"You misunderstand; I'm not saying Peter was impersonated by the club's leader, but that the man was a Silver Spear from the very beginning, and very likely the leader of this organization," Alan said with a slight smile.
"You mean…" Andre stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "This guy has been faking his identity for over a decade? He's been playing everyone for fools?" After thinking about it, Andre shook his head in denial. "That makes no sense. Wouldn't the leader of a transnational criminal organization be afraid of being discovered by taking such a risk? And he even brazenly entered the Ministry of Magic to pursue a political career."
"That's exactly where he's clever. You understand the principle of the darkest place being under the lamp, right? The more dangerous the place, the safer he is. Otherwise, can you recall, before he appeared over a decade ago, could you find any specific information about this person Peter?" Alan looked at Andre with a smile.
Before the man appeared? Prompted by Alan, Andre finally realized. Yes, this Peter had almost never mentioned his life experiences before the age of forty to anyone. They didn't even know which magic school he attended. They only knew that Peter first appeared with the aura of a charms expert and quickly integrated into the upper echelons of the German wizarding world. Everyone naturally accepted this refined, witty, and humorous wizard.
"You don't need to dwell on the past. I have thoroughly investigated his background. This Peter has not published any spell-related papers before the age of forty. Although there are records of his past life, it's all paper-based information. People who saw him when he was young are either dead or missing, leaving no trace. Doesn't that explain the problem?"
Alan had done a lot of homework after coming to Germany, especially after learning that Peter's identity was not simple. He even spent a lot of money to have Feng help him investigate. But speaking of Feng, that guy hadn't shown up for a long time.
"But why would he do this? Aside from his single-minded desire to divide Germany, Peter has always acted normally over the years. And besides that, he can even be described as quite diligent, always the first to arrive at the Ministry of Magic and the last to leave every day. How would he have so much time to deal with the Silver Spears matters?" Andre once again raised his doubts. Peter had been working and living under his nose for many years. If it weren't for their political disagreements, honestly, Andre quite admired Minister Peter.
"The other party's time management is indeed a bit contradictory. I'm still investigating that point, but isn't the reason obvious? I thought you could figure it out yourself." Alan pointed downward. "If Minister Peter is allowed to continue like this, what do you think Germany will become in the near future?"
"You mean… his goal from over a decade ago was to divide Germany?" Andre followed Alan's train of thought, then his eyes widened. "If he really is the leader of the Silver Spears, then he wants to create a country completely under the control of a smuggling crime syndicate? But what's his motive? Why would Peter and the Silver Spears waste so many years weaving such a difficult conspiracy? Do they have some special ambition?" Andre looked at Alan, not understanding.
"Isn't their ambition also very obvious? You can recall their original identities, especially sixty years ago." Alan guided him patiently.
"Sixty years ago?" Andre quickly recalled that sensitive era. "Right, their predecessor was indeed the Saint Party. Overthrowing the Statute of Secrecy is a reasonable motive. Your idea is similar to Bagnold's and Amelia's, but I didn't expect them to want to control a country for that."
Alan nodded in agreement. He couldn't reveal the connection between magical creatures and the Elixir of Life. He didn't want to use reality to measure everyone's moral bottom line. If they knew the club possessed a method for eternal life, who knew if these wizards, who usually appeared very upright on the surface, would harbor improper thoughts? So, Alan would forever keep this secret in his heart.
As for the reason to appease Andre and the others, he had already come up with it himself. For these older generation wizards, the former glory and destructive power of the Saint Party were unforgettable. As long as they connected the Silver Spears with Grindelwald and the Acolytes, any conspiracy theory could be imagined.
"This intelligence of yours is quite unexpected, but regarding Peter, do you have concrete evidence?" Although Andre, under Alan's guidance, had fantasized a set of the club's behavioral logic, it was still only one side of the story. Seeing is believing.
"You know Clement, right?" Alan asked.
"Clement, who runs the magical artifacts shop?" Andre recalled for a moment and then nodded affirmatively. "I know this person is connected to the Silver Spears and also helps the club operate a black market, but based on my past investigations, this guy should just be a collaborator of the Silver Spears."
Andre was quite familiar with the Silver Spears organization. After all, both parties' strongholds were in Germany, and they had clashed more than once over the years. And after years of dealing with them, Andre had also gained a lot of inside information about the Silver Spears. He knew that the organization had few official members, usually communicated using code names, didn't know each other's true identities, and were deeply hidden. Some daily tasks were completed by their collaborators, and Clement was one of them.
But because of this, although Andre had killed and arrested many members of the Silver Spears over the years, he hadn't been able to obtain more personnel information about the organization, only understanding some of their internal structure. However, over the years, Andre had also discovered many irregularities about the Silver Spears, such as them largely using the Acolytes elders as their original core, these people having close ties to the Acolytes. And their smuggling business scope was very large, with an exaggerated flow of magical creatures entering and leaving every month, which also led to the Silver Spears Dueling Club not being a secret in Germany. It's just that most civilian wizards only considered them an organization that dealt in gray area business, just like Knockturn Alley is to Britain. Some legitimate magical creature shops even dealt with them.
"That's right. Through some special channels, I learned that Clement is not merely a collaborator of the Silver Spears. He also manages a huge magical creature breeding park for the club, and I am certain he knows Minister Peter's identity." Alan revealed to the other party, choosing what he could say.
"Oh? Clement has such a complex identity?" Andre had never heard of the breeding park before and immediately slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go arrest Clement now and make him confront Peter on the spot!"
"Director Andre, aren't you being a bit too naive?" Alan couldn't help but roll his eyes when he saw the man's blustering demeanor. "Since you know about the Silver Spears, you should also know their secrecy methods, right? And this so-called confession is meaningless. I bet you can't even get the location of the breeding park from him."
After being stopped by Alan, Andre finally realized the truth. Indeed, the memories of these Silver Spears members were protected by specific contractual magic. He had caught their people before, but aside from some superficial details, he couldn't dig anything out of their minds.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Andre saw Alan's confident expression and recalled Newt's letter. It seemed this kid really had made progress to be so confidently on point.
"Regarding Clement, I hope you don't take any action to avoid alerting them. This guy is already under my full surveillance. For now, just pretend you don't know anything." Alan, regardless of the other party's identity, directly made his demand.
"Do nothing? Not even ordinary surveillance? Is your so-called full surveillance reliable?" Andre looked at Alan with suspicion. This young man didn't even have a single hair on his face, and he didn't know if he was reliable.
"No!" Alan shook his head decisively. "I've already followed his trail and found a breeding park managed by Clement, but the defenses there are very strict. I'm still looking for a way to enter without alarming the enemy. We need to catch them red-handed there!"
"So that's how it is." Andre nodded. Alan's plan was indeed more appropriate. "But according to you, do you already know the location of that park? If so, why don't we just force our way in and capture them all at once? I know you have a lot of good things, like that device that can cast an Anti-Apparition Jinx. With something like that, I guarantee none of them will escape."
"Easier said than done." Alan shook his head decisively. "I have already found out that Apparition is impossible within the park itself, but they also have unknown means of direct escape. And," Alan said, specifically looking at the man, "do you know how many people are actually in this breeding park?"
"How many people?"
"According to my current count, at least 220 people, more than 100 of whom are wizards. Are you sure you can take them down with the Aurors from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Alan said, giving Andre a mocking look.
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