Chapter 28
Chapter 32: A Darker Path
**Alex McKinnon’s POV**
Freeing Sirius wouldn’t be easy. The Ministry was rotten with corruption, and Lucius Malfoy was at the heart of it. He had the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, tightly controlled, using his influence to ensure that any meaningful justice was buried. Barty Crouch Jr. had been swiftly kissed by a Dementor, silencing any potential revelations about the Death Eaters. Barty Crouch Sr.'s trial had been delayed, which only fueled my frustration. The longer the system remained stagnant, the more lives would be ruined.
Lucius Malfoy was untouchable for now, but I could destabilize his network from within. To do that, I needed someone deeply entrenched in the Ministry’s darkest dealings. That’s when fate handed me Dolores Umbridge.
---
**Catching Umbridge Off-Guard**
I wasn’t expecting to find her in Knockturn Alley during my Diagon Alley trip. There she was, toad-like and smug, speaking in low, conniving tones to a shadowy figure. I moved closer under the cover of an Invisibility Charm, listening as she extorted the man. She was blackmailing him with illegal dealings—dark magic, most likely.
If Umbridge was involved in such dealings, she had leverage over others in the Ministry. She could be my tool to dismantle Malfoy’s influence. But I had to act quickly before she disappeared again. As she turned into a small, dimly lit shop, I followed.
Once inside, I saw my opportunity. She was alone, rummaging through some papers. With a quick flick of my wand, I cast a Silencing Charm on the room. Before she could react, I hit her with the Incarcerous spell, binding her to the chair she stood beside. Her face twisted in shock and rage, but before she could scream, I cast the Imperius Curse.
Umbridge’s eyes went wide with fear before dulling under the spell. Her body slackened, and her mind submitted to my control. It was almost too easy—her weak, cowardly nature made her susceptible to influence. But I needed more than her submission.
---
**Interrogation**
I leaned close to her, my voice cold and commanding. “You will tell me everything. Who are you blackmailing, and what leverage do you hold over the dark families in the Ministry?”
Her mind was like a sieve, and under my control, she spilled everything. I discovered that Umbridge had been blackmailing numerous individuals in the Ministry, using incriminating documents she had gathered over the years. The list included prominent figures connected to Lucius Malfoy and other Death Eaters. She even had information about the trafficking of over 300 muggle and muggleborn girls being held by Avery and the Carrows.
My blood boiled as she described the horrors these girls endured. It was worse than I had imagined. The Death Eaters were still operating, even with Voldemort gone, their cruelty unchecked. This was why the Ministry needed to be brought down.
I couldn’t risk this information getting into the wrong hands prematurely, but I also couldn’t sit by and do nothing.
---
**Commanding Umbridge**
Once I had extracted everything from her, it was time to set my plan in motion.
“Dolores,” I whispered, ensuring my connection to her mind was still strong. “You will leak every piece of blackmail, every illegal document you have on the dark families, to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Send copies to the International Confederation of Wizards and every major newspaper. You will leave no trace of your involvement.”
She nodded, her expression blank.
I continued. “You will also blackmail the Minister of Magic into doubling the number of Aurors within two months. Do it quietly, without alerting any of the Death Eaters.”
Again, she nodded.
“And finally, you will expose the location of the trafficked muggleborn girls. After one month, you will poison the marked Death Eaters in the Ministry. Ensure no one connects this back to you.”
Her lips moved as if to protest, but the curse held firm. I had complete control over her actions. Dolores Umbridge was a cruel woman, but her mental weakness made her a perfect puppet. She would act according to my commands, and the consequences would ripple through the wizarding world.
---
**A Step Toward Justice**
I watched as she gathered her things and left the shop, the gears of my plan already turning. Umbridge’s actions over the coming weeks would be subtle but devastating. With her blackmail and leaks, the Death Eaters would begin to feel the pressure. The information she would expose would be enough to set off a chain reaction, leading to the unraveling of dark families' power structures within the Ministry.
But it was the trafficking of muggleborn girls that stung the most. The fact that over 300 innocent lives were being held captive by monsters like Avery and the Carrows filled me with rage. I wanted to act immediately, to storm their properties and free the girls myself. But I couldn’t afford to be reckless. Not yet. Exposing the trafficking would send shockwaves through the wizarding world, but it had to be done carefully, with every step calculated.
For now, Umbridge would serve as my instrument. The Ministry’s corruption was deep-rooted, but even the most corrupt systems could be shaken by the right moves.
---
**Preparing for the Fallout**
Back home for the holidays, I spent hours poring over my plans. The ritual with the Horcrux had left me with knowledge of dark magic that both frightened and intrigued me. My goal had always been to focus on white magic, but I couldn’t ignore the power dark magic offered when it came to tearing down corrupt institutions.
The Horcrux fragment had granted me a greater understanding of how deep the corruption in the wizarding world ran. It was no longer just about freeing Sirius or stopping Voldemort. It was about dismantling the entire system that allowed such horrors to persist. With each step, I moved closer to that goal.
Pettigrew remained trapped in his rat form, a constant reminder of what was at stake. His eventual capture would trigger the downfall of those who had wrongfully imprisoned Sirius, but the timing needed to be perfect. Too soon, and the Ministry would crush him under Lucius’s influence. Too late, and more lives could be lost.
For now, I would continue to play my part, quietly working to ensure that when the time came, I would be ready to bring the entire corrupt system crashing down.
Let the Death Eaters think they were safe for now. Their day of reckoning was coming, and it would be delivered by me.