Heart of a Lion (Bonus Chapter)

The next day, Sunday morning.

Skylar received two letters carried by owls.

The first letter was a thank-you note from Slughorn, explaining that his protégé Gwenog, had been acquitted. Enclosed were two VIP tickets for the Holyhead Harpies, which Slahohn claimed were given to him by Gwenog as a token of Skylar's help.

The second letter was written in Scrimgeour's own handwriting. It was long and the handwriting was messy, clearly written in a great hurry.

After receiving Skylar's tip yesterday, Scrimgeour quickly assembled his men and set off, successfully locating Griffith's captive location. However, it seemed the perpetrators had received advance warning and moved the body before the Auror arrived. This ability to do so indicates the perpetrators are far from simple. Ordinary fans, simply seeking revenge for Griffith's betrayal, or ordinary kidnappers motivated by money, wouldn't have the capacity to anticipate the Ministry of Magic's actions.

Scrimgeour had realized that there was more to this than met the eye, and that there was definitely a mole within his Auror who was leaking information. Therefore, he began to distrust his subordinates. This time, he planned to come to Hogwarts later that evening alone, accompanied by his trusted confidant Gadwin Robards. He had already requested permission from Dumbledore to meet with Skylar to discuss this matter.

Skylar was somewhat surprised by Scrimgeour's letter. He had thought that after giving Scrimgeour the clues yesterday, he would have nothing more to do. He never expected that such a seemingly insignificant case of a missing player could lead to so many follow-ups. It seems that there are still many dark corners of the Britain wizarding world that he has not yet come to know!

Slyringer's purpose was not hard to guess; he simply wanted to know where his clues came from and see if he could find any other clues.

However, Professor Trelawney was one of her trump cards, and her Divination abilities could not be revealed casually.

Skylar came up with a response.

Skylar and Scrimgeour's meeting took place in an empty classroom that had been requested from Dumbledore. Only the two of them were in the classroom, while Gadwin Robards stood guard at the door to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.

"Uncle Scrimgeour, I suspect there's a mole within your Auror, someone is selling intelligence outwards." Skylar pointed out the reason for the failure of the last operation.

Scrimgeour gave a cold snort. "This time I was careless. I've always known that some of my men are restless and have some shady dealings with outsiders, but as long as it doesn't interfere with the Auror Office's daily operations, I let it go. I didn't expect them to become so emboldened."

He then said solemnly, "The problem is that I didn't initially think of this task as complicated as it seemed. I originally thought it was just fans causing trouble because they were unwilling to accept the situation, and at most, they were trying to get a ransom. So I wasn't too wary of the confidentiality of the intelligence. That was indeed my mistake. Now, Skylar, you must help me. Because of the attention from the public and the media, I'm under a lot of pressure from above. I have to solve this case."

"What I'm more curious about," Skylar said, "Is what you plan to do if you can't get any clues from me?"

Although Skylar raised the question, he already had the answer in his heart—what else could this bureaucratic Ministry of Magic do but find a scapegoat?

Scrimgeour's eyes gleamed. He understood Skylar's meaning, but he had a bottom line. Finding a scapegoat was fine, but if he didn't even try, he felt he would be letting down his youthful ambition to become an Auror.

He said slowly, "What you mean by that is..."

"Don't misunderstand, Uncle Scrimgeour," Skylar smiled. "Of course I'll help you, and I'm capable of doing so. However, I want to remind you that your Auror forces really need reorganization—my intelligence is limited, and helping you like this would undoubtedly make me enemies, put my informants in danger, and I wouldn't gain anything in return..."

"Don't worry, Skylar," Scrimgeour gritted his teeth, as if making a difficult decision, "Uncle will definitely discipline these good-for-nothings under his command this time. As long as you're willing to help Uncle, Uncle will never forget your kindness!"

Skylar was waiting for this one sentence.

"Alright, then—Uncle, let's leave here first. Hogwarts doesn't Apparition, so you'll have to take me with you on this mission. The two of us plus Robards should be enough."

The three left the gates of Hogwarts and Apparition away.

Diagon Alley, the three-way intersection in front of Gringotts.

The three men disguised themselves as three men in black using simple disguise magic and stepped into Knockturn Alley.

Why did you choose to come here?

This was because Skylar figured that with the Auror coming knocking, the two kidnappers who had abducted Griffith were probably in a panic and would definitely need to discuss their next move. And discussing this plan would inevitably involve mentioning Griffith's name, so—yes, Skylar cast Taboo on the name "Velda Griffith"!

Using the power of the Taboo, Skylar led the way, quickly passing the storefront of Borgin and Burkes and traversing one deep alley after another, finally arriving at a very inconspicuous dead end.

Skylar said in a low voice, "Gentlemen, this is the place."

Scrimgeour and Robards exchanged a glance, their expressions turning very serious.

"Skylar, this matter is probably more complicated than we imagined..." Scrimgeour said.

"What do you mean?" Skylar was in a good mood. To be honest, after learning about the "Ghosts Society" and the Knights of Walpurgis " behind it, and then about the existence of the " Shadow of the Magic Dragon," he felt that nothing Sickle scare him anymore.

"Behind this alley lies the infamous Black Sin Square. You can get in by tapping on certain bricks, just like the wall at the Leaky Cauldron," Robards explained to Skylar. "The problem now isn't how to get in, but..."

Scrimgeour frowned. "Black Sin Square is likely backed by powerful figures, with close ties to some high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Magic. For years, the Auror' requests to raid this area have been repeatedly denied..."

A glint of light flashed in Skylar's eyes, and he said coldly, "Uncle, just say it directly—the so-called high-ranking officials you're referring to are Yaxley, Selwyn, and Rowle, right?"

Scrimgeour was momentarily embarrassed. He coughed lightly. "Since you've been so helpful to your uncle, I don't want to hide it from you. It really was them. The House of Lestrange was also involved before. However, as you know, after that recent incident, the Lestrange family is practically wiped out."

A smile appeared on Skylar's lips. "So—Uncle, what do you plan to do now?"

Scrimgeour is in a dilemma. If he doesn't continue the investigation, he'll be guilty of dereliction of duty, and the media and the public will criticize his inaction. If he continues, he'll be thrust into the spotlight, make countless enemies, and his future will likely be very difficult...

"Rufus, I think—" Robards's face was also extremely grim. He leaned close to Scrimgeour and whispered, "Let's just forget about it. We'll stick to our usual method: find some clueless petty thief, torture him into confessing, make him take the blame, and then announce that Griffith has disappeared. Although we'll still inevitably face accusations of incompetence, at least we've caught the criminal, and they can't say much..."

"We can't just force our way in, can we?" Robards said. "The last Auror supervisor who did that was inexplicably dismissed within a week, and within a year his house was burgled, and his entire family was killed by some unknown dark wizard. It drove him insane, and he ended up in St Mungo's Hospital..."

The two remained silent for almost ten minutes. Finally, Scrimgeour spoke with difficulty, "Let's go!"

At this moment, Skylar spoke, his eyes shining with both mockery and unwavering confidence, "Uncle, since you've made your decision, I won't stop you. You go first! I've decided to stay here—even if you didn't say it, I guessed Griffith's fate. I'm a man, and I can't stand idly by and watch her misfortune, especially knowing she still has a sliver of hope for salvation—"

Skylar's tone was solemn and sacred, making it clear that his resolve was unwavering. "I don't want to hear her cries in my dreams every night from now on, or to face the torment of my conscience!"

"Skylar, you!" Scrimgeour hadn't expected Skylar to say that. He had high hopes for this young man, and Dumbledore knew that Skylar had come with him on business. If something happened to Skylar, it wouldn't be a matter of simply finding a scapegoat to take the blame.

"Uncle, my mind is made up. You don't need to say anything more." Skylar's voice suddenly turned cold. "I won't implicate you. I'll write a letter home right now to sever all ties with you, so my family won't cause you any trouble—"

"However, I must say," Skylar's voice became extremely soft, as if he were talking to himself, "I am so disappointed! I thought that the Auror were the ones who maintained the stability of the wizarding world, the steadfast shield of the common people, heroes! Do you still have any conscience or respect for the expectations of the people in what you are doing now?"

Without waiting for their reply, Skylar pulled out a small piece of paper, tapped it with his wand, and the paper instantly transformed into a tiny paper sparrow, fluttering its wings as it flew away.

Skylar waved his hand casually, walked to the wall of the dead end, and carefully studied the anomaly of the bricks on the wall.

Just as Skylar reached for a brick, a wand suddenly appeared from his side, quickly tapping several bricks, and the wall split open to the left and right.

Scrimgeour's face was ashen, clearly furious, but at the same time, his eyes once again blazed with the ambition and fighting spirit of a lion.

"You think you can look down on me, Skylar?" Scrimgeour said softly. "Now I'll show you how your uncle becomes an Auror!" With that, he led the somewhat reluctant Robards forward with his head held high.

Standing behind them, Skylar curled his lips slightly, revealing a fox-like smile.