Chapter 729: Dalaran Welcomes All Wizards

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When Tom finished speaking, the room fell silent as everyone exchanged uneasy looks.

Fudge was the first to pass the buck. "Mr. Riddle, I only just got back from Downing Street. I haven’t even had time to find out what’s happening in other countries. And MACUSA hasn’t contacted me, either."

Britain alone was already enough to give him a splitting headache. He hardly had the time or energy to concern himself with the rest of the world.

Tom hadn’t expected much from Fudge to begin with, so the answer didn’t surprise him. Instead, he turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster? You have friends all over the world. If I remember correctly, you’re fairly close with a professor at Ilvermorny."

Dumbledore thought for a moment before realizing who Tom meant. "You mean Lally Hicks? Yes, Professor Hicks is a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately, she retired many years ago and has since withdrawn from public life. She rarely keeps up with what’s happening beyond her home."

"I do have other friends in America, though. According to them, MACUSA recently discovered the whereabouts of the Purgers. Large numbers of Aurors were dispatched to Native settlements, while others were sent to the West Coast to conduct searches."

Tom frowned. "What about President Quahog? And even if they deployed a lot of personnel, that doesn’t explain why headquarters was practically empty."

"The official explanation," Dumbledore replied, "was that the Woolworth Building was undergoing a comprehensive inspection. Damaged plumbing was supposedly being replaced, and various protective enchantments were being repaired."

"That makes things pretty simple." Tom shrugged. "I’d bet that either exposing the wizarding world was intentional on MACUSA’s part, or they got advance warning and were working with whoever’s behind all this."

"Either way, they’re not clean."

"Tom, shouldn’t our priority be keeping things stable here at home?" Lady Greengrass reminded him quietly.

Tom remained courteous toward his future mother-in-law. He nodded. "You’re right. Right now, everyone needs to put out the fire on their own doorstep. Our first priority is making sure Britain doesn’t end up with wizards and Muggles turning against each other."

"But the Muggles have a word that fits this situation perfectly: globalization."

"What other countries decide has a huge influence on Downing Street. Britain isn’t the British Empire anymore."

"I don’t think it matters how much we accomplish here. As long as the rest of the world remains openly hostile toward wizards, Downing Street will eventually change its attitude as well. So we have to keep a close eye on developments overseas. In the future, the wizarding world needs to become a more unified whole. Only then will we have the standing to sit across from the Muggles as equals."

He looked at Barty Crouch Sr, "Crouch, I think you’re the right man for this job."

Without hesitation, Crouch nodded solemnly. "I’ll maintain regular communication with the Ministries of Magic in other countries and ensure information is shared. But when necessary, I’ll need your assistance, as well as Professor Dumbledore’s."

Tom nodded, and Dumbledore agreed without objection.

Only Fudge opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he swallowed the words.

Instinctively, he was wary of letting Crouch wield so much authority. But considering the current mess, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to remain Minister anymore.

So why argue? Once he’d accepted that, Fudge wisely kept his opinions to himself.

"Now that we’ve settled the overall direction," Tom said, "let’s talk about security."

He waved a hand.

Mist rose across the massive conference table before quickly forming a lifelike three-dimensional projection.

Everyone recognized it immediately.

It was Dalaran, yesterday’s championship arena. At the city’s center, Karazhan’s Magic Tower still shimmered with an eerie glow.

"The Confundus Charm is useful," Tom said, "but unfortunately, not many wizards have mastered it. Muggles with particularly strong wills, especially those who already suspect wizards exist, have a real chance of breaking through its effects and seeing things they were never supposed to."

"So our current system of blending into the Muggle world simply isn’t adequate anymore."

Fudge’s eyes lit up. "Mr. Riddle, are you suggesting that every wizard move to Dalaran?"

Tom nodded. Then shook his head.

"I’m not forcing anyone. I’m simply offering Dalaran as a safe haven."

"I can guarantee that this city is safer than any wizard’s home. More importantly, my magic can erase Dalaran’s very existence from the physical world. Even if someone doesn’t know where it is and decides to carpet-bomb the area, they still won’t be able to harm the city."

In truth, Tom had recently made significant progress in spatial magic.

His plan was to compress both Dalaran and the Dream Arena into a single spatial point before folding the surrounding space itself.

As long as an attack couldn’t damage space itself, the city would remain completely untouched.

Of course, it was an enormous undertaking. He would have to gradually separate that section of space from the rest of the world. Once the school term ended, that would become his first priority.

"Mr. Riddle," Scrimgeour said with a deep frown, his brows knitting together, "do you mean that all wizards would live in Dalaran?"

Tom met his gaze. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear. It’s voluntary, not mandatory."

"Yes, I understand that." Scrimgeour nodded, though his expression remained troubled. After a brief hesitation, he asked, "What I mean is... would that include non-pure-blood wizards as well?"

Tom stared at him for a long moment. "Aren’t they wizards?"

Scrimgeour opened his mouth, searching for the right words. "But—"

"There is no ’but,’" Tom interrupted, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable finality. "A wizard is a wizard. Blood has nothing to do with it."

"If you want to argue bloodlines with me, then let me remind you that I come from an entirely Muggle family. Are you planning to take Dalaran away from me because of that?"

"Of course not." Scrimgeour had plenty of disagreements with Tom, but he wasn’t foolish enough to smash an egg against a boulder.

He was certain that if he said anything too outrageous, he might not even make it out of this office alive. He’d never been in a position to challenge Tom before, much less now.

In times of war, an individual wizard’s strength mattered more than ever. Personal power far outweighed titles or political office.

"Then we have no problem." Tom stifled a yawn. "I’ve already discussed this with Madam Bones. We both believe there are gentler ways to prevent information from leaking out of the wizarding world. For example, using magic similar to a magical oath. I think everyone can live with that kind of restriction. Any other questions?"

Silence.

"Good." Tom swept his gaze around the room. Seeing no one speak, he nodded toward Dumbledore.

"That’s everything I wanted to say. I have no interest in interfering with the Ministry’s internal policies. You can continue the meeting. I’ll be leaving."

As his final words faded, the young man’s figure gradually became transparent before vanishing completely.

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