Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 133 Even if they are, they cannot be.
Auror Command Headquarters, Archives.

After comparing the last set of architectural data, it took Severus and his four companions a whole day to finally examine all the magical building materials in the archives.

They have now identified five buildings that resemble the front view of the apartment building that Severus photographed.

But even after finding these, Severus's intuition told him that these were not the final answers.

These buildings always seem to lack something—they're either not big enough, not tall enough, or not isolated enough, and they don't have any special significance in themselves.

Severus did not give up. He quickly asked Yuma to help him contact Gilar and ask the busy Auror manager to make time to meet with him.

After lunch, in Girard's office, Severus handed Girard the architectural photographs he was holding.

"I've heard that the Minister's office keeps some of the French Ministry of Magic's top-secret documents, including some building-related materials. Given my position, I doubt I'll have the opportunity to request access to these documents. If you have that authority, you could use these photos to compare them with the documents and see if there are any matches."

Gilard clearly wasn't going to give Severus a perfunctory answer.

This former Slytherin headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has proven his abilities in many ways since arriving in France.

Since he came to see me specifically about this matter, he must have discovered something.

Gilard took the photos from Severus and agreed.

"I have another meeting to attend later. I will go to the Minister of Magic at 2 p.m. to apply for permission to conduct the investigation and comparison myself. I should be able to give you the results by 4 p.m. at the latest."

After Severus agreed to the matter, Gilard went to the minister's office as soon as he finished his work.

With permission from the Minister of Magic, she took the photos to the safe containing all the top secrets.

There wasn't much material available here, and even less with images. Girard quickly completed most of the comparisons until she picked up a document labeled "[August 13, 1944, Austria]".

This document contains a large number of photos.

When he saw those photos, Gilard's eyes clearly froze!
She held in one hand the photo Severus had taken of the apartment building on the street, and in the other a full-length photo of a building from the archives. She was completely paralyzed, as if struck by a petrification spell, unable to move except for increasingly rapid breathing.

It took more than ten minutes for Gilar to come back to his senses!
She stood up from the chair in a flustered and nervous manner. In her haste, she accidentally knocked over a large document in the safe, which contained some secret plots between the French Ministry of Magic and the fairies during the English fairy rebellion.

But Girard didn't even think about putting the documents away again. Instead, he took the two photos in his hand and quickly walked out of the secret room, returning to the minister's office!
She found the current French Minister of Magic, Rousseau, and handed him the two almost identical photographs of the buildings.

"You have to see this! Look at this!"

Russo is an elderly wizard who has only served as minister for three years, but he has been working in the French Ministry of Magic for sixty years, serving as director of three departments for twenty years before being elected minister.

He was clearly more familiar with the top-secret photograph about "Austria" than Girard.

"Who took this picture?" He held up the apartment building photo that Severus had taken and asked in a deep voice.

Gilard answered truthfully.
“Severus Snape was invited to assist in the investigation after we learned that the killers of the kidnapping might be the Death Eaters. He was the first to discover Thomas Shafik’s identity and immediately realized that the killer might be targeting the monastery funded by the Lemaîtres and his friends, and he stopped it.”

"Now he has realized that there is something wrong with the building itself, and he followed the clues and asked me to help compare the confidential information that he has no right to access, and discovered the similarity between the two photos."

After she finished speaking, the office was quiet. After a long while, Russo gently took off his glasses and asked in a voice that he tried his best to control his emotions.

"So, he was right. The group that kidnapped Nick Flamel was indeed using this Muggle apartment building to conduct a simulation experiment. Their true identity, or rather, their ultimate goal, was..."

He didn't say the last sentence, but his hand was already clenched tightly holding the photo, his knuckles turning white!
Gilard was also pale.

"I... I can't believe this is true! Maybe it's just a coincidence, or maybe it's a trick by those murderers to scare us! They're just using this to intimidate us!"

"Of course it can't be true!"

Russo slammed his hand on the table, as if he had also found corroborating evidence!

“Those people were completely wiped out by us decades ago! How could there possibly be any remnants? A single photo similarity is not enough to prove their connection! Didn’t you say this morning that you had found some crucial clues?”

Gilard swallowed hard.

"Yes, we've found a prophetic crystal ball and are gathering experts to try and decipher it."

“Then let’s focus on this!” Russo pushed the apartment building photo back to Girard. “Tell that professor from England that his suspicions are misguided! There’s nowhere in the wizarding world that resembles this building. Make him abandon that line of investigation and cooperate with your investigation of that prophetic crystal ball!”

"I understand."

Girard took a deep breath, took the photograph Severus had taken, and before leaving, she suddenly turned back to Russo and asked him a question, as if possessed.

"Mr. Minister, if it really is those people..."

However, before she could finish speaking, Russo's face hardened, and he said decisively.

"There is no 'if'! Whoever they are! They absolutely cannot be those people! Even if they are, they cannot be!"

His last sentence was contradictory and sounded like nonsense, but Gilard understood it.

The Auror manager, known for her toughness, the Iron Lady witch, tacitly accepted this answer.

(End of this chapter)