Undercurrents Stirring

Sean, far away in Newmontgard, learned of the news that very evening.

His father, Allen Wallerup, was a victim of a Magical Creatures infestation incident. Fortunately, the second Parasitic Maw was pulled out of Allen's body after only half a day, preventing a terrible accident—except that the steaks that night all went cold.

In a message that was sent back, a wizard named Geller Jennings apologized to Sean, saying that he was the one Parasitic Maw to the Ministry of Magic, but he did not notice the second one that had taken hold of Allen.

Sean did not blame the other party. He had also learned about the Parasitic Maw before. This Magical Creatures, which is native to the southern region of France, is indeed very difficult to detect in its hidden parasitic process.

It is said that the Ministry of Magic is worried that there may be a third or fourth one, Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and the Department of International Magical Cooperation have all deployed a large number of wizards to deal with the situation.

Of course, that's not what Sean needs to worry about right now. He needs to figure out whether this accident involving his father was an accident or if someone was deliberately targeting him...

The description of the dangerous, Magical Creatures, a specialty of France, is so clear that anyone would immediately suspect Fabian Aiken.

"Sean, your letter." The next day, Hermione walked into the classroom from outside and handed her a letter.

"Thank you." Sean quickly opened the letter and began to read it.

The father, Allen, underwent a more detailed examination and has fully recovered. His entire family, including the maid and driver, were also examined, and no parasitic infection was found.

Sean felt a little relieved and continued to look at the following content.

He wrote back to his father, asking him to record the itinerary for the past few days and the details of the first Parasite, Bertrand Barnes, hoping to deduce some useful information from it.

Hermione moved closer to him and started reading the letter with him. After reading all the information, they both frowned.

"Based on the information, Mr. Barnes is just an innocent victim, and he had no prior dealings with Mr. Wallop. He chose your hospital only because his medical insurance has a partnership with your hospital, which allows him to reimburse part of the bill."

Sean nodded. "My father's hospital visits are a monthly routine, so they should be easy to investigate, but the timing is not fixed... If it's targeting my family, the instigator can't control Mr. Barnes's visits to the hospital so that he can run into my father."

Hermione shrugged. "The most important thing is that if a wizard wanted to target your family, there was no need to choose such a roundabout way. Even if it was for the sake of secrecy, Mr. Barnes himself was nothing special, and the murderer could have easily chosen your father's colleague or someone else with whom he had a close relationship."

Sean thought for a moment, then rested his chin on his hand and said, "So it really was just an accident... But what was the purpose of the person who started Parasitic Maw? This thing, after absorbing enough energy, will break open a human's abdomen and find a hidden place to reproduce. This kind of accident would easily attract the attention of the Ministry of Magic. Although it's troublesome, it can still be dealt with..."

"Maybe it was to stir up trouble, or maybe the release of the Parasitic Maw was an accident, like it was smuggled in and accidentally escaped..." Hermione analyzed various possibilities from the side.

"If the goal is to disrupt the situation, the Parasitic Maw isn't powerful enough... Chimera and Fire Dragon might be better... Smuggling illegal Magical Creatures is indeed possible, but the value of the Parasitic Maw isn't very high... Something's a bit strange..." Sean felt that something was off.

After discussing it with Hermione for a while, they didn't come to any conclusions, and Sean had a strange premonition.

Have I been having too much going on lately...?

Somewhat uneasy, Sean sent a signal through the Dark Mark, preparing to hold another gathering this weekend to see if he could get any useful information from the Death Eaters.

However, the next day he saw a news article in the newspaper.

"Burt Burke, head of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures of the Department of Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, British Ministry of Magic, has been arrested. It is understood that Burt played a dishonorable role in the incident involving the Parasitic Maw in London, and an investigation has revealed multiple instances of misconduct by him over the past twenty years..."

On the cover of The Wizarding World News, a middle-aged man with a gloomy face and wrinkled skin is being controlled by two Auror.

Sean frowned.

He knew this Burt Burke; he came from the Burke family, Pure-blood families, and was related to Borgin Burke's boss. He inherited his grandfather's name, and the old Burt Burke was Phineas Black's son-in-law.

In subsequent contacts with Bella, Bella told Sean that Burt Burke was one of the members that could be recruited. He was also a Pure-blood, and his position as the chairman of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures could also help the Death Eaters.

However, the other party is tactful and cautious, and it will take time to get to know him before it is possible to develop him into Death Eaters.

This person was actually arrested...

The news report did not detail Burt Bock's specific illegal acts, but it mentioned at the end that his actions could mean he would be in Azkaban for several years.

This doesn't make sense... Sean muttered to himself.

The British Ministry of Magic is actually quite corrupt, and members of Pure-blood families often possess considerable power and wealth. According to Bella's description of his character, Burt Burke would definitely be willing to use Galleon to bribe the Ministry of Magic, even if he lost his position, at least he wouldn't have to go to Azkaban.

Is the Ministry of Magic really that decisive and incorruptible these days...? Besides, Fudge is facing dismissal, Pure-blood families are people he desperately needs to win over...

However, things took an even stranger turn Sean had anticipated.

In the following days, newspapers began to report extensively on the illegal activities of wizards in various countries, and the whole of Europe was drawn into it.

A member of a Pure-blood families in Bulgaria was imprisoned after an investigation uncovered an old case involving an attack on Muggle years ago.

The head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation Division of the Italy Ministry of Magic was dismissed for misconduct; he was the head of a Pure-blood families in Italy.

The Greek Ministry of Magic arrested more than a dozen family members after it was revealed that an ancient Greece family had been illegally brewing forbidden Potions years ago.

News of this kind came one after another, with wizards being arrested almost every day, and without exception, all of these wizards came from Pure-blood families.

For a time, Half-blood Wizard and wizards from the Muggle Family in various countries were excited. In their view, this was a harbinger of reform in the Wizarding World. You see, in the past, even if Pure-blood Wizard broke the law, they would not be punished much. In most cases, they would just be fined.

Meanwhile, those upright and incorruptible wizards who enforced the law with an iron fist began to appear in newspapers: Sayaf Badri from Bulgaria, Lindsay Lizzie from Italy, Yasmin Karagiannis from Greece...

These people became heroes in the eyes of ordinary wizards, and there was a constant stream of calls for them to be given more powerful positions in order to ensure the fairness and impartiality of law enforcement.

From this perspective, it is indeed an encouraging thing. In the current Wizarding World, Pure-blood wizards have too much say, and the arrest of wizards who rely on power to do all sorts of bad things does represent a good start.

However, Sean always felt that something was amiss, and the spokespeople for the Ministry of Magic of various countries rarely commented on such matters, mostly offering perfunctory official statements.

The students at the school didn't think so much about it. The majority of the Half-blood students were excited about this. Once the situation where Pure-blood people controlled the discourse was broken, they would be able to get more respect and fairness after graduation.

For a time, the atmosphere in the entire Newmontgard was extremely enthusiastic because of these news reports.

On a weekend night, outside the Malfoy Manor, Grindelwald once again put Sean down.

"Sir," Sean didn't go immediately, but looked at the old man beside him who was already disappearing, "Have you seen the recent news?"

Grindelwald's fading stopped, and he winked at Sean: "Something's not right?"

"Yes, sir, it's too frequent, and don't the Pure-blood families experience any backlash?"

"There will certainly be backlash, but even if the Ministry of Ministry of Magic is corrupt and shameless, it still has to maintain a professional image."

"You mean those arrested for breaking the law can't recant their confessions?" Sean asked, frowning.

"That's right. The matter has been brought into the open. If those people aren't arrested, public outcry will be enough to force the Minister of Ministry of Magic to resign."

"What about the other Pure-blood families? They are mostly in a community of shared interests. If they don't help now, what will happen when it's their turn?"

Grindelwald chuckled instead, "Their interests conflict with yours, Sean, shouldn't you be happy?"

"They should indeed be arrested," Sean shrugged, "But there are clearly bigger shadows behind it, and the impact could easily expand. Besides, the current situation in the Wizarding World cannot be solved by arresting one or two lawless Pure-blood Wizard. This situation will inevitably require long-term reforms. Being too hasty will only make things worse, won't it?"

"I'm glad you realize that. You've at least learned to think maturely. However, I must say..." Grindelwald spread his hands in imitation of his gesture. "Although I am very strong, I am not Deities. I cannot consider the cause and effect of every matter. Such things often require a lot of time to investigate in order to find out the truth, just like what you are going to do when you go into that room later."

"Indeed, I seem to have been a little too hasty; things have only just begun to unfold." Sean chuckled.

"The wheels of history are slowly turning, Sean. Learn to be the one who controls the direction of those wheels." Grindelwald smiled slightly and disappeared from the spot.

"The one who controls the direction..." Sean muttered to himself.

He smiled, shrugged, and walked toward the Malfoy Manor.

As he reached the doorway, Sean's expression turned sinister and cold again. He flicked his sleeve, which transformed into black smoke and flew into the living room.

Inside the living room, the Death Eaters were already sitting upright, discussing recent events in hushed tones with their companions. As soon as the smoke rushed into the living room, everyone immediately shut their mouths and lowered their heads slightly.

Black smoke rose to the head of the table and then transformed into Sean's original form.

"You're right on time today... my friends." Sean smiled and stretched out his arms.

The Death Eaters all placed one hand on their chests and lowered their heads. "We obey your summons, Your Majesty the Dark Lord."

"Let's relax, don't be so tense—"

Several Death Eaters swallowed hard. The image of Antonin Dolohov turning to ashes at the last gathering was still vivid in their minds. They dared not say they fully understood the terrifying man sitting at the head of the table, but one thing was very clear—if the Dark Lord was displeased, someone present would definitely be in trouble.

Seeing the trembling crowd, Sean smiled slightly and said nothing more. He stroked the Occamy's head contentedly and said slowly, "Let's talk about recent events."

"Yes." Everyone nodded, and Bella was the first to step forward.

She has been feeling great lately. Her great master has returned, and he trusts her more and more—in those few private conversations, she could even hear the intimacy in his voice when he called her name.

Isn't this the feeling she's always dreamed of?

Bella bowed respectfully; she was dressed very formally today, and as she bent over, Sean could see the glittering gemstones adorning her linen hat.

"Master, the things you instructed me to do have been progressing smoothly, but what about that person I mentioned to you last time?" She looked at him questioningly.

Sean knew the other person was talking about Burt Burke, and he nodded to signal the other person to continue.

"Bock has been arrested, and the process of recruiting him into our team has been interrupted."

"Okay, tell me the charges against him that led to his arrest."

"Barty should know more details."

Sean looked at Barty Jr..: "My friend, you're the one to talk."

"Yes, Master." Barty Jr. looked at Bella gratefully, excited to have the opportunity to prove himself.

Bella smiled slightly, her beautiful face expressionless. She had already gained her master's complete trust, and it wouldn't hurt to give this opportunity to another Death Eaters who was equally loyal to her master.

Barty Jr.. quickly said, "I wasn't there when Burke was arrested, but I know everything that happened. During their investigation, the Auror discovered something strange about the Parasitic Maw's physical magic—this creature leaves a mark on every person it parasitizes. Burke was in a hurry to take the creature away to dispose of it, which aroused the Auror ' suspicion. In the end, they discovered that the Parasitic Maw was brought to London while parasitizing Burke's body."

"During the investigation of Bock, there were repeated reports of illegal activities during his tenure. The interrogation room was very crowded at the time, and even if Bock wanted to buy his freedom with Galleon, Fudge could not help him."

Who is the whistleblower?

"An Auror received a report, anonymously, but it is indeed true."