Ivan was worried that his explanation would lead to another strange image.
Thinking of this, Ivan looked at the two of them and said helplessly, "Why didn't you discuss this with me before doing this…"
"Well, you were due back at Hogwarts at the time, weren't you? Alicia didn't think she should be bothering you, so we decided to give you a surprise when you got back."
"Sur…surprise?!" Ivan's mouth twitched in what he thought was shock!
"What's wrong?" Alicia asked, seeing Ivan's troubled expression.
"No, it's nothing. I was just a little surprised… the surprise you prepared was really…" Ivan forced a smile, then looked at the expectant gazes of Alicia and Dougett and continued.
"This is wonderful!"
"That's the least we can do for you…" Alicia smiled, and then told Ivan that she had originally planned to sort out Knockturn Alley before he returned, but she had not expected the Wizarding Market to be more difficult than she had first thought.
'So if I'd come back any later, you'd all have finished fighting?'
Ivan was speechless. After trying to find out more from Alicia, he said that he had been through too much today and wanted to go back and be alone…
"Rest well, then!" said Alicia, noting Ivan's tired face and feeling sorry for him. "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you're young… we have a lot of time to set things up!"
Yvonne opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it. She left the Council Hall with a headache and returned to her room at the wizarding shop.
Ivan's face darkened as soon as the door closed behind him. A sudden thought struck him, and he instinctively opened the system's taskbar.
[Mission: Become the King of Knockturn Alley
Objective: Unify Knockturn Alley (Second Ring Road)
Task Progress: 71%
Task Reward: Fidelius Charm
Task description: …]
"Seventy-one percent?" Yvonne gasped when she saw the progress bar.
Why the sudden increase?
If he remembered correctly, the mission progress at Black House at noon was only forty-five percent.
Was it because of the earlier intimidation and speech?
Or was it because he dealt with the Enforcers and seven Dark Wizards sent by the opposition to kill Walker, and even managed to convince four of them to surrender, causing the scales to tip again in his favor?
Ivan felt that it should be both. Eight well-trained wizards alone would be quite a force in Knockturn Alley, enough to change the power balance of a battle!
Not to mention that the Notte family had lost one of their core members — Reese Notte!
The thought of it drove Ivan mad.
This was not because of the murder. Ivan knew very well that since the two sides were already enemies and the conflict had escalated to the point of no return, he would not show mercy no matter what the cause was!
After all, the price of imprisoning an Animagus was too high, and Reese Nott refused to surrender, so death was the only place he belonged.
What really drove Ivan mad was the fact that he had previously assumed that the Norts were trying to get back at him, so much so that Alicia had no choice but to organise a passive counter-attack.
No one present actually said anything to remind him…
Or did they just imagine something extraordinary?
"No, I have to figure out what's going on from the beginning to the end…" Ivan quickly pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind, thinking about what he had just heard from Alicia and Dougett.
At first, Burke must have been under the impression that he was ambitious and wanted to get rid of the Aurors so that he could take over the British wizarding community.
It was only after Acia learned everything Burke could imagine that she decided she was not cautious enough to let Burke in on her secret plan.
This was probably the cause of Burke's death. He knew too much!
"I shouldn't have spared Burke's life!" Yvonne shook her head in regret. Burke would have been dead if she hadn't stopped him at Borgin and Burke's.
Yvonne had to admit, however, that Burke was a cunning old fox, and that there was always the possibility of a master plan.
If he could unify Knockturn Alley, gather a hundred wizards, and make a surprise attack through the secret doors in his protective rings and gloves, he would have no problem taking over the Ministry!
But the point is, what will they do when the Ministry is destroyed? The British wizards will never approve of their rule!
Not to mention Dumbledore!
The strongest white wizard of the Order was extraordinarily strong, and with the Elder Wand in hand, it would not be a problem for him to fight them all alone…
Wait…Dumbledore?!