Chapter 687 - Ruse Aftermath

The Minister of Magic, Eugenia Jenkins had been abruptly roused from her bed with the news that Damocles Belby had been murdered by the dark wizarding organization led by one so-called Dark Lord. It was past midnight when the first semblance of reports began to come in with the number of casualties on both sides, the wounded, and the those captured alive. The Death Eaters that had been captured had immediately been sent into the holding cells to be interrogated.

After Auror Percius Clements had given his report, he too was excused with the rest of those that had entered her office with preliminary reports. The stout witch with her usual bobbed hair in disarray furrows her brows at the Head of Law Enforcement, Bog Ogden, and his Deputy, Elphinstone Urquart. Slamming her fist against her desk, she growls, "Tell me, how this attack was able to occur?"

"By all accounts, Auror Percius Clements had reported the ambush and yet not only did the department fail to comply on time, but we failed to protect our objective, Damocles Belby! Well?!" Minister Jenkins snapped. "I would like an answer from the Head of Law Enforcement and his Deputy!"

The short, plumb wizard, Bob Ogden carefully removes his enormous thick glasses and cleans them slowly, before putting them back on. "There are no excuses, Minister Jenkins, our objective failed, but that proves one very important thing."

"What?!" Minister Jenkins impatiently snapped.

"There are still spies to be found within the Ministry of Magic high enough that Damocles Belby's personal information was leaked," Ogden matter-of-factly stated. After Harold Minchum many of the corrupted officials that had been found had been forcibly retired or been downgraded to such a position, where they quit on their own. The Ministry of Magic was mostly rat-free, but still, there were bound to be sly rats that escaped the purge.

Minister Jenkins opens her mouth to deny such a statement, before closing it back again. Letting out a sigh, she leans back in her chair and rubs her aching head. "There is no getting around this, Ogden. Even if that is the case, the press is going to have a field day come morning. I can already see the headlines, 'Genius Potion Master Damocles Belby slain!' 'Who is to blame for the Ministry of Magic's incompetency?!' 'What is the Ministry of Magic doing?' 'Corruption rampant among the Law Enforcement Department!' 'And those are the tamest titles that I can think of!"

"And that is why we shall get out from under this and confront the situation head-on," Ogden calmly retorted.

"How Ogden?" Minister Jenkins sarcastically asked as she opened her eyes in frustration.

"By sacrificing me," Ogden answered with a pragmatic smile.

"No, Ogden," Elphinstone interrupted in shock. He was not the only for the usual slicked black-haired wizard with a widow's peak, his hair is out of sort having been summoned from his bed. He could not allow his friend to do so!

"The Department needs you!" Elphinstone firmly reiterated. "Now, is not the time to act so very altruistic!"

"I've been meaning to retire for years," Ogden ruefully countered. "And now's a good as time as any. And if it means I can save the Ministry of Magic's face, I don't mind some ill-natured gossip, it will die down soon enough."

Minister Jenkins opens and closes her mouth, before viewing the short wizard with newfound eyes. "What a brave, and self-sacrificing thing to do, Ogden," Minister Jenkins sincerely said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "It's very Gryffindorish of you."

Ogden snorts softly and says, "Well, I'm right proud to be a Gryffindor, Minister. I would not be sorted elsewhere for all the galleons in the world."

Minister Jenkins weakly smiles, before moving onto business. "Then who shall be your replacement, Ogden?"

"Urquart," Ogden fearlessly replied. "Although he is a Slytherin, he's shown that he is capable, and is engaged to Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts and a Gryffindor. His appointment will appease both sides of wizarding society."

"Very well, what do you say, Urquart?" Minister Jenkins firmly said and turned her sharp gaze towards the shocked Deputy Head of Department. "Will you accept the position of Head of Law Enforcement?"

"I-, I don't know what to say," Elphinstone stammered for the second time in his life words failing him. Swallowing, his mouth feeling suddenly rather dry, he finally replies, "Yes, Minister, I accept the position."

"Good, man," Ogden said with a pleased expression as he congratulated Elphinstone with a firm pat on the back.

"Excellent," Minister Jenkins said as she rose to her feet. "Mrs, Prim!" She called out to her undersecretary.

"Yes, Minister?" Instantly replied, Mrs. Prim, looking very prim and proper despite the late hour.

"Send word that we will hold an emergency Press Conference in exactly one hour," Minister Jenkins instructed.

"Naturally, Minister Jenkins," Mrs. Prim said as she neatly wrote that down on a notepad. "Will that be all, Minister?"

"For the time being," Minister Jenkins answered as Mrs. Prim nodded her head briskly, before closing the door behind and setting out to fulfill the task she had received.

With the door shut firmly behind Mrs. Prim, Ogden says, "Now that is resolved, Minister, we need to show of force."

"What do you suggest?" Minister Jenkins asked.

"And though I readily agree with the deal that you made with, Sanderson," Ogden gruffly said. "There is no better appeal to the public than the capture of wanted criminals. Sanderson made a deal that he has yet to deliver on. So, have him deliver his end of the deal."

"Hmm, yes," Minister Jenkins mused out loud. "It would appeal both to the public and press and would redeem us before the rest of the world and quell any doubts that will surely arise after today."

"My point exactly, Minister," Ogden said, before rising to his feet. "Now if you excuse me, I have personal items to pack."

"Proceed, Ogden," Minister Jenkins replied with sympathy and understanding. "Thank you for all your work, Ogden, you shall sorely be wished. I wish that this could have ended differently."

"As do I, Minister Jenkins. It has been an honor to serve with you, Ma'am," Ogden honesty replied, before gesturing Elphinstone to follow him one last time.

"Excuse me, Minister," Elphinstone said before following his boss, and friend for the last time.

The two of them are somber and silent as they stroll towards the Auror quarters one last time. Despite the late hour, the A.P.D. officers have been called in to aid in tracking and the investigation. The entire Auror department is filled with Auror's, who had been summoned to take testimonies of the interrogation and begin the process of investigation. The two wizards stand at the entrance of the Auror's department and eye the cluttered cubicles filled with news articles, wanted posters, pictures of family members, and steaming teacups filled with tea to keep the Auror's awake.

"They are in the best of hands," Ogden quietly said, before entering the department with Elphinstone following closely after. The Auror's politely greet them, before returning to their busy work. The two of them return to Ogden's office with Ogden enchanting a box and shrinking all of his personal items, before placing them inside the box.

The entire process only took minutes and Ogden's career of over thirty years was over and done with. "The wife was always asking me to retire," Ogden said as he tugged on his coat. "I always had one reason or another to turn her down. And though it isn't how I wanted to go, it's better than departing in a box six feet under the ground."

Elphinstone's lips weakly twitch at the old Auror joke. It was a rather true statement as very few Auror's ever retired much less in a healthy state. The most common retirement plan, which they joked about was in a box six feet under the ground. It was a solemn truth but attested to the difficulty of their jobs which many seemed to forget and underappreciate the worth of Auror's.

Ogden sticks out his hand for Elphinstone to shake, and with a trembling hand, Elphinstone extends his hand. Ogden firmly clasps Elphinstone's hand and says, "It was a pleasure serving with you, Urquart. Don't forget to invite me to the wedding, I've been looking forward to attending the ceremony for quite a while."

"I won't forget," Elphinstone croaked through sudden mist-filled eyes. Blinking rapidly to clear his eyes, he clears his throat. "It was an honor to serve under you, Ogden."

"Likewise, kid," Ogden ruefully teased the younger wizard for the last time, before grabbing the packed box, and exiting out the door with his head held high.

Elphinstone watched his friend and former superior depart out of sight. Bob Ogden was the bravest man, he'd ever known. And the wizarding world did not know what they were losing.

Turning away with a heavy heart, Elphinstone marches over to his office. He had a job to fulfill. And though he was stepping into large, impossible shoes to fill, he had to at least try. That was all he could do after what had been sacrificed. With that solemn thought in mind, he began to sort through the reports that were still coming in, because that was all he could do. And he was a doer like it or not.