"Moscow's nuclear warheads are now being used to protect the Kremlin," Roger said with a sneer. He looked across the messy hall at the newly confident wizards, many of whom were still riding the heat of Peter's speech. "That means the people you want to threaten are sitting behind the very weapons you fear most."
"Oh?" Peter lit a cigar and drew in a slow mouthful of smoke. Even in the aftermath of a coup, standing among scorched walls, broken furniture, and stunned officials, he managed to look relaxed. "You mean casting spells on Muggles? That violates nearly every law in the wizarding world."
"The law?" Roger chuckled, his expression openly dismissive. "When wizards were laid out on dissection tables, not a single country's Ministry of Magic came to help you."
Peter's smile faded a little. Around them, several wizards lowered their eyes, while others clenched their wands so tightly their knuckles turned pale. No one in the hall could refute that, because every family here had either lost someone or known someone who had.
"Before you completely sever ties with the Muggle government, there will always be certain violations," Roger continued calmly. "Someone must bear that responsibility, and only the future Minister of Magic has enough weight to carry it."
"Of course," Peter said at once.
He accepted the burden without the slightest hesitation. Faced with the Smaug brothers, who had personally captured the sitting Minister, Peter had always lacked a convincing reason for other wizards to nominate him as the new Minister of Magic. Now Roger had handed him one, and it was legitimate, timely, and heavy enough to silence opposition.
"The Travis family's business must be allowed to flourish," Peter said, his tone warming at once. "Especially here."
"Thank you for your friendship, Minister," Roger replied.
He flashed the pinky ring that bore the Travis family symbol, then reached out and clasped Peter's hand. One hand was large and smooth, the other smaller but steady, and the agreement between them settled without needing parchment or witnesses.
Unexpected unrest erupted again in Moscow, unnoticed by ordinary Muggles but shocking the Ministries of Magic across the world. Peter cited Ukachenko's betrayal of the wizarding world and his cover-up of Muggle experiments on captured wizards, then joined other officials to strip the imprisoned Minister of his title.
Afterward, he led Moscow's wizards in sealing off the Kremlin. Boxes of evidence were released, and the new Ministry demanded an explanation from the Muggle government. During the Christmas holidays, Headmaster Dumbledore was forced to travel to Moscow personally and insist that Peter not harm Muggles.
Under Dumbledore's pressure, both sides eventually reached an agreement. The Muggle government would completely withdraw from the Slavic wizarding world and return all property confiscated from noble wizarding families before 1920. For many wizards, it was not enough, but for the moment, it was victory.
.....
"The headmaster actually came?" Roger asked.
He sat in the Hearthfire Tavern, flipping through The Forbidden Split while eating a piece of big-headed chocolate. The book explored the dark mysteries of creating and using Horcruxes, and although its contents were dangerous, they were also deeply enlightening.
"Yes, Albus Dumbledore, the greatest white wizard in the wizarding world today," Semyon said. He poured himself a glass of wine, and from the relaxed curve of his mouth, he was clearly in an excellent mood. "We got Yuri from the Ministry too. Believe me, no one wants to know how we dealt with him."
Semyon smiled cruelly and took a long drink. Roger did not ask for details, because the answer was already written plainly on the man's face.
"Does Minister Peter have any plans?" Roger asked, turning a page.
"Peter, that despicable scoundrel!" Semyon cursed angrily. "It was clearly my brother and me who defeated Ukachenko, so why do all the newspapers give him the credit?"
"Uncle Semyon, you do not honestly think you could have become Minister, do you?" Roger asked with a smile. "Killing a Minister and governing a Ministry are very different matters."
Semyon opened his mouth, then closed it again. He did not have many supporters, and not many people in the magical world knew him well enough to follow him. Alexander's name carried old glory, but Semyon's reputation had been buried for too long beneath survival and silence.
Peter had treated the Smaug brothers like a sword. If they killed the Minister, excellent; if they failed, he could discard them without dirtying his own robes. If Alexander had wanted to compete, his status as one of Belobog's founders might have made things interesting, but unfortunately, Alexander had no real interest in the Ministry.
He had accepted the title of special adviser and immediately gone to work like a construction foreman. His entire mind was now focused on transforming the old Muggle sanatorium back into the Smaug Manor of his memories.
"Since things have already reached this point, why not take a step back and ask Minister Peter for a position?" Roger suggested.
"That's right," Semyon said, his eyes lighting up. "How did I not think of that?"
He drained his glass in one gulp and rushed out of the tavern. The Department of International Magical Trade offered light work, high pay, and travel at public expense, and before he had been dismissed, he had always wanted to move there.
"Time to go back," Roger murmured, stretching.
Through these books, he had gained a better understanding of Voldemort's Horcruxes. There was no doubt that Horcruxes were among the most powerful dark magical objects in existence, capable of splitting and hiding a fragment of a person's soul. When the wizard's body died, the anchored soul remained in the world, allowing for the possibility of resurrection.
The more Horcruxes a wizard created, the more chances he had to return, making the result almost equivalent to immortality. Yet Roger still frowned at the notes in front of him, because the cost was horrifying. Creating a Horcrux required murder, using another person's death to tear one's own soul apart.
"Why is Tom so afraid of death?" Roger muttered.
He bit the end of his quill and wrote the question into his notebook. Severing the soul did not only leave metaphysical damage; it also affected emotion, judgment, and stability. A wizard who split his soul too many times would become extreme, unstable, and incomplete.
"The incompleteness of the soul affects the appearance of the body," Roger said, smiling faintly as he underlined the sentence. "No wonder Voldemort has no nose."
Near the end of The Forbidden Split, the author described the relationship between dark magic and the soul in a way that caught Roger's attention. Dark magic and the soul were not opposites, but deeply intertwined. The original meaning of dark magic already explained its essence: powerful and dangerous magic, neither good nor evil by nature.
To the soul, dark magic was like a sharp sword to a swordsman. The sword itself was innocent; good and evil depended on the person holding it. The reason dark magic had become synonymous with evil over time lay in the ambitions of the wizards who wielded it.
During the learning process, a wizard's soul was constantly tested by dark magic. The deeper one studied, the easier it became to fall onto the sharp edge of that double-edged sword. Souls that could not withstand the trial would sink into desire and leave behind wounds that could never be erased.
By contrast, wizards who could restrain themselves and understand dark magic through reason and discipline might instead temper their souls into something stronger, deeper, and more resilient. In the end, the relationship between dark magic and the soul was a battle of will inside the wizard's mind.
Roger nodded thoughtfully. Ultimately, dark magic was an amplifier of desire. Some people could control themselves, while others became increasingly unrestrained.
That was why Slytherin House produced so many dark wizards and Death Eaters. They thirsted for power and authority, and at the right moment, Voldemort had appeared to become their leader. His rise had not been an accident, but the meeting of a man and an audience already waiting for him.
"Does that mean Hogwarts graduates have not truly faced the test of dark magic for the past decade?" Roger's eyes brightened.
Based on his observations, the young wizards at Hogwarts were not especially capable. Or perhaps Dumbledore protected them too well. Apart from the two Ministry-mandated examinations, their studies were almost completely free of pressure.
"He clearly has the ability to design a better study plan," Roger muttered.
Thinking of the custom-made trials Harry would face in the future, Roger could not help feeling that their headmaster was more than a little biased. It was not that Dumbledore could not train young wizards, but that he chose very carefully who deserved that level of attention.
"Damn Peter, he only gave me the position of Director of Magical Transport!" Semyon cursed as he stormed back into the tavern.
Despite his words, his expression made it obvious that he was delighted. Roger smiled and took a bottle of wine from the cabinet to congratulate him.
"Congratulations," Roger said.
"Heh, thank you for reminding me." Semyon looked around the tavern with open disdain, as if he had already started distancing himself from his old life. "Come on, drink as much as you want today."
He filled his own cup, then noticed Roger shaking his head and drinking juice instead. Roger had no interest in alcohol at his age; it was bad for brain development, and he still had far too much to think about.
"Where is Uncle Alexander?" Roger asked.
"My brother?" Semyon touched his bald head and sighed with regret. "He only wants to rebuild Smaug Manor. He has no interest in holding a Ministry position."
"Is there a problem?" Alexander returned just then, looking travel-worn and energetic. He punched Semyon on the shoulder, then dropped into a chair as though he had only stepped out for a short stroll. "Semyon, you know me. I did not create Belobog for an official title or political power."
"I know, I know," Semyon said quickly. "Alyosha, your ideal is for the Moscow Ministry of Magic to completely sever ties with the Muggle world. But no magical community can completely cut itself off from the highest levels of Muggle government."
"So what?" Alexander certainly understood that, but to him, the issue was different. "The key lies in taking the initiative. Seventy years ago, the Ministry became the dog of those Muggles."
He stood excitedly and raised his voice. "And now? The glory of noble wizards is reviving, and orchids are blooming again across Slavic land."
"I know you are not happy with Peter, yes, the scoundrel you keep cursing," Alexander said helplessly. "But who else can we choose?"
Semyon looked away. He had no answer.
"Semyon, you need to understand that we have already received what we deserved," Alexander continued. "Isn't the position of Director of Magical Transport enough?"
"Brother… you know…" Semyon hesitated, unable to finish.
"Hmph. Peter informed me the moment you arrived at the Ministry." Alexander cursed under his breath, clearly itching to drag the man out and beat him. "That bastard has really learned every surveillance trick there is."
.....
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