At night, smoke kept billowing inside the Ministry of Magic, filling the air with a pungent smell, while above Ministry headquarters, around Whitehall in central London, an even more panicked scene than the one among the wizards unfolded.
If the Ministry of Magic was the administrative heart of the British Magical World, then Whitehall was the seat of the British government's center. Many departments, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards Parade, and the Cabinet Office, were located there, which was why "Whitehall" was also a byword for Britain's central government.
In truth, only a small portion of the Aurors who had returned went inside to put out the fire. Most of them had already taken over and surrounded the area.
The Aurors of the Ministry of Magic and the personnel from other departments were slowly pointing their wands from the ground toward the pavements and sky around Whitehall, setting up an invisible energy field through the streets and alleyways. At the same time, they cast a large number of Muggle-Repelling Charms to stop Muggles from coming closer—earlier, because they had been short-handed, they had merely sealed off the area of the Ministry of Magic itself. But as more and more Muggles were roused and the wizards returned, they began expanding the isolation zone in order to uphold the Statute of Secrecy, extending the energy field to cover the entire Whitehall area above ground.
Rows of armed police stood rooted to the spot in a daze, their eyes unfocused. Many fire engines had already arrived on the scene, but the firefighters had not begun work. Like the police, they, along with some senior Muggle government officials who had rushed over, were being controlled by the wizards of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters, and Muggle Misuse Mediation Committee, who