When Damon entered the transitional room at the Ministry of Magic's training grounds, the five people inside turned to look at him, and Damo
When Damon entered the transitional room at the Ministry of Magic's training grounds, the five people inside turned to look at him, and Damon's gaze focused on the one-eyed man with the eyepatch.
In just a heartbeat, Damon knew who he was—Mad-Eye Moody… the veteran Auror of the first Order of the Phoenix, whose very name had become a symbol of fear for his enemies in the 1970s.
It's likely that he was their mentor.
Only after Damon chose the path of an Auror did he begin to grasp the true extent of the Ministry's power.
At the founding of the Magical Congress of the United States, the nation had only ten Aurors in total.
The British Ministry of Magic has very high recruitment standards for Aurors, and they have to compete with other departments for recruits. Add to that the dangers of the job, and the Ministry's current Auror count barely stands at thirty.
Furthermore, according to Amelia, because passing Auror training is so difficult, the number of qualified applicants is very low. In a few years, the Ministry might even stop hiring Aurors. Damon couldn't understand it, and even thought the wizarding world was adorably foolish. These people were truly naive. A nation's political system, completely independent of armed forces, relied heavily on the public's consciousness. This was probably why Voldemort, with fewer than fifty Death Eaters, was able to wreak havoc on the British wizarding world.
"Are you Caliban Mortos?"
Moody asked Damon, his tone stern, as he surveyed the crowd.
"It's me."
"I know about your situation. I can get Burns to vouch for you. I hope you can show some difference, otherwise I might not be so easy to talk to next time."
"Now, meet your four temporary comrades. You can choose one of them to be your teammate on your next mission."
"Hello, I'm Alfus Rupert. I used to work in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Minister Burns transferred me here, hoping I could transfer to the Auror Department."
He winked at Damon as he spoke. If Moody hadn't just spoken, he wouldn't have known this person was a relative recommended by Minister Burns. They all knew the gentleman's character; he was quite upright. If she could make an exception for him, he must be quite capable.
Then, three more older wizards emerged. All of them, like Rupert, were Ministry members seconded by Amelia from other places for Auror training.
It seemed that this was one of Amelia's responses to learning about Voldemort's affairs—drawing personnel from other parts of the Ministry to train more ready-made Aurors. It's no wonder so many people participated in this year's Auror training program—in fact, there was only one real participant.
"Hello, my name is Carl Flint. I'm a Hogwarts graduate, formerly a Slytherin, and was Head Boy. Nice to meet you."
Flint was much more enthusiastic than the others, greeting Damon respectfully—after all, he now appeared to be a mature and experienced wizard.
"Hello, Caliban Mortos."
Damon shook hands with him, his gaze sweeping across the crowd, returning directly to the first person he had come into contact with.
"I choose Rupert as my teammate."
Aside from Flint, who looked a little regretful, the other three adult wizards all had indifferent expressions on their faces.
While they didn't mind using this three-year training to strengthen themselves, they weren't particularly enthusiastic about becoming Aurors—the job was too dangerous. They considered their Charms proficiency acceptable, but compared to the Aurors, they still fell far short, and they simply didn't want to take the risk. But Amelia's power was too great, and none of them dared disobey.
"Now that we've chosen, and everyone else has rested, let's begin the afternoon training plan! Now, let me explain it to you again!"
Mad-Eye Moody slammed his hand on the tabletop, which had a circle drawn on it, with miniature architectural details within.
Auror training seemed to begin with simulations. Their mission was to enter a training scenario designed by the Ministry of Magic, evade detection by magical puppets, obtain a pre-placed mission scroll, and deliver it to the designated location.
"To do this, you'll need to master two skills: detection, stealth, and the ability to move. The spells involved include the Deflection Charm, the Disillusionment Charm, and the Revelation Charm."
When the briefing concluded and everyone headed to the training grounds, Rupert stood beside Damon and whispered,
"He's repeating this specifically for you. We've all heard it this morning, even though our actual performance wasn't very good.
Honestly, I haven't fought anyone in ten years, so I'm still a little uncomfortable with suddenly having to do this."
Rupert had light orange hair and looked like any other middle-aged man on the street. The way he muttered to Damon reminded him of Lockhart—except for the guy's lack of showmanship, they were practically identical.
"I'll show him I'm worth it with results," Damon said, smiling at Rupert. "How are your Disillusionment Charms and the Deflection Charms? Show them."
"Oh, they're not very good, but don't worry, I won't let you down."
Half an hour later.
Damon completed the task perfectly, even covering up the commotion caused by Rupert's mistake, leaving the other three members of the other team stunned. It was only then that he realized that, before his arrival, the four had been a single team, and Rupert had essentially been forcibly usurped.
But now, it seemed Rupert had gained an advantage. Although, with the exception of the newly graduated student Flint, the other wizards didn't seem particularly concerned with the results of the training,
Mad-Eye Moody had no intention of letting them rest.
They immediately began the second training session, but any teams that failed the first session would still have to undergo additional training.
Damon immersed himself in the process, finding it quite interesting. He had already practiced combat extensively with the dragon Norberta, and while it was a bit monotonous, he had managed to master it.
He hadn't really practiced specialized skills like tracking and counter-tracking, or detecting and counter-detecting, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to remain undetected for so long while being stalked by a ghost. Although this was also related to his being inside Hogwarts, he was too relaxed. Inside the castle, he didn't have to worry about any danger.
But now that Lockhart has joined, he has to be more cautious.
It seems that this Auror training is not a complete waste of time for him, and it is even quite helpful.
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(End of this chapter)