A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the three consecutive examinations came to an end.
The performance of the werewolf wizards was as Ivan had expected, with most of them performing out of the ordinary, and Flun defeating many opponents in a row to pass the exam with an excellent score.
However, to Ivan's surprise, there was another wizard who performed similarly to Flun: Colin Morton, the most famous Auror in Northern Europe.
Like Flan, he passed all three exams with straight A's, as well as the extremely rare Animagus, who performed flawlessly in the Tracking and Anti-Tracking exams.
For such a talent, Ivan would not deny Colin Morton's achievements just because of a minor disagreement. In the end, he created two deputy ministers and promoted both of them.
As for the remaining six hundred wizards, Ivan divided them into five-man teams, with the best of the best taking over as captains, and announced a fifty percent pay raise from that week onwards.
Ivan did not show any mercy to the fifty or so wizards who failed the test and sent them back without hesitation.
Ivan soon managed to turn a loose department into one, with the only downside being that he received dozens of letters a day from ministers, mostly berating him for not following the rules.
Conner visited several times a week, subtly reminding him that it would be best to consult with the ministers before adding new ministers and large-scale dispatches.
Ivan, of course, turned a deaf ear to all of these requests and brushed them off as urgent.
As it happened, Grindelwald was not going to give them the time they needed to slowly integrate their forces.
Although the Saints did not make any major moves for a week, Ivan was certain that they were planning something. Grindelwald had been badly injured after the last battle, but he had recovered in a week.
With this in mind, Ivan issued orders for a five-man team to search for Grindelwald and the Saints in every area where they were most active.
"Sir Harls, if we ran into Grindelwald, we wouldn't be able to get the message out on our own!" Colin Morton said worriedly.
The rest of the Aurors looked worried as well. They had no idea how strong Grindelwald was, but they had managed to find out a thing or two about him from Ivan. More than eighty elite wizards could not last more than a few minutes against Ivan, so Grindelwald was not far behind, if not stronger.
It would have been fine if the team had been split up for the mission, but if they ran into Grindelwald, they would not have had a chance to escape.
"Don't worry, I'll leave a magical mark on each of you. If you run into trouble you can't solve, you can just call me and I'll be there," Ivan explained slowly.
The Magic Mark was his reward for completing the System's mission, and after much experimentation, Ivan was able to find more uses for it.
It was no longer a one-way communication spell, as it used to be, and all those who had been marked could communicate with each other to pass information or request backup. It was now almost a magical version of the phone, and much more convenient.
With Ivan's introduction, the Aurors began to let go of their initial concerns. With such magic, they would undoubtedly be much safer on missions…
These peaceful days lasted for half a month. Just as the six hundred Aurors were searching for Grindelwald, they received news of his return.
"You're saying it's possible Grindelwald has the entire French Ministry under his control? Are you sure? If that's true, why hasn't any news come out?" Ivan frowned as he listened to Pierce and the others.
"It has not yet been confirmed, but it was provided by a female Auror from France," Piers explained. "Earlier, you asked me to keep an eye on the area, and one of the informants, while on a mission, happened to notice that the woman was being hunted by several Aurors from France. Since she was acquainted with you, I sent someone to rescue her, and she gave me the information."
"An Auror? I know her? Who?" Ivan paused as an image came to mind. "Not Fleur Delacour?"
"Yes, that's her!" Pierce said grimly. "Madame Delacour was injured in the battle and is recuperating at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Would you like to see her?"
"Of course!" Ivan hesitated, then nodded. It would not be wise to disturb a wounded man, but if this information was true, Fleur would have useful information.
With this in mind, Ivan did not delay any further and disappeared with Pierce.
He had been to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries a few years ago, so he was familiar with the place. When they reappeared, he was already in the Director's office.
Perhaps it was because there had been so many patients lately, but Abbot Bohan was not there, and Ivan did not mind grabbing a passing doctor to lead the way.
They walked up the stairs and along a narrow corridor, where many green-robed Healers came and went. Ivan noticed that every open room was filled with sick people, and he could hear faint cries of pain.
Ivan sighed. He could certainly see where this was going.
Over the past three years, the British wizarding community has been through a number of upheavals, with nearly one in ten wizards killed and countless others injured.
This war can't be allowed to go on any longer, Ivan thought to himself as he made his way to the fifth-floor Charms Unit.
Ivan pushed the door open and entered. He looked around and saw Fleur lying in a hospital bed in the corner.
However, at first glance, Ivan almost didn't recognize her, because her beautiful white face seemed to have been burned, and half of her face was covered in ugly blisters.