Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0718 Intrigues

In the cramped living room of the cottage, the atmosphere became oppressive in the deafening silence that followed Bryan's unexpected words. Kingsley stared intently at the stone-faced Bryan, his lips moving slightly as if rehearsing words, yet eventually producing no sound. Through the subtle changes in his expression, he conveyed his confusion quite effectively.

Louise, as an intern reporter, considered reading people's complex expressions and unspoken communications a basic essential skill. Her gaze shifted continuously between Bryan and Kingsley, accurately sensing the subtle atmosphere crackling between the two.

'Who exactly was this Dumbledore?' She wondered.

In the previous conversations between these two men, Louise had heard this name mentioned more than once. From their posture and the contextual backgrounds when mentioning this person, Louise had logically reasoned that he must be an influential leader with a position and authority even higher than Bryan's status in the wizarding world.

'Since Bryan Watson was the Vice Chairman of that, um, what did they call it—the International Confederation of Wizards—then this Dumbledore person must logically be the Chairman, or perhaps some other powerful figure in their society?'

Louise's eyes rolled nonstop as she considered the power dynamics, her casual, unaware guess coincidentally hitting upon a partial truth that she couldn't possibly confirm without more information.

'But why would Bryan want Kingsley to stop reporting their progress to this Dumbledore?' She pondered intensely. 'Was it just political infighting, a power struggle between factions, or something more...?'

Louise's eyes widened slightly in sudden realization, her gaze towards Bryan were filled with tension. Could it be possible that the group controlling Fraser, performing those horrible experiments, was secretly backed by this mysterious Dumbledore figure?!

'This wasn't entirely impossible,' Louise pressed her lips together tightly.

Since the wizarding world operated under the so-called strict "International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy" that Bryan had previously explained to her, and that group dared to treat this law as nothing, they willfully harmed ordinary people and according to Fraser, they even had the audacity to perform cruel experiments on pregnant women and helpless infants...

This would undoubtedly be considered a heinous, unforgivable crime even in her non-magical world. Once exposed to public scrutiny, it would definitely provoke worldwide outrage and condemnation.

So, following this disturbing line of reasoning, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible that this evil force might indeed have powerful official backing at the highest levels of wizarding government!

Perhaps Bryan had detected something troubling, some connection or evidence that had alarmed him, which explained why he had left Kingsley to investigate alone while he pursued other leads?

Then, following this logic to its natural conclusion, did this Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt belong to Dumbledore's faction?

With this unsettling thought taking root in her mind, Louise's gaze toward Kingsley transformed becoming somewhat strange and suspicious, tinged with wariness. She unconsciously hunched her slender shoulders defensively and instinctively moved closer to Bryan on the sofa.

If the two wizards were suddenly to engage in magical combat right here in this cottage... judging just from their physical build and imposing presence, Kingsley undoubtedly possessed an overwhelming advantage with his muscular tall body, but Bryan was said to be widely praised and feared by many wizards as arguably the most powerful wizard of the new age...

"I understand completely, Mr. Watson—"

After staring deeply into Bryan's unflinchingly calm eyes for few moments, Kingsley appeared to finally confirm something significant in his own mind. He nodded slowly before expressing his unexpected agreement.

'Eh?! What just happened?' Louise thought, momentarily stunned.

Completely lost in her wild, bestselling imagination about magical conspiracies and imminent wizard duels, Louise almost couldn't maintain her composure, her facial features were revealing considerable astonishment at this anticlimactic turn of events.

Her breathless expectations of passionate reasoned arguments, incredulous questioning, embarrassed anger, or even the dramatic drawing of wands in fury—none of the scenarios she had mentally prepared for actually occurred.

'Kingsley just calmly agreed like that, without the slightest resistance or hesitation?'

The journalist in her felt simultaneously relieved and oddly disappointed at the lack of conflict.

Not just Louise, but even Bryan himself raised his eyebrows in surprise at this unexpectedly easy acquiescence, clearly having anticipated more resistance.

"I thought I would need to invest considerable time and effort to persuade and ultimately convince you, Kingsley—" Bryan said candidly in a gentle, appreciative tone.

"If you're willing to explain your reasoning at some point, that would be most excellent and appreciated—"

Kingsley's voice remained hoarse and deep, but his lips now carried the hint of a knowing smile. "But I believe you must have good reasons for keeping this from Headmaster Dumbledore."

Bryan picked up his teacup and again thoughtfully savored the unique, earthy taste of the German herbal tea. After careful consideration, he internally confirmed that he would absolutely never develop a genuine fondness for this particular blend, but drinking it occasionally did indeed offer a distinctive, exotic flavor experience.

"Thank you sincerely for your trust, Kingsley—" Bryan nodded in genuine gratitude.

Unlike his relationship with Sirius, Kingsley was neither truly his subordinate nor his particularly close personal friend. On the contrary, like Arthur Weasley and several other members of their Order, Kingsley had a deep, old friendship with Dumbledore over many years of shared struggles. It was remarkably rare that in this matter, he would unhesitatingly cooperate with Bryan.

Of course, in return for this extraordinary show of trust, Bryan also felt compelled to say somewhat solemnly, "Please rest assured that all my actions and decisions are especially aimed at ensuring that those despicable people who harmed Hermione, Fraser, and those innocent, defenseless Muggles will ultimately receive their deserved punishment."

"What steps should we take next?" Kingsley inquired, efficiently shifting the conversation.

Bryan's final promise brought Louise abruptly back to her senses, having momentarily felt slightly disappointed that what had appeared to be building toward a dramatically tense confrontation had instead ended so anticlimactically with mutual understanding.

She felt a complex touch of emotion stirring in her heart at Bryan's words, unconsciously ignoring or perhaps not fully recognizing the fact that Bryan's pursuit of the culprits was obviously more motivated by seeking justice for his student rather than mainly for Fraser and those ordinary people without magic who had suffered horrific fates.

Having been cooped up in this isolated cottage for two days with little to do but wait and wonder, Louise asked somewhat impatiently, "Are we finally going to search for that Aeschylus and this Jasna, or perhaps that Professor Wittelsbach from earlier? Do you have any reliable contacts or informants here in Berlin who might assist us?"

The flames in the fireplace continued to keep the narrow living room consistently warm and cozy despite the cold outside. Bryan's overcoat, which he had casually taken off upon entering, suddenly twisted and contorted on its own as if inhabited by an invisible spirit, and flew across the living room on its own to hang itself neatly on an iron hook nailed to the wall near the door.

This seemingly ordinary but impossible sight once again momentarily dazed Louise, reminding her forcefully that she was moving in a world where the laws of physics as she understood them simply didn't apply.

Standing up, Bryan moved toward the frost-covered window that had collected countless small water droplets on its interior surface, his contemplative gaze penetrated the foggy glass to focus on the misty sky outside, where the thick fog was being torn and shaped by gusts of strong, wind that bent the tops of the distant spruce trees.

At this stage of their investigation, they were just one step away from the clouds parting to reveal the full moon.

"Fraser once told you that after hastily leaving Italy, he was taken to a new, undisclosed location to assist with their continuing research—"

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Bryan turned to look directly at Louise, his eyes meeting hers, not immediately answering her specific question but instead approaching the matter from a different angle.

"This mysterious place is very likely Berlin. These dangerous dark wizards we're searching for are almost certainly all operating somewhere within this city. There must be a large experimental facility or headquarters of theirs hidden here—"

Completely uprooting this group's stronghold was definitely something that urgently needed to be accomplished, but the key, pressing question that troubled Bryan was precisely how to locate and infiltrate such a well-hidden facility without alerting its occupants.

"Do we perhaps need to officially inform the German Ministry of Magic about our presence and objectives?" Kingsley hesitated before reluctantly suggesting this approach.

Bryan understood what Kingsley was worried about. After successfully eliminating this dangerous group, the inevitable cleanup operation would definitely require the cooperation and resources of the local Ministry of Magic, but therein lay the problematic dilemma.

Kingsley had absolutely no law enforcement authority in this foreign country, and strictly speaking, without explicit authorization from the International Confederation itself, Bryan similarly couldn't legally interfere with the autonomous operation of German wizarding society without potentially creating a serious diplomatic incident.

"Let's find this stronghold first before involving any additional parties—" After pondering this complex problem for a moment, Bryan decisively shook his head, rejecting the suggestion.

They weren't sufficiently clear about the internal political situation within the German Ministry of Magic; perhaps there were already planted informants or sympathizers inside its ranks.

Even if there weren't any direct moles, if the German Ministry of Magic was structurally and culturally similar to the notoriously leaky British Ministry of Magic, they obviously wouldn't be able to keep such explosive information confidential at all. Shocking news of a cruel, organized group of dark wizards conducting secret, inhumane experiments on helpless Muggles would spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of the wizarding world.

So, after careful consideration of all factors, Bryan firmly decided it was better not to negotiate with or inform the German Ministry of Magic for now. Even if the German Ministry of Magic was predictably and strongly dissatisfied with this unilateral action later, they realistically couldn't impose any meaningful sanctions against someone of his international standing and authority; at most they could just register a formal diplomatic complaint that would eventually be buried in usual bureaucracy.

"But without actively engaging with the German Ministry of Magic, Mr. Watson—" Kingsley still hesitated, his practical experience as an Auror highlighting the logistical challenges.

"Finding these elusive people through conventional means is going to be extremely difficult. To avoid attracting unwanted attention to our unofficial operation, we obviously can't mobilize a group of British Aurors to enter the country on a large scale, and given Miss Granger's condition, I'm genuinely afraid we don't have much time remaining—"

"We fortunately don't need to conduct a traditional investigation at all, Kingsley—" Bryan interrupted with a mysterious, knowing smile. "And frankly, I don't believe the German Ministry of Magic possesses any genuinely useful information about Aeschylus and Wittelsbach that we don't already have."

Louise, who had been listening attentively to every word exchanged between the two wizards, immediately noticed the significant omissions that Bryan had clearly excluded any mention of Jasna, whom he had specifically named and emphasized to her and Kingsley immediately after his return earlier.

"What about Jasna Vogel?" Louise immediately pointed out.

"Oh, about her—" Bryan's smile became mysterious. "Perhaps we can try our luck at her home. Maybe her parents know where she is—"

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