Not-A-Catastrophic-Aftermath (I) [Chapter 205]

~~DMLE, Ministry of Magic~~

“Amelia, are you alright? You don’t look so good…” Connie asked, looking really concerned as she entered Amelia’s office along with the rest of their group sans Alastor as the veteran Auror was still trapped in MACUSA. Meanwhile, Amelia could be seen nursing a firewhiskey bottle in her hand while an unopened official letter and an unopened package could be seen lying on her table.

“With everything going around, can you blame her?” Saul asked as he strode inside the room and plopped in one of the chairs and even though nobody said it, Gawain could feel the glares of Connie and Tonks boring into the back of his head. “So, care to share a drink?” Saul offered, and Amelia simply shrugged before she started to grab some glasses from her cupboard.

“What else would you have me do? It was the only chance I was going to get to reveal the truth” Gawain defended himself, and Connie scoffed at his words.

“I don’t know, but maybe you should have talked with Saul before going off the rail!” Connie screamed at him while she threw him a heated glare, but before Gawain could scream back at her and the whole argument could turn into a fight, Amelia decided to step in and put an end to their childishness. After all, she didn’t want them fighting among themselves.

Amelia wasn’t going to lie… She was annoyed at Gawain too, but at the same time, she could understand why he did it… His actions made sure that no one was going to try and attack Harry Potter in a foolish attempt to gain glory, but at the same time, his actions made sure that the Ministry would collapse… She didn’t expect it to happen in a day, but it was bound to happen.

“All of you have a seat, have a drink” Amelia stated firmly as she placed the empty glasses on her table. Connie, Gawain, and Tonks seemed to look around unsurely before they finally took the offered seats, and Amelia started to pour them drinks after that.

“Uh… Boss, what’s in the box?” Tonks asked meekly as she accepted her drink.

Amelia seemed to grimace at the question before shrugging dismissively… “I have no idea, but this was left in my office by Harry Potter, so you can understand why I am not looking forward to opening the box” Amelia revealed and her words seemed to have left everyone in stunned silence… Well, Amelia was expecting a reaction like that, so she was quite pleased with herself.

Nobody seemed to say anything after that and except for Amelia, everyone else chugged down their drinks in one go with trembling hands… Tonks might be a part of the Lost Garden, but Harry still scared the shit out of her and after what he did in Hogwarts, he was nothing short of a nightmarish monster for her… Though a hot monster who would come to save her if anything untoward happened to the little old her.

That was really endearing, scary, and hot at the same time… Tonks started to wonder if her Black genes were finally starting to manifest… Maybe, she was just as insane as the rest of the Blacks, especially when the thought of dipping a family Wand in her cauldron didn’t sound too disturbing for her or when the thought of her nightmarish cousin killing people to save her like a prince in a shining armor seemed to make her feel hot.

Maybe, she needed to have another chat with her mother before she could spiral into self-loathing depression…

“Do you suspect it to be a trap?” Saul asked as he seemed to lean away from the package without bothering to leave his seat and Amelia scoffed at his words.

“As he would need a trap to kill someone?” Amelia pointed out in a mirthless tone and the atmosphere once again became depressing. “Though you can call it a trap in a roundabout way” Amelia admitted with a sigh as her shoulders slumped down. “Karkaroff was also kidnapped by Harry and the package seems to have the correct size for a head” Amelia explained and a look of understanding dawned on everyone.

“And Karkaroff’s name was on the list he gave you” Saul concluded as he understood why Amelia called the box to be a trap in a roundabout way. “So, if it turns out to be really Karkaroff… or his head in there, then there is a chance that you might give into the temptation of revenge and join him?” Saul asked, only to receive a reluctant nod from Amelia, and aghast looks from Gawain and Connie.

“You can’t do that Amelia, he is a murderer! You shouldn't stoop down to his level!” Gawain exclaimed with a horrified look on his face.

“It might be our only option right now, logically speaking” Saul admitted with a grunt as he sipped his drink in a slow fashion. “The Ministry is finished. The more the Ministry would try to take control, the more they would lose… The Ministry never had any heavy hitters like Dumbledore, Voldemort, or Grindelwald, but they made it up with their numbers” Saul started to explain when he noticed the look of outrage on Gawain’s face.

Thankfully, Gawain decided not to interrupt when Saul started to explain. “Even with how horrible the last War was, the Ministry was still able to stand atop because people believed in them, because everyone was ready to work within the system, because even though we were losing, the people expected us to win due to our numbers advantage, but this time it is different” Saul paused and took a deep breath.

“Thanks to your unplanned foolishness, the truth is out there… Now, everyone knows that the Ministry can’t win. With Dumbledore gone, our chances drop even more… The only saving grace is that the public doesn’t know about the truth yet, but they do know something massive happened and they would start looking” Saul finished with a deadpan.

“Only one of them needs to ask the right question to the right person and the truth will spread like Fiendfyre in a haystack. People will become scared and they would lose their trust in the Ministry and that would lead to riots and protests… More and more people would start to join Lost Garden because they know that they will be safe. As long as they believe that would be safe, they would keep joining Lost Garden in droves” Amelia finished the explanation and glared at Gawain.

The man gulped down in guilt and looked down at his pale and trembling hands…

“Given he accepts useless bunch in his group” Saul pointed out dryly and Amelia gave him a nod after a moment. “Not just that, most of the businesses in Wizarding Britain are owned by Purebloods and leaving the Dark Faction aside, the Grey Faction and the Light Faction would be scared out of their minds. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them have already started to move their assets to some other countries” Saul added thoughtfully.

“...Which would lead Wizarding Britain to bankruptcy” Tonks finished and everyone turned toward her with bewildered looks on their faces. Even Gawain was looking at her like she had grown a second head. ‘Emotional Damage!!’ Tonks screamed inside her mind. “Hey! I may not be smart like you guys, but I have my moments” Tonks decided to defend her limited intelligence, but still, everyone seemed skeptical.

Nobody had bothered to mention that today it was ‘kick Tonks when she is down as much as you want’ day… With that thought in her mind, she started to sulk…

“What she said” Saul grunted before taking another sip from his glass. “I am already planning to arrange a meeting so that we can negotiate our terms… Don’t look at me like that, I don’t like it, but it is the only option for me and the Department if we want to survive… We might have esoteric defences, but if he takes an exception to us then we are fucked from nine ways to Sunday” Saul admitted with a groan.

Gawain, who was probably the most righteous among them, turned toward Amelia. “You aren't going to say anything to that? You are just going to accept his choice, just like that?” Gawain asked and turned toward Connie and Tonks. “What about you two?” He asked with a snap, but Tonks simply looked away and Connie gave him an unsure shrug.

“Well, it is not my place to say anything anymore” Amelia grimaced before she slid over the unopened official letter toward her drink buddies.

“Boss, what’s in the letter?” Tonks asked as she was one to grab the letter before anyone could. This was the first time she had an official letter except for her salary slips and that prospect excited her more than it was supposed to…

“It is my dismissal letter” Amelia admitted, making Tonks freeze and Connie gasped at the revelation while Saul simply nodded his head.

“I was expecting this… After all, someone has to take the fall and I am damn sure that the Minister and his toady aren’t going to” Saul admitted sourly.

“Amelia, this can’t be true right? Is this because of what I did?” Gawain asked, looking really guilty.

“No, I would have been dismissed either way and as Saul said, someone had to take the fall. At least to keep up the pretenses and you will be receiving a dismissal, a suspension, or a demotion for your actions” Amelia explained with a shrug. With how drunk she was, she was feeling completely numb and she was surprised that she could even talk clearly at this point.

“So, what now, ma’am?” Connie asked hesitantly as she didn’t know what else to ask. She knew what the job really meant for Amelia and how much she had sacrificed for the job. The job practically meant the whole world to her and she couldn’t help but feel murderous rage toward the Minister and his advisors. Now, she wouldn’t be surprised if Amelia really went and joined Lost Garden.

Connie would obviously follow her into Lost Garden, but she left that part unsaid… Sometimes, it is better to use your actions to prove your loyalty instead of using words…

“I am not sure… Though I plan to get sloshed and maybe I might give in to the temptation…” Amelia trailed off while intently staring at the box…