The Owl Theft Case

Such a fine atmosphere had been ruined; merely swatting them away with a claw was already letting them off easy.

Hermione raised her wand in embarrassment and anger, summoning a Peacock Patronus that had already grown to half her height.

The two mood-ruiners were smacked back, and the Suanni Patronus gave them another swipe.

After batting them back and forth dozens of times, it finally vented its anger.

Vincent tactfully refrained from mentioning what had just happened.

Hermione also tacitly took a small step back.

"What were we talking about?"

"Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

"There's nothing worth talking about with those two old geezers."

"Mm, then let's talk about something else."

They drank tea, chatted, and had some small pastries.

The whole evening passed quickly, and the two of them grew a little closer.

Just a few hours earlier, something major had happened at the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley.

Their owls had vanished. Every last one of them was gone.

The staff member on duty initially thought his superior was joking, until he saw the backyard in complete disarray.

Scrimgeour had been woken by his subordinates in the middle of the night.

He had recently moved his home into the Auror Office precisely so he could deal with situations like this without delay.

After arranging his personnel, he personally led the team to the crime scene.

"The trace of Dark Magic..."

Though it had faded to the point of nearly disappearing, Aurors were specialists in dealing with such things.

Scrimgeour waved his wand, trying to gather the lingering traces together.

Just as expected, they dissipated even faster.

Since they could not identify the culprit from the traces, they had to start with other magical evidence.

But the Aurors worked until three in the morning without finding even the slightest clue.

"If the Dark Magic was used to erase the evidence..." Scrimgeour looked toward the rows of decaying owl houses.

To simultaneously remove so many magical contracts, the culprit's mastery of Dark Magic had to be exceptionally high.

There were quite a few suspects in Knockturn Alley, but they had been taken in for questioning immediately. The preliminary interrogation reports showed that all of them had alibis.

The culprit had quietly infiltrated the post office, removed the owls' magical contracts, left promptly, and even set up Dark Magic to destroy the evidence before departing.

The culprit was meticulous, clearly having formulated a detailed plan, and did not want anyone to know their identity.

But what was the point of stealing so many owls? Was it just to cause trouble for the Ministry of Magic?

No!

A figure suddenly appeared in Scrimgeour's mind.

Meticulous, with a detailed plan, hiding his identity.

"Sirius Black!" he snarled through gritted teeth.

The surrounding Aurors were visibly startled, but after thinking it over, they found it perfectly reasonable.

That escaped madman must have noticed that the search for him had eased up, and somehow obtained a copy of The Daily Prophet from a few days ago.

The theft of the owls had no real purpose at all; it was merely to test the Ministry of Magic's reaction.

"Continue the investigation!"

They absolutely could not lose their composure. The Ministry of Magic's arrangements were flawless, with no loopholes to exploit.

Scrimgeour's self-reassurance proved effective. Seeing how calm and composed he was, the Aurors returned to their original orderly state.

One hour passed, then two.

The entire backyard had been turned upside down, yet there were hardly any traces to be found.

"Pull out!"

At Scrimgeour's command, the Aurors Apparated away one after another.

After daybreak, the investigation report was completed.

Just as the Ministry of Magic was about to begin an emergency meeting, Cheshire appeared at the English Channel.

She placed an exquisite little wooden house on the shore.

Soon, the owls flew out one after another.

Each of their claws was tied with a small metal tube containing freshly printed copies of The Daily Prophet.

Cheshire waved her hand. "Everyone, off you go!"

"Hoot hoot hoot—" The owls swiftly scattered in all directions.

The Ministry of Magic's emergency meeting did not last long.

Since there was a strong possibility that Sirius Black was behind the owl theft, the entire matter had to be handled discreetly to minimize the negative impact.

At ten in the morning, Fudge personally arrived at the Owl Post Office in Diagon Alley.

They had merely lost all their active postal owls. They just needed to find another batch.

The post office manager wore a cheerful smile, but inwardly he was already cursing up a storm.

Did Fudge think owls willing to sign magical contracts were so easy to find?

They had coaxed and tricked their way into getting only 231 of them. If they wanted to resume normal operations quickly, they could only offer better treatment.

That all cost Gold Galleons. The Ministry of Magic was not even offering compensation, yet it still expected them to keep things quiet?

The manager put on a brilliant smile. "Mr. Minister, our post office will resume normal operations as soon as possible. We guarantee that no mail will go undelivered."

Fudge nodded in satisfaction. "The Ministry of Magic will apprehend the culprit as quickly as possible and promptly recover your losses."

The manager smiled without warmth. "That would be wonderful indeed!"

With the visit over, Fudge was ready to leave.

Just after they departed, several owls flew into Diagon Alley.

They dropped newspapers one by one for the previous subscribers, then flew away without collecting any payment.

Standing at the post office entrance, the manager pinched his own arm.

Was he dreaming?

Those missing owls were actually delivering newspapers!

He strode over to Madam Malkin's Robe Shop across the street and snatched the newspaper that had just been dropped off.

"The Daily Prophet? Wasn't that lousy newspaper shut down ages ago?"

A short, plump witch in purple robes snatched the newspaper back. "Your Owl Post Office has learned to rob people now?"

The post office manager hurriedly shook his head in denial. "Madam Malkin, this is a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Madam Malkin held the newspaper high. "You came to rob someone in broad daylight, and you still dare argue?"

"Just listen to me..." The post office manager fled with his head covered as she hit him. "Madam, this really is a misunderstanding..."

Madam Malkin viciously smacked his face with the newspaper. "Get out! Before I report this to the Ministry of Magic!"

The post office manager was driven out of the robe shop.

"The Daily Prophet!" His face twisted viciously as he stormed back to the post office.

At the Ministry of Magic, Fudge had only just returned and had not even warmed his seat when the Owl Post Office arrived with a large group of people.

"What did you say?"

"Mr. Minister, The Daily Prophet did this! I saw our owls delivering their newspapers with my own eyes!"

Fudge looked strangely at the post office manager's face, mottled red and green.

"I already know about this. The Ministry of Magic will certainly give you a satisfactory explanation."

The post office manager wanted to say more, but they were soon "warmly" ushered out.

After they left, Fudge's expression became extremely ugly.

"Dolores! Bring me a copy of that damned Daily Prophet!"

"Yes, Minister." Umbridge left the reception room and headed straight for the Auror Office on the second floor.

She was the Ministry of Magic's Senior Deputy Minister. Fetching a newspaper was far too trivial a matter to require her personal attention.