Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 117 Draco's Door-Pushing Kill
4:24 PM on August 3rd.

The car, which departed from London in the morning, stopped in a parking space on Rue Montmorency in the Nicolas Flamel district of Paris.

Harry jumped out of the back seat of the car and then stretched in a very unladylike manner on the busy street.

Draco looked at him with disdain, muttering things like "country bumpkin" and "uncultured bumpkin," before getting out of the passenger seat.

However, it was obvious that he had slept and his leg had gone numb. He had just gotten off the bike and hadn't even stood up properly when he almost tripped and fell flat on his face, startling a woman who was riding her bicycle past him.

Fortunately, Severus grabbed his arm, preventing the Malfoys from losing face on the streets of Paris today.

"Hey, I know you haven't seen much of this before, but don't get too excited, right, Draco?"

Harry, seemingly being kind, patted Draco's pants.

"Who gave you permission to call me that!" Draco angrily slapped his hand away.

"Teacher, where did you go when we took a break at a café? I woke up once, but I didn't see you." Harry didn't care about Draco's strong reaction. After withdrawing his hand, he looked at Severus with a puzzled expression and asked.

“I delivered some things to someone. Let’s go, let’s go to Nicolas Lemaître’s house now, maybe we can even get a proper French meal there tonight.”

As he spoke, he led the way, bringing them to number 51 on the street.

This building, one of the oldest stone buildings in Paris, bears an iron plaque that reads "Maison de la Flamel." Today, this former residence of Nicolas Flamel has been converted into a restaurant.

"Are we really going to eat French food here today?" Draco looked up at the metal sign on the doorframe. "But a famous wizard and great alchemist like Nicolas Flamel lives in a Muggle restaurant like this?"

Severus simply arrived at the restaurant entrance, in front of the flip-up sign with the address.

“This has indeed always been Nick Flamel’s home, and in Muggle history, this wizard is also a legendary figure, as evidenced by the name of this district and this residence, which is a historical monument. But to find the real door to Number 51, it is clear that only a wizard can do it.”

He pulled his holly wand from his sleeve and tapped it on the sign.

The next moment, the scene in front of them began to change, and the surrounding air seemed to ripple like water. The noisy traffic and people on Montmorency Street disappeared instantly, as if separated by a thick curtain.

Before them was no longer the restaurant facade open to the public, but an ancient courtyard gate. The building behind the courtyard was exactly the same as what they had seen before, because even though it was occupied by a Muggle restaurant, it was still Nick Flamel's real home.

“That’s more like it.” Draco muttered under his breath, the lingering embarrassment from his near fall replaced by a sense of superiority befitting a pure-blood wizard. He subconsciously straightened his collar, as if he were about to present himself to some important figure on behalf of the Malfoy family.

Severus raised an eyebrow as well.

"Come knock on the door. If Nick Lemaître knew that the only son of the Malfoy family in England was visiting him, he would probably be very honored, wouldn't he?"

Draco was pleased with Severus's boast, and he indeed walked ahead of everyone else to the wooden gate.

"Let him show some promise. Otherwise, after so many embarrassing things happened during the day, if he doesn't have any good memories, he'll just hide under the covers and cry at night."

Severus whispered, pulling Harry and Lupin along. The three of them followed behind the arrogant boy, watching Draco casually put one hand behind his back and gently knock on the courtyard gate with his right.

They didn't have to wait long; the courtyard gate seemed to be enchanted, opening by itself upon sensing a knock.

Draco puffed out his chest, cleared his throat, and was about to go in and introduce himself when...

suddenly!
Seven or eight wizards dressed in dark green robes and holding wands suddenly appeared in the courtyard. They raised their wands and pointed the tips at Draco, who was in the lead!

"Put it down! Put down your wands! Cover your heads and squat down! Surrender!"

"Put down your wand! Give up the resistance! You'll suffer less!"

"Squat down immediately! Show us your hands!"

Draco was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He watched in horror as the wizards roared at him, the tips of each wand glowing with red and green lights representing various spells.

He had never seen anything like it before; the wizards were all speaking French, which Draco couldn't understand at all.

Just as he was at a loss and his legs began to tremble, a figure suddenly blocked his way.

Severus sensed something was wrong as soon as the courtyard gate was opened and the wizards in their dark green robes appeared. He immediately shielded Draco behind him.

The wand he held up in front of him instantly completed a silent spellcasting, releasing an armor spell in front of him.

"We need you to communicate with us in English, gentlemen! Who are you? What do you want?"

He asked loudly in English, but as soon as one of the wizards saw him raise his wand, he nervously chanted a spell!
"Except your weapons!"

A crimson light shot out!

After the first person cast the spell, even if their leader reacted and tried to shout to stop them, it was too late. Seven or eight beams of light from various spells shone here in succession!

But those beams of light were blocked by an invisible barrier less than 40 inches in front of Severus.

Severus's face was grim as he stared at the seven French wizards who clearly belonged to some organization, and he raised his wand again.

"Oolong out of the cave."

More than a dozen giant black pythons surged from the tip of Severus's exploded wand and swam toward the French wizards, giving them almost no time to react!

Lupin then stood beside Severus and began to help cast a spell to retaliate.

"All petrified!"

Harry nervously tried to pull the birchwood wand from his satchel, but Severus, who was standing in front of him without turning around, slapped him on the shoulder, preventing him from taking the wand out.

The sudden encounter came quickly, and the black snakes were soon stopped by the armor spell that had taken effect on the French wizard.

But in the next second, Severus swung his wand.

"The Divine Edge is Shadowless!"

The invisible spell was released in an instant, and nearly ten blades, whose shapes and trajectories were invisible, collided violently with the armored spells on the wizards!
But soon, four sounds like shattering glass rang out!

The armor spells of four wizards were broken, neutralizing the Divine Edge Without Shadow. Then the black snakes swarmed up, overwhelming the wizards who had lost their defenses, and finally binding them tightly!
Even if the remaining three wizards' armor spells didn't break, they couldn't withstand the spells Lupin unleashed.

The battle was over quickly.

This group of wizards, clearly trained and barely comparable to British Aurors, possessed impressive spellcasting skills but lacked practical combat experience. Severus, with his extensive experience fighting Aurors in Britain, was certain that most of them would be no match for the British Ministry of Magic's Aurors in a one-on-one fight, with Lupin far surpassing them, not to mention Severus himself, a veteran of the Wizarding Wars.

With the combined efforts of the two, only one of the seven French wizards remained standing.

His wand was also knocked away by the disarming spell and fell into the grass nearby. The others were either entangled by the black snake that turned into ropes or hit by Lupin's petrification spell, and were frozen on the spot.

Severus looked at the only wizard leader still standing, who had clearly tried to stop the others from casting spells, but it was too late, and spoke calmly.

"Now, you should be able to have a calm conversation, right?"

The dark-skinned wizard, clearly of African descent, stood upright despite his back being completely soaked with sweat.

"I am Antoine Yumar, Commander-in-Chief of the Third Auror Squadron of the French Ministry of Magic! You are suspected of kidnapping Nicolas Flamel and his wife! I advise you to give up resisting! The Ministry of Magic will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Upon hearing his words, Severus and Lupin exchanged bewildered glances.

Neither of them expected that such words would come from the mouth of this African-American wizard.

But Severus quickly realized what was happening. He pulled out the International Magical Cooperation Division agent's badge that Bagno had obtained for him and Harry from his pocket, walked up to the French wizard named Yuma, and, under his sweaty, nervous gaze, opened the badge in front of him.

"Did you see the stamp of the British Ministry of Magic? Did you see the photo on the witness document? We just arrived in France today, specifically to see Nicolas Flamel, and before we've even stepped inside, you're already accusing us of kidnapping him?"

"Do all the Aurors in the world share the same head?"

Staring at the Ministry of Magic commissioner's certificate, Yuma, as an Auror with professional training and excellent professional skills, could tell at a glance that the certificate was definitely genuine!

Each country's Ministry of Magic has its own unique anti-counterfeiting technology for the identification information of its employees, and the British Ministry of Magic's is so distinctive that you can tell at a glance from the stamp on the identification!

"You are...you are Mr. Snape?" Yuma's voice was somewhat hesitant and embarrassed.

There's no way to avoid feeling awkward.

They acted in such a rush that they didn't even bother to verify the other party's identity. In fact, the seven Aurors who surrounded two adults and two children all failed miserably, and all seven well-trained Aurors were wiped out!

"You know me?" Severus could clearly hear more than just embarrassment in Yuma's voice; there were other emotions involved as well.

“I’ve read the book ‘Blood Ties: Vampires and Muggles,’ and I know you are the Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Yuma said apologetically. “I’m so sorry, my men attacked you without proper communication! This was our negligence!”

The French Aurors around them, who were either kidnapped or petrified, all wore expressions of shame.

Mistaking someone for someone else and acting too hastily are not the problem.

The biggest problem was that the seven French Aurors couldn't defeat the two British wizards!
If this gets out, they'll lose all face among their colleagues!

"Elder and Xueni are going to make a fortune. That book has only been published for a few days, and it's already selling in France."

Severus didn't care what they thought; his attention had already shifted to what Yuma had just said.

"You said the Nicolas Flamels were kidnapped? When did that happen?"

Yuma hesitated for a few seconds, but soon he gritted his teeth and said.

"This just happened yesterday, and the entire Auror Command in France has been mobilized. Everyone is investigating this hostage situation. The public is very concerned about this matter. Mr. Lemaître is a living fossil of French sorcery, and we cannot allow anything to happen to him!"

Severus then turned to look at Lupin, who had clearly frowned upon hearing the news.

"Did you just happen to be here to ambush us, or were you already watching us?" Severus turned around and continued to ask.

"You have some connection with a young man named Patrick Rozier, right?" Yuma asked cautiously.

Severus was unfamiliar with the name Patrick, but he was very familiar with the surname Rozier.

Almost instantly, he realized when these French Aurors had started targeting him.

"Is that Rozier related to the kidnapping of Nicolas Lemaître?" After talking with the young man, Severus noticed something was off about him, but since it was none of their business, he didn't bother with it and simply gave him some money to go home.

In retrospect, it seems that Rozier was likely already being watched by the French Aurors beforehand, and his capture brought him to their attention.

Especially after discovering that his destination was the home of Nicolas Lemaître.

"Yes, he is directly related to this hostage situation. We just caught him at noon today."

He was clearly unwilling to reveal any more.

Severus was also somewhat helpless. He had thought that coming to France to find Nicolas Lemaître would prevent him from encountering any unexpected events, but he still couldn't escape it.

If it weren't for the fact that it was only the end of July when he wrote that letter, Harry's birthday hadn't even passed yet, and Nick Flamel's abduction had only happened yesterday, Severus would have suspected that this was yet another trap set by Dumbledore!
“Mr. Snape,” Yuma looked at Severus expectantly, “I apologize again for this misunderstanding, but since you have been in contact with Rozier, could you and your friends please come to the ministry for a chat? It will only take you less than two hours and will be over quickly.”

Severus glanced back at Harry, who was already looking eager, and Draco, who was still recovering from the shock, before looking up at the sky one last time and turning back to Yuma.

"We haven't even decided on dinner yet. We were supposed to have a proper French meal here to visit Nick Flamel, thanks to Dumbledore's letter."

He neither agreed nor refused, but said something suggestive.

Yuma, the French Auror squad leader, was very perceptive and immediately responded.

"Our Auror Command has house-elf service serving the most authentic French cuisine, their signature dishes being baked snails and pan-fried foie gras! I am honored to invite you and your friends to dine at the Auror Command to express my apologies!"

Severus blinked and turned to look at Lupin and the others.

"how do you feel?"

“Sounds good. It’s always nice to have someone treat you to a meal,” Lu Ping said seriously.

"Do you have onion soup? I like that." Harry started ordering.

"They're smart enough to know their place!" Draco still retorted stubbornly.

After hearing that they all thought there was no problem, Severus helped Yuma pick up his wand from the ground.

"Then let us go."

(End of this chapter)