Volume 3: A Tombstone Stained with Sin and Blood Chapter 125 Bribery and Privileges
The moment the silver light appeared, the Dementors obviously stopped moving forward.
It neither moved forward nor retreated, as if it was unwilling to give up the delicious food in front of it. It was not until the silver light on the tip of Dumbledore's wand became brighter and brighter that it had to return the same way and float down three floors.
Dumbledore and John looked at each other without saying anything. Soon, hurried footsteps were heard from the stairs. Ern Plan, a driver and part-time conductor, walked up the stairs with a pale face. He was relieved to see that nothing unexpected had happened to them.
"I'm sorry, gentlemen, these monsters want to check the inside of the car. I can't stop them. Their actions are all allowed by the Ministry of Magic."
Dumbledore waved his hand.
"It's okay. This is a special period. We understand. Please hurry up, Mr. Plan. We still want to taste Baba Rum Cake in Paris tonight."
Plan bowed his head again and apologized to them before walking down the stairs.
After the sound of his footsteps completely disappeared, Jon turned to look at Dumbledore and whispered.
"It seems like these Dementors have a lot of privilege."
"Without the prisoners in Azkaban, they will also lose their food," Dumbledore said in a deep voice. "The Ministry of Magic allowed them to come to the UK to search, hoping that they would be able to successfully capture the escaped prisoners. The Ministry of Magic wanted to appease them in this way. As long as they don't directly suck the souls, eating the enthusiasm of wizards is not a big deal in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic."
Jon smacked his lips and said nothing more.
They stayed in the car for about another hour and arrived in Wales on time at four o'clock in the afternoon.
Dumbledore took Jon out of the car, and in front of them was a manor that looked a bit dilapidated.
This manor is located in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, on the edge of a Muggle city. Muggles occasionally pass by here, but they seem to ignore this building. It is obvious that a powerful Muggle-repelling spell has been cast here.
Dumbledore stood in front of the rusty door and rang the doorbell. Then a man's voice seemed to sound from above their heads.
"Visitor's name, ancestry, purpose of visit."
"Richard Williams and Jack Williams, of mixed descent, plan to leave the country for Paris, France."
The man was silent for a moment, as if he was checking information to verify their identities. After about ten seconds, the iron gate in front of them suddenly opened.
"Follow this path and go directly to the main hall. Do not go to other areas, or you will suffer the consequences."
The voice gave a warning and then disappeared completely, and Dumbledore and John walked into the manor together.
After they entered, the iron door closed by itself. They walked along the cobblestone path and entered the main hall of the manor.
As soon as you enter the door, you can see that on the wall opposite the door there are more than a dozen fireplaces with jumping green snake fires. From time to time, wizards walk out of the flames of the five fireplaces on the left, and there is a long queue on the right side, and people are sprinkling Floo powder into the fireplaces one by one.
This place is far from being as deserted as it looks from the outside. People are coming and going in the main hall, and most of the wizards are in a hurry.
However, there was an area that was deliberately left empty, where two Dementors were floating quietly, silently watching everyone in the main hall with their vision shrouded in gray cloaks.
It is precisely because of their existence that even though there are more than a dozen fireplaces burning, the main hall, which should be hot, is as cold as winter. This also leads to the fact that no one is willing to stay here. People keep walking out of each room and immediately use the fireplace to leave.
Dumbledore and John did not stay in the main hall for long. They continued to move forward to the registration office, where they were received by a witch who looked impatient.
"Williams brothers? Want to go through immigration procedures to France? Go to room five, register first and wait in line. There are 13 people in front of you waiting for approval."
Dumbledore calmly took out five gold Galleons from his pocket and placed them in front of the witch under the registration counter, while asking with a smile.
"Madam, we have a very important business to discuss in France. Is there any channel that can quickly apply for it?"
The witch looked up at Dumbledore, then turned her gaze to the five brand new gold Galleons. There was no expression on her face, and she did not reach out to take the five gold coins.
"If you've read the newspaper recently, you should know that something big happened a few days ago. The Ministry of Magic has tightened restrictions on the entry and exit of wizards, especially half-blood wizards. Just look at those two annoying Dementors. So if you want to apply for special channels... it will be more troublesome than before."
Dumbledore calmly placed 10 gold Galleons in front of her again.
"I wonder if these can solve the problem?"
"There are two of you."
Dumbledore seemed hesitant, but finally he gritted his teeth and took out another 10 Galleons.
This time the witch did not hold back. John only felt a flash before his eyes. She didn't even extend her hand on her own initiative. The 25 gold Galleons on the table disappeared from his sight in the next second. Then the witch quickly handed Dumbledore two badges.
"Take it with you and go to room three. Someone will save you the time."
Dumbledore took the badge from her and walked towards room three with Jon.
Compared to the main hall, there are a lot fewer people here. Jon whispered to Dumbledore.
"They are accepting bribes so openly?"
"That's not bribery," Dumbledore said calmly.
"What's that called?"
"Bribery means that officials in this position can ask for money when doing things, but if the witch just now was a half-blood, she would not dare to do so." Dumbledore said softly, "So this is not called bribery, this should be called privilege."
Jon shrugged. His mindset hadn't changed yet. The magical world was inherently unequal, and he really couldn't apply his previous conventional thinking.
They came to the door of room three with their badges, knocked on the door, and waited for a voice from inside allowing entry before Dumbledore pushed the door open and walked in with John.
An older wizard wearing glasses was sitting in room three. He saw the two badges that Dumbledore had placed on his desk after he entered the room, so he took a form from the side of the desk and asked while filling it out without raising his head.
"destination."
"Paris, France," Dumbledore replied.
"How many days do you plan to be abroad? Do you have any plans to return to the UK in the near future?"
"I'll come in about three to five days, after the business talks are over."
