Chapter 42: Stifling a World-Class Crisis in the Cradle

Hagrid could be a bit dim-witted at times, but when it came to major matters of principle, he always had a clear head. Upon realizing that the magical creatures he had bred could potentially become a world-ending catastrophe, he agreed to Roger’s request, despite his reluctance.

Seeing this, Roger nodded. He did not immediately set out to eradicate the Demons of Fear; instead, he used spells to bind the creatures Hagrid had bred and cast a containment ward over the surrounding area. He then left the hut by the Forbidden Forest and headed straight for Hogwarts Castle.

Back at Hogwarts, Roger went to the Divination classroom. As a first-year, he had never taken this elective, which was reserved for third-year students.

"Professor Trelawney, could you step out for a moment?"

The moment she saw Roger, Trelawney couldn't help but shudder. After all, she was a mediocre diviner who relied on a fading, inherited talent and hit-or-miss prophecies to make a living. Standing before a truly powerful seer made it difficult for her to hold her head high. She was not well-acquainted with Roger, and his sudden visit made her fear that this true seer had come to put her out of a job.

Fortunately, Roger quickly explained his purpose, which set her mind at ease. Roger carried a letter from Dumbledore, which served not only as a token of trust but also as a magical object that granted him half the authority of a Headmaster, allowing him to mobilize significant resources within Hogwarts.

Roger ordered Sybill Trelawney to temporarily suspend her classes and summon the students she believed possessed genuine divinatory talent. Professor Trelawney was usually eccentric, and her classes were mostly filled with "psychological divination"—the kind of parlor tricks used by street-corner fortune tellers, where nine out of ten words were nonsense. However, she did possess real talent; the prophecy regarding Harry and the Dark Lord was, after all, her handiwork. She could naturally identify which students held actual potential.

Using his Headmaster’s token, Roger quickly assembled a team of diviners. In the art of divination, it is far easier to scry events that have already occurred than those that might happen in the future. Roger gathered these people to ensure no stone was left unturned, guaranteeing the total eradication of every remaining Demon of Fear.

Although Roger was a seer, his primary abilities were concentrated on crisis premonition; while not entirely incapable of other types of prophecy, he did not reach the level of a true "Seer." Thus, verifying the information through multiple sources and cross-checking was the safest approach.

The extermination process was straightforward—a single spell was enough to finish it. Demons of Fear that had not fully matured were not particularly formidable. Much like any bird of prey, they were fragile while still in the egg.

However, the matter did not end with the extermination. After conducting a screening process more rigorous than a BSL-4 laboratory, Roger asked Hagrid to seek out the young girl named Luna, who could see Wrackspurts. Simultaneously, he returned to Hogwarts to find Professor McGonagall, the person he was most familiar with and the highest-ranking official currently at the school.

"Contact the Ministry of Magic?" Professor McGonagall’s eyes widened.

"Yes. I need to speak directly to Minister for Magic Fudge and the head of the Department of Mysteries," Roger said with a serious expression. "Given my position, my words carry little weight. I hope you can relay my message to them on my behalf."

What Roger intended to do was simple: he needed to alert the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries about the existence of the Demons of Fear and the potential danger they posed. Although the Department of Mysteries was nominally a subordinate branch of the Ministry of Magic, it was actually founded earlier than the Ministry itself. Even the Minister for Magic could not always fully intervene in the internal affairs of that department. As the branch responsible for researching the most cutting-edge fields—time, death, souls, and the cosmos—it possessed a degree of independence. Therefore, it was best to inform both sides.

Of course, to avoid legal complications and other repercussions, Roger would not disclose everything blindly. He would suggest that the Ministry seal the information regarding the Demons of Fear in archives protected by spells similar to the Fidelius Charm, much like other classified research held by the Department of Mysteries, and create specific contingency plans. Regarding the origin of the Demons, he would only state that they were bred from Boggarts and another magical creature, without mentioning Wrackspurts or other details. After all, if the Ministry tightened control over Boggarts, the Wrackspurts would have no partner to interact with—had Hagrid not used special methods, the two species would never have crossed paths in nature.

As for Luna, he would handle that personally. Not only would he manage the information, but he would also plant some false leads to ensure she did not encounter unnecessary trouble. Lies and strategic deception were different; although Roger disliked lies, he was not so rigid as to be unable to distinguish between the two.

"Why?" Professor McGonagall asked, somewhat puzzled. Since Roger had already dealt with the matter, would it not be better to let it rest without involving the Ministry? Protecting one’s own was a common convention in the small, insular wizarding society; people rarely escalated matters unless they reached a point of no return.

Knowing what she meant, Roger replied, "Sweeping things under the rug is not the best way to solve a problem." If Hagrid could create such a thing, others could too. Roger did not believe that in the infinite future of human civilization, Luna would be the only one capable of seeing Wrackspurts. Perhaps ancient wizards had also seen them, only to call them by different names—perhaps Wrackspurts were what some in the East called "inner demons"?

What if, in the future, someone happened to meet the same conditions as Hagrid and Luna, and the Demons of Fear reappeared and spread quietly?

"Since I am aware of the potential crisis, I must resolve it. We cannot have the current generation recognize a problem or cause a disaster, yet choose to ignore it, letting the danger fester until it becomes uncontrollable, only to leave it for our descendants to deal with."

Therefore, it was better to have the Department of Mysteries create a contingency plan.

"By doing this, you might bring some..."

"I know," Roger interrupted her warning.

Back on the battlefield in the Middle East, Roger could have left, but he didn't. He chose to honor his commitment and see it through to the end. Back at the Wizengamot, it might have been safer to let a lawyer defend him, but Roger did not want to hand his life over to someone he could not trust. Even knowing the outcome might be poor, he defended himself, choosing his own fate.

Roger had said from the beginning that he was a man who feared death; he had never denied that. But to him, "free will" was also a part of life. To act against his own principles and become someone he despised was, in Roger's eyes, equivalent to death. If I am no longer myself, what is the point of a surviving shell?

Thus, Roger would always fight, and he would never do what he deemed to be wrong.

Professor McGonagall looked into Roger’s calm, stagnant eyes, nodded, and rose to contact the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries through Hogwarts' channels.

After she left, while waiting for their arrival, Roger rubbed his forehead. He suddenly remembered something. He had provided the concepts and some of the technology that led Hagrid to accidentally create this potentially catastrophic magical creature. If it could happen once, it could certainly happen again. Outsourcing his path to others seemed to be a practice he should not take so lightly.

"Harry..." Roger’s brows furrowed as he thought of Harry, who would likely come looking for him. In a sense, Harry was the protagonist of a certain trajectory of fate. If Harry truly began to cultivate the path of space-time magic and something went wrong, Roger did not believe the trouble he could cause would be any less than Hagrid's.

"I need to put some insurance measures in place."