The crowd's cheers were so terrifying that the shop windows on both sides of the street were trembling slightly.
If not for the fact that those windows had just recently been reinforced by shop owners afraid of "zero-yuan shopping," they probably would have cracked by now.
The ravens that had been feasting were also thrown into panic by the waves of sound, scrambling away from the corpses and flying back to the eaves of Gringotts.
Only then did people notice that not far away, in front of the doors of Gringotts, stood a group of stern-faced, upright Aurors.
At the very front of the formation were the three commissioners who had pushed the Ministry of Magic's reform.
Seeing the Aurors and Link and the others at the front, the crowd fell silent for a brief moment, and then erupted into even more terrifying cheers.
Everyone understood.
The Ministry of Magic wouldn't change for no reason.
Everything happening now stemmed from the recent reforms carried out by the Ministry.
In other words, all of this was the achievement of Link and the others.
"Phew!"
Percy took a long breath.
The scene in front of him stirred his emotions to the extreme, to the point that he could barely stand.
Old Barty beside him looked unmoved, but if one observed carefully, one could see his legs trembling slightly.
In all his years in politics, this was the first time he had seen the masses cheering for them.
He nervously loosened his tie, then leaned closer to Link and whispered, "Lord Flamel, if you could give a speech at this moment, even just the most ordinary kind, you would be able to win the support of the people!"
This was his experience speaking.
After achieving results, what comes next?
Of course, you take credit!
Subordinates take credit with their superiors, superiors take credit with even higher authorities, and as the current highest authority in the Ministry of Magic, the one Link needed to take credit with was naturally the people in front of him.
After all, on the surface, all power of the Ministry came from the people.
Link needed to let them know how much effort the rulers had put in to maintain social stability, and how difficult the work had been.
Only then would the people support him more.
This could be said to be the art of a politician.
However, upon hearing this, Link only sneered and shook his head.
He had no need to do something with no real meaning.
Link turned his head and continued to smile as he looked at the cheering crowd.
He had already anticipated this scene.
That was also why he had decisively ordered the execution of all the Death Eaters.
At present, the British magical world was actually in a very dangerous period.
As the conflict between him and the shadowy group intensified, and as the Ministry entered a state of war, the atmosphere within the British magical world was growing more and more tense.
And the more it was like this, the more he needed to stir up the emotions of the people.
To stabilize society as a whole.
Only then could he safely mobilize all forces to confront those shadowy figures.
Otherwise, if he was fighting them head-on while countless civilians caused trouble in the rear, there would be no point in fighting at all.
To be honest, this was quite a difficult task.
Rome wasn't built in a day.
The damage left behind by the previous two Ministries had been far too great.
Trying to change all of this was extremely difficult.
But difficulty wasn't a reason not to do it.
Why had the people allowed the Ministry to undergo reform?
Was it because Link had driven out a rotten Minister like Fudge?
Of course not.
The people had long since lost all faith in the Ministry. In their eyes, replacing one or two Ministers wouldn't change anything, because those so-called Ministers were all cut from the same cloth.
No matter what promises those Ministers had made before taking office, once they were truly in power, those promises would slowly fade into nothing under endless delays.
The people were already used to this.
As a result, they were also used to opposing every decision made by the Ministry.
And the real reason the people had, quite rarely, not opposed the Ministry's reform was actually very simple.
It was that the reform faction, represented by Link, had recently dealt a heavy blow to Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
They had even driven Voldemort himself out of Britain.
To a certain extent, this restored the level of public safety and rebuilt some confidence among the people.
This could be said to be Link's debut performance for the British wizarding world.
And the public execution before them was his second "performance."
Through this "performance," he wanted the people to understand that the current Ministry was completely different from the previous one.
This tripartite-committee Ministry would not spout grand-sounding words, would not engage in empty talk to placate the people, would not shirk responsibility, and would not even use the Ministry's usual tactic of blocking information.
He would only act.
If someone attacked, kill them. If someone created monopolies, kill them. If someone committed corruption, kill them.
If someone made mistakes, hold them accountable and punish them, even if they were backed by another Ministry.
This was an extremely strict Ministry.
A Ministry where authority stood above all else, one that could even be called dictatorial.
Would the people like such a Ministry?
To be honest, Link didn't know either.
But after hesitating again and again, he still made this decision.
And judging from the current situation, compared to the previous weak and hypocritical Ministry, this rigid and uncompromising one was quite popular.
Which meant he could continue down this path.
"Heh heh heh..."
Link couldn't help but laugh.
"Old Barty, hurry up with the protest to the International Confederation of Wizards and the French Ministry of Magic. Now the pressure should be on their side."
Link said with a smile. "Also, Percy, go notify the Daily Prophet later. For the next week, I want every issue filled with follow-up reports on this matter! And keep an eye on them... make sure they know what can and cannot be reported."
"Understood, Lord Flamel." Old Barty spoke while glancing at the crowd below, which had already begun to descend into chaos and celebration. "Then should we disperse the crowd?"
Link waved his hand.
"No need. I think they haven't been this happy in a long time. Let them make a scene. Just have the Aurors maintain order and prevent stampedes or other accidents."
Old Barty and Percy were both seasoned veterans.
They naturally understood Link's intentions.
They both acknowledged and quickly withdrew.
Percy had even already thought of what instructions to give the Daily Prophet.
There was no need to say more about the rest... the grand scene in Diagon Alley today definitely had to be publicized.
Then there was the compensation and funeral arrangements for the fallen Aurors, all of which had to be reported.
With a bit of artistic processing, it would be enough to make people cry.
This would greatly increase public enthusiasm for joining the Auror force.
Finally, it would depend on Old Barty's side.
The Daily Prophet had to follow and report on all of Old Barty's work.
With this combination of moves, the British magical world should be solidified into a single iron plate.
Of course, most importantly, it would also effectively put pressure on the International Confederation of Wizards and the French Ministry of Magic.
His view was almost identical to Link's... now, the pressure had shifted to the other side.
Thinking this, Percy was so excited he almost wanted to shout.
Before long, Link also turned into a faint shadow and disappeared in front of Gringotts.
And their departure truly pushed the atmosphere of the crowd below to its peak.
People cheered and danced continuously.
Some even found stones and eggs from who knew where and began throwing them at the corpses hanging from the platform in the center of the square.
The shops along the street, which had been watching, also opened their doors one after another.
George and Fred, dressed in suits, stepped out and shouted, "Come on! To celebrate the Ministry's great victory over the Death Eaters, everything in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes is 30% off today!"
"Do you want to become a warrior who defeats You-Know-Who? Are you still afraid of him? Do you want to be a hero like the Aurors? Then what are you waiting for?"
"Come to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes! We've got Decoy Detonators that terrify Death Eaters! Top-quality Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder! Edible Dark Marks! And even full sets of Shield Hats, Cloaks, and Gloves!"
"That's right! Come buy now! Spend 10 Galleons today and we'll even throw in a Punching Telescope! Give it to your friends... they'll definitely thank you!"
George and Fred shouted loudly, but their voices were quickly drowned out.
Not because patrolling Aurors stopped them, but because countless customers had already rushed into their shop, beginning a frenzied rush to buy.
Seeing this, George and Fred grinned so widely their eyes disappeared.
The shop owners around them followed suit and started shouting as well.
In an instant, the entire Diagon Alley fell into wild celebration.
At the same time, that same atmosphere of joy spread through Hogwarts.
The Hufflepuff students were the first to go crazy.
They shook their newspapers like mad, running and jumping through the corridors and the Great Hall, cheering, hugging everyone they saw, and stuffing the latest Daily Prophet into their arms.
They were so wild that many professors became victims, ending up with arms full of newspapers.
Normally, these students would have been heavily penalized and given at least half a month of detention.
But at this moment, no professor scolded them.
Because students from other houses were making even more trouble.
The usually intelligent Ravenclaws had also lost their minds.
They grabbed their brooms and actually started flying inside the castle, cheering as they flew, turning the place upside down. Filch tried to stop them, but chased them for ages without success.
As for Gryffindor and Slytherin, there was no need to even mention them.
The two sides were now physically fighting, the intensity comparable to street gangs clashing... grabbing anything they could and smashing it.
The cause of the fight was that the Slytherins believed Link was the pride of their pure-blood lineage, while the Gryffindors thought Link had nothing to do with Slytherin, since Slytherins were basically all quasi–Death Eaters.
When Harry and the other two rushed out of their dormitory, what they saw was exactly this chaotic scene of flying tables, chairs, and bricks.
"Uh…"
Harry barely dodged a cup flying at him and said with an ugly expression, "Isn't there a professor who can control this?"
"Of course there is!" a senior Gryffindor walked up behind them and said. "But clearly, they can't control us. In this situation, aside from Link and Dumbledore, no one can stop it."
The senior Gryffindor pointed deeper into the Great Hall.
Following his direction, Harry and the others could clearly see the newly arrived Professor Slughorn roaring angrily at the chaotic students, trying to stop everything in front of him.
However, it was useless.
No one was listening to him at all.
Some students even knocked him to the ground during the fight, leaving him unable to get up for a long time.
"Attacking a professor!" Hermione screamed. "That's a hundred points deducted!"
"Miss Know-It-All, no one cares about points right now. Alright, I won't waste time talking to you! I'm going to back up my brothers! Gryffindor can't lose to Slytherin!"
As he spoke, the senior Gryffindor somehow pulled out a broken table leg, still splintered, and roared as he charged at a senior Slytherin who was pinning a younger Gryffindor to the ground and beating him.
Bang!
With a dull, teeth-gritting thud, the Slytherin was smashed to the ground.
The Gryffindor wanted to follow up, but several Slytherins rushed in and pinned him down.
"Ah! You dare hit one of us Gryffindors!?"
Seeing this, Ron roared and charged in as well.
Hermione and Harry instinctively tried to pull him back, but missed, and could only stand at the edge of the chaos in a daze.
"Skipping classes, fighting, destroying property, attacking professors! This is insane! Completely insane! When Dumbledore comes back, we'll all be in detention!"
Hermione clutched her face and wailed in despair.
Beside her, Harry swallowed hard.
To be honest, he also wanted to join in. After all, his friends had all gone in.
If he didn't, people might say he was a coward afterward.
And besides, beating up Slytherins was something he had wanted to do for a long time.
But in the end, he didn't forget his original task.
Harry looked reluctantly at the battlefield, then turned to Hermione and said, "Forget it, leave them. Didn't you say Gabrielle might get bullied? Let's go check on her quickly."
Hearing this, Hermione finally snapped back to her senses and pulled Harry along, running toward the Hufflepuff common room.
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