Had the mysterious man truly returned to life and gone into hiding among the people, carrying out his plans?
The answer required no further thought.
All one had to do was open one's eyes and look around—at the wizards smuggling themselves across the border, at the dreadful state of security in the British wizarding world, and at those restless wizarding families.
Even the stupidest wizard should have been able to reach the correct conclusion.
But Rufus said nothing. The real difficulty in answering this question lay elsewhere.
His hand beneath his cloak clenched unconsciously. Rufus stared deeply at the young face across the round table, his own face slightly pale.
If Breen used some method to record his answer and brought it before the Minister for Magic, then his career would be over, just like that young man from the Weasley family who had been forced out.
Yet his current situation was not much better.
Strictly speaking, he had always supported the Minister for Magic's faction within the Ministry. With the wizarding world's situation growing tense recently, the Minister should have been even more eager to secure his support.
But strangely, the Ministry's highest decision-making circle had been steadily stripping away the power in his hands.
Madam Bones had been the first to do so.
She had begun after Christmas this year, bypassing him to contact the Aurors beneath him directly. Although she had done so discreetly, it could not escape the eyes of the Head of the Department of Aurors.
It was not strange for Madam Bones to act this way. After all, she was the person Amosta Breen openly supported within the Ministry, while he was seen by outsiders as belonging to the Minister's faction.
But Umbridge had also secretly backed Delix under his command in competing with