The moment Amelia Bones read out his charges, Lockhart's face went deathly pale.
He could not understand it. He had organized and polished his whole fabricated past so carefully, so how had he still been exposed?
"H how could that be, Madam? I could never have done such a thing." Lockhart nervously defended himself, trying to get her to show some mercy.
"That is not my concern," Amelia Bones said. "If you truly believe you are innocent, then go argue your case before the Wizengamot. I will be sitting there to listen to your marvelous self-defense."
As she spoke, disgust showed plainly on her face.
Ordinarily, arresting a fraudster would not require the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to show up in person.
But if the Ministry wanted to turn this case into an answer, then she had to appear. Otherwise, how could they prove how much importance the Ministry attached to it?
Amelia Bones did not like this sort of tactic, using one case to divert public attention, but for the sake of preserving the Ministry's image, as head of Magical Law Enforcement, she had to do it.
Just thinking about it put her in a terrible mood.
Seeing that the timid fangirls still refused to back down, Amelia let out a cold laugh and glanced outside.
A large number of newspaper reporters had already rushed over after hearing the news. They surrounded Flourish and Blotts, each holding an old-fashioned camera.
The leading troublemakers among the fans immediately changed expression when they saw the reporters.
"Anyone who wants to keep clashing with the Aurors over this fraudster is welcome to continue," Amelia Bones said, staring pointedly at several lavishly dressed women. "As long as you do not mind your faces ending up in the papers."
The women backed off.
Quite a few of them had family members in high-ranking positions at the Ministry, or relatives with great prestige and status. Those who held important offices themselves simply did not have the time to come in person.
But that also meant their families were even stricter with them.
Getting into a conflict with Aurors over a handsome, charming author might still have been barely understandable. But if they caused a scene in front of the head of Magical Law Enforcement for the sake of a fraudster, and got photographed doing it...
Never mind what the Ministry would do to them. Their own families would deal with them first.
When he saw the women retreat, despair appeared on Lockhart's face.
He knew he was finished.
His carefully built image was finished. His future was finished. The Galleons he had earned were finished.
Under Auror escort, Lockhart's handsome face, now drooping in dejection, was caught by the reporters' cameras.
Soon those photographs would be treated with developing potion, turned into moving pictures, and printed in the newspapers for sale.
At that point, all the wizards in Britain would witness the fall of a fraudster. They would watch the scene of Lockhart's arrest play over and over again.
No one knew how many infatuated readers would end up heartbroken.
The crowd pointed and whispered at Lockhart, but Leonard's attention was fixed on Amelia Bones.
He had some impression of this person, though it was a strange one. It came from a scene in the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry had been sent before the Wizengamot for using the Patronus Charm to drive away the Dementors that attacked him, and during that part, this woman had been given several shots.
Back then, Leonard had thought she was going to be an important figure later in the story.
And then her name had basically turned into background scenery, leaving behind only the implication that Voldemort had killed her.
Leonard had genuinely thought the director must have had something wrong with his head. Why the hell would you give so many shots to a cannon-fodder character? Close-ups too. Did you have nothing better to do?
But in reality, this woman was no cannon fodder.
She was the young head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in the height of her power, and the strongest prospective candidate for future Minister of Magic.
The reason she had been killed was because she was upright and unyielding, and she had resisted Voldemort. That was why she was eliminated.
All in all, she was a highly capable and formidable woman, with strong resolve besides. Otherwise, there would have been no need for Voldemort to kill her.
A person like this...
Leonard felt he had a certain affinity with her. She seemed very suitable as a subordinate.
But affinity meant nothing.
A person like her would almost never become anyone's subordinate. Her own ability, identity, and status were already enough for her to command the Ministry. Why would she ever work under someone else?
At that moment, Leonard actually found himself empathizing with Voldemort.
Someone this reliable could not become his subordinate. No wonder Voldemort had killed her.
A person like this would be very troublesome as an enemy.
For example, if the Ministry suddenly went mad and started cleaning up crime, Knockturn Alley would definitely run into trouble.
And if Amelia Bones personally led the team...
Then the trouble would only get worse.
Midgard needed to stay quiet for a while. Better to wait until the heat died down.
The excitement in Diagon Alley did not end just because Lockhart had been taken away.
The owner of Flourish and Blotts looked completely lost. He had gone to so much trouble to secure an exclusive signing event with Lockhart, and now the whole thing had been cut short because Lockhart had broken the law.
But the real problem was what he was supposed to do with all the Lockhart books he had bought.
Was he really going to be stuck with the entire lot?
The owner of Flourish and Blotts practically cried to the heavens, while the surrounding spectators, delighted by the chaos, kept stirring things up for fun. Only after night fell did Diagon Alley quiet down a little.
Taking advantage of the darkness, Leonard led Claudia to Knockturn Alley. Already familiar with the way, he quickly found Marcus, whom he had informed in advance, and under Marcus's guidance headed for the werewolf settlement.
Both Leonard and Claudia wore tightly wrapped cloaks that hid their appearances.
This time, though, Leonard felt that something was off.
Unfortunately, he could not ask Marcus. Even if he did, Marcus would answer in sign language, and Leonard would not understand a thing.
Before long, Leonard saw Midgard. As usual, Marcus stayed outside on guard, leaving the space to the two of them.
"Big sister!" Claudia cried out and ran over to Midgard. "Are you okay?"
At the moment, half of Midgard's body was wrapped in bandages, and she looked rather miserable.
"What happened?" Leonard asked seriously, looking at Midgard.
"Some little punks came out of nowhere and actually wanted to take control of Knockturn Alley. You think I could put up with that? So I fought them on the spot."
Midgard grinned. "Not gonna lie, that thing you gave me worked really well."
As she spoke, she even showed off her arm a little.
Leonard noticed that the Bitterthorns that had once been symbiotically attached to Midgard were gone.
"They blew up?" Leonard asked.
"Yeah. The power was pretty good. I just didn't expect it, otherwise I would not have ended up hurt like this." Midgard spoke in a deliberately casual tone.