Howl felt… a bit awkward.
Facing so many gazes, he helplessly spread his hands: "Let's go."
Scrimgeour's gaze was solid, and he raised his wand: "Sorry, I think I need to put some restraints on you."
"Whatever," Howl raised his hands and turned to look at Dumbledore.
"When are you leaving?"
"Me?" Dumbledore's mouth crunched with the sound of candy: "I should be here for a while longer, after all, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures still needs to inspect.
Oh, and of course, I'm quite certain I haven't been keeping any dangerous animals within the Castle."
"We need to conduct an investigation on you, Mr.
Dumbledore, the Ministry of Magic cannot tolerate such an incident, or… person, at Hogwarts!" someone from the Department of Magical Education said.
"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded, looking at Howl: "I also cannot tolerate such a person."
"You're full of hot air." Howl shook his head and looked at Scrimgeour, who had already placed a shackle on Howl's hand.
"Excuse me, please pull my sleeve up a bit; your shackle looks quite dirty," Howl said.
His nonchalant demeanor made the Aurors and Department of Magical Law Enforcement personnel, who had come specifically for him, furious and their faces flushed.
Just like before, this was blatant provocation.
However, in the next moment, a scene that stunned them appeared.
Just like before.
Scrimgeour, as if possessed, bowed and rolled up Howl's sleeve.
After he finished, he finally reacted, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Again! Again!
From a Wizard's perspective, the people at the Ministry of Magic could be described as a mixed bag, with their average spell-casting ability even inferior to that of older students at Hogwarts.
But the Auror Office was different; only the most excellent Wizards could serve as Aurors, and every Auror even received professional training before joining!
In fact, before You-Know-Who's era, the head of the Auror Office was practically the next Minister for Magic.
And he, Scrimgeour, having reached this position, his inner will could certainly be called excellent.
Yet, even so, he was easily swayed by that person's words.
Are his words truly overflowing with Imperio?
He dared not think further, wanting to do something more, but not daring to act.
Looking at the shackle on the other party's hand, he only felt a layer of "face" smeared on it.
At this moment, he had already realized something was amiss, both with the person in front of him and Dumbledore.
Thinking this, he drew his wand and silently cast a Cleaning Charm on the shackle.
As the head of the Auror Office, he didn't even need to incant for such a basic household spell.
Howl looked at him, his gaze somewhat surprised.
"Let's go." He nodded and was the first to step into the fireplace.
Scrimgeour followed closely, picking up a handful of Floo powder.
"Ministry of Magic!"
The flames turned green and surged upwards, then the two disappeared.
The members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Aurors followed closely; this mission was unexpectedly easy for them.
According to the records, the target's past actions had led everyone to believe he was a Dark Wizard with extreme destructive power.
Yet, he surrendered so willingly.
Presumably, this was due to Dumbledore's intimidation!
Thus, all those who departed paid their respects to Dumbledore.
And Dumbledore gracefully accepted these salutations.
After they left, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Department of Magical Education also began their investigation procedures on him…
Ministry of Magic, Atrium.
Howl and Scrimgeour appeared at one end of a very long, grand hall.
The floor was made of dark, highly polished wood, and the peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with sparkling golden symbols that constantly moved and changed, like a giant aerial billboard.
Along the two sides of the hall's corridor were dozens of fireplaces.
The fireplaces on the left were for entry, with people popping out of them every so often.
The fireplaces on the right, however, had queues of people orderly departing through the flames.
"Let's go," Scrimgeour said, but his tone was not urgent; instead, he asked: "This is just a routine inspection, but I want to know what exactly you intend to do?!"
Howl had already walked through the golden corridor and was looking at a fountain in the middle of the entrance hall.
This was a group of pure gold statues, larger than life, standing in the center of a circular pool.
The tallest among them was a noble-looking male Wizard, holding his wand high, pointing straight to the sky.
Surrounding him were a beautiful Witch, a Centaur, a Goblin, and a House-elf.
The Centaur, Goblin, and House-elf all looked up at the two Wizards with infinite adoration.
Bright jets of water spurted from the tip of the Wizard's wand, from the Centaur's arrowhead, from the tip of the Goblin's hat, and from the House-elf's two ears, making tinkling and gurgling sounds.
"What is this statue called?" he asked curiously, not answering Scrimgeour's question.
"magic Is Might," Scrimgeour replied, as the Aurors also returned to the Ministry of Magic from the fireplaces, following behind the two.
Howl nodded, but did not reply, and walked forward.
The surrounding, dreary passersby all cast curious glances at him, firstly because of his appearance.
Secondly, because of his shackles and the group of Aurors following behind him.
"Is this… a prisoner?"
"What is Scrimgeour doing?! Allowing a prisoner's demeanor to be more… than the Minister's…"
Bypassing the passersby and wand inspection, Howl, guided by Scrimgeour, quickly arrived at a room with a row of elevators.
They had an elevator all to themselves.
The elevator buttons were quite peculiar; their current location was the eighth floor.
Going up, it was seven, six, five, four…
Going down, there was only one ninth floor.
"They have magical elevators, the Hogwarts Express, magical cameras, yet they set up a Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and add regulations year after year…"
Howl looked at Scrimgeour: "Care to comment?"
Scrimgeour seemed unsure how to answer, but someone behind him immediately said harshly: "I think you should worry more about your future life in Azkaban."
Howl didn't look back, feeling a bit bored.
The elevator quickly descended to the ninth floor, and then, guided, they walked down one more floor.
Unexpectedly, at the bottom of the stairs, a short, stout figure appeared.
Howl's pupils widened as he saw the person's appearance in the shadows.
She resembled a pale, large toad, short and fat, with a wide, flabby face, a large mouth that drooped downwards, and big, round, bulging eyes.
She wore a pink flannel waistcoat, and a small pink velvet bow was tied in her short, curly hair.
"Too slow, Scrimgeour," her voice was high and thin, like a little girl who hadn't yet reached puberty.
This affected manner immediately gave Howl goosebumps, and the hair on his face stood on end.
"Madam Umbridge, why are you here?!" Scrimgeour's words held a hint of displeasure.
"Why?" She smiled sweetly: "The Minister has always been very concerned about the safety of Hogwarts and the Wizarding World.
We take this incident very seriously, so the Minister has specially appointed me to preside over the trial!"
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