Two days later, in the Ministry of Magic's courtroom.
With a soft creak, the old door was slowly opened.
Through the dim light, Scrimgeour's resolute face was etched with the marks of time.
"Mr. Scrimgeour, it's been a long time."
Argus walked into the courtroom, his face still bearing that polite smile.
It remained unchanged despite the chaotic surroundings.
Scrimgeour glanced up, then ignored him.
"It's been months, Mr. Scrimgeour, don't you recognize me?"
Argus smiled faintly and sat down to one side as if they were old friends.
"Get out of here, you disgusting dark wizard!"
Scrimgeour stared intently at Argus.
"One day, I will lock you up in Azkaban with my own hands!"
"Throw me into Azkaban?" Argus asked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
Instead of making threats here, Mr. Scrimgeour should think more about how he can survive Azkaban.
"Do you think the dark wizards and pure-blood families in Azkaban will let you leave alive?"
Scrimgeour replied coldly, "That's none of your business!"
"Of course I won't worry about it, after all, it's not me who's going to die."
"If I remember correctly, you hid your family in the United States, didn't you?"
"Tell me, what do you think the wizards you've been hunting will do if they find out about this after you die?"
"Grindelwald!" Scrimgeour tried to get up, but was tightly bound by the chains behind him.
His brown hair was disheveled, and his thick eyebrows were furrowed in rage.
He was like an angry lion.
"Don't involve them in our business! They are innocent!"
"Innocent? Of course they are innocent, so I won't lay a hand on them."
"But other wizards might not be the same." Argus didn't care about Scrimgeour's anger.
His expression remained indifferent.
"Mr. Scrimgeour, you don't still want me to protect your family for you, do you?"
Do you really think all of Dumbledore's followers are as loyal as they seem?
"Grindelwald! I'll kill you!" The chains binding Scrimgeour clanged loudly.
He lunged at Argus frantically, with bright red blood seeping from his wrists and ankles.
"Expelliarmus!"
Argus cast an Expelliarmus, knocking Scrimgeour down hard.
"Mr. Scrimgeour, you wouldn't want your family to suffer inhuman torture at the hands of countless dark wizards, would you?"
"Or do you think Dumbledore can protect you forever?"
"He's helping you only so he can use you to keep Fudge in check and thus achieve his goal of controlling the Ministry of Magic."
Argus frowned slightly, seemingly uncomfortable with the dim lighting in the trial room.
And most importantly, what he didn't say, was that Dumbledore wanted to protect Scrimgeour in order to prepare for the future fight against Voldemort.
Unfortunately, Scrimgeour was unaware of this.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions.
"But if he knew you chose to side with Fudge, do you think he would still continue to help you?"
Scrimgeour jumped to his feet, his eyes filled with rage: "I didn't!"
"Whether you have or not is not important at all. What matters is whether Dumbledore thinks you have," Argus said calmly.
"Before I came here, I had already asked Fudge to send someone to delay your transfer to Azkaban."
"Do you think Dumbledore would believe that if he knew about this?"
"Do you think you've been wronged? Or do you believe you chose to side with Fudge to save your life?"
"At that time, you and your family will become his pawns."
"It's a pity that little girl who just enrolled in Ilvermorny will not be able to graduate from school peacefully."
"You...you!" Scrimgeour slumped to the ground, panting heavily.
His eyes were bloodshot!
"Mr. Scrimgeour, I don't have time to waste on you!"
"Now, tell me, what is your choice?"
Scrimgeour remained silent, head bowed.
"This is your final chance!"
Argus's gaze was cold. Seeing that Scrimgeour still showed no intention of speaking, he turned to leave.
"Mr. Scrimgeour, you have already been given the opportunity."
"It was your choice to give up; I hope you won't regret it in the future!"
"Wait!"
Just as Argus was about to step out the door, Scrimgeour finally spoke.
In an instant, he seemed to have aged decades.
"What...what do you need me to do?"
It's done!
A barely perceptible smile appeared on Argus's lips.
Voldemort's methods were despicable, but they were indeed effective!
Even against a tough guy like Scrimgeour, the chances of victory would be several times higher.
In the original story, Scrimgeour preferred to be tortured to death by Voldemort rather than reveal any information about Harry.
This shows that Scrimgeour's hatred for dark wizards was absolutely greater than his own life.
But Argus believed that no one is without weaknesses!
Scrimgeour's weakness is his family!
If he didn't care about his family, he wouldn't have deliberately sent them to the United States to avoid retaliation from the British dark wizards!
Having received the reply he wanted, Argus secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Everything he said before was just him using Scrimgeour's concern for his family to psychologically oppress him.
You have to understand, Fudge himself was already eyeing the position of Director of the Auror Office, so why would he cooperate with Argus!
But Scrimgeour was unaware that, ever since his arrest, Fudge had given him the illusion that Fudge and Argus were in a cooperative relationship.
Therefore, he firmly believed what Argus had claimed Fudge had sent.
I never imagined that these were just lies that Argus used to negotiate!
The light in Scrimgeour's eyes had vanished.
To force him to cooperate with the dark wizard he loathed would be tantamount to betraying his faith.
With an unprecedentedly weary voice, he asked, "What do you want in exchange for sparing my life?"
"Magic? Galleons..."
"I need your connections and reputation at the Auror Office."
Argus turned his head and looked at Scrimgeour.
"Tell me, who are your trusted confidants in the Auror Office, and what methods do you use to control them and gain their trust!"
"Give them all to me."
Scrimgeour nodded, speaking in a trembling voice.
He knew that from the moment he opened his mouth, he had no leverage for negotiation.
After telling Argus everything he knew, he sat quietly in the corner and said nothing more.
Argus picked up his wand and waved it gently. A brush and parchment flew in from outside the door, recording everything Scrimgeour had just said.
Looking at Scrimgeour's face, a confident smile appeared on his own.
"Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Scrimgeour."
"I forgot to tell you, everything that just happened was just my plan and speculation; it didn't actually happen."
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Scrimgeour alone in the courtroom, raging in a state of impotent fury.
...
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