The sky at the pier is gray.
The sea breeze carries the salty and burnt smell, blowing away the morning fog bit by bit.
Several Ministry of Magic boats were hovering nearby, and the detection spells on the bows stirred up circles of faint light in the shallow water.
Lin Ze was wrapped in a blanket and sitting in a makeshift tent.
Amelia came over and put a cup of hot tea into his hand.
"Drink." she said.
Lin Ze looked down at the tea, then put it to his mouth and took a sip. The tea was quite hot and made the tip of his tongue hurt, but his body did feel warm after drinking it.
In the distance, Moody was carrying several Auror to inspect the scene at the pier. The tip of the wand kept spraying out tiny silver light spots, as if measuring some kind of residue. Ben squatted behind Moody, his face still green, obviously he had not recovered from the impact last night.
"How many people did we lose?" Lin Ze asked.
"Seven people were seriously injured, three..." She did not continue.
Lin Ze nodded.
"Ministry of Magic does not intend to make this matter public." Amelia said softly.
"Wizengamot and the minister agreed that it should be dealt with as an incident of dark creatures out of control. All public reports will only see you Group Three dealing with dark creatures."
"What about these Muggle corpses?" Lin Ze looked at the collected Muggle wreckage in the distance.
"Leave it to Muggle police station and close the case as 'port gas explosion'." Amelia said.
Lin Ze nodded, this is considered the best solution under the condition of following "International Statute of Secrecy".
After Amelia left, Lin Ze wrapped the blanket tighter and leaned against the tent support with his eyes closed.
In my ears I can hear the sound of the waves, mixed with the low conversation of Auror people in the distance.
Although his magic power is still full, his body is completely exhausted and needs time to recover.
There were gradually more and more people on the pier.
People from Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes are here, and people from Obliviator Headquarters are here too.
Wearing uniform dark gray uniforms, they were busy shuttling among the ruins, giving each Auror who participated in the operation a Calming Draught to relieve mental shock.
Everyone was doing their own thing silently, no one spoke.
In the distance, several Obliviator were surrounding several Muggle policemen. The wand was pressed against his temple, carefully weaving false memories.
Although the memories of these people have been altered, who knows whether there will be videos or other things left behind.
There was a sound of footsteps outside the tent. Lin Ze opened his eyes and saw Arthur opening the curtain and getting in.
He held two oil paper bags in his hands, handed one to Lin Ze, and opened the other one himself.
"Fish and chips, St. Mungo's has a 24-hour fast food restaurant over there, I think you might need it." Arthur sat down opposite Lin Ze and took a bite, his cheeks bulging.
"How is Mia?" Lin Ze asked after taking the paper bag.
"The doctor said it was magic overdraft syndrome, and it would be fine after a day or two of rest." Arthur said.
"What's the situation outside?"
"The people from Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes are busy repairing the scene outside, and the people from Memory Office are looking for those Muggle who witnessed what happened last night to clear their memories."
Lin Ze took a bite of the fried fish. The crispy skin exploded between his lips and teeth, and the wrapped meat was very tender, with good texture and delicious taste. For Britain, it can be called a delicacy.
"Oh, by the way, I heard that Ministry of Magic will hold a press conference at ten o'clock this morning, and reporters from all newspapers and magazines will be invited."
"So fast?"
"After all, we need to give an explanation for what happened last night. Bagnold personally presided over it, probably because he wanted to quickly characterize this matter."
Lin Ze swallowed the last bite of fried fish, crumpled the oil paper into a ball and threw it into the bonfire.
He closed his eyes and ran through the entire incident from beginning to end in his mind.
There must be a controller behind this incident. At first, he thought it was Targaryen. After all, the other party was one of the so-called Thirteen Vampires, but after thinking about it, it seemed that something was wrong.
Creatures like the Vampires, who live in the dark, are unlikely to promote themselves so blatantly, and even established the so-called Dark Night Society to absorb Muggle.
Lin Ze is thinking of someone.
Old Mulciber.
That old guy huddled in the Grey Mist Manor, claiming to be "no longer involved in the world".
The old man said that he had never participated in the sealing of the vampire clan, so he was let go by Dumbledore.
Lin Ze still believes in Dumbledore's judgment, but his suspicion cannot be completely ruled out.
Moreover, among the five names he gave, three of the families had no successors for a long time. Is this sincerely providing clues, or is it a deliberate distraction?
"Lin." Arthur's voice interrupted Lin Ze's thoughts.
"Huh?"
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking... maybe we missed something." Lin Ze said.
Arthur patted his shoulder and said, "The matter is over. Don't think too much. Have a good rest. You will still need to attend the morning press conference."
Ten o'clock in the morning, Ministry of Magic Press Conference Hall.
Lin Ze was leaning against the wall in the last row. Although he had changed into a clean robe, his face still looked a little tired.
Group Three was placed in the corner of the venue, Amos had a bandage on his arm, Weiqi looked nervous, and Mona was sitting next to him, chewing on his fingernails.
Bagnold stood on the podium, behind him was a magic white screen for projection.
Today she wore a black high-collar robe, with the collar buttoned to the top, and her hair was neatly combed.
There were more than 30 reporters sitting underneath.
People from major newspapers and magazines such as "Daily Prophet", "Witch Weekly", "What's New Weekly" and "A Few Things About the Wizarding World" came to visit.
"Thank you for attending." Bagnold's voice was not loud, but the place fell silent instantly.
"Late last night, Ministry of Magic Special Operations Team successfully handled a vicious incident caused by dark creatures in Brighton Pier. At present, the relevant area has been blocked and repaired, and the creatures involved have been eliminated."
"Are there any civilian casualties?"
"The number of confirmed dead Muggle is currently thirty-seven, all of whom were participants in the cult organization involved. They died of cannibalism and ritual backlash. Relevant aftermath work has been initiated."
Another reporter stood up. "Madam Minister, there is news that the battle last night affected a large area. Will it have any impact on the execution of "International Statute of Secrecy"?"
Bagnold nodded. "Obliviator Headquarters has intervened, and the memory correction work of the relevant Muggle witnesses is proceeding in an orderly manner, and there is no risk of information leakage."
"Excuse me..." A male reporter wearing glasses squeezed to the front.
"I heard that this operation was led by a young team leader from Ministry of Magic. Can he come on stage and say a few words?"