Second floor of the Ministry of Magic.
Inside the Aurors' dedicated transfer hall.
More than a hundred fully armed Aurors were sitting silently on the open ground waiting for orders.
Not far in front of them stood Scrimgeour, surrounded by several advisers.
They stared without blinking at the crystal in front of them that showed images from various departments of the Department of Mysteries, and none of their expressions looked good.
Today really could not be called a good day for them.
Shortly after noon, Fudge's minister office together with old Barty's Department of Magical Law Enforcement had issued an order telling them to wait in the transfer hall.
And that wait lasted the entire afternoon.
This boring wait with nerves constantly on edge made even these strictly trained Aurors feel some dissatisfaction.
Especially since Fudge and old Barty never mentioned what mission they were waiting here for.
That only made people more uneasy.
Their Auror department was currently the only one in the Ministry of Magic still unwilling to fully submit to either Fudge or old Barty.
In such a situation, it was hard not to suspect that Fudge and old Barty could no longer tolerate the growing strength of the Auror department and were planning to use some method to eliminate them.
This would maximize Fudge and old Barty's interests.
As for problems like the Auror department being destroyed or weakened so much that no one could deal with Voldemort and the Death Eaters, to politicians like Fudge and old Barty that might not matter at all.
Because politicians sometimes really are that foolish.
They only see immediate benefits and ignore the crisis that is coming in the future.
Anyway, their own lives would not be in danger.
Even if Voldemort captured the Ministry, he would still need people to work for him.
And honestly, those Death Eater lunatics might be good at killing and starting chaos, but they were useless when it came to governing the wizarding world.
So at that time, all they would need to do was surrender to Voldemort and continue sitting above everyone else.
That was what shameless politicians were like.
Scrimgeour cursed silently in his heart.
As a soldier, he would never allow such a thing to happen.
More than ten minutes ago he had already sent a final inquiry letter to his direct superior, Barty Crouch of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, asking about the purpose of this operation.
The reason it was called a final inquiry was because if old Barty still did not give a clear answer this time, he would abandon the operation on his own and lead his men straight into Barty and Fudge's offices to properly ask what kind of schemes they were planning.
That would basically amount to an armed coup.
Once he did that, even if Scrimgeour eventually became Minister of Magic, he would be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
But he had to do it.
Because behind him stood hundreds of Aurors and the honor he had fought for his whole life.
Scrimgeour might compromise for the stability of the Ministry or even for his own reputation, just as said before.
Even when facing huge political shocks, high level figures like them usually did not face life threatening danger.
But his Auror subordinates were different.
Once "war" started, their lives would become numbers that could be sacrificed at any time.
Looking at those numbers, the officials sitting high in their offices would not even feel the slightest ripple in their hearts.
Taking a deep breath, Scrimgeour finally pulled his gaze away from the empty surveillance images of the Department of Mysteries and turned to the adviser beside him who had survived the Gringotts battle with him.
"What time is it now?"
The adviser clearly understood what Scrimgeour meant by that question. He glanced at his pocket watch.
"It has been 17 minutes since your inquiry letter was sent. So far we have received no reply."
Scrimgeour nodded almost invisibly, but his expression grew darker.
He turned around and looked at his subordinates who had been sitting on the ground all afternoon.
The Aurors quietly looked back at their commander.
Scrimgeour understood what they were expecting and said in a deep voice, "Stand up, relax your bodies, do warm up exercises!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the previously neat formation instantly became messy.
Everyone was swinging their limbs hard, occasionally jumping, trying to make their stiff bodies flexible again after sitting all afternoon.
They were excited because they knew that not long after warming up, the waiting would end and real action would begin.
What they did not know was that their next target might very well be Minister Fudge and Barty Crouch, head of Magical Law Enforcement.
But that did not matter.
No matter who the target was, they would complete it perfectly according to Scrimgeour's orders.
Their belief was extremely firm.
Scrimgeour felt the same.
He had great confidence in these Auror subordinates.
That was exactly why he had the courage to launch a coup against Fudge and old Barty.
Clang! Clang!
At that moment, a series of crisp impacts suddenly sounded from a steel pipe in the wall.
Scrimgeour and the others looked over and saw the mail outlet below the pipe burst open as a message canister with the Ministry's M mark automatically dropped into the slot.
An adviser immediately stepped forward and respectfully brought the canister to Scrimgeour.
Scrimgeour took it, opened the letter, and looked.
But in the next moment, his lion like golden pupils suddenly shrank to a tiny point.
The letter simply read, [Operation objective this time: Eliminate Voldemort!]
Below the paper, where the Minister of Magic and the head of Magical Law Enforcement should have signed, were stamped the Ministry's M emblem, Hogwarts' quartered shield crest, and the giant squid crest of the Flamel family.
These three signatures contained huge amounts of information, but Scrimgeour had no time to think about them.
All his attention focused on that single short line.
'Eliminate Voldemort?'
'What kind of madness had Fudge and old Barty caught?'
That was the first thought that flashed through Scrimgeour's mind.
It was not that he underestimated them.
But those two useless men wanting to eliminate Voldemort?
That was basically daydreaming.
And what did eliminating Voldemort have to do with them guarding the Auror transfer hall for the entire afternoon?
Could it be that old Barty had already set a trap and once Voldemort walked into it, they would send Aurors to capture him?
But what kind of trap in this world could eliminate Voldemort?
Scrimgeour had actually thought about this before.
The answer was the British Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts Castle.
Only if Voldemort entered those places alone would they have a chance to use the many magical restrictions there to attempt a capture.
And even that was under the condition that their strength increased several levels.
Otherwise, with Voldemort as a legendary level great wizard, even if Dumbledore personally acted, killing them would be no harder than slaughtering pigs.
So where did Fudge and old Barty get their confidence?
Or was this just a delaying tactic?
But even as a delaying tactic, using such a foolish excuse seemed pointless.
Scrimgeour frowned deeply, full of doubt.
He slowly turned around, planning to show the letter to his advisers so they could give some suggestions.
That was their job after all.
But just as he turned, the corner of his eye caught a flashing red light.
The source was the surveillance crystal ball on the table.
And that crystal ball only emitted a red warning light when it detected a "dangerous person" not belonging to the Ministry.
Scrimgeour almost flashed over to it and carefully examined the tiny images divided into dozens of sections inside the sphere.
Finally, in the Brain Room of the Department of Mysteries, he spotted Harry and the others.
This made him a little disappointed.
Because it was far from what he had expected.
But soon, excitement replaced that feeling.
He thought he understood Fudge and old Barty's plan.
Harry Potter once destroyed Voldemort years ago, making him the well known "Savior" of the British wizarding world.
At the same time, it also made him the most hated target of all Death Eaters.
Scrimgeour had no doubt about the depth of Voldemort's hatred toward Harry Potter.
If not for Harry Potter, more than ten years ago Voldemort might have unified the British Ministry and extended his reach across Europe like Grindelwald once did.
Not to mention that prophecy.
So if Voldemort learned his destined enemy had left Hogwarts, a place full of restraints, what would he do?
Scrimgeour tightly gripped his wand.
If he were Voldemort, even if Harry Potter went to the Ministry, he would still try to break in and kill him.
And once Voldemort entered the Ministry, the first condition for eliminating him would be met.
Still… relying only on the Ministry, their strength was not enough to surround and kill Voldemort.
Where would the remaining strength come from?
This question existed in Scrimgeour's mind only for a few seconds before disappearing.
Because he remembered the signatures on that letter.
The Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, and the Flamel family.
Hogwarts surely meant Dumbledore.
Even if Hogwarts' current headmaster was no longer Dumbledore, his image was deeply tied to the school. Mention one and people thought of the other.
As for the Flamel family...
Not long after the Gringotts disaster, Scrimgeour had begun investigating them.
At one point, documents and files about the Flamel family could fill his entire office.
From those materials he confirmed one thing.
That disaster at Gringotts which caused heavy losses to him and the Auror corps was very likely planned by the Flamel family.
It was a battlefield they created to challenge Voldemort.
And he and the Aurors had just barged in and become cannon fodder.
When he reached that conclusion, Scrimgeour even had the urge to lead people straight to Flamel Castle.
But considering the recently recovered Auror corps might not beat the Flamel hunters, and that both old Barty and Acting Minister Percy seemed connected to the Flamel family, he buried the hatred deep inside and waited for a chance.
Now, all that hatred turned into joy.
If the Flamel family hunters, whose combat strength rivaled top Aurors from the Second Wizarding War, joined the battle…
And with Dumbledore restraining Voldemort personally…
Then today Voldemort and all his Death Eaters would surely perish.
Thinking this, Scrimgeour's breathing quickened.
He suddenly turned to the Aurors who had finished warming up and were ready to go. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he grabbed the pull cord beside him.
"Now, I will announce tonight's operation objective!"
With Scrimgeour's call, the huge transfer hall instantly fell silent.
His smile widened as he continued softly, "Eliminate Voldemort!"
After saying that, ignoring the shock on the advisers' faces and the excited roars of the Aurors, he pulled the cord.
"Move out!"
———
"Lord Flamel, do you think Scrimgeour will honestly lead his people to join the battle?"
Inside the Unspeakables' passage of the Department of Mysteries, Percy spoke with some worry, "He has never been very friendly with us. And he's a smart man."
"I think he has already realized that Mr. Crouch and I made Fudge a puppet and are actually controlling the Ministry together."
"The only reason he did not react much before was because we kept giving him funds to expand the Auror corps."
"But this big battle will surely cause heavy casualties among the Aurors he worked hard to train."
"That clearly does not match his interests."
Link, leading everyone toward the Hall of Prophecy, paused and turned to Percy.
"Do you understand the biggest difference between you and Scrimgeour?"
Percy shook his head in confusion.
"Your demands are fundamentally different!"
Link said firmly. "As politicians, as self interested people, what you see as interests are power and wealth, maybe reputation too."
"But Scrimgeour is a soldier."
"Those things matter to him too, but what he truly pursues is honor!"
"Killing Voldemort!"
"Killing the war criminal who started the Second Wizarding War and tried to start a Third is undoubtedly the best way to prove his honor."
"Honor is his core interest."
"So this time he will definitely act, and with everything he has, sparing nothing!"
Link's words made Percy nod repeatedly.
But from Percy's still furrowed brows, Link could see he did not fully understand.
Link chuckled softly and continued, "Putting yourself in someone else's place doesn't work the way you're doing it. It's like an American trying to understand why French people are so obsessed with fashion."
"Your values and thinking systems are completely different. That kind of thinking only brings more confusion."
Link began walking forward again.
"All we need to do is act at the right moment and eliminate Voldemort."
"Yes, Lord Flamel!"
Percy responded quickly, lowering his head.
His body was trembling nonstop.
From Link's words just now, he sensed a strong killing intent.
[🎉 Shoutout to DarkLost for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]