Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 120 The Kidnapping and the Children's Adventure at the Ministry of Magic

Early in the morning, Yuma came and called away Severus and Lupin.

He led the two men to his office and gave them a brief overview of the current situation held by the French Auror.

"We discovered Nicolas Flamel's disappearance at 8 p.m. on August 2nd. At that time, the house-elf who had served the Flamel family for many years came to us and said that its two owners had gone out early that morning and never returned, which was unprecedented."

“In the past, no matter what they went out to do, they would always tell the house-elf when they would return home so that it could make the necessary arrangements.”

"But this time, before leaving, Mr. Lemaître said that he was going to keep an appointment and would be home by 2 p.m. at the latest after lunch. However, the house-elf waited at home until 4 p.m. but still did not see him return."

"The house-elf panicked completely. It went to the Ministry of Magic and told us about the situation, begging us to find the person."

"Afterwards, we investigated the movements of the Lemaîtres and Maxime. From their friend, Madame Maxime, the current principal of the Beauxbatons School of Magic in France, we learned that on the morning of the 2nd, the Lemaîtres and Maxime were supposed to attend a gathering of the French Alchemist Association. Although they had long since resigned from their position as president, they were still important figures."

"However, according to the wizards of the Alchemy Society, the Lemaîtres only attended for two hours in the morning, and then, as if they had received some news, they hurriedly left the venue, and after that, no one knew their whereabouts."

As Yuma spoke, she sent copies of some clues that the Ministry of Magic had gathered to Severus and Lupin, showing them the records about the house-elf and the alchemists' notes.

"On the night of the 2nd, while we had people stay at the Lemaître house, we also arranged for four Auror squads to conduct investigations at the homes of the Lemaîtres' friends and several places they frequented. Finally, we obtained some clues in a small monastery near Paris, where a wizard resided."

"The clue comes from Sister Cherrie Aymé in the convent, which is sponsored by the Lemaîtres and regularly engages in charitable acts such as adopting Muggle orphans and helping the elderly. Sister Aymé is a witch who has had a good relationship with the Lemaîtres since she came to France from a church in Sweden eight years ago."

"After we contacted Sister Amy, she told us that she had seen the couple in District 16 around 1 p.m. on the 2nd. They didn't look well, and when she greeted them, they acted as if they didn't see her. It was then that she noticed that the couple was accompanied by two men dressed in very inappropriate Muggle clothes. This is the portrait drawn by our Aurors based on Sister Amy's description."

He took out two portrait sketches drawn with charcoal pencils and handed them to Severus and Lupin.

Severus glanced at the two men in the portrait. One of them, who had some Arab features, looked somewhat familiar, and at that moment he interjected with a question.

"Because I've been in England for a long time, I'm not entirely clear on the regulations of your ethics review committee. But since this concerns the Lemaîtres and his wife, and such a crucial clue, have you asked that nun to provide her memories?"

Yuma nodded and took a deep breath.

“We immediately submitted an application to the members of the Wizarding Ethics Review Committee. After the application was approved, we also carefully asked the old woman for her opinion. Because she had dedicated her life to the church, all wizarding clergy were quite taboo about this kind of thing, but as a friend of the Lemaîtres, she was still selflessly willing to extract the memories of that afternoon and hand them over to us.”

"The original sample of the memory has been stored in the archives, and almost all the Aurors involved in the investigation of this case have seen that memory. As Aunt Amy said, she did see the LeMay couple in District 16 that afternoon, and we also made adjustments to the portrait of the two men with them to ensure a one-to-one reproduction."

“We have now issued arrest warrants for the two men in the portrait. We have also enlisted the help of the Muggle police. That evening, we located the Muggles living near that street, and from their information, we were able to pinpoint an apartment.”

Yuma then pulled out a photograph for them, a picture of a young couple that was not unfamiliar to Severus.

"Patrick Rozier and Mary Rozier. They married a year ago. Mary is a purebred Muggle, while Patrick is a Squib from the Rozier family!"

To be honest, although Harry appeared very confident and assertive when he agreed to Draco's request.

But once he actually stepped outside, he felt quite uneasy.

Draco, after all, had accompanied Lucius to many wizarding events and witnessed many grand occasions.

And what has Harry encountered since he went out with Severus?
They kidnapped a Muggle girl, a vampire, and a wizard and fled.

He was kidnapped by a group of werewolves and fled with a group of children and Lupin.

The consequences of these two incidents were significant, but Harry didn't actually feel much of it at the time.

What I remember most vividly is that I stood up in front of the werewolves and said that I was Severus Snape's student, even though I was thinking that I would be bitten to death in the next second.

But there weren't actually many people there at the time.

Later, Harry went to the British Ministry of Magic with his teacher quite a few times, but Kingsley always greeted them, and Severus was always with them, so Harry didn't feel that it was a very formal place.

Now, when he is truly alone (Draco is rightfully excluded) walking among the governments of a nation that governs all aspects of wizarding affairs, he truly feels the solemnity and grandeur that power and politics bring.

Every wizard walking down the corridor looked hurried, and the documents and files they carried seemed to hold the power to determine the fate of one or more French wizards.

In the shadows by the wall, you can often see many small black cats weaving between the legs of the crowd.

They carried materials related to the interdepartmental collaboration within the Ministry of Magic in their mouths, running at incredible speeds without needing to avoid crowds, as if they would never collide with anything in reality.

Draco was also amazed by the seemingly chaotic yet orderly scene before him. These wizards, each with their own ideas and thoughts, operated like the most precise gears within the enormous machine of the Ministry of Magic, maintaining order in a wizarding society.

This was a scene he had never experienced before when he was with adults.

Only when they are unprotected and situated within this most complex organization of human relationships can they truly feel what is indescribable within it.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to look at Draco. Draco also swallowed hard and looked at Harry at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance, and this time Harry spoke first.

"How about we take a stroll around the Auror Command Post area for the day?"

Draco crossed his arms and forced himself to speak.

"If you want to do it that way, I can certainly respect your feelings!"

In the end, after walking less than ten meters from this floor of the Auror command post, they slunk back.

The French Aurors were also busy, but because they had dinner and spent the night here yesterday, they were much more comfortable here than outside.

The two of them tried to walk to the side of the road so as not to disturb the adults who all had things to do.

They wandered around the Auror command post and eventually slipped into a corridor that resembled dormitories on both sides, but was mostly uninhabited.

Seeing the empty rooms, Draco said somewhat angrily.

"These Frenchmen are all liars! Look at this! They clearly have empty rooms, but they're making us squeeze in together!"

Although Harry didn't understand what was written in French on the room signs, he could tell through the small windows in the doors that these rooms were definitely not proper dormitories.

"They weren't lying to us; this place should be where the suspects live."

"How do you know?" Draco questioned whether Harry was talking nonsense.

“Because I almost ended up in the Ministry of Magic’s cell with my teacher once,” Harry said with a shrug. “Let’s get out of here; this isn’t a place we can just wander around in.”

Draco, however, scoffed at Harry's cautiousness.

"You coward! What are you afraid of? Didn't that Frenchman say yesterday that we can go anywhere here as long as there's a sign saying 'No Entry'?"

He then swaggered on and continued walking forward. Seeing this, Harry didn't turn back, but quickened his pace to follow Draco.

Soon, they discovered a young female Auror sitting bored in front of a cell.

She seemed to be examining her own fingernails. When she saw Draco and Harry, she initially looked at them with suspicion, but when her gaze shifted to the French Ministry of Magic badges on their chests, she didn't ask any further questions.

Draco mustered his courage and peeked into the cell next to hers. The door was only half closed, and he could clearly see a young man sitting on the hard bed with his knees drawn up to his chest. He looked like he had just been crying, his eyes were red, and he was staring blankly into space.

Upon seeing him, Draco immediately perked up.

"See that? That's the Rozier we met yesterday when we boarded the ship in England! Snape said he's a Squib from the Rozier family!"

Harry didn't understand why he was so agitated.

"What does this have to do with you?"

“You said this is a detention cell. Since he’s here, it proves he committed a crime and was arrested and imprisoned here by the French Aurors!”

Draco was so frightened last night that he didn't hear what Severus and Yuma were talking about afterwards. Harry heard it, but he didn't remember anything about Rozier's name.

Now, the eldest son of the Malfoy family has begun his deduction.

"It must be this guy who got arrested for impersonating a Rozier! He must be a half-blood or a Muggle Squib who wanted to smear the purebloods by lying about being from the Rozier family!"

Harry found his reasoning completely unfounded.

"I don't think that just impersonating a surname would provoke the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic to come out and arrest him."

Draco puffed out his chest and gave a soft snort.

"What do you know? The honor of a pure-blood family cannot be violated. Our surnames are symbols of our nobility. It's an insult that some random Squirrel from who-knows-where can impersonate us! Of course, the Aurors will arrest them!"

Harry glanced at him, said nothing, and went straight to the young witch guarding the door.

"Madam, may we go in and have a word with the gentleman inside?"

(End of this chapter)