Harry Potter: Demon Monarch

Chapter -68.

Inside the hall, Lester, who had already negotiated the distribution of benefits with Minister Smith, appeared once again before everyone with a brotherly demeanor.

Seeing Carlson looking pleased and Minister Smith smiling, the group of high-ranking officials who were adept at reading the room immediately understood that the matter had been settled.

Now the warden of Azkaban, Lester was no longer interested in keeping these pure-blood officials in suspense. Previously, he had been indifferent to the mess that was the Ministry of Magic since the terms had not been agreed upon. But now that the terms were settled and he had transformed from a pawn into a player, he could not just stand by and watch the Ministry burn.

Lester pretended to wave his wand at the sea of flames below, and then a miraculous scene unfolded.

The raging magical fire and the spreading inferno below suddenly extinguished as if they had entered an oxygen-deprived environment.

If it weren't for the charred marks on the buildings below and the occasional wisps of smoke rising from the ruins, the high-ranking officials would hardly believe that just moments ago, there had been a sea of fire.

[Ding! Gained Fear Value from Minister Smith +1000]

[Ding! Gained Fear Value from Mad-Eye Moody +500]

[Ding! Gained Fear Value from Ludo Bagman +300]

[...]

Lester's effortless extinguishing of the fire stunned everyone in the hall.

There was no other reason; it was simply because Lester had extinguished the fire too easily.

With Lester's fire spell already at level 3, and since he had conjured the fire himself, extinguishing it was naturally very simple.

However, to the outsiders, Lester's ability to calm the flames with just a wave of his wand, without even uttering a spell, was astonishing.

Even the legendary wizard Dumbledore would find it difficult to achieve such a feat.

Dumbledore could certainly extinguish the fire, and Minister Smith would have no doubt about that.

However, Dumbledore would never extinguish a sea of flames as effortlessly as Carlson did!

"This time, I've really struck gold," Minister Smith, who had just felt a bit pained about giving Azkaban to Carlson, immediately felt it was worth it after seeing Carlson's maneuver.

The other pure-blood officials also rushed to flatter him.

From Minister Smith's earlier attitude towards Carlson, it was clear that Carlson's status in the Ministry would not be low in the future, even comparable to the heads of the powerful families.

"Minister, if there's nothing else, I'll escort this group of prisoners back to Azkaban!"

Lester, tired of the mutual flattery with the pure-blood officials, after a few simple exchanges, pointed at the prisoners and wanted to return to Azkaban.

Upon hearing Lester's words, many pure-blood officials looked surprised.

Back to Azkaban?

This statement immediately set their imaginations running wild. Carlson was now powerful, and he had just captured the prisoners, plus he had just been whispering with the Minister in a corner, surely he would gain substantial benefits.

Thus, even if Carlson could not become the head of the Auror Office, he could easily be assigned to those less lucrative departments, serving as a frontline officer was more than enough; it was impossible for Carlson to return to Azkaban as a guard.

Regardless of whether Carlson wanted to or not, these officials could not agree; first, it would be too unseemly, and second, this was the wizarding world. If Carlson were an ordinary Auror, even if his achievements were taken, there would be little he could do.

But now that Carlson was so powerful, if they were so blatant in seizing his achievements, would they not fear him turning into the fourth Dark Lord?

As these high-ranking officials' imaginations ran wild and their expressions changed continuously, Minister Smith spoke up.

"Alright, Warden Carlson, the future of the Azkaban will depend on you!"

"All thanks to the Minister's leadership!"

Ignoring the pure-blood officials beside him who were left dumbfounded, Lester, having gotten what he wanted, had no intention of lingering here to bicker with them.

Leaving the circle of high officials, Lester strode over to the Azkaban prisoners.

As he passed by the group of Aurors, Lester, with Carlson's face, sternly scanned the group.

Instantly, several Aurors showed signs of panic when they met Lester's gaze.

Lester knew that these people probably had never gotten along with Carlson before.

Ignoring the few evasive looks from the Aurors, Lester walked straight up to the prisoners.

He knew that many Aurors held a grudge against Carlson, but that was Carlson's hatred; once Carlson became the warden of Azkaban, he would have plenty of ways to deal with them without having to take action himself. After all, there were so many high-ranking officials watching, and he didn't want to be seen as petty.

"You damn prisoners, how dare you escape from Azkaban!" Lester glared with fury, launching into a tirade against the group of inmates. At the same time, he pointed his wand at them, and each prisoner he pointed at let out a wretched wail, so miserable that it sent shivers down the spines of the Aurors standing nearby. One by one, the prisoners writhed on the ground in agony, their eyes filled with fear and pain, completely unmasked.

"Is he being too harsh? Did I misjudge him before?" Minister Smith hesitated as he watched the continuously wailing prisoners. Climbing the ranks in the Ministry of Magic, finally becoming the minister, Smith was certainly no fool. The earlier death threats from Arlis, combined with Carlson's heroic entrance, left him somewhat disoriented.

In fact, just as Carlson turned to leave, Smith felt a sense of being deceived. The timing of Carlson's appearance was too coincidental, and the emergence of prisoners like Arlis was also too bizarre. Everything seemed murky, but Minister Smith felt as if invisible hands were manipulating everything happening in the Ministry of Magic. It was as if Carlson and Arlis had conspired, with Arlis responsible for killing and Carlson for making an entrance, ultimately splitting the benefits.

If Smith's suspicions were true, then Carlson was truly terrifying! However, watching Carlson torment the prisoners, Minister Smith began to doubt his previous suspicions. Listening to the prisoners' cries, it was hard for him to believe they were playing a duet with Carlson.

*Ding! Gained Ludovico Bagman's fear value +300*

*Ding! Gained Ludovico Bagman's fear value +300*

*Ding! Gained Ludovico Bagman's fear value +300*

Looking at the frantically convulsing prisoners around him, Ludo felt a wave of panic. "Damn it, this Carlson is a bit fierce. If I jump out now and say I'm one of the officials, will he believe me?"

For some reason, even with the prisoners collapsing around him, Carlson showed no signs of punishing him. "Could it be that he recognizes me? That he knows I'm from the Ministry of Magic!"

As Ludo's imagination ran wild, Lester was also confused, staring at the only standing figure among the prisoners, feeling very dissatisfied. "Is that prisoner from that group? Why is he so daft, can't even act properly!"

***

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