In the heavy atmosphere, Link quickly finished the entire bowl of pumpkin stew.
It left him feeling warm all over.
The sweet smell of pumpkin still lingered in his mouth.
The office door opened at just the right moment. Krell, also dressed in a dark green combat uniform, leaned against the doorway with a smile. He looked at Emily, who still refused to let go of Link, and, like Madam Flamel, had no intention of stopping her.
As an old man, nothing made him happier than seeing the younger generation getting along.
Behind him, however, Old Barty and Percy were much less relaxed.
The intimate scene before them made both of them lower their heads and pretend to be scarecrows, afraid of seeing something they shouldn't.
"Looks like it's about time."
As he spoke, Link stood up and hugged Emily and Madam Flamel.
Emily's eyes immediately turned red.
She still held onto the edge of Link's clothes, unwilling to let him go.
Madam Flamel was much firmer. Not only did she stop Emily from saying anything else to persuade him to stay, she also looked at Link seriously and said,
"Don't worry, Link. Nothing will happen at home while you're away. I guarantee it."
Link naturally had no doubts about that.
As the former head of the Flamel family who had single-handedly pulled the family out of the purge and led it to grow stronger, Madam Flamel had more than enough ability to maintain everything Link had built.
Still, her serious attitude made Link unable to hold back a smile.
Shaking his head, he said,
"You don't have to be so nervous. This is only a small operation. If everything goes smoothly, I might be back home in two days."
"No matter what, this is still a war! And as long as it's a war, there will be casualties and accidents!"
Madam Flamel said firmly.
"Holding a ceremony for the head of the family before they leave for war is a Flamel family tradition. It means the rest of the family will take good care of the family while the head is away."
"It also represents the head's promise to the family, that he will return victorious and safe. Back then, your father disappointed me. Now, I truly hope you won't."
After saying that, Madam Flamel looked at her son seriously one more time.
She stepped forward, hugged him, and pressed her cold face against his.
Link could feel how cold her face was, and how slightly her muscles were trembling.
Clearly, Madam Flamel was far less calm than she had appeared.
"I'll come back safely. I promise you."
After saying that solemnly, Link left with Krell and the others under the watchful eyes of Madam Flamel and Emily.
Only after they entered the magical elevator did Link's presence slowly begin to change.
The young head of the family saying goodbye to his mother and wife became, once again, the Supreme Commissioner who ruled the Ministry of Magic.
Old Barty and Percy both let out quiet sighs of relief.
Perhaps because Link had tormented them for too long, they really weren't used to seeing his gentle side.
It made them extremely nervous.
As if Link might kill them to keep them quiet the next moment.
Thankfully, that was over.
They immediately got back to work and gave Link their final report.
"Lord Flamel, everyone has assembled. The teleportation array in the teleportation hall has also been completed and has passed repeated testing. It is confirmed to be operational."
"We've also contacted Number 10 Downing Street. The British Muggle Prime Minister has agreed to help seal the borders and carry out magical inspections on every French citizen entering the country. However, he also wants an explanation for why there have been so many magical sightings recently."
"To be honest, he seemed very angry. I'm worried he might cause trouble while carrying out the mission we've arranged."
"No, he wouldn't dare."
Link spoke softly before falling silent again.
Old Barty and Percy also closed their mouths.
After what had happened in Link's office a few days earlier, neither of them dared act casually in front of him anymore.
A crisp ding sounded, followed by the cold female voice making an announcement.
The magical elevator doors opened once more.
Link took a deep breath and walked out.
After passing through a long, dark corridor, bright light suddenly filled their vision.
A massive indoor plaza appeared before them.
The plaza covered more than two thousand square meters, while its height reached an astonishing thousand meters. The entire place was built from pure white magical alloy, including the domed ceiling overhead.
Only the very center of the plaza was different, where huge black patterns had been painted.
The patterns linked together to form an enormous and complicated circular magic array.
At that moment, the array was filled with tightly packed formations of Hit Wizards and Aurors.
Their discipline was nowhere near that of Muggle soldiers. Even with their unit commanders present, the formations still looked rather loose.
Many people were whispering among themselves, and all those voices merged into a loud hum that echoed throughout the vast hall.
This was only to be expected.
From the moment Link decided to merge the Flamel family Hunters into the Auror forces, he had stopped expecting the Aurors and Hit Wizards to have much discipline.
But the moment Link appeared within their sight, the annoying noise disappeared instantly.
Almost everyone instinctively stood up straight, wanting to show their commander their very best.
Step...
Newland, standing at the very front of the formation, took a heavy step forward, straightened his chest, and shouted,
"Report! All personnel have assembled! Four hundred Aurors! Six hundred fifty Hit Wizards! One hundred ten temporary Hit Wizards from Hogwarts! One hundred forty temporary Hit Wizards from Durmstrang! Fifty auxiliary personnel! Logistics..."
Every time Newland reported the name of a unit, Link looked toward that formation.
And everyone in that formation excitedly saluted him.
Their burning eyes held fear, but even more than that, excitement and admiration.
By now, even the most stubborn conservatives among them no longer held much dislike for Link.
His overwhelming strength had long become common knowledge.
More importantly, it was his courage.
A Minister of Magic who would directly declare war on the French magical world under the current situation was something history had never seen before.
And that was exactly what the Aurors, the Hit Wizards, and even all British wizards needed.
Filled with those feelings, nearly everyone present had their blood boiling with excitement.
Especially the temporary Hit Wizard unit made up entirely of Hogwarts students.
To be honest, when Link learned that the Hogwarts temporary Hit Wizard unit had a full 110 members, he was completely stunned.
Aside from the more than twenty adult wizards like Cedric whom he had specially sent there to serve as commanders, the remaining eighty or ninety students were almost every sixth- and seventh-year student at Hogwarts.
To be fair, he had already placed extremely strict limits on recruiting underage wizards.
The strictest rule was that every recruit had to obtain permission from their guardian.
Link had believed that unless there was absolutely no other choice, no parent would willingly send their child onto a battlefield.
That was simply human nature.
But he had still underestimated the current enthusiasm for war within the British magical world.
After more than a hundred years of decline, British wizards' national pride was already running high. Now that this had happened, they naturally longed to win back their lost honor through a war of revenge.
It wasn't just the students who had joined the Hit Wizard force.
Many of their parents were also standing in the formation.
Looking at those familiar, determined faces, Link felt a heaviness in his chest.
He returned Cedric and the others' salute solemnly before continuing forward.
Only when he reached the area near the center of the teleportation array did he stop again and look at Sirius.
Compared to before, Sirius looked much more worn out.
He seemed to have returned to how he looked after escaping from Azkaban. Gray stubble covered his face, he had become frighteningly thin, and only his bloodshot eyes still burned with fierce, crazed light.
Link wasn't surprised to see him here.
For Sirius, Harry had long become the only reason he was still alive.
Now that reason had been turned into a vegetable, lying day after day in a special ward at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, surviving only through magic. Sirius simply couldn't accept that.
What truly surprised Link was the group standing behind Sirius.
Lupin, Tonks, Moody, Hagrid, Figg...
It was almost the entire Order of the Phoenix.
"I really didn't expect Dumbledore to allow you to take part in this operation."
Link slowly swept his gaze across the group as he spoke.
Hearing that, Sirius bared his yellow teeth and glared at Link like a vicious dog, his eyes full of hatred and anger.
Although everyone else had explained countless times that Harry's condition had nothing to do with Link, and that Link had even shown mercy toward Harry, Sirius still believed Link was one of the people responsible for Harry ending up like this. Compared with the French wizards, he was simply less guilty.
With such twisted thinking, Sirius had already completely lost his mind.
He had become a mad dog that bit anyone who came close.
Fortunately, Lupin and Tonks were behind him.
The two grabbed one of Sirius's arms each and smiled apologetically at Link.
Both of them still thought quite highly of Link.
After all, thanks to Link's guidance, Lupin had visited the snowy plains, and his lycanthropy had been greatly suppressed. Even without taking Wolfsbane Potion, he no longer transformed during the full moon, and the chance of passing the disease on to his children had also been greatly reduced.
That removed much of Lupin's worries, made him more confident, and allowed him and Tonks to officially become a couple.
Even so, neither of them knew how to respond to Link's words.
In the end, Moody limped out from the group.
He raised his flask and took a drink before saying,
"Dumbledore may be the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, and we may have followed his orders before, but the truth is that the Order is just a loose alliance."
"There's no rule saying anyone has to obey anyone else. In other words, as long as we all agree, we can do whatever we want. Even Dumbledore can't stop us."
As soon as he finished speaking, Hagrid pouted unhappily behind him.
Link, however, nodded in satisfaction.
"I understand. Dumbledore didn't directly order you to come. He simply chose to accept it."
To Link, that was very important.
Because it meant Dumbledore also supported this war and would take action during it.
Moody opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue, but in the end he only sighed.
"Fine. Think whatever you want. Our goal is only to destroy Voldemort. You understand what I mean, don't you? Other than Voldemort, we won't help you fight anyone else, including the wizards of the French Ministry of Magic. So don't really think of us as your subordinates."
Link said nothing.
He simply sneered and glanced at the snarling Sirius beside him.
The meaning couldn't have been clearer.
Sirius would never follow Moody's words.
Once they reached the battlefield, the person who struck the French wizards the hardest would probably be him.
Moody clearly understood the meaning behind Link's look. His expression became awkward, and he raised his eyebrows, ready to continue speaking.
Unfortunately, Link had already lost interest in talking to them.
He walked straight onto the raised platform at the center of the teleportation array.
This was the highest point in the entire teleportation hall, and the only place where Link alone was allowed to stand.
It had been specially designed by the Department of Magical Transportation so that from there, Link could clearly see every face below, while everyone beneath could also clearly see their commander.
That was extremely important.
The most unusual part of this war was that the Minister of Magic himself would personally fight.
In a sense, it was no different from an emperor personally leading an army into battle. It was the difference between saying "Charge!" and "Follow me!"
That style of warfare had both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was that to ordinary Aurors and Hit Wizards, Link himself was the battle flag of the British Ministry of Magic. As long as Link remained on the battlefield where everyone could see him, morale would receive a tremendous boost.
The disadvantage was just as obvious.
The enemy wasn't blind.
Capturing the enemy's banner and killing its commander had always been one of the highest priorities in war.
If Link, this banner, fell, the collapse of the army would be inevitable.
Of course, the chance of that happening was almost zero.
Everyone was extremely confident about that.
Without worrying about his safety, Link's effect on morale reached its absolute peak.
The moment Link stepped onto the platform, everyone present fixed their burning eyes on him.
Holding their breath, they waited for his speech before the battle.
This was part of every military operation carried out by the British Ministry of Magic.
It was also the most important way every Minister of Magic displayed their authority before the Aurors and Hit Wizards.
In the past, soldiers had always dismissed speeches like these with contempt.
But this time, they looked forward to it like never before.
They wanted to hear what Link would say.
Yet Link, standing on the platform under everyone's gaze, remained silent.
The entire teleportation hall was so quiet that a pin could have been heard dropping.
Everyone's boiling blood surged inside them, yet there was nowhere for it to go.
In the stifling silence, everyone seemed able to hear their own pounding heartbeats, while an enormous presence spread through the ranks.
Just as everyone's emotions reached their limit, with some unable to stop themselves from wanting to roar...
Link finally raised his wand.
Blue magical light spread from its tip and resonated with the teleportation array.
"Revenge!"
Link's powerful voice echoed through the teleportation hall and into the heart of every person present.
At the next moment, the pressure that had built up finally burst free.
Countless people raised their wands just like Link and roared, "Revenge!"
That's right.
There was no need for grand speeches.
There was no need to prove they were righteous.
Because this was simply revenge.
BOOM!
The enormous roar swept through the entire teleportation hall.
At the same time, the teleportation array beneath everyone's feet finally activated.
The war had begun...
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