bioinnovel Chapter 430 The Second Fire
Chapter 430 The Second Fire
Chapter 430 The First Fire
After the meeting ended, officials from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement filed out, relaying Belvina's words to everyone in the department.
It is said that a new broom sweeps clean, and the new director's first act was to target his own people, causing widespread indignation throughout the Legal Enforcement Division.
What does that mean?
What do you mean by asking me?
Does this mean you look down on people? Does this mean you don't respect others?
Whether it was the Aurors, the Strikers, or the Law Enforcement Team—the combat units—or the two Anti-Abuse Offices, or the clerks of the Wizengamo administration, everyone felt insulted.
Driven by a strong sense of self-esteem, everyone charged forward with shouts, each one yelling louder than the last.
Leaving the Magic Law Enforcement Division? Impossible, absolutely impossible!
That evening, when Belvina returned home from get off work, her desk was empty; there wasn't a single transfer application.
But the next morning, when Belvina walked into the office, several transfer applications had appeared out of nowhere on her previously empty desk.
As the night passed, the sense of shame gradually dissipated, the boiling passion cooled down, and reason returned. Some people began to think about how to take the next step more safely.
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the Ministry of Magic's law enforcement arm and its largest violent agency. If war resumes, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will either deliver a fatal blow to the enemy or be fatally struck by them.
If I stay in the Legal Enforcement Division, the road ahead will be fraught with danger and difficulties, and I could easily lose my life.
Of course, danger and difficulty usually coexist with opportunity. As long as you seize the opportunity, you have a chance to soar to great heights.
If they were transferred to another department to continue their work, the level of danger would be reduced considerably, at least they wouldn't have to rush to the front lines of the war.
However, along with danger comes opportunity. How will leaders and staff in other departments view those who desert their posts?
Unless the Ministry of Magic changes hands and the hardliners are defeated, these deserters' path to advancement will not be completely blocked, and they will still have a chance to be reinstated.
After a sleepless night of deliberation, only a handful of people submitted their withdrawal applications, while most chose to wait and see, awaiting Belvina's decision.
It's hard to judge other aspects of Belvina Black, but she is generally a person of integrity.
She processed the applications on her desk immediately; those who wanted transfers were given the transfer process to follow, and those who wanted to leave the Ministry of Magic were given severance pay.
She didn't make things difficult for anyone, nor did she speak ill of anyone. When signing the transfer documents, Belvina even wrote down words of praise, showing no intention of post-war retribution whatsoever.
what? !
Is that right?!
Those who had previously chosen to wait and see were utterly astonished, their jaws nearly dislocating.
Soon, several more applications appeared on Belvina's desk, and more were on their way.
The officials of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement sighed deeply. The grand pronouncements made in the conference room still echoed in their ears, but reality had slapped them hard in the face.
Throughout the entire day, only Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror office director, could hold his head high with pride, because all the Aurors under his command were working diligently, and no one had asked to leave.
"Miss Black, we're getting more and more applications."
In the director's office, the young female assistant, Gemma Farley, looked worried, as she was very concerned about the current state of the Legal Enforcement Division.
Gemma Farley thought for a moment and continued, "Even if you're magnanimous and don't intend to settle scores later, you shouldn't write complimentary words in your application!"
In Gemma Farley's view, those who submitted applications were cowards without courage and irresponsible lackeys, and such people did not deserve praise.
"Gemma, why did you apply to join the Ministry of Magic in the first place?" Belvina asked, her head bowed, her quill pen moving rustling across the application form.
Gemma lowered her head and thought for a while, then said solemnly, "I will stand in a higher position, let more people hear my voice, and then I will tell them that Slytherin is not all pure-blood, and Slytherin students are not all dark wizards."
Young Gemma Farley harbored great ambitions; she wanted to reverse the negative image of Slytherin House in the eyes of others and prove that Slytherin House was the best house at Hogwarts.
"Everyone has dreams and ambitions, but very few people can stick to them." Belvina kept her head down, her quill brushing across the parchment.
She picked up an application form and continued, "Many people who join the Ministry of Magic are just as ambitious as you are now, wanting to stand taller, see further, and aspire to change the world."
Belvina picked up another application and continued, "Later, for various reasons, they gave up their dreams. Half of them became mediocre and aimless, while the other half only wanted to gain some benefits and pursue fame and fortune."
When dreams and ambitions fade away, a government job at the Ministry of Magic becomes just another job.
It's just a job; there's no need to risk your life against ruthless killers like Voldemort and Death Eaters for it.
"I have rekindled the ambition I had abandoned, and I hope they can also rekindle their dreams and move forward steadfastly, even when they feel fear."
Belvina held up the application in her hand and continued, "If not, then submit the application and leave the Legal Enforcement Division. I will not blame their weakness, nor will I laugh at their fragility."
"Miss Black, what is your dream?" Gemma Farley asked. "To lead the Ministry of Magic to victory?"
"Hmm... let me think..." Belvina frowned slightly, seemingly stumped by the question. "Perhaps it's about making the world less unpleasant?"
Upon hearing this, Gemma Farley wanted to roll her eyes; the answer was far too vague and ambiguous.
"Just kidding, all I want to do right now is protect my family and friends from harm," Belvina said with a laugh. "To put it more grandly, it's to save as many people as possible."
The sun was still shining brightly in the director's office, but all the officials in the Legal Enforcement Division were shrouded in gloom.
Officials at all levels did not underestimate Voldemort's terror, but they overestimated the public's determination to resist; not everyone was willing to fight for justice.
Before the war horn had even sounded, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was already experiencing non-combat casualties. Worse still, as more and more people requested to leave, morale began to waver.
Whether it was Rufus Scrimgeour or David Griffith, the hardliners in the Enforcement Division were all as anxious as ants on a hot plate. They had no idea what tricks Belvina was playing and could only hope that the three days would end as soon as possible.
Just as morale within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was wavering and the hardliners were in a state of panic, the trend of leaving finally came to a halt.
On the last day of the deadline, the director's office received only a handful of applications, which could be counted on one hand.
The number of applications remained unchanged until that afternoon, and no one else requested to leave the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
When the last bit of the allotted time was up, the officials at all levels gathered in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief.
Although many people chose to leave and morale was somewhat shaken, the fundamentals of the Law Enforcement Division were not damaged, and all departments continued to operate as usual.
In the main conference room, Rufus Scrimgeour leaned on his cane, his sharp yellow eyes blazing with anger—anger at those who had left, and dissatisfaction with Belvina's meddling.
David Griffith, the batting leader, remained silent, puffing on his pipe, large plumes of blue smoke enveloping him and obscuring his facial expression.
Mafalda Hopkirk of the Office Against the Abuse of Magic remained huddled in her chair. The somewhat timid little witch did not leave; she chose to stay and fight against the mysterious man to the end.
Time ticked by, and the agreed-upon meeting time drew ever closer, the atmosphere in the meeting room growing increasingly tense.
Silence, a depressing silence, even Felix Ferguson, who was usually very talkative, kept his mouth shut.
When footsteps echoed in the hallway outside the door, the people in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief once again.
"Oh, everyone's here! You've all arrived early today!" Belvina said as she walked into the somber meeting room.
Everyone stood up, and the sound of chairs moving filled the conference room. They all looked at Belvina, hoping that the new director would stop causing trouble.
"Please sit down," Belvina said, taking a seat at the head of the table. "I imagine these past three days haven't been very comfortable for everyone, have they?"
The people in the meeting room remained silent. These three days had been agonizing for them. Every application sent to the director's office felt like a thorn piercing their hearts.
"They've only left us temporarily, not permanently. Does that make everyone feel a little better?"
Belvina, sitting at the head of the table, continued, her eyes sweeping over the faces in the conference room, some solemn, some gloomy.
"I know you don't understand what I'm doing. You think I'm undermining morale, and some of you might even suspect that I'm a spy planted in the Ministry of Magic by the Dark Lord."
The people in the conference room remained silent, but their eyes were all fixed on Belvina, who was speaking, as if they wanted a reasonable explanation.
"You don't need to stare at me like that," she continued. "If I had to give a reasonable explanation—I can only say that their presence is holding me back."
Wizards aren't Muggles; they don't need line-filling babies. Belvina wants elite troops, not weaklings who cower before the battle even begins.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she continued, "I hope you will keep these three days in mind."
After saying that, Belvina waved to Gemma Farley behind her.
Gemma Farley immediately went to the conference table and distributed the documents in her hand to Griffith and the captains of the law enforcement team.