Moody's gaze shifted slightly. At last, he looked Kingsley straight in the eye and said in a muffled voice:
"I ran into Wade at the venue. When it happened... I didn't think he was surprised."
"Not surprised..."
Kingsley closed his eyes briefly. He understood why Wade had orchestrated this—
"To test the people present? Wade thought there were people among them colluding with the Scourers? But didn't he know..."
He paused, then said heavily, "...didn't he know this wasn't a simple test at all? He opened Pandora's Box!"
"Hmph." Moody snorted. "He's not the only smart person in the world! Without Wade, do you think no one else would have thought of using... that... the power of the media?"
"When all was said and done, it was the American Wizarding World that gave birth to monsters like the Scourers. Decades ago, when they had nothing, they could still stand on street corners handing out leaflets. Now that they have more convenient channels, do you think they wouldn't consider how to use them?"
"If the Ministries of Magic around the world are smart enough, they should learn from this 'prank,' make contingency plans and take preventive measures! Instead of waiting until disaster truly strikes, only to realize it's already too late!"
Moody's tone had initially carried a hint of forced reasoning, but the more he spoke, the more justified he felt. His voice grew louder as well.
Kingsley rubbed his forehead with a headache and said:
"But the Magical Congress of the United States of America wasn't prepared. Does that mean the British Ministry of Magic was? When he saw the danger, he should have informed the Ministry and let us prepare, rather than use it to test one or two moles in the Magical Congress!"
Moody fell silent for a