cedric Diggory's tone did not rise or fall in the slightest, it still made the faces of the companions around him pale slightly.
The change was too great.
It was not only the wizarding world that had changed. Cedric, once known as Hufflepuff's hope, had also undergone a tremendous transformation...
The gentle smile that had once so often appeared on his face, the one that made younger students trust him and feel close to him, had now been replaced by a cold and indifferent expression.
His hands hanging naturally at his sides allowed him to draw his wand and strike down an enemy in the shortest possible time.
His expressionless face and sharp eyes let him maintain the composure he needed when danger came.
In just a few months, Cedric Diggory, who had been singled out for training by the Auror Office, had rapidly shed the innocence and immaturity of his student days. In their place came growth and maturity.
That was not only because the Auror Office truly had its own methods when it came to training wizards. Perhaps it was also because the unfair treatment he had once suffered at school had driven him to prove something, awakening both his potential and his resolve...
Cedric's gaze drifted for a moment as he suddenly thought back to his school days.
'Gryffindor? The Boy Who Lived?'
The world would not stop turning for any one person.
And just because someone was favored did not mean they were more outstanding than everyone else.
...
Just as Cedric Diggory and the others had observed.
Over the past few days, the Ministry of Magic had suddenly become even busier.
They had once still had a little time to catch their breath, but suddenly their tasks had increased sharply, and even several veteran Aurors were nowhere to be seen in the Ministry.
With so many questions and such obvious personnel movements, it was no wonder Cedric's companion had been unable to suppress her curiosity.
Just as Cedric Diggory and the others were standing guard, they saw Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, leading dozens of Aurors into the Ministry of Magic.
This tall wizard with a stern face quickly passed by where Cedric was standing...
Keeping his back straight, Cedric Diggory stared straight ahead and murmured inwardly, 'So something really has happened?'
Vaguely.
As the highest commander of the Aurors passed by his side, Cedric seemed to catch a few broken fragments of words.
His pupils contracted slightly.
Those words were... injured, Horcrux, and trap!