Caught and Released, Flintlock Pistol

Fudge received the news shortly after Jeans was taken away.

The Minister for Magic was startled and immediately led his men back to the Ministry of Magic.

He glanced at Jeans, who was sitting in a chair awaiting interrogation, and while embarrassed, he didn't forget to glare fiercely at Amos Diggory.

Can't you be a little more discerning? Of all people to arrest, why arrest him?

Amos felt guilty under his superior's gaze, but still mustered his courage and said, "Minister, he was found at the crime scene, and he is highly suspicious."

"Shut up, Amos," Fudge said coldly. "Mr. Jeans could never have done such a thing. He's completely innocent, isn't he?"

"Minister Cornelius, since this is a misunderstanding, may I leave now?" Jeans asked unhurriedly. "My young master is still waiting for me there!"

"Of course, of course."

Amos was still somewhat unwilling, but as the higher-ranking official had the final say, he could only watch helplessly as the suspect Apparition.

"Phew!" Fudge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a sigh of relief. "They're finally gone."

"Sit down, Amos. I know you have a lot of questions, and I need to calm down too."

"Fudge, who is he? Is he someone you should take this so seriously?"

"He doesn't have any special status, but you should be glad he didn't hold you accountable, otherwise no one could have protected you," Fudge said meaningfully. "When I was still a Ministry of Magic employee, he was already chatting and laughing with the previous Minister."

"You mean Minister Millicent Barnold?" Amos's face showed a look of shock. This minister served for ten years and had a considerable reputation in the Magic World until her retirement.

"Yes! Who else could it be but her?"

But it wasn't just her; the leader of the Merlin Order, the president of the Magic Council, the renowned alchemist Nicolas Flamel, and so on—it's fair to say that the elders of the magical world would all give Mr. Genes some face.

'They don't interfere in any disputes in the Magic World, but their contributions are unparalleled, and these contributions began thousands of years ago,' said former minister Barnold.

But what impressed me most was the reverent tone in her voice when she said this. Before I took office, she specifically warned me to maintain the utmost respect for those families.

Upon hearing this, Amos Diggory's back was soaked with cold sweat. "Minister, do you think I should go and apologize to him?"

"There's no need for that," Fudge waved his hand. "The fact that he's willing to cooperate with you means he doesn't take this to heart. Just be more careful in the future."

On the other side, Weasley's tent.

Arthur had his sons make room for Aaron so he could rest properly.

But just as they began to make their beds, a figure suddenly appeared inside the tent.

"Mr. Jeans, you're back so quickly?" Arthur asked incredulously. "It's only been less than half an hour."

"It's just a simple investigation, it won't take much time," Jeans explained casually, then looked at Aaron, "Am I disappointing the young master?"

"From the moment you cooperated, I knew you would be back soon." Aaron shook his head with a sigh, "But the speed is even more outrageous than I expected."

"Where are Master Lyon and Miss Adrian?"

"Of course, we used Apparition to go back," Aaron said.

Jeans had no doubts, simply thanked Arthur Weasley, and led Aaron back to their own tent.

The next day, Aaron was awakened by his biological clock.

After breakfast, Jeans packed up the tent.

"Young Master, I suggest that Apparition back."

"Not asking for the Portkey anymore?" Aaron raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"The situation has changed. The Warlock in the venue have surrounded the Portkey administrator, and everyone is eager to leave."

If we queue, we'll probably have to wait until the Sun.

"It's all over," Aaron said nonchalantly, then picked up Abei Apparition.

Upon returning to the castle, the House Elf delivered two copies of today's Daily Prophet to Aaron and Jeans.

"The terrifying scenes at the Quidditch World Cup." Aaron couldn't help but curl his lip as he looked at the black and white illustration of the Dark Mark in the newspaper. "The Warlock reporters are really professional. Did they conduct the interviews overnight?"

The newspapers are reporting on the Ministry of Magic's negligence, the Dark Wizard going unpunished, and the disgrace to the nation. Fudge would probably be furious if he saw this!

"It was Rita Kist who wrote the article," Jeans said with disdain. "Of all the journalists, she's the least professional."

"But what she writes is the most eye-catching." Aaron chuckled, putting down the newspaper. "Unless there's bigger news, the Ministry of Magic is probably going to be very busy!"

"There will be even bigger news," Jeans said with a confident smile. "It just takes some time."

"Have you received any messages?"

"More or less! Miss Adrian mentioned it, but she wouldn't let me tell you."

"Jeans." Aaron looked at him with displeasure. "Please get this straight. Adrian is at most a distinguished guest, and I am your young master."

"This is also the wish of the head of the family and his wife," Jeans added casually.

Aaron paused for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "It seems I'm at the very bottom of the food chain, but don't try to use them to put me down."

"All I can tell you is that this is another grand event, and it's related to Hogwarts."

Also, here's a little hint for you, young master: there's a formal robe on the Hogwarts inventory list.

Upon hearing this, Aaron frowned slightly, as it sounded like it was related to some kind of formal gathering.

However, he didn't pay much attention to it; Jeans could easily handle these minor matters.

Aaron began his leisurely holiday before the start of the school term. He stopped attending tutoring classes and spent his time, apart from Sign-in daily, studying the defensive magic that Weihert had taught him.

Argus's forging room was his daily destination, where he could see the progress bar of the divine weapon forging advance each time. It wasn't until close to the start of the school year that Aaron finally had the chance to witness the birth of his first divine weapon.

Inside the forging room, countless precision parts floated in mid-air, each radiating dazzling brilliance.

"How is it?" Argus asked proudly. "I spent more than two months crafting this batch of parts, and then asked Weihert to enchant them. Every part is engraved with Magic Array, and each array complements the others to maximize their power."

"This is truly eye-opening!" Aaron exclaimed. "But for now, they're just parts."

"We can assemble it now, but I think we should add one last material."

I also need your blood; only then will we be truly bound together, and I will only recognize you as my master from now on.

"No problem."

Aaron decisively took out his Wand and ran it across his palm.

It's just bloodletting, right? I'm very familiar with that.

Crimson blood gushed from the wound, automatically flying into the air and transforming into countless blood streaks.

The blood streaks slowly melted into the Magic Array, and the light emitted by the parts also took on a touch of crimson.

Argus extended his right hand toward the parts, chanted a spell, and countless parts began to assemble automatically.

Gradually, a silver-black Flintlock Pistol, more than thirty centimeters long, landed in front of Aaron. From the barrel to the grip, it was as smooth as a mirror, with several exquisite gold patterns on each side.

Gollum!

Aaron couldn't help but swallow hard, nervously taking it in his hand.

It's neither too light nor too heavy, and feels great in the hand.

"I made significant improvements, including breech loading and an eight-round magazine."

As for the specific firing rate and range, you can try it yourself! With that, Argus lightly stomped the ground, and red lava formed a thick wall.

Aaron nodded, aimed at the wall, and pulled the trigger.

A tremendous roar resounded, and a crater the size of a bowl appeared in the wall.

"This..." Aaron frowned. This gun was much more powerful than a regular gun, but it was far from what he had expected.

"Try using magic," Argus suggested.

Aaron suddenly realized what was happening and channeled his Magical Energy into the gun barrel, Flintlock Gun to light up rapidly.

As the trigger was pulled again, a crimson light shot out from the muzzle, and a powerful shockwave carrying countless fragments of rock flew in all directions.

A large hole was blasted in the wall, through which the door to the second Secret Chamber could be seen.

"Not bad."

"Looks like you're not too satisfied!" Argus teased. "The power of this gun depends on how much magic you pour in, and you didn't even unleash one-tenth of its power just now."

"I can sense that," Aaron said, glancing at the Flintlock Pistol in his hand. "It can only absorb a limited amount of magic, right?"

"Nonsense, even Divine Artifact have limitations, let alone this one which is just a divine weapon."

"Ancestor, if this spear were used to its full potential, could it kill a dragon?"

"Unfortunately, it can hurt dragons and even injure them, but it is far from being able to kill them."

Even wounding a dragon requires a huge amount of magic power; with your current strength as a novice Archmage, ten shots would be your limit.

"It's acceptable; at least it can be used to fight dragons."

"You absolutely mustn't think like that," Argus warned. "Dragons have extraordinary vitality; if you anger one, you might not even have a chance to fire a second shot."

"I know, I'm not stupid." Aaron shook his head with a smile. "Is there any way to increase the power of this gun?"

"The firearms have reached their limit at this stage. If you want to improve them further, you can only work on the bullets. There is a significant difference between ordinary bullets and enchanted bullets."

"I understand. So, if we use enchanted bullets, can we kill the dragon?"

Argus staggered, his eyes twitching uncontrollably, unable to understand why the child was so fond of dragons.

"That depends on the materials used and the level of enchantment."

Bullets capable of killing dragons, those disposable consumables, are probably worth no less than the gun in your hand.

Aaron nodded thoughtfully. If firearms were like Wind Crossbow, then the bullets would need to be of the Black Arrow caliber. Only by using both together could they penetrate the dragon armor.