The people were eventually lost.
It was strange; within the Ministry of Magic, at the headquarters of the Auror Office, with no Apparition permissions and no other exits, the two Lestrange brothers had simply vanished from everyone's sight.
While the pursuing Aurors returned to report, Sherlock and the others were describing the incident to the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Magic at the scene.
"...We failed to save Algy. They seemed very familiar with the routes within the Ministry of Magic. We couldn't stop them from leaving, so we could only use the Explosion Charm to create a commotion and attract others."
Although it was said that Sherlock was explaining it to Minchum, in reality, Scrimgeour was the one who truly understood the event, as he was the professional Auror after all.
"You say Rodolphus turned into Eddie's appearance to frame him?"
As for his question, the two Aurors who had been knocked unconscious at the start could testify that before they were taken down, Rodolphus had intentionally revealed his face for them to see.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Scrimgeour's face.
"Disguising himself as Eddie also makes sense; they knew that because of Algy's betrayal, Eddie's subordinates had all died, so he had a strong motive."
In truth, many people present knew this wasn't a strong motive at all, but rather that Eddie himself had already done so.
It was just that they deliberately refrained from asking why Sherlock and Eddie had appeared there in the middle of the night.
The person was already dead, and he wasn't killed by Eddie, so there was no need to delve too deeply into certain matters. Whether it was Scrimgeour, Crouch, or Minchum, they were all old hands.
They knew that clarifying these things now wouldn't help the situation at all, and it wasn't worth asking rhetorical questions to hold Eddie and Sherlock accountable.
Minchum's expression remained grim.
"Is the key issue now why they killed Algy? The key issue is that the Ministry of Magic's defences are practically non-existent! I want to know how they got in and how they got out!"
Investigating these matters naturally took time.
As the only magical political institution in Britain, the Ministry of Magic's defensive strength was actually quite weak.
Besides the restrictions on Apparition, it was also possible to enter through certain Portkeys left outside for temporary use, as well as the Floo Network in some offices.
These entrances could not yet be blocked; if they were closed, the Ministry of Magic's daily operations would fall into a semi-paralysed state, and government affairs could not be handled at all.
Therefore, Scrimgeour had a heavy workload now; he first had to check all the fireplaces within the Ministry of Magic connected to the Floo Network, and whether those Portkeys hidden outside had been used.
At the end, Eddie opened his mouth, wanting to reveal the content of the conversation they had overheard between the two Lestrange brothers and Algy, but Sherlock pulled on his sleeve and stopped him with an imperceptible shake of his head.
By the time the second half of the night had passed, and Sherlock and Eddie had finished all their statements at the Auror Office, they finally left the Ministry of Magic.
The two exchanged a glance and tacitly went together to a bar located on the street above the Ministry of Magic.
"Why didn't you let me tell them about that?" Eddie asked, puzzled.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes and asked in return.
"How did Rodolphus manage to turn into you?"
Eddie said hesitantly.
"That kind of transformation must be the effect of Polyjuice Potion."
"Exactly, Polyjuice Potion. If the Death Eaters knew you had a grudge against Algy and thus impersonated you, which could be explained by the incident in Wales, then how did they obtain one of the ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion—your hair?"
Sherlock's words stumped Eddie.
After his name was cleared and he returned to the Ministry of Magic, he had stayed in the Auror quarters at the Ministry, never returning home once, and aside from his colleagues, he had no contact with anyone else.
In this situation, how did the Death Eaters manage to get his hair?
Sherlock continued.
"Furthermore, even if the Ministry of Magic's guards were lax, if it were really that easy for Death Eaters to get in, they wouldn't have waited until now to engage in such petty thievery. They would have targeted this place countless times already; wouldn't that have been more rewarding than what they do outside?"
Eddie quickly understood what Sherlock was trying to express.
"You mean... they still have a mole in the Ministry?"
"Not only a mole, but someone with a high status, surely. Otherwise, it wouldn't have kept the Dark Lord so restricted. The exposure of Algy last time was very likely just a smokescreen; his loyalty to the Dark Lord wasn't that firm, and the Dark Lord himself must have known that. But the truly loyal mole, who will be of great use in the future, is still lurking within the Ministry of Magic!"
Sherlock looked at him gravely.
"The things Rodolphus said, the secret they wanted to hide, only we know. Perhaps we can even use it for something. But if we tell it, it would mean both the Ministry of Magic and the Death Eaters would know. Besides, even if we did tell them, could the Ministry of Magic demand that Gringotts investigate the Lestrange Family vault?"
Eddie was silent.
Of course, this was impossible.
If it were possible, there would be no need to wait until now; the family vaults of all those Pure-blood Families who had openly sided with the Death Eaters would have been seized long ago.
The reason such resistance existed wasn't because of the Goblins guarding Gringotts, but because such a motion could never pass within the Ministry of Magic.
The reason Sherlock knew this was because even seventeen years later, after those Death Eaters had been locked up in Azkaban for over a decade, their family vaults at Gringotts still had not been seized by anyone.
This was basically an unspoken rule among Wizards.
No matter how great a crime was committed, the ownership of a Gringotts vault still belonged to the Wizard themselves; no one had the right to touch it (for example, Sirius, when he was a fugitive, the Firebolt he sent to Harry was bought with money he managed to take from the House of Black vault).
Besides these reasons, there was also a bit of selfishness on Sherlock's part in having Eddie keep this matter hidden.
Although he couldn't remember much of the original story, after coming to this world, he had learned many inside details.
The cup that Rodolphus mentioned, which Lord Voldemort had ordered Bella to hide in the Lestrange Family vault, was very likely a Horcrux!
Of course, Bella, including the others in the Lestrange Family, certainly didn't know about the existence of a Horcrux; they likely only knew that what Lord Voldemort had given them was something very important.
A Horcrux was not only the only way to defeat Lord Voldemort, but for Sherlock, it was a supreme tonic, the kind that could increase one's power by fifty years if consumed.
Keeping the news hidden was also in the hope that after the Lestrange brothers discovered the secret hadn't spread, they wouldn't tell Lord Voldemort and move the cup suspected to be a Horcrux.
After all, if Lord Voldemort found out about this, especially after the huge commotion they had caused tonight, the two Lestrange brothers would be lucky to escape with their lives.
In that same gloomy manor.
On a single-seat sofa, a handsome Wizard with an unnaturally pale complexion gently raised the wine glass in his hand.
"Ha! Rodolphus, Rabastan, my capable subordinates!"
His faint, mocking voice echoed in the living room. Although there were no visible wounds on the two Lestrange brothers, who were tied up and hanging from the ceiling, they still looked as if they had experienced great pain.
Sweat dripped from them, pooling into a small puddle on the floor. Standing nearby was Bella, who had just carried out the punishment on their behalf.
As Rodolphus's wife and Rabastan's sister-in-law, she had no intention of pleading with the Wizard for them at this moment.
She didn't even bother to hide the disdain and disgust in her eyes.
"We... we... didn't expect that Wizard named Butler... he would actually choose to kill Taft tonight..." Rodolphus pleaded. "Forgive us... Dark Lord... please..."
Bella cursed shrilly.
"You two useless fools! You've made me lose face in front of the Dark Lord!"
The Wizard slowly swirled the crimson liquid in his glass. He didn't seem particularly angry, but no one would think they could relax just because of that.
The more they spent time with this Dark Lord, the more they realised his temper was becoming increasingly erratic.
At this moment, a few sparks suddenly jumped in the cold fireplace by the living room wall, and immediately afterwards, dark green flames rose, forming a young, gaunt face in the fireplace.
"Forgive my rudeness, Dark Lord. I am not in a position to leave the Ministry of Magic right now, so I can only communicate with you using Floo Powder."
Seeing the young man's face in the fireplace, the two Lestrange brothers held their breath simultaneously. They exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes, they saw nervousness that was almost overflowing.
The Wizard stopped the motion of swirling his wine glass.
"Speak. What have these two useless fools exposed?"
"Although not explicitly stated, it is clear that Scrimgeour has begun to suspect that there are still moles in the Ministry who haven't been rooted out. He checked all the office fireplaces and Portkeys left outside, but found nothing unusual. I have not been suspected, and there is no risk of exposure for the time being."
The young man's face formed by the flames said respectfully.
"Only that?"
"Yes, Dark Lord, that is all the information obtained so far."
Hearing him say this, the two Lestrange brothers finally set their minds at ease, which had been hanging in the balance.
They were indeed gambling—gambling that Eddie and Sherlock had not understood their conversation with Algy, or, if they had, that they hadn't spread it.
Otherwise, even if they confessed voluntarily, they would certainly die!
The two brothers knew how much Lord Voldemort valued that cup; even if the news leaked, he would absolutely not spare them!
From the looks of it now, their luck in the gamble wasn't bad; at least their lives had been saved.
"Hurry and complete the task I gave you," the Wizard said coldly. "I do not want to drag this out any longer; the thing in that room must be obtained as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Dark Lord!"
The green flames danced in the fireplace, and the young man's face dissipated along with them.