So that's how it is. Is that why Fenrir has such a detailed inventory? It seems this werewolf wizard is at least in a cooperative relationship with this organization, or even more, he might have deeper ties with Silver Spear. Alan nodded thoughtfully.
After Arthur's introduction, Alan suddenly became interested in this Silver Spear. Their business model was like an e-commerce platform; they only handled the channels, not the products. No wonder they had been able to evade the law for so long.
Moreover, this organization had almost become a brand now, just like the beer billboards in his previous life. You could use them as a signboard if you opened a street food stall, but they didn't directly contact the downstream buyers. This both enhanced their reputation and ensured their safety.
"Then, has the Ministry of Magic in Europe never thought of wiping out this organization?" Alan asked curiously. Although the Silver Spear organization was tightly structured, this was the wizarding world, after all, where various spells emerged endlessly. It wasn't impossible to find some clues.
"I'm not too sure about that. Foreign Ministries are not as stable as ours. Some countries' Ministries might be more chaotic," Arthur said, shaking his head.
"Oh? How so?" Alan was quite curious about foreign Ministries and immediately became interested.
"You'll know if I give you an example." Arthur leaned forward slightly, getting closer to Alan. "Do you know the German Ministry of Magic?"
"The German Ministry of Magic?" Alan raised an eyebrow, looking at Arthur with a hint of confusion.
"I'm not particularly clear on the specifics. I only know that the German Ministry has been somewhat chaotic for the past few decades. This is actually caused by the turmoil in the Muggle world. It's said their country was divided into two by a wall, like one country split into two different ones," Arthur said, extending a hand horizontally and making a gesture like a wall, speaking with an exaggerated expression.
*Is it the Berlin Wall? That wall divided all of Germany into East Germany and West Germany. It was only torn down in 1989, right? Could something from the Muggle world actually affect wizard society?* Alan looked at Arthur, somewhat confused.
"You should know that even in the wizarding world, there are quite a few half-bloods or Muggle-born wizards, especially on the European continent, where the wizard density is higher than ours. The division in Muggle society has also affected the internal affairs of the German Ministry of Magic. Although the impact isn't significant, it has increased many internal conflicts, which leads to their internal structure being much looser than other countries'."
"Therefore, the German Ministry's management of wizard communities is not strict. At the same time, in other countries on the European continent, each country's environment is different, and the relationships between each country's Ministry are also different."
"Organizations like Silver Spear are seen as evil criminal groups by the Ministry in many countries, but for some other countries, they are friends and potential partners."
"So, even though we're isolated overseas, while it might be a bit lonely, it also means we have far fewer enemies." Arthur spoke a long string of words in one breath, getting a bit parched, and quickly took another sip of vanilla tea.
"What is Minister Bagnold's stance on this Silver Spear? Fenrir clearly has ties with them, so they must want to extend their reach into Britain, right?" Alan recalled what Hog had mentioned. He had seen some smugglers selecting goods in that cave. It was possible that Silver Spear had already infiltrated, and Fenrir's hideout might even be a registered black market.
It was just that werewolves might not be very bright and had some issues with credibility, like their habit of eating customers. Who knew what the Silver Spear management would think if they knew.
"Minister Bagnold's will is naturally resolute. She will not allow such criminals to take root in the British wizarding world. Ever since that werewolf stronghold was discovered by you, the Minister arranged for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Auror office to conduct several surprise inspections, and indeed, a considerable number of smuggled magical creatures were confiscated." Arthur spoke like he was reciting a list of treasures. Although his position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wasn't high, he was still an independent department head, so he knew many high-level decisions.
Alan nodded in agreement. Such organizations would have a detrimental impact on the local magical creature ecosystem and had to be dealt with decisively from the start; otherwise, if they became deeply entrenched, it would be very difficult to resolve.
"Oh, Mr. Weasley." Alan remembered that he had an important matter to consult about and quickly asked, "You are the Head of the Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. I would like to understand the legal provisions in this area from you."
"Oh? Why are you suddenly interested in this? Laws related to Muggle artefacts have always been ignored. It's incredibly difficult to even find someone knowledgeable about this area now," Arthur said, suddenly becoming interested when Alan brought up his specialty.
"I want to understand what exactly constitutes the misuse of Muggle artefacts. If I enchant Muggle items and turn them into commodities, would that violate the law?" Alan asked the point he was most concerned about. When he was thinking about doing business before, he had considered directly processing Muggle items to sell. After all, products from the Muggle world aren't bad in terms of craftsmanship, and the output is high, which could save him a lot of time and cost spent on production.
"You're asking about that." Arthur chuckled, clearly very experienced in this matter, and blurted out the answer with almost no thought. "The Ministry's Office for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts' main responsibility is to restrict wizards from enchanting items used by Muggles and to ensure they don't return to Muggle hands. This is primarily to uphold the Statute of Secrecy."
"And another law states that it is forbidden to use magic on Muggle artefacts with the subjective intention of use, thereby adding additional functions to them."
"For example, if I wanted a teacup produced in the Muggle world to learn to speak, that would mean I subjectively wanted to add an extra function to it. If I actually cast a spell to make it speak, then I would be breaking the law."
"So, theoretically, any use of magic on Muggle artefacts is considered a violation of the law," Arthur said with a smile, taking a sip of tea.
"That strict?" Alan was speechless after hearing Arthur's explanation. Doesn't that mean it's forbidden to cast spells on any Muggle artefact?
Arthur saw Alan's expression suddenly stiffen and chuckled, "What, are you perhaps planning to research Muggle artefacts?"
"Not exactly research. I'm thinking of doing some alchemy tool business in the next year or two. If possible, I thought it might be convenient to directly process some Muggle items into magical items, but it seems that's not going to work now." Alan rubbed his temples, looking a bit dejected.