The atmosphere inside the Leaky Cauldron had reached its peak.
The angry crowd had already started making plans for a protest.
The more timid ones kept downing glass after glass of Firewhisky, hoping the alcohol would give them courage.
It was easy to imagine that once these drunkards joined the protest, it would inevitably turn into a riot of smashing, looting, and destruction.
Watching all this, Tom was on the verge of losing his mind.
He had given everyone free drinks to ease their grief, not so they could get drunk and go out causing trouble.
Tom suddenly turned and glared at App, who was standing at the bar.
The smile on the man's face was no longer hidden. He looked completely pleased with himself.
Considering the provocative words he had just spoken, along with his secret identity as a Frenchman, it was already obvious what kind of person this App really was.
Tom wanted nothing more than to shove his face into the frying pan he used to cook bacon.
But the last bit of reason stopped him.
He knew very well that no matter what the man's real identity was, his official Ministry records identified him as a British wizard.
Assaulting a British wizard in magical Britain was a punishable offense.
A very serious one.
Since the Ministry of Magic's reforms, public security had become extremely strict. If he handled this badly, even the Leaky Cauldron could be shut down.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
After taking several deep breaths, Tom finally managed to suppress his anger.
He quietly gestured toward the serving window leading to the kitchen behind him.
A worker who was busy inside immediately ran over, still wiping his hands with a rag as he came.
"Go notify the Ministry. Someone's encouraging a protest here. Tell them to send people over to keep order immediately!"
After hearing Old Tom's instructions, the worker glanced outside the bar, nodded, and quickly slipped away through the goods passage.
Only after everything was done did Old Tom finally let out a sigh of relief.
Selling out his own customers felt terrible, but it was still better than watching them all end up hanging outside Gringotts afterward.
But when he turned back around, he was surprised to find the well-dressed man standing at the bar staring directly at him.
Old Tom froze.
Did he see me send someone to report them?
That thought flashed through Tom's mind, and he instinctively made a gesture for the man to keep quiet.
The man ignored him, stood up, and walked toward the noisy crowd.
"Everyone! Please listen to me for a moment!"
The man in the suit raised his wand and shouted.
With flames bursting from its tip, nearly everyone's eyes in the Leaky Cauldron turned toward him.
Tom's face immediately turned pale.
At that moment, he felt he would never have to worry about renovating the Leaky Cauldron again.
Because if word got out that he had informed on them, this crowd of furious drunkards would tear the whole pub apart.
But in the next moment, the suited man swayed as he pointed at App and said, "Everything this gentleman just said is complete nonsense!"
"I know the Daily Prophet has published many false reports in the past and often used misleading writing to blur the truth and blind the public."
"But this time, everything in the Daily Prophet is true. The casualty numbers are real, and the Dark Mark is real! I can guarantee that with my life!"
As soon as he finished speaking, before the crowd could react, App sneered.
"And who do you think you are? What gives you the right to make that guarantee? Your life? That's hilarious!"
Laughter immediately broke out among the crowd.
Clearly, no one took the suited man's words seriously. They assumed he was just another drunk talking nonsense.
That sort of thing happened in the Leaky Cauldron all the time.
Every night, someone got drunk and claimed to be the Minister for Magic.
Surrounded by mocking laughter, the suited man did not get angry like an ordinary drunk.
Instead, he calmly took an ID card from inside his coat, held it beside his face, and said, "Because I am the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, Adam Wilson."
"This is my identification. If you still don't believe me, then go find yesterday's Daily Prophet. There's an article about the Daily Prophet editorial office, and my photo is in it."
The laughter inside the Leaky Cauldron stopped instantly.
Everyone stared back and forth between Adam's face and the ID card. Some people even pulled out yesterday's Daily Prophet and compared the photo.
After a brief silence, App sneered again.
"Oh! So it's our honorable editor-in-chief. Someone as important as you actually came here to drink? And now you're saying things like this? Do you really think we'll still believe you people?"
"ROAR!"
A thunderous roar drowned out App's voice.
The huge bearded man charged out from the crowd.
He grabbed Adam by the collar, lifted him into the air, and roared, "You're the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet. Then you must know what's happening at Hogwarts! Tell me! How is my daughter right now!?"
The giant man's words reminded everyone present.
The crowd suddenly rushed toward Adam, desperately asking about their own children's situation.
Seeing this, Adam could not help laughing.
His laughter sounded miserable, like the cry of an old ape, while hot tears poured down his face.
"The Ministry sent letters about the children's conditions as soon as everything ended. So didn't you already know how your children were?" Adam shouted.
"Stop lying to yourselves! Those letters and today's Daily Prophet are all real! I personally went to Hogwarts to gather the information! It was... it was too horrible..."
As Adam spoke, he suddenly began struggling wildly.
The giant bearded man was already furious. Hearing those words while also getting kicked twice made him want to slam Adam to death.
But at that moment, a photograph slipped out of Adam's coat pocket.
Adam cried out, suddenly broke free with strength the giant had never expected, lunged forward, snatched up the photograph, hugged it tightly, and began sobbing.
"Joseph! My son... my son..."
The giant instinctively looked at the photo.
He happened to see the body of a boy covered in wounds, his neck deformed by the rope that had bound it.
The fist he had raised high froze in midair.
Not just him.
Many others nearby also stood frozen.
Because some of them had received similar photographs.
They were the final photos of their own children.
The sound of crying began spreading through the crowd.
The giant slowly lowered his raised fist.
He suddenly realized he had no reason to vent his anger on the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet.
His own daughter, Lani, had suffered inhuman torture. She would carry lifelong injuries and would never be able to have children.
But at least she was still alive.
The man before him had lost his son.
For that reason alone, he had no reason to defend either the Daily Prophet or the Ministry.
So... everything written in the Daily Prophet was true?
It was simple logic. Everyone had been overwhelmed by grief and anger, but they had not become fools. They could all understand it.
Because of that, although the sorrow in the Leaky Cauldron remained, the tension in the air eased considerably.
At the bar, however, App frowned deeply, his eyes constantly sweeping across the crowd as he thought about what to do next.
This turn of events had been completely beyond his expectations.
He could not understand why the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet would dare stand up in a place like this to vouch for both the newspaper and the Ministry.
He understood even less why the British Ministry of Magic had gone mad enough to reveal the entire truth, even sending explanatory letters to the family of every student who had been killed or injured.
Didn't those Ministry officials realize how much public anger this would cause?
App's breathing became heavier and heavier.
The situation was no longer under his control.
As things stood, the crowd was no longer likely to protest against the Ministry.
The sudden change made him want to punch the editor-in-chief right in the face.
But just as his anger peaked, he saw the editor struggle back to his feet.
Adam carefully put away the photograph before walking toward the Floo fireplace in the corner of the pub.
"Hey! Where are you going!?"
App shouted as if he were chasing a thief, his eyes shining.
If he could throw a few more accusations at the man now, perhaps there was still a chance to turn things around.
Without even looking back, Adam replied, "I'm going to the Ministry. I'm going to demand an explanation. My son can't die for nothing."
"Y-You're... going to protest at the Ministry?"
App spoke in disbelief.
The surrounding crowd looked equally shocked.
Old Tom even jumped out from behind the bar, grabbed Adam by the shoulder, and said, "What are you doing? Weren't you just telling everyone not to protest or demonstrate at the Ministry? Why are you going yourself now?"
Tom's voice was filled with anger.
He felt like he was going crazy.
Everything that had happened in his pub today had been like a roller coaster, shooting to the highest point before plunging straight down.
Adam looked at Old Tom strangely.
"When did I ever tell everyone not to protest at the Ministry? I only told everyone that the Ministry and the Daily Prophet hadn't hidden anything in this matter."
"Then if the Ministry didn't lie and didn't hide anything, what are you protesting for?"
"I already answered that."
Adam spoke without hesitation.
"I'm going to avenge my son.
"The Ministry has only announced the casualties at Hogwarts. Other than that, they haven't revealed anything. Including how they intend to take revenge.
"And that's exactly why I'm going to the Ministry.
"I want the three commissioners to see the attitude of a victim's family.
"I want them to understand that the casualties listed in the Daily Prophet aren't just cold numbers. They were living people. They died!
"If I don't make them hear my voice, then in the end this may turn into nothing more than a condemnation, or another long negotiation, ending with the French paying some compensation.
"But that's not what I want.
"A blood debt should be repaid with blood!"
"That's right! That's exactly how it should be!" App suddenly changed his attitude and shouted excitedly. "Editor-in-Chief, you have my full support!"
Old Tom shot App a glare before continuing to persuade Adam.
"Calm down. It's only been one day since it happened. The commissioners are definitely discussing this in a meeting right now. Why don't you wait until they announce their decision? If you're unhappy with it, you can protest afterward."
"Thank you, Tom. I know you're looking out for me. I also know our three commissioners well enough to understand that going to the Ministry now won't end well for me."
Adam's voice remained firm.
"But I'm still going.
"Because if I don't go now, I may never have the courage to go again."
With that, Adam shook off Tom's hand and continued toward the Floo fireplace.
Tom instinctively reached out to stop him again, but the giant bearded man blocked his arm.
Only then did Tom notice that many people had already gathered around Adam.
Even the giant who had argued with him earlier was among them.
Their eyes burned as though filled with fire as they followed Adam forward without hesitation.
The sight left Tom deeply conflicted.
On one hand, he was relieved that Adam had not exposed the fact that he had reported them.
On the other hand, he felt sorry for these people.
In his view, they probably wouldn't be able to gather at the Leaky Cauldron again for a very long time.
"You've all gone mad."
Tom cursed weakly.
Hearing that, Adam, who was leading the group, turned around, smiled, and nodded at Tom.
He then grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from the bag beside the fireplace and prepared to throw it into the flames.
But at that moment, a burst of eerie green magical fire suddenly exploded from inside the fireplace.
The towering flames and smoke forced everyone to step back.
Seeing this, Tom finally let out a sigh of relief.
Through the smoke, he immediately spotted the worker he had sent out.
Since he was back, he must have already informed the Ministry, and the Aurors should have been dispatched.
Still...
Wasn't this a little too fast?
Just as the thought crossed Tom's mind, his worker pushed through the smoke.
There were no Aurors or Hit Wizards behind him.
Instead, he held high a freshly printed copy of the Daily Prophet.
"The latest news... just released by the Ministry..."
The worker panted heavily as he waved the newspaper.
On the exposed front page was a huge headline.
[Declaration of War.]