Chapter 316: Impeachment

In the room, Sirius poured a cup of tea each for himself and Kingsley.

"When Dumbledore came before, I already said I have more important matters; sorry, I won't return to the Phoenix Society. Finish this tea, then leave."

Kingsley didn't touch the tea before him, "More important matters—do you mean planting potatoes?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow, "Call it whatever you like, Kingsley. I have a child to look after, remember? I won't go on adventures anymore."

"With Merlin above, this is something you could actually say," Kingsley said in astonishment, "I never imagined Sirius could ever be afraid of death."

"Afraid of death?" Sirius's eyes widened, almost angry, but he exhaled quickly, "Fine, provocation, I won't fall for it. Yes, I am indeed a bit afraid of death now, Kingsley."

"I once didn't care about life, nor thought it valuable; that was because I had no attachments."

"Back then I could carry out the toughest missions and fight the most dangerous wizards without fear, because death to me was merely leaving this terrible world, finally attaining peace."

"But now things are different. There is a child who needs me. He has already lost too much; I can hardly imagine him losing me again—that would break my heart."

Kingsley was silent for a moment, "You've truly changed, Sirius."

"OK, OK, you can call me a coward."

Kingsley shook his head, "I wouldn't say that. In the past, you and Zhanmu were almost recklessly brave in the Phoenix Society, which was just youthful ignorance. Later, Zhanmu gained someone important, took on responsibilities, so he learned the value of life. You, however, seemed never to care."

"I'm glad you now understand this."

Sirius stared at him, "You won't try to persuade me?"

"You've already made your decision," Kingsley said, "Finding what you truly must do is hard; I won't waste words."

Sirius was a bit surprised, but he relaxed, thought for a moment, and took out the Phoenix Feather Dumbledore had left him.

"Help me return this to Dumbledore."

Kingsley didn't take it, "Better you keep it. No matter what, you're a member of the Phoenix Society. Keeping it isn't harmful; you never know when you might need it."

Sirius hesitated, then put the Phoenix Feather back away.

He still felt deep affection for the Phoenix Society.

Sirius asked, "Come to think of it, why did you return? Weren't you still wanted?"

"The President of the Beautiful Country visited the United Kingdom; there the Muggle‑wizard relations were poor, and no wizard was assigned to protect the President. In this critical time it was dangerous. This visit's purpose harmed Murphy's Muggle faction, and we wanted it to succeed, so Dumbledore had me guard the President as a precaution."

Sirius frowned, then finally asked, "How is the Phoenix Society now?"

Kingsley glanced at him, "To be honest, not great. Murphy's forces are massive; the United Kingdom Ministry of Magic is fortified by him like an iron barrel, and we can't infiltrate. Many of the older members are under Murphy's surveillance; our attempts to develop new recruits haven't gone smoothly."

Sirius asked, "You said you need me just because you're short of manpower?"

He understood that once he heard the request, he might find it hard to refuse, yet he also couldn't be completely indifferent.

"That's not it," Kingsley said, "Recently, the Wizards' Union sent an investigation team to examine the United Kingdom Ministry of Magic's compliance with the secrecy law. They also carried a separate secret mission, but more than ten days have passed and they still haven't contacted me."

Sirius furrowed his brow, "I saw the newspaper yesterday; the investigation team doesn't seem popular with the wizards."

"Yes, I saw it too. Their behavior is off; I know those wizards, they're not the type to be disliked. Moreover, still no contact; I suspect they've been controlled."

"Or replaced," Sirius said, "I see, you want me to verify their status?"

"Yes, in fact we know almost nothing about the department's situation, and Murphy's Ministry of Magic has many Black relatives, if…"

Sirius thought for a moment; merely passing some information shouldn't be a problem, "Alright, I'll investigate. If I get news, I'll notify you via Guardian Deity."

"Thank you very much, Sirius," Kingsley exhaled, "The Beautiful Country's President will leave tomorrow; after I see him off, I'll return."

Sirius nodded, "How are things on the Muggle side? Did you succeed?"

Kingsley sighed, "Not that easy; Murphy seems to have done something to the Muggle Prime Minister, who acted unusually hardline… sigh, Murphy is becoming more reckless."

"But this won't last; I heard the President of the Beautiful Country say the Muggle Parliament might impeach the Prime Minister…"

……

The attack on the Umbrella stemmed from the Beautiful Country President's visit, but it wasn't solely the Beautiful Country's doing.

The President merely served as a catalyst.

The rise of the Umbrella means countless large corporations' ecological niches are being seized, especially in the pharmaceutical and semiconductor sectors.

In fact, these two industries across the United Kingdom are already essentially monopolized by the Umbrella.

As long as the Umbrella lives, they can only drink the northwest wind.

Thus, riding the "west wind" of the President's visit and the Hearing, countless "Ghosts" once slaughtered by the Umbrella seized the chance, desperately striking from the bottom.

At this time, the Prime Minister, under Murphy's control, unusually became hard‑line, both holding firm against the Beautiful Country President's pressure while risking a sharp decline in public opinion and poll numbers, abruptly braking the anti‑Umbrella tide.

Such counter‑current behavior naturally consumes a great deal of political capital.

After the Beautiful Country President returned, he immediately launched a series of sanctions against the United Kingdom and the Umbrella; the parliament, frightened by the "dad", instantly produced a group of "moderates" demanding the Prime Minister not to act rashly, to respect allies' views, and not to disregard the "dad's" interests.

Meanwhile, the President, controlled by the Imperius Curse, was single‑minded, refusing all counsel; no matter how the public opinion roared like an avalanche, no matter how polls plunged, no matter how his own party threatened him, he steadfastly backed the Umbrella.

After repeated setbacks, they finally realized the Prime Minister was probably insane, attempting to break away from his party's solo leadership!

Indeed, many were drawn to the hard‑line Prime Minister and stood by him, but the President, under the Imperius Curse, was essentially a puppet, unable to smoothly rally allies or assemble his own team.

The opposition parties, of course, would not miss the chance, promptly preparing a no‑confidence motion to vote out the current government and call a new election.

The Prime Minister's own Conservative Party was reluctant to see this, but the increasingly out‑of‑control Prime Minister eventually led them to decide to back the opposition.

Thus, two months after the Hearing, after several rounds of mutual benefit exchanges, the United Kingdom House of Commons passed a no‑confidence motion against the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister was forced to step down, but the government need not be reshuffled; the ruling party will elect a new party leader and Prime Minister from within.

(End of chapter)