Chapter 193: The Infiltrated Ministry of Magic

"To be honest, this place is a bit different from what I imagined..."

Looking at the somewhat dilapidated brick wall and the crooked house number, John couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

"Is that so? What did you imagine the Order of the Phoenix to be like?"

"Even if it wasn't some majestic castle, it should at least be a manor of several hundred square meters!"

Hearing John's complaints, Hermione shook her head helplessly.

As expected, whenever boys talk about secret societies or organizations like this, they always associate them with those cool-looking bases.

"The Order of the Phoenix isn't an official organization; where would they get such a large territory to use as a base?"

"Besides, at this stage, the Order doesn't have as many members as you think, so it doesn't need such a large space."

"Furthermore, the more inconspicuous a place is, the safer it is."

John naturally understood what Hermione was saying, but he still couldn't help feeling a wave of disappointment.

In his imagination, a secret base in the wizarding world should at least have a sense of mystery or epic scale.

Perhaps it was because he had seen Hogwarts Castle that his expectations for this magical world were a bit too high.

To think he had been looking forward to it for quite a while...

After pushing open the door to the Order of the Phoenix, what met their eyes was a dark corridor with yellowing, peeling wallpaper and cobwebs in the corners; every step on the floorboards emitted a slight creaking sound.

"Filthy Mudblood!! Who allowed you to enter!"

The moment they stepped over the threshold, a woman in a portrait on the corridor wall suddenly widened her eyes and shrieked insults at the two of them.

?

Both of them stopped in their tracks at the same time, looking at the portrait on the wall with confusion, only to see a mean-looking old woman in the painting spitting venomous words at them.

This welcome ceremony was a bit special.

Just as John raised his hand, intending to let this portrait experience the cruelty of society.

"Shut up!"

A familiar middle-aged male voice rang out from inside the house, accompanied by a Silencing Curse that struck the portrait, and the world instantly went quiet.

The two looked toward the end of the corridor, where a person they were very familiar with stood: Remus Lupin.

"Professor Lupin!"

Both of them called out; although they had long known that Professor Lupin had also joined the Order of the Phoenix, they were still very pleasantly surprised to see him again.

He was the same as before, still wearing that old, washed-out robe, keeping himself meticulously groomed, and his brow still carried a gentle smile.

"Sorry, John, Hermione. We've always wanted to remove that tactless portrait, but the house-elf of this old mansion always moves it back out when we're not looking."

Professor Lupin smiled helplessly at the two with a hint of apology.

The two naturally didn't mind. They walked quickly to Professor Lupin's side, and he gently patted John on the shoulder, his gaze filled with concern and gratification.

"You've grown quite a bit, John. I've seen plenty of news about you this past year."

"The dark horse of the Triwizard Tournament?"

Hearing Professor Lupin's teasing, John waved his hand and said quite smugly.

"Oh, just empty fame, empty fame, not worth mentioning, hahaha."

"You kid."

Lupin shook his head and chuckled.

Hermione, watching the smug John from the side, couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Professor Lupin, don't mind him. The more you talk, the more pleased with himself he gets."

They didn't exchange pleasantries at the door; Professor Lupin beckoned them into the inner room.

It was actually a kitchen, with an old long table inside that looked like it could seat at least twenty people at a glance.

"You've arrived quite early; the children haven't woken up yet."

Professor Lupin chatted with them while pouring each of them a cup of tea.

Currently, the few Weasley children who hadn't graduated were staying here at the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry had also moved here with Sirius after the Dementor incident.

The Weasley children were here because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were now stationed at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, so the children had come along to live here.

As for Harry, it was safer for him to stay here, so he was brought over.

As for John and Hermione, the reason was the same as Harry's: for the convenience of centralized protection and management.

"Professor, what about the others? I mean Sirius and the others."

John asked while looking around the place.

"They all have their own affairs or missions to handle."

"The Order of the Phoenix is, at best, just a place for everyone to gather for meetings. Usually, the only ones stationed here are the Weasley family, or people like me who have nowhere else to stay."

Professor Lupin sipped his tea and said slowly.

The two nodded, gaining a clearer understanding of how the Order of the Phoenix operated.

Just then, a clumsy, dull sound of footsteps came from outside.

Following closely, Professor Moody's hoarse voice rang out.

"Hmph, I think this place is looking more and more like a nursery now."

Professor Moody said with disdain while limping in on his cane, his magical eye spinning non-stop.

"Old man, you're here too."

Seeing Professor Moody, John wasn't as friendly as he was with Professor Lupin, and jumped straight to calling him out.

"Tch, I told Albus long ago that this kid doesn't need protection; coming to the Order of the Phoenix is just an eyesore."

Professor Moody was used to this, snorted coldly, and sat down next to Professor Lupin while grumbling.

"Anyway, you only have one eye left, so it shouldn't bother your two eyes."

John chuckled and retorted.

Professor Moody narrowed his only remaining eye, a smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Although I only have one eye left, I can still see through all your little tricks at a glance."

Hearing this, it was John's turn to twitch his mouth, and then he gave a ferocious grin.

"How about we spar again?"

"Hah, just you?"

Professor Lupin watched their friendly interaction, feeling a bit between laughter and tears.

Such a good kid, why did he become like a little thorn whenever he met Moody?

After all, he had only heard that they both didn't like each other last school year.

"Alright John, stop messing around."

Seeing that the two seemed to be really about to start sparring, Professor Lupin hurriedly smoothed things over.

As he spoke, Professor Lupin asked Moody: "Moody, you didn't run into any trouble on your patrol last night, did you?"

"... Hmph, no, it's the same as before."

When it came to serious business, Professor Moody also put on a serious expression.

Then he looked at John and continued, as if sharing intelligence or perhaps giving a warning.

"Harry Potter said before that when he witnessed Voldemort's resurrection, he saw with his own eyes Lucius Malfoy, as well as the heads of the Crabbe and Goyle families, going to pledge their loyalty."

"So I've been keeping an eye on them lately. Although they look law-abiding on the surface, they seem to have some ulterior motives, especially Lucius, who runs to the Ministry of Magic every other day."

"The Ministry of Magic is probably infiltrated by their people like a sieve by now." Moody sneered, "That idiot Fudge still doesn't know it, helping the Death Eaters suppress the news of Voldemort's return; it's truly ridiculous."

Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle—aren't these the school bully trio of Hogwarts?

It seems their virtues are all inherited from their elders.

Listening to the intelligence shared by Professor Moody, Professor Lupin also sighed softly and continued to explain to John and Hermione.

"Now, because of Fudge, the Ministry of Magic not only can't provide us with help, but instead hinders us at every turn, causing us to be unable to carry out our missions normally, so we can only execute them in secret."

"And I heard from Dumbledore that your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the next semester will be someone from the Ministry of Magic, under the pretext of 'strengthening supervision'."

Hearing this, John and Hermione were both slightly stunned; they hadn't expected the Ministry of Magic to have reached its hand into Hogwarts. ===== CHAPTER 194 =====