As Pierce wondered if he should try to talk the minister out of the investigation, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" said Pierce, taking a sip of tea.
The Auror who came in nodded and reported.
"Director, Captain Dawlish wants to see you. He says he has something important to report!"
"Durlish?" Pierce paused and looked at the Auror Director, Rufus.
"Durlish was the Captain of the Ninth Squad, and I arranged for him to lead an investigation into a Dark Arts shop in Knockturn Alley…" Rufus quickly explained.
Originally, this investigation did not include Knockturn Alley, but for some reason, the Ministry of Magic suddenly changed their minds. They said that they had received news that this magical shop was selling dark magical items and wanted him to send someone to investigate.
Having worked for the Ministry of Magic for many years, Rufus understood that there was something fishy going on.
No one who could open a Dark Arts shop in Knockturn Alley was easy to deal with. He was not stupid enough to become someone else's knife and add to the Auror's losses.
Rufus, therefore, had let the cat out of the bag, and had the more cautious Dawlish lead a few Aurors to deal with the situation.
However, the fact that Dawlish had been gone for so long and was now reporting something of great importance gave Rufus a very bad feeling.
After explaining to the Director, Rufus sighed and looked at the Auror.
"What happened to Dawlish? Where are the other two Aurors who went with her? They're not in the hospital already, are they?"
Pierce frowned, bracing himself for bad news.
"Captain Dawlish seems to be doing well, and Sunny and Ellison are outside. They seem quite happy…" The Auror who came in to report had a strange expression.
"Huh?" Rufus looked up, confused. Had his Auror been beaten silly? Or was he under the Imperius Curse?
Rufus was puzzled, but the Auror hesitated before continuing.
"They came back with a bunch of stuff. Magical stuff, by the look of it."
Rufus was excited, and Pierce had a sudden thought.
Since Dawlish had returned with so many things, the only possibility was that they had successfully completed their mission and raided a Dark Arts shop!
If that was the case, it would be the biggest gain since the start of the operation!
With this contribution, the Ministry would not blame him for the loss of manpower…
Although he still found it unbelievable, the truth was right in front of him. Pierce slammed the table and stood up.
"Get Dawlish in here!"
…
In the executive hall, Dawlish was quietly waiting in the lounge with a pile of magical objects in her arms. Ellison and Sunny were behind her, looking pleased.
Their expressions did not match the solemn and tense atmosphere in the executive hall, attracting the attention of many Aurors.
Many people in the know were even more shocked. They knew that the Ninth Task Force had gone to Knockturn Alley to investigate a Dark Arts shop. Previously, some people thought that the three of them might not be able to return, but not only did they return, but they also confiscated a large number of Dark Arts items…
This was a rare feat!
"Captain Dawlish, you may enter. The Director-General seems to be prepared to reward you personally." The office door opened and an Auror walked out.
The executive director was here in person? He even wanted to reward the captain?
Ellison and Sunny were confused. They had only gone to the shop in Knockturn Alley to buy something. They had not done anything, had they?
Dawlish, on the other hand, had a vague idea of what was going on and was prepared to explain it to them once they got inside.
However, after entering, before Dawlish could say anything, the executive director, Pierce, greeted him. He patted Dawlish on the shoulder enthusiastically and praised him.
"Duris, I was right about you. Of all the Aurors, you are the most cautious. I knew that you would be able to complete the task assigned to you by the Ministry."
Rufus, the Auror supervisor, was impressed with the trio. When he assigned this task to Dawlish, he did not expect them to actually complete it.
"Director-General, this…" Dawlish stammered and tried to explain, but Pierce did not give him the chance. Instead, he looked at the many magical items in his arms and said with satisfaction.
"Are these the Dark Arts items you raided? Did you get anyone from the Department of Affairs to identify them?"
"It's not a Dark object, Director," Dawlish explained carefully. "We paid for it there."
"What? Bought it?" Pierce's excitement turned to confusion.
If Dawlish claimed to have bought a few items of Dark Magic, they would reluctantly accept it as evidence gathering, but why would she buy them when she knew they were not Dark Magic?
Rufus Scrimgeour, the Auror's Director, was also stunned for a moment before he snapped.
"Durlish, as I recall, I asked you to lead a team to investigate the Dark Arts shop, not to shop there!"
Dawlish swallowed hard and explained, "Director, Director Scrimgeour, we've checked the shop and there's nothing wrong with it."
"We also found some very useful magical objects that we thought might help the Ministry, so we bought some samples."
Pierce looked down at the magical objects in Dawlish's arms.
A pair of expensive-looking gloves, a couple of round, shapeless objects, a quill, a couple of bottles of unknown potion, and a lot of other junk.
Pierce wondered if the Auror captain had been duped.
However, Dawlish went to great lengths to introduce them to the works of these magical objects,
"Director, Director, you can take a look at these Extendable Ears. As long as you have one of them, you can hear the commotion from the other side. It's too cheap to sell them for sixteen Sickles!"
"There's also this answering quill. With it, my colleagues who deal with official documents will be much more efficient…"
"The most important thing is this protective ring. When you put magic into it, it can instantly form a defensive barrier without a blind spot. Ordinary spells will not only fail to penetrate its defenses, but will also be repelled."
Dawlish introduced them one by one, and the expressions on the faces of Pierce and Rufus changed from impatience to surprise…
(PS: The author wrote too many drafts a few days ago, and his writing was slow, so he needed a whole plot. For the next two days, he will update two chapters a day, and then he will update more… Please understand, bigwigs who are in charge of the awards.)