Chapter 728: Bones’ Pessimism, Preserving the Last Spark?

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Amelia Bones felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

It was far greater than anything she’d felt while arguing with Fudge.

After all, no matter how furious Fudge became, the damage he could do was insignificant compared to what Tom could accomplish with a casual decision.

Having worked alongside Tom for two and a half years, Amelia knew exactly what kind of person he was. If he wanted something done, he could make it happen.

Replacing the Minister for Magic? That would be easy for him.

Removing the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was even less of a challenge.

Besides, it was through working with Tom that she had become the strongest candidate to succeed Fudge as Minister.

In fact, with Fudge serving little more than a ceremonial role these days, she was already exercising nearly eighty percent of the Minister’s authority.

If she couldn’t explain herself... then she really would be nothing more than a traitor.

"Tom, please believe me. I haven’t changed." Amelia spoke with complete sincerity. "I was sorted into Hufflepuff. It’s a house that believes everyone is equal. Blood status has never determined a person’s worth, and many of my closest friends come from half-blood or even Muggle families."

"The reason I proposed this isn’t because I want to target them. If anything, it’s to protect them. You can imagine what they’ll go through if wizards and Muggles end up on opposite sides. Their backgrounds will put them in an impossible position. Countless people will suffer because of it."

"No matter which side they choose... They’ll end up hurting the other."

"In that situation, the best solution is to remove them from the conflict entirely. That way, the rest of wizarding society can feel secure, and they’ll be safely protected as well."

Once she’d finished explaining herself, Amelia fell silent and waited for Tom’s judgment.

"Have a seat." Instead of responding immediately, Tom gestured toward a chair before conjuring a generous breakfast onto the table. "Eat something first. We’ll continue the meeting afterward. There are a few things I want to say."

Amelia didn’t refuse.

The oppressive feeling pressing against her back had already eased considerably. That alone told her Tom had accepted at least part of her reasoning.

"Aren’t you eating?" she asked.

Tom shook his head. "I had breakfast before coming to the Ministry. Go ahead."

She nodded and quietly began eating.

Halfway through the meal, though, she couldn’t hold back the question any longer. "Tom... will you support my proposal?"

"No," He shook his head again. "I understand your concerns. But I can’t agree with your solution."

The disappointment on Amelia’s face was impossible to hide.

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

After a moment’s thought, Tom spoke. "You’ve overlooked one crucial point. Who is our real enemy?"

"The Muggle governments? Or the people who exposed the wizarding world?"

Amelia answered without hesitation, "If we’re preparing for the worst... Both."

Tom nodded slightly. "On that point, I agree. Compared to the world’s population, the number of wizards is pitifully small. And among them, those who are well-trained, mentally resilient, and capable of fighting Muggle armies head-on are rarer still."

"So under those circumstances... you want to cut off one of our own arms before the battle even begins."

"If we eliminate two-thirds of our own strength from within, do you honestly think we’ll have any chance of winning later?"

Amelia opened her mouth, only to find herself speechless.

Of course she understood how weak wizardkind really was. If they weren’t the weaker side, they wouldn’t have spent centuries hiding in the shadows instead of openly ruling the world.

But from her perspective, there simply weren’t any good options left. She had already become deeply pessimistic about the future of wizarding Britain.

Everything she was doing now wasn’t because she believed they could win the coming conflict. It was because she wanted to preserve the last surviving spark of wizardkind, should the worst happen.

"Reasonable safeguards are still necessary." Tom absentmindedly picked up one of the small ornaments on Lady Greengrass’s desk, turning it over in his fingers as he continued.

"We can adapt something similar to the Trace. It doesn’t need to monitor people constantly. It only has to trigger an alert if someone starts revealing large amounts of wizarding information to Muggles."

"As for the Muggle governments, we should continue engaging with them. They’ve known about us for years. The fact that we’ve coexisted peacefully for so long shows that the people at the top have never truly wanted a war."

"Just leave that to Fudge. He may not excel at much else, but politics and diplomacy are actually among the few things he’s reasonably good at."

"And you... you’ll be responsible for keeping the wizarding community stable. Maintain control of our fighting strength and prepare for any emergency."

Amelia thought the arrangement was sensible.

There was only one part she didn’t quite understand. "What about Scrimgeour?"

"He’s still in charge of the Auror Office." A faint, unreadable smile appeared on Tom’s face. "To be honest, I’ve never cared for our self-proclaimed hardliner. In my eyes, he’s no different from Fudge."

"The only difference is that Fudge hides his hunger for power behind friendliness. Scrimgeour hides his behind the image of a capable elite."

"He’s not a good leader. Still, he’s managed to hold the position for years, so he must be doing something right. In peaceful times, it didn’t matter if he stumbled now and then. But we don’t have that luxury anymore. From now on, he should just focus on carrying out orders."

Seeing that Tom had already made up his mind, Amelia offered no further objections.

For one thing, she thought his assessment was remarkably accurate. Scrimgeour really was a politician pretending to be a tough, elite commander.

For another, she wasn’t exactly in a position to argue.

What the wizarding world needed right now was someone like Tom.

Someone powerful. Someone who represented the future.

The only obstacle was his background. Some wizards would always take issue with his birth.

No. She would have to speak with the Nott family afterward.

They needed to "reconstruct" Tom’s family tree so the entire wizarding world would believe Tom Riddle wasn’t merely a pure-blood wizard, but descended from one of the oldest and noblest bloodlines in Britain.

That way, his leadership would seem perfectly natural.

.

Tom, of course, had no idea that the woman sitting across from him had already started planning how to invent a respectable ancestry for him.

Once Amelia finished breakfast, he led her back to the conference room and casually took a seat.

Before long, the rest of the Ministry’s senior officials returned as well.

The department heads. Several of the Ministry’s most accomplished Auror captains. Even the heads of prominent pure-blood families, including representatives from the Malfoys and the Rosiers.

Together with Dumbledore, the people gathered in that room represented nearly eighty percent of the strength of magical Britain.

Every gaze shifted to Tom before flicking to Dumbledore. When they saw that even Dumbledore was looking to Tom, all eyes settled on the young wizard.

No one spoke. They simply waited for him to begin.

"Before we discuss anything else..." Tom lightly tapped the large round table with his fingers. "I have a question."

"It’s been almost a full day since all this began. Has the American Magical Congress really made no response at all? Has anyone managed to contact them?"

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