"What is it? Did you see some interesting news? Let me guess... Could it be that our dear Minister had finally remembered to cover up the Azkaban affair?"
"That's right. I have to say, Minister Fudge wasn't much of an administrator, but his talent for smoothing things over was truly unparalleled!"
Bella flattened the edge of the newspaper, running her fingertips along the crease. "Look at this passage... What a masterful way of downplaying the important parts. That cowardly captain who sold out his subordinates to save his own skin had somehow become a lone hero. How ridiculous."
Rodolphus reassembled the short blade, the sound of its edge sliding back into the sheath brief and crisp.
He leaned against the back of the sofa, his gaze settling on the fjord beyond the window, his voice more subdued than before.
"Because this is the safest way to handle it. He was the only one who survived, and the dead can't open their mouths to deny it. He got his reward, the higher-ups covered up the scandal, and they even got to stab their political rivals while they were at it. When it comes to dealing with matters like this, the speed of those officials is always astonishing."
Bella was about to retort when a burning sensation suddenly flared from her right index finger.
Looking down, she saw the Ouroboros relief at the center of her ring come alive, slowly slithering around the Raven emblem in its center, its body emitting a dark silver glow.
She exchanged a glance with Rodolphus. Both rose from their seats and headed for the lounge at the end of the corridor.
A bronze basin stood in the center of the lounge. A ring of magical runes lined its rim, circling the basin before converging at four