Howard was indeed a seasoned underworld boss.
That wife and children staying in America were actually just a woman and children he had adopted at the beginning, meant to serve as cover for his real wife and children. To make it convincing, he had even treated them as his own flesh and blood for years, using Memory Charms to erase some of their memories so they genuinely believed from their hearts that Howard was truly their husband and father.
Even when the masked Aurors had threatened him before, they were only using this fake wife and children as leverage. Howard had originally thought his plan was foolproof and wouldn't be discovered, but never expected Sean to casually see through it, causing Howard's soul to nearly leave his body in terror.
"You... Master, I beg you, please don't harm them."
Looking at Howard, who was panicking for the first time, Sean said with an unchanged expression, "Howard, as long as you work for me faithfully, not only will I not touch them, I'll even actively protect them. What I've always wanted isn't slaughter. I only want submission. Do you understand?"
"Your subordinate understands."
"Good that you understand. Then this matter is concluded. After you return, continue as usual. However you operated before, continue doing so. Keep giving those Aurors their dividends. At the same time, I'll have Marlowe cooperate with you. With Dawlish and the others' cooperation, recruit as many Dark wizards in Knockturn Alley as possible. If there are truly difficult problems to solve, have Marlowe come find me."
"Yes, sir."
Nodding, Sean stood up satisfied and left, returning to face the masked Aurors who had gathered together. By now, these masked Aurors had all removed their masks and stood respectfully before Sean.
Looking at the four masked Aurors led by Dawlish, he said, "From now on, you are my subordinates. As long as you work well for me, I won't treat you differently. I hope you understand this.
Additionally, besides your masked Auror identities, your legitimate Auror identities within the Ministry must also work for me. But you can rest assured. I won't have you do anything dangerous.
"After you return to the Ministry and handle Fudge's suspicions and interrogations, send someone to the break room to find Barrett Cleton. Your task is to create favorable conditions for his advancement within the Ministry hierarchy. The specific methods are up to your discretion."
Dawlish actually knew who Barrett Cleton was.
Although the Slytherin Brotherhood's reach into Hogwarts had been severed by Dumbledore, they still had considerable influence in the Ministry of Magic. They were also one of Fudge's recruitment targets. As Fudge's subordinate, Dawlish naturally knew about the newcomer Barrett Cleton, who had been making a big splash in the Slytherin Brotherhood recently and rising rapidly.
Now hearing Sean mention this person and requiring them to help him, Dawlish immediately realised that this extremist pure-blood supremacist who had publicly clashed with Sean multiple times was actually also one of Sean's lackeys... er, subordinates.
So it seemed Sean's... His master's tentacles had long since reached into the Ministry of Magic.
And this was just a fourth-year Hogwarts student.
How terrifying!
"Finally, among Fudge's people, I need you to recruit as many as possible for me. When the time comes, bring them to me and have them sign their names on that contract. Understood?"
"Your subordinates understand!"
The four masked Aurors answered in unison, with the mindset that since they were unfortunate, they desperately wanted to see others become unfortunate too. The more people who became unfortunate, the more balanced these initially unfortunate people would feel.
With matters here concluded, Sean didn't linger. He had a final conversation with Marlowe, gave him some instructions, then turned and took to the air, returning to Hogwarts silently under cover of night.
Just as Sean returned to Hogwarts.
In the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office, a tremendous uproar was sweeping through.
Voldemort had returned to life!
When Scrimgeour brought back this news, everyone thought he had gone mad.
But when Scrimgeour extracted his memories of the fake Voldemort's appearance and put them in a Pensieve, projecting the memory scenes onto a magical screen, the Aurors who saw Voldemort in Scrimgeour's memories all cried out in panic. Some even retreated repeatedly, nearly falling to the ground.
"It really is Vol... that person! It really is the one whose name cannot be spoken!"
"Merlin's beard, what should we do? We must notify the Minister!"
"Quick, go to Hogwarts to get Dumbledore!"
Being Aurors after all, after the initial panic, they quickly regained their composure. They immediately summoned Fudge and leaders from other Ministry departments. When these people saw Voldemort's image on the magical screen, their reactions were even worse than the Aurors'. The Director of the Muggle Liaison Office in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures even accidentally wet himself.
After the panic, Fudge immediately said sternly, "Memories can be false. Scrimgeour, these memories only represent your panic about the Dark Lord, not anything else. Moreover, the Dark Lord you saw wasn't even corporeal. More like some kind of magical construction. He might not be the Dark Lord at all but could be a false image created by some powerful wizard to intimidate you."
"Fudge, I know what I faced. His magic was Vol... the Dark Lord's unique Smoke Rope Curse. This cannot be faked!"
Hearing Scrimgeour's words, Fudge nodded, then shook his head. "This is indeed the Dark Lord's Smoke Rope Curse, but that doesn't prove anything. It's also possible the Dark Lord taught his magic to some Death Eater. This possibility is very real. Moreover, we collected and burnt the Dark Lord's corpse together back then. He is definitely dead!"
"But Fudge, I..."
"Scrimgeour, you're too tired. You were likely interfered with and confused, which affected your memory and created the illusion of the Dark Lord's return. I think you should rest well for a while."
Stepping forward, Scrimgeour looked at Fudge and said quietly, "Fudge, why do you keep denying the Dark Lord's return? Aren't this incident and the previous Azkaban reports enough to prove the problem? Do you think the reawakening of the Dark Marks on those Death Eaters in Azkaban was for no reason?"
"The Dark Marks reawakened because of the influence of the Dark Mark that appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup. That was the Death Eaters' doing. Rather than obsessing over the already-dead Dark Lord, as Head of the Auror Office, you should focus more on capturing those Death Eaters who still haven't been brought to justice!"