The second volume is finished. As usual, here's a summary.
The length of this volume was decent. It basically maintained a dual-thread structure, and overall, I was quite satisfied with it.
There were just a few minor pacing issues. For example, when Murphy discovered the Auror investigation for the second time, and the pressure from Muggle society—those had originally been intended as two small crises, to create a sense of mounting pressure. But they felt a little too repetitive and formulaic, which might have caused reader fatigue. I didn't enjoy writing them either, so I combined them.
Because of that merger, the order of some parts of the plot changed, and the little side plot involving the agent ended up feeling somewhat abrupt and eased the overall tension.
However, since the confrontation had not yet reached its climax, the impact was not too great.
As for the plot.
The path the protagonist was meant to take ran contrary to the wizarding world's overall way of thinking. He was someone who wanted to shatter the order of the wizarding world, so standing against the Aurors was inevitable.
At the same time, the Aurors were different from so-called pure-blood nobles like Draco Malfoy. They acted according to the justice in their hearts, so as Murphy's enemies, they were worthy of respect.
Murphy's conflict with the Aurors could be seen as a clash of ideals, so I wanted to portray the Aurors in a more positive light. From their perspective, Murphy truly was a Dark wizard willing to use any means necessary.
Scrimgeour and Kingsley Shacklebolt differed somewhat in personality from their canon versions in my story. For one thing, there simply were not many named characters to choose from; for another, these differences could be viewed as the result of a different