Chapter 158: Reform Plan

Murphy stripped the invisibility cloak off little Barty Crouch, casting a simple Petrificus Totalus on him.

Then, he helped old Barty Crouch up, making him sit in a chair, and personally patted off the footprints he had kicked onto him.

Murphy's face showed a kind smile, as if the person who had just beaten up the old man across from him wasn't him at all.

"Mr. Bartemius Crouch, the Ministry of Magic is due for elections this year. Would you like to be the Minister?"

"What?!"

Old Barty was stunned.

He had thought Murphy would propose something humiliating, but his first words were this? "Why?"

And, "How is that possible?"

His reputation had already hit rock bottom. Forget being Minister; he was barely holding onto his current position.

Murphy looked down at him, "If I can bring you down, naturally I can also lift you up."

"..."

Had anyone else said this, old Barty would have scoffed, but having personally experienced the other's methods and being utterly defeated, he knew there was not a shred of exaggeration in those words.

Unwittingly, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.

Perhaps, could I really reach for that position? "How, how do we do it?"

"First, immediately withdraw that damn warrant against me."

"Second, apologize to me."

"But..."

Old Barty hesitated, not about withdrawing the warrant — given his current defeat, the warrant would be withdrawn regardless, and he had known this would be the outcome the moment he grabbed Murphy's leg.

But apologizing, wouldn't that be admitting he was wrong?

At this point, admitting his mistake, wouldn't that invite public condemnation? Murphy couldn't just be tricking him, could he? "Ha," Murphy rolled his eyes, knowing the other's thoughts without needing Legilimency, "What's your situation now, don't you have a clue?"

"If I wanted to kill you, would I waste my time talking to you here? Do you believe that by tomorrow morning, petitions for your impeachment could fill Minister Millicent Bagnold's mailbox?"

Bartemius Crouch paused, then sighed.

Yes, and moreover, if Murphy just took Barty Crouch Jr. away, tomorrow he would be on the stand, and the day after, he would be dining on Azkaban's special lunch.

If Murphy wanted to destroy him, indeed, there was no need to waste words with him.

"I understand, I will apologize."

Murphy nodded, "Not just to me, but also to Sirius Black, to the injured Aurors, and for your failure to handle the werewolf situation properly."

"This... okay."

Murphy wasn't trying to humiliate him, he explained, "The reputation of the Aurors is beyond saving now, it's time for a complete overhaul. If you remain stubborn, you will only be drowned by public opinion."

"But if you step forward, blame the issues on historical legacies, and then propose a solution, there is still a chance to salvage your own reputation."

"The key is to separate you from the Aurors."

"That is to say, find a scapegoat."

"Gawain Robards is an idiot, let him bear all the blame."

Bartemius Crouch nodded; he had done the same during the crisis with the unnamed entity, but merely using a scapegoat might not be enough this time.

He voiced this concern. Murphy said, "Gawain Robards is just settling historical accounts, but how to solve the problem is what people want to see, so you must present a strong reform plan and action."

"First, reduce the Aurors' power," Murphy said, "The Wizarding War is over, the Aurors no longer have a reason to exist, excessive power only causes public panic. Therefore, reducing the Aurors' power is imperative."

"Now there are no Death Eaters out there, what dark wizards are there for the Aurors to capture? And isn't the Magical Law Enforcement Squad always busy, short on hands?"

"Let the Aurors do some real law enforcement work, or help with disaster response, let them interact more with ordinary people, not be so arrogant."

"What do you think?"

Bartemius Crouch understood that by agreeing, the profession of Auror might become nominal.

Catching dark wizards is not a nine-to-five job; if bound by too many rules, it's impossible to deal with cunning dark wizards.

But this might indeed help stabilize public opinion, increasing his chances of success.

"I think... it's feasible."

Murphy smiled at him, "Good."

"Second, introduce a monitoring mechanism."

"Unchecked power breeds corruption," Murphy said, "Introduce a third-party oversight institution to monitor the work of the Aurors and the Magical Law Enforcement Squad."

Bartemius Crouch was puzzled, "How do you plan to do it?"

"Wizengamot must be completely separated from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, then incorporate the Watchers into the system, as a subordinate execution body of Wizengamot, to review the performance of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Bartemius Crouch was stunned for a moment, then understood, looking at the young man before him with awe, "Then, who will lead the Watchers?"

"The Watchers should be an independent autonomous organization, responsible to all British wizards. Its leader, of course, will be elected by the Watchers themselves."

"But as a subordinate body of Wizengamot, its oversight results will be directly presented to Wizengamot for review. This ensures independence while also providing legitimacy."

Say what you will about the Watchers electing their leader, but will the Watchers elect anyone other than you? Even if not you, it will surely be your puppet.

With this institution, the Aurors and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will henceforth bear the name Darkholme.

"Okay, what else?"

If he could become the Minister of Magic, what does it matter to him if the Department of Magical Law Enforcement bears someone else's name?

However, what he didn't know was that Murphy didn't intend to limit the Watchers' oversight to just the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

If they can oversee the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, why not other departments?

And when the Watchers can oversee all departments and members of the Ministry of Magic,

The Ministry of Magic will become a horse tied by the Watchers' reins.

But to achieve this step, he would need a Minister of Magic to push it through.

And old Barty, with the absolute leverage of little Barty Crouch in his hands, was the most suitable candidate.

"Third, you need to immediately produce some actual results to prove the effectiveness of the reform plan."

"Coincidentally, I have a list of Death Eaters here, capture them, and I'll make them talk."

Murphy passed a paper over, on it were written: "The Carrow siblings, Yaxley, Avery..."

Behind the werewolf attacks, these Death Eaters likely played a part.

Since he needed to target someone, why not target his enemies?

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