“Mr. Bagman? What brings you here?”

Tonks put down her slice of toast slathered with butter, looking curiously at the burly wizard.

This time, Kingsley didn't need to introduce him. As the most active elite witch in the Auror Headquarters within the Ministry of Magic, she knew most of the several hundred people in the Ministry, except for retired veterans like Mad-Eye Moody and the rarely-seen Unspeakables.

However, Ludo Bagman's arrival was indeed a bit surprising, considering...

"What? Are wizards from the Department of Magical Games and Sports only allowed to appear on Quidditch pitches?"

Ludo Bagman turned to look at the young witch with bubblegum pink hair, picking up a slice of toast from her plate.

"I am the Head of Department, after all. With something this big happening in the Ministry, of course, I have to come and help. But speaking of which, what exactly happened, Mr. Crouch? You only mentioned a Level One incident in the emergency communication, and the gathering place is... the Leaky Cauldron. Is it a secret birthday party, or some sort of small nighttime Ministry party? Oh, thank you, the buttered toast is great!"

"I regret to inform you that there is no secret party. An hour ago, the Ministry of Magic fell under attack by a large number of Dark Wizards."

Barty Crouch said sternly. He didn't particularly like Ludo Bagman, as the man often failed to grasp the gravity of situations.

He and Mad-Eye Moody had strongly opposed Bagman's hiring into the Ministry after his retirement from Quidditch.

However, compared to the Ministry's vast number of "Quidditch fans," their voices were too weak.

On the other hand, Ludo Bagman's work in the Department of Magical Games and Sports was beyond reproach. As a former Quidditch star, he was indeed skilled in the field of magical sports. He became the youngest Head of Department in the Ministry in less than ten years.

It turned out that this seemingly rash Quidditch star was, at times, more reliable than many "mature" politicians.

"The specific situation is pretty much what was in the request for assistance. Someone has attacked the Ministry of Magic, with at least thirty or more people. Their motives are unknown, their identities are unknown, and they are extremely dangerous. Let's just say, their first reaction upon seeing us was to cast the Killing Curse. We suspect it's Voldemort and his followers returning, but we won't know for sure until the Minister and the Aurors return from Armenia..."

"Armenia? Voldemort? Uh... hold on, I'm a bit confused? Minister Fudge and the other Aurors are not in England right now?"

Ludo Bagman was clearly baffled, blinking in confusion at Barty Crouch.

However, his questions weren't answered immediately – Scrimgeour interrupted their conversation.

"Those questions can be answered later. What's more important now is..."

Scrimgeour frowned heavily, his gaze sweeping over the flying broom in Ludo Bagman's hand, his expression serious.

"Mr. Bagman, you said the fireplaces are broken and unusable... What does that mean?"

"Well, it means exactly that. I was originally planning to use Floo Powder to get here, but the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron seems to be broken. The fireplaces in Diagon Alley all seem to have some issues, and Mr. Crouch emphasized in the request for assistance not to use the Ministry's fireplaces..."

The fireplaces in all of Diagon Alley... having problems at the same time?!

Scrimgeour's expression changed, and he suddenly stood up, hurriedly heading towards the bar outside the room.

"Tom, do you have any Floo Powder here? I need to borrow some—"

The voice of the usually calm and steady Auror Office Head sounded a bit hurried. A few minutes later, he strode back into the makeshift meeting room, holding a small jar filled with shimmering silver Floo Powder, grabbing a handful and throwing it into the fireplace.

As the powder was sprinkled in, the orange flames instantly turned emerald green, reflecting on everyone's faces.

"Home."

Scrimgeour said simply, drawing his wand and quickly stepping into the emerald green flames.

The flames roared up, instantly engulfing Scrimgeour's figure... then quickly receded like the tide.

"Oh, damn it, this is bad—"

Rufus Scrimgeour reappeared in the fireplace. Before the flames could change from emerald green back to orange, he agilely climbed out of the fireplace. Almost as soon as he returned to the floor, Barty Crouch let out a painful curse.

"It's not that the fireplaces are broken, Bagman – the Floo Network is down. Someone has shut down the entire Floo Network in Britain..."

"Well, can't you just contact the people in charge of the Floo Network and have them turn it back on?"

"The problem is, most of the British Ministry of Magic's Aurors, Minister Cornelius Fudge, and Amelia Bones are all thousands of miles away in the Armenian forests on a mission. If the Floo Network is down, it will take several hours to fix at the earliest... which means that the British magical world will be completely undefended for the next few hours. Those thugs can break into anywhere they want—"

Scrimgeour said with an incredibly grim expression. He exchanged glances with Crouch, Moody, and others, seeing the worry in each other's eyes.

As veterans who had lived through the era when the Dark forces ran rampant over a decade ago, they knew all too well what an "undefended" magical world meant.

The worst-case scenario was that when Cornelius Fudge and the others returned tomorrow, the skies of the British magical world would be filled with the Dark Mark, symbolizing death. Just as they had done during the purges after Voldemort's downfall, Scrimgeour and Crouch knew what the Death Eaters would do with their newfound power. Their revenge would be far more cruel and fierce than anything the Ministry could do.

Scrimgeour's only hope now was that the Ministry could delay those Death Eaters long enough.

Even if the Ministry became ruins or was razed to the ground, that was better than it becoming a launching point for targeting the lives of various Ministry officials and the families of wizards who had helped the Ministry capture Death Eaters... The Ministry's fireplaces could reach the living rooms of almost every wizarding family.

Since those "Death Eaters" thought of disabling the Floo Network to prevent Ministry reinforcements from returning, they couldn't possibly have failed to think of this.

"I'm sorry, Tonks, Kingsley... My promise about you being able to rest tonight is probably not going to happen. We need to leave immediately, split up and go to the homes of every Ministry member, wake them up, and issue a warning—"

"If the Floo Network doesn't work, then Apparate. If Apparition distance isn't enough, use Portkeys!"

"In short, we need to get this message out as soon as possible and keep everyone on alert!"

Scrimgeour stood up abruptly, looking around at the wizards in the room.

"Remember, do not go to the Ministry alone! You will die!"

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Short!