Falsifying history is good business

If judged by the standards of Muggle society, most wizards would be regarded as "socially anxious" weirdos; they live in seclusion, rarely go out, do their own thing, have strange ideas, and are even a little bit neurotic.

More importantly, this evaluation is not a misunderstanding caused by the isolation between wizards and Muggles. Even within the wizarding community, most wizards maintain similar living habits. However, in the eyes of wizards, this habit is normal.

The uniqueness and convenience of magic have reduced wizards' demands on social groups to an extremely low level, and have also created a social landscape that is completely different from that of the Muggle world.

A very notable feature is that wizards pay very limited attention to hot social news; unless their own interests are involved - such as the survival crisis created by Voldemort and the Death Eaters, or someone keeps mentioning it in their ears, or the newspapers and media continue to report it, many wizards are almost indifferent to external information.

Discussions about the dispute between the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle Museum lasted only two or three days, and when there were no more follow-up reports in the newspapers, the news quickly dissipated.

A group of carefully selected Aurors set off quietly without anyone noticing.

In the British Museum's collection storage area, in a specially isolated warehouse, there were continuous slight popping sounds of apparitions.

Scrimgeour, the first to land, strode towards the only person waiting in the warehouse. As someone who often dealt with Muggles, Scrimgeour only needed one glance to confirm that the other person was not a wizard.

No wizard could make Muggle clothes look so neat and straight, let alone wear them so smoothly and effortlessly.

"Mycroft Holmes, I have been ordered to take over from you." The Muggle opposite spoke in an authentic civil servant accent, which reminded Scrimgeour of the former minister who had officially stepped down not long ago.

Suppressing the uncomfortable feeling in his heart, the newly promoted Director of Magical Law Enforcement said, "Scrimgeour, are you alone here?"

"In order to maintain confidentiality, irrelevant personnel have been driven away; your colleagues have cast some magic nearby, which is said to be able to continuously prevent uninformed people from approaching this storage area. They also gave me immunity, although I don't know how it works."

Although Mycroft tried his best to remain calm, his ignorance of the magical world was exposed as soon as he opened his mouth; he was nominally Lin You's subordinate, but the gap between Muggles and wizards due to their different knowledge systems was not so easy to cross.

Scrimgeour, with a barely perceptible condescending attitude, wanted to explain to the other party that wizards were a "race" rather than a "profession"; the wizards who had cast the "Muggle-Repelling Charm" before all obeyed Earl Goff and were therefore not his colleagues; at the same time, he also had an urge to teach the other party about the "Muggle-Repelling Charm".

But in the end Scrimgeour said nothing, and when he opened his mouth only the formulaic working rhetoric came out.

"In that case, let's complete the handover procedure. Here is the receipt provided by our side."

Soon, the wizards completed a series of procedures including inspection of documents and target items, and left with the items just a few minutes later.

The news was immediately sent back to Forrester Manor, where Lord Goff and the headmaster of Hogwarts were waiting.

"Everything is fine at the museum. Now we have to see what will happen after the items are stored in the Ministry of Magic. According to the original plan, these items will be handed over to you for research and evaluation tomorrow. Once they are confirmed to be harmful, they will be completely destroyed. There is only one night left for those who are interested." Lin You's tone revealed a hint of disapproval, "Why do I always feel that this bait is not attractive enough? Although it is fake, it can't be so fake that people can see through it at a glance, right?"

Dumbledore's face was calm, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. "Scrimgeour will help us perfect the function of the bait."

"You have such a high opinion of the former Head of the Auror Office and current Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Lin You found it unbelievable; his own opinion of Scrimgeour was that his ability to execute actions was far higher than his ability to plan actions, and his ability to plan actions was higher than his political ability.

The most suitable position for such a person is the position of Head of the Auror Office, a front-line commander; considering the bonus of a tough style in wartime, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the limit. Giving Scrimgeour a higher position would only turn into a disaster.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I am well aware of Scrimgeour's shortcomings. His tough style makes it impossible for him to unite the majority of people, and he is not capable of carrying out his tough style to the end and subjugating everyone..."

"To put it simply, it's because you're not strong enough, but you're used to being tough in your attitude, so you can't humble yourself or soften your stance. Isn't this just overambitious but incompetent, and overestimating yourself?" Lin You's words were harsh, but he felt that his evaluation was fair.

Dumbledore was unwilling to echo such derogatory remarks, and turned to the main topic: "Scrimgeour's shortcomings can precisely cover up our plan. With his usual serious and tough style, he will definitely keep a close eye on these Herpo artifacts; but with his ability, he cannot completely plug the loopholes in the Ministry's management, which will inevitably leave opportunities for those with ulterior motives."

"His attitude is impeccable and he strives to be foolproof, but his lack of ability leaves loopholes. Such loopholes are reasonable, and will not make those who are interested think that they were left intentionally by others. They will only think that they were found by their own abilities. In this way, the current situation of the Ministry of Magic with loopholes on all sides has become a help to us." Lin You laughed.

As expected of an old monster who has lived for a century and participated in two wars against the Dark Lord, his ability to understand people's hearts far exceeds his attainments in magic.

"So how big a fish do you think the bait 'repaired' by Scrimgeour can catch?"

"I'm afraid it will be difficult to get a satisfactory result." Dumbledore said calmly, without any hope. "The Ministry of Magic has serious problems. Tom knows very well that I don't really trust the Ministry of Magic's ability, and it is impossible for me to let them participate in truly critical operations."

"Looking at your respectful attitude towards the Ministry of Magic in the past, it doesn't seem like that?" Lin You teased.

"What I respect is the system, the law, the order and necessary constraints brought by the rules; this does not include the ability of the Ministry of Magic itself." Dumbledore's words were very blunt, in stark contrast to his reserved attitude in public in the past.

Lin You holds a different view: "If the ability of a regime itself is not worthy of respect, then the rules it formulates and represents cannot be respected. A country, or a regime, is ultimately a violent institution; without sufficient power to support it, it is a joke."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "Your opinion worries me."

"If you are worried because you have seen the truth, it means that you have been deceiving yourself in the past." Lin You retorted, "As the only legitimate government in the British wizarding world, the Ministry of Magic can integrate and mobilize resources far more than the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix. Even if it lacks top-notch military force, it should not be useless or even collapse at the first blow when facing Voldemort and the Death Eaters. It was fine before Voldemort's first fall, but in the past ten years or so, the performance of the Ministry of Magic has been getting worse and worse, which is very disappointing." Dumbledore's expression became more serious: "Is this the official statement of the Forresters?"

Lin You said solemnly: "This is also the common view of the royal family and the Muggle government. Maintaining the stability of the wizarding world has never been just an internal affair of wizards."

The sudden accusation took the old wizard by surprise; his main task today was to lure Voldemort and his die-hard Death Eaters into the trap, but he did not expect that he would suddenly have to face such a major issue as the "relationship between the wizarding world and the Muggle world."

"Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Dumbledore was puzzled. "We can wait until Voldemort is eliminated..."

"I can't say that Voldemort is unworthy of mention, but he is far from a priority either. What I am more worried about is that the public power in the wizarding world is out of order and unable to perform its due duties. The Muggle government has been getting worse and worse, and the performance of the Ministry of Magic is even worse than theirs. What I am worried about is that as the gap between wizards and Muggles continues to weaken, when the two societies have to communicate and integrate with each other in the future, the public power departments of both sides will not be able to play a leading role at all. We can't let Britain restore the royal system, can we? I don't care, after all, I still have the title of earl!"

"The topics you mentioned are too grand. I don't know how to answer your questions for now. I'm just a headmaster..." Dumbledore tried to shirk responsibility.

"Then start thinking about it seriously from now on. Eliminating Voldemort does not mean that everything will be fine. The wizarding world needs a fair, impartial and unbiased leading force. Otherwise, when the two worlds merge in the future, will those who advocate bloodline theory be allowed to run the show? You should know that the bankruptcy of the Statute of Secrecy is an inevitable outcome. You have to prepare for it, professor. The Boy-Who-Lived is still just a boy after all. Without your prestige, others are far behind."

"I'll consider it." Dumbledore looked serious, but Lin You heard the perfunctory meaning in his words and couldn't help but shook his head secretly.

The old wizard's attitude was completely expected, and Lin You could only choose another person to support.

When a person's power grows to a certain extent, he or she should assume corresponding historical responsibilities; especially in the special social environment of the magic world, the existence of magic further highlights the influence of personal will.

Unfortunately, as the most powerful and prestigious individual in the wizarding world, Dumbledore was always trapped in the rut of "making up for past mistakes" throughout his life and never got out of it until his death.

The wrong slogan of "for the greater good" almost deprived the old wizard of all his courage and motivation in politics; he was willing to do his best to protect the magical world, but because of excessive self-doubt and self-restraint, he was unable to make the world a better place.

In this respect, Dumbledore was not even as good as Hermione Granger who came later.

In the silence, new news came in. The fire in the fireplace flickered, and a paper plane flew out, exactly the same as the special prop used by the Ministry of Magic to deliver information.

Lin You opened it and glanced at it, his expression unchanged: "Someone from the Ministry of Magic broke into the temporary storage point and captured several former Death Eaters, but there was no important person, and two of them escaped."

There are many Death Eaters, but most of those who can be considered important are in Azkaban, or have their souls sucked away by Dementors; the only one who is currently worthy of attention and is on the run is Barty Crouch Jr., but he is not on the list brought by the paper plane just now.

"The bait used for testing only caught a few cannon fodder which were also used for testing. The result was expected." Dumbledore said calmly, and he was not disappointed either.

"What about the other side?" Lin You asked.

Dumbledore replied, "We are halfway across Europe, so news will travel slowly. I asked Fawkes to go with us."

Lin You muttered, "You really should introduce Muggle communication technology; not to mention half of Europe, even half of the world can achieve real-time communication, with a delay of only a few seconds at most. Although Phoenix is ​​very fast, it is a patent that only a very small number of people can enjoy."

"Is this why you believe that the Statute of Secrecy will gradually become ineffective? Because Muggles' communication technology is becoming more and more advanced, it will become increasingly difficult to keep wizarding secrets?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Yes and no. Another more crucial reason is that the Muggle government, like the Ministry of Magic, has become less and less capable of enforcement. If they want to suppress the secrets of wizards, they must not only have the determination to suppress freedom of speech, but also have the corresponding ability; but their abilities are being infinitely weakened by the new era and technology." Lin You's nonsensical complaints might not even be understood by the Muggles of this era, let alone the wizard Dumbledore.

As they were talking, a clear phoenix cry suddenly sounded in the room, and a phoenix squeezed through the gap in space with great "difficulty" and appeared in front of the two.

Although he was given the "right of passage" in advance, Fox was still somewhat unfamiliar with the space protection array created by the true God inside and outside the manor. There was also a natural mental repression that made Phoenix extremely uncomfortable.

"Voldemort has appeared in Greece." Dumbledore almost jumped up from the sofa, and he didn't look like a man over 110 years old at all.

"According to the plan, you show up over there, and I'll be responsible for keeping an eye on the other route." Lin You responded at a very fast speed.

Dumbledore nodded and said no more. He placed his hand on the phoenix and disappeared from the room.

Lin You did not stay in the room for long. When the phoenix disappeared, a dimensional door opened. A dark and eerie magical aura came from the other side of the door. The evil and chaos in it were enough to scare any wizard.

After crossing the portal, what came into Lin You's sight was a familiar manor; in the time forbidden zone, he had visited this place before and had a conversation with the God of Truth through the air.

Now returned to its old location, the manor has added a few modern facilities compared to a century ago, but the main building is more dilapidated, exuding a sense of historical vicissitudes from the inside out.

The evil and dark atmosphere is coming from inside the manor's main building. (End of this chapter)