Gaming and Compromise

Drinking tea and eating snacks.

Sam suddenly realized that the British really knew how to enjoy themselves, especially Vincent, who occasionally raised his binoculars.

"Tsk, tsk—it's making me not even want to go back to the Magical Congress."

Hermione, holding her hot tea, shook her head in disappointment.

Another one who'd been fooled.

She looked at Daphne next to her.

Someone who voluntarily let themselves be fooled, so she couldn't get even angrier.

"Don't even think about it, Graves will kill me," Vincent said, taking a bite of his yogurt waffle.

Sweet and sour, it was the perfect match for black tea.

"If anyone's getting killed, it'll be me first," Sam said, stuffing a large piece of savory scone into his mouth.

Dry and crumbly, washed down with some iced Americano with sugar and milk.

Vincent moved away in disgust.

If they were in Italy, this guy would have been beaten to a pulp already.

Sugar and milk were fine, but ice and water turned it into "dishwater."

Like pineapple pizza, Italians would think it was a waste of food, the ultimate insult to them.

A mouthful of salty scone with iced Americano, and chewing it with such a lack of decorum.

Sam deserved to be hanged.

Vincent took a sip of his black tea to calm his nerves, then raised his binoculars to look over there.

"Bloody Hell!" He almost spat it out.

Sam, still chewing with his mouth full, glared at him with contempt.

So dramatic, he needed to be more elegant.

"The thing was picked up, and the Head Auror picked it up."

The scone crumbs mixed with iced Americano sprayed all over the three plates of snacks.

Before Hermione and Daphne could reprimand him for his behavior, they picked up their binoculars and looked over as well.

Scrimgeour hefted the small cloth bag, as if estimating its weight.

Then he carefully opened the bag and frowned as he took out his wand.

Unlocking the sticking charm, unlocking the anti-detection charm, unlocking the strengthening charm…

After about ten minutes, he unlocked the last spell.

He didn't open the bag and look inside, but first used magic to probe it.

Judging from his tightly furrowed brow, he seemed to know what was inside.

Scrimgeour finally disappeared into the black and white swirl of Apparition.

Vincent put down his binoculars, his hand reaching for the snack plate paused in mid-air.

His good mood vanished in an instant.

"Mr. Chavez, wasting food is shameful."

"Yeah, you have to be responsible for eating it all."

"Not a single one can be left!"

Sam's face turned red from their scolding.

He was an adult, yet he was being lectured by three little kids?

The key was that he couldn't argue back, and he had to finish three whole plates of snacks.

Nothing else to do, so he might as well eat and wait.

Ignoring the three pairs of disgusted eyes, he took a bite of snack and a sip of iced Americano.

Vincent analyzed the situation with a serious expression to the little witches who had retreated to his side:

"He's the ultimate evolved version of Kenny, he's reached the point where even a Wizard extinction event couldn't take him down."

Hermione nodded her little head with conviction, "I used to think Crabbe and Goyle's eating habits were disgusting enough, I didn't realize how naive I was."

Daphne turned her head away, "Mr. Chavez, could you please be a little more considerate?"

Sam completely ignored them.

The three little ones gave up.

He had the ability, but his personality wasn't great.

Auror Interrogation Room.

Tash woke up to the angry, bulging eyes of Fudge and Scrimgeour.

He felt a little cold and looked down at his bare upper body.

"Tash Hermond, you've given us quite the runaround!"

"I—I can tell you—"

A sharp pain shot through his arms, which were tied behind his back.

Tash's face contorted in pain as he recalled the events before he lost consciousness.

Two Night Wraiths, two Dream Killers.

They had forced him to make six Unbreakable Vows, and with two genuine witnesses, no less.

Besides the three from the Wizarding Scum, there were also vows not to reveal in any way that he was an imposter, not to evade trial, and to confess all his crimes to the Ministry of Magic.

The contract wasn't valid?

They'd beat him until he was willing to accept it!

Then he woke up to see Fudge and Scrimgeour.

"Hermond, what were you about to say?"

Tash opened his mouth, but he fainted from the pain as soon as he formed the first syllable.

Fudge looked terrible, and Scrimgeour looked even worse.

The Ennervate charm worked well, and he woke up in less than half a minute.

Tash, ashen-faced, was at his wit's end.

Language hints wouldn't work, mouthing wouldn't work, and he guessed writing wouldn't work either.

The Unbreakable Vow was too overbearing, and even if he exposed the two mysterious Wizards, it wouldn't matter.

The Ministry of Magic was determined to make an example of him, to give a good shake to those shadowy existences lurking in the nooks and crannies.

"Minister, I'm saying that I'm willing to say anything I can!"

Fudge and Scrimgeour maintained cold faces throughout, but there were several times when they were clearly angry.

Parents died because of Death Eaters, blaming everything on them;

Being a half-blood and embracing pure-blood supremacy;

Having no talent as a Wizard and still seeking a sense of superiority over innocent Muggles.

How many more like that are there?

Fudge returned to his office and told Scrimgeour to temporarily halt the crackdown on Knockturn Alley and Spinner's End.

"Minister, to prevent this from happening again, we should clear out those shadowy existences as soon as possible!"

"I know, Rufus." Fudge shook his head with regret.

"But the International Confederation of Wizards is about to intervene. We can't let them come and laugh at us, can we?"

"But—"

"Rufus, this isn't something that can be resolved in a short time."

Fudge got up and went to Scrimgeour on the opposite side, gently placing his hand on his shoulder.

"Once the trial results are out, we can find a less sensitive time to continue."

The Wizard Cards scam hadn't been completely resolved, and now this mess had also escalated to the international level.

Why were Wizards imprisoning Muggles?

Personal reasons were part of it, but the British Ministry of Magic bore the main responsibility.

"Minister, we can intensify the crackdown to the greatest extent, making the environment better before the Confederation's representatives arrive."

"Rufus, can you guarantee that there won't be any problems?"

The entire British Ministry of Magic on the move would be another international joke.

Scrimgeour took a deep breath. "I will focus on the matter at hand first. I won't forget anything else."

"Very good."

The four on the church tower saw the end of the workday but couldn't discern any Ministry deployment.

The sun set, and their stomachs rumbled.

Hermione and Daphne looked at Vincent in unison.

He looked through his telescope again, then winked at Sam, who was already full.

"Why me!"

"Who told you to waste food?"

Sam gritted his teeth, grabbed a 50-pound note, and got up to buy something to eat.

"Remember not to buy burgers or fried chicken."

"Take it or leave it!"

There are so many fast-food restaurants in London that Sam just picked one at random and went inside.

The three little ones finished their authentic Indian curry with dark faces.

If the chef hadn't been English, they would have gone back to school already.

Another lecture, and Sam felt like he was really living a suffocating life.

He shouldn't have run away to England in the first place.

And he especially shouldn't have hidden at Wayne's house after coming here.

Most importantly, he shouldn't have agreed to work to pay off his debts.

Being completely controlled, he was really fed up now.

"F*ck, I don't even know when this will end!

I'm telling you, I'm not doing this anymore!"

Vincent stared blankly as he disappeared into the swirling black and white of Apparition.

Did he just break down?

Hermione and Daphne were also stunned.

How were they going to get back to school?

So unreliable!