Once Tom's Dementors received the order, they removed their hoods one after another. Members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic who were in the middle of the conversation didn't even have time to react when the Dementors administered the ultimate penalty to the captured Death Eaters.
"Wait!" Professor McGonagall realized what was happening and tried to stop the Dementors, but it was already too late. The Dementors sucked the souls out of the prisoners, leaving them as mere lifeless shells.
"You... you...!" Faced with this shocking scene, Professor McGonagall was speechless.
The Dementors had executed more than a dozen wizards all at once. Such a shocking act had not been seen in years.
Even Dawlish was perplexed. He thought that, following the Dementors' reasoning, they would take them back to Azkaban for sustainable benefits. But he never imagined they would eliminate them outright!
Although the execution of these unstable individuals had been carried out consecutively, Tom's anxiety didn't diminish. He could only feign calm and blend in among the Dementors without saying a word.
At that moment, Ministry of Magic aurors arrived. Minister Bones led the main team and rushed to the scene.
But when they arrived, they found that the battle was almost over. As for the Lestrange Mansion, who knew how many Death Eaters were left inside? After the Dementors appeared, they surely would have fled.
After all, they were all opportunists who switched sides according to the situation.
"What's going on?" Looking at the Death Eaters turned into puddles of mud, Minister Bones felt a tingling sensation in her scalp.
Dawlish approached and explained the situation to her.
"How dare they do this!" Minister Bones was shocked; she didn't expect the Dementors to be so ruthless and administer the ultimate penalty without trial or approval from the Ministry.
"Do they dare to disregard the law?" Although her curse was directed at all the Dementors present, Minister Bones specifically looked at the smaller Dementor.
She knew that order must have been issued by him.
Tom looked at her with no intention to respond, but as a representative of the Dementors, he had to communicate with Ministry officials. So, he glanced at Minister Bones and said, "They deserved to be punished. Previously, Fudge issued the order that fugitives could receive a 'kiss,' so we complied with that order."
The Dementor under his command responded with a raspy voice, like a malfunctioning old radio. But even though his voice was rough and grating, what came out of his mouth was clearly English.
This surprised all the wizards present. They never would have thought there could be a Dementor that could speak English. Before, although Dementors could communicate with wizards, it was always the wizards who found a way to communicate with them in their own language. A Dementor speaking English was entirely new.
Minister Bones was momentarily stunned. She didn't expect that Fudge had issued an order like that. At first glance, it was clearly directed at Sirius Black. The Dementors were probably following that order, but the problem was that order had been issued by Fudge, the former Minister.
How could they apply an order from a previous government to the current circumstances?
Fudge's order should have become null and void after he left office. So why did the Dementors deliberately choose those words?
Minister Bones knew they had done it on purpose.
"That order was directed at Sirius Black." Minister Bones' expression was very serious, clearly conveying her discontent. Her reason for doing this was simple: the identity of these Death Eaters was not common; many of them were members or heirs of pure-blood families. Stripping them of their souls would certainly cause a great stir in the wizarding world.
"Are you leaving them here for Voldemort to rescue again?" Tom spoke indifferently, mentioning a startling name.
Upon hearing that terrifying name along with Tom's unsettling voice, everyone present shuddered.
"Do you have any proof...?"
"Voldemort has attacked Azkaban twice; that's a fact. We must weaken his power as much as possible."
Minister Bones fell silent.
She looked at her subordinates and said bitterly, "It seems Voldemort has returned."
Everyone fell silent. Until now, they had been trying to deceive themselves and live in denial. But today, the bloody truth had finally been presented to them.
Compared to Voldemort's return, the mass execution of prisoners by the Dementors was no longer a significant issue.
"The opportunity to cut the grass and root it out is right in front of us," Tom said, looking at Bones. Although there might not be any Death Eaters in the mansion at the moment, the Ministry of Magic can still demonstrate its stance.
Bones received the hint and strengthened her resolve, giving the order: Attack Lestrange Mansion and completely eliminate the remaining Death Eaters!
As expected, when they arrived at the mansion, it was already empty. The Ministry of Magic had arrived too late; the Death Eaters had moved to another location.
Facing this, Tom signaled for the Dementors to withdraw first.
"At least they have a good topic for the news, don't they?" Professor McGonagall said, looking at the busy and nervous Ministry officials with an unpleasant expression.
It had been the Order of the Phoenix who had fought a fierce battle against the Death Eaters, but now it seemed as if the Ministry's people had done all the work. They hadn't done anything, but they would take the credit. Their tactics for "picking fruit" seemed very skillful.
Anyway, the outcome of the battle was satisfactory. The Death Eaters lost two hideouts, and nearly half of their members were annihilated. Most of the fugitives were also eliminated.
The ending seemed happy for everyone.
"We believe that Professor Dumbledore will be able to lead us to another victory," Minister Bones said, ignoring McGonagall's sarcasm, and went to investigate Lestrange Mansion with the Ministry officials.
"Sigh." McGonagall sighed and let the members of the Order of the Phoenix disperse.
The great pursuit had come to an end.
Tom intended to follow McGonagall's group back to Hogwarts, but Fawkes handed him a letter informing him that it was time for him to go to St. Mungo's and bring Rabastan Lestrange.
There was no time to waste. Tom decided to depart immediately.
As for Professors McGonagall and Snape, when they returned to Hogwarts, they encountered a somber-looking Dumbledore.
With just one look, both professors noticed that Dumbledore was in a very bad mood.
"Severus, come here for a moment, I need your help. Minerva, you also come with me to the hospital wing," Dumbledore said without saying much more, leading the two professors toward the school's infirmary.