Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 224 The Investigation of Paris
"I did come to Paris this time with the intention of exploring the market..."

When Mrs. Rosier brought up the mirror business, Melvin was very cooperative. He slowed down his eating pace and chatted about the development of mirrors while enjoying his meal, starting from when he left Ilvermorny and started his career on Broadway, and all the way to when mirrors were sold to thousands of wizards in Britain.

"...When I first arrived in London, I was looking for a magical medium to play images. My initial idea was to use developing solution, but the shop assistant told me that high-quality developing solution cost several thousand gallons and could only play for ten minutes."

Mrs. Rosier had obviously heard old Vida's introduction and had also learned about the mirror through her own channels beforehand, but she still listened patiently to Melvin talk about these trivial matters, and asked about the details from time to time and gave him a few words of praise.

“Bringing in tavern owners to help with distribution and providing expensive bespoke services—this isn’t selling mirrors, it’s selling style.” Madame Rozier spoke with a faint smile, her tone low, yet her praise conveyed a sense of importance. “If the mirror business expands to Paris, the Rozier family will certainly spend a fortune to purchase them.”

The main focus of the conversation had changed, but the atmosphere at the table remained harmonious. Christine and Mr. Rozier, father and daughter, sat quietly to the side, playing the role of background figures; this was clearly not their first time experiencing such an occasion.

"I just borrowed some sales strategies from Muggle luxury goods," Melvin said modestly.

“Melvin, I’d like to ask when we can buy the mirror in Paris?” Madame Rozier asked casually.

“The distribution of the mirrors here is still a long way off,” Melvin sighed, feigning regret. “I don’t know anyone in Paris, I can’t even find the door to a tavern, and I don’t know what the mead tastes like here. I probably can’t replicate the distribution model in Britain.”

"The Rozier family has close ties with the current Senior Deputy Minister and knows wizards in the Transportation Department who can help with introductions. We also have some involvement in the tavern business, although it's just renting and selling shops and trading brewing ingredients..."

Mrs. Rozier paused briefly, then said, “If you are willing to trust Rozier, we can offer some small assistance.”

Seeing that the two were actually starting to discuss business, Christine could no longer sit still and interrupted the conversation: "Distributing mirrors requires thorough preparation. In Budapest, Aunt Vida caused a lot of trouble because of insufficient preparation..."

In her description, the distribution work was very difficult. In the early stages, she had to spend money to develop the market and stimulate the demand of wizards to buy the mirrors. She was responsible for purchasing and shipping goods. Later, she had to deal with all kinds of customers who would cause trouble, entertain high-end customized customers, and handle after-sales consultation. In short, it was very complicated and required thorough consideration and preparation before discussing it.

"Professor Levent is only here to investigate. Mother, you should also consider it carefully. Perhaps you can have a more detailed talk with Aunt Vida."

Christine finished speaking in one breath.

Mr. Rozier, standing nearby, was astonished, his eyes filled with a mixture of heartache and joy. It seemed that life outside was truly a test of character; when had his taciturn daughter ever spoken so much?

“My Christine has really grown up.” Mrs. Rozier looked at her deeply, her long eyelashes drooping, shadows obscuring the fine lines on her face, as if she were truly lost in thought, and did not ask any further questions.

The table fell silent for a moment, with only the clinking of silver cutlery. Melvin slowly ate his foie gras, feeling the gazes directed at him. As the only person at the table who didn't have the surname Rozier, the three of them would unconsciously glance at him a few more times before quickly looking away.

Christine breathed a slight sigh of relief. They had agreed before entering the house that mentioning the mirror business was just to appease her mother; they could discuss it but wouldn't make any promises.

However, Rozier's mother was shrewd after all, and she almost suggested selling the product. Professor Levent would then be persuaded by her words and wouldn't be able to refuse, so he might reluctantly agree.

She didn't want to put Melvin in a difficult position.

Melvin wiped his mouth with a napkin, breaking the silence at the table: "Compared to distributing video mirrors, I would prefer the Rozier family to provide excellent video content."

"Oh?"

All three Roziers simultaneously looked up at the young professor.

"In fact, selling mirrors only earns some short-term, meager profits. The truly valuable and long-term business is filming programs. The British Prophet newspaper has already begun to expand its news media, and the advertising revenue is very substantial. Our school's professor of magical creatures has produced Animal World, and it is currently reaping considerable profits."

Melvin said with a smile, "The Malfoy and Nott families, both pure-blood families, are planning to produce a history of magic film in order to expand their family's influence."

Mrs. Rosier's icy blue eyes brightened slightly.

Just as Christine was about to say something, she suddenly noticed Melvin gesturing to her under the table, signaling her not to interrupt for the time being.

Christine's heart skipped a beat. She suspected that Melvin had sensed her mother's displeasure, but this displeasure was directed at her and had nothing to do with Melvin. In fact, there was no need to actually promise the Magic Mirror Club business. Just saying some polite words would be enough to get by. Her mother wouldn't care about anything. In order to win this business, she would agree to send people to participate in the investigation.

The two businessmen began to discuss the details, while Christine turned her head and spoke quietly to her father, serving as the background noise of this business meeting. Meanwhile, Melvin and Mrs. Rozier had already raised their glasses, their smiles genuine as they clinked glasses. Although it still resembled business dealings, at least they were harmonious and sincere business partners.

Feeling like she owed someone a huge favor, Christine sighed inwardly.

She had planned to deceive her mother and then make amends in her own way, whether by leveraging Ms. Maxim's influence or introducing business opportunities in Romania, which would benefit the Rosier family and give them an advantage in the factional struggles within the Ministry of Magic. The only difficulty was that she wanted to use this opportunity to reconcile with her mother.

Mrs. Rosier was not a gentle mother in the traditional sense, but she was not a cruel witch who mistreated her daughter either. She simply had the entire family on her shoulders and spent her days scrutinizing contracts and documents. After dealing with cunning rivals for so long, it was difficult for a noblewoman to express her emotions normally.

But a mother is a mother, and Christine could sense those emotions. As the head of the Rosier family, it was normal for her to have expectations for her only daughter. If she followed the arrangement to study alchemy, enter the Ministry of Magic, or get close to Nicolas Flamel and help Rosier regain his glory, their relationship might be very harmonious.

But she just didn't like alchemy, didn't want her future to be arranged by others, and didn't want to talk about business and profits all the time.

Professor Levent offered a new option that benefited the Rozier family and allowed her to reconcile with her mother.

After all, this is her home, and she can't stay in the Pyrenees for every holiday. Even Ms. Maxim travels every year.

Mr. Rozier, hearing the two discussing plans to film a history of magic, became curious and asked, "Professor Levent, which period of magical history are they planning to film? The early days of the British Ministry of Magic?"

"The time span is quite long; it should start from the time the Wizarding Council was established."

Melvin recalled Lucius's script, unsure of the specific timeframe. Mentioning the Wizarding Council piqued Mr. Rozier's interest; he seemed exceptionally knowledgeable about that period of history, speaking eloquently about it, analyzing the Wizarding Council's management system and internal structure from an academic perspective. He mentioned that the Wizarding Council was not only the precursor to the Ministry of Magic but also to the International Confederation of Wizards, defining humanity, identifying intelligent species, and managing dangerous magical creatures.

When Melvin heard him mention the historical details, he suddenly realized that this history of magic was far more magnificent and long than he had imagined. It not only involved British wizards, but also other countries and even other races. It encompassed not only the changes in pure-blood families and ordinary wizards, but also the migration and evolution of non-human intelligent creature groups.

Melvin became slightly excited and suddenly began to look forward to this magical history drama.

Magical intelligent beings are also interested in their own history. If related content appears in the images, centaurs, mermaids, and Veela will also be interested in the mirror, which could be used as an opportunity to expand the mirror to other creature groups.

Just then, the house-elves came over to serve dessert, and Christine took the opportunity to bring up the purpose of her trip: "Mother, the matter of the Magic Mirror Club may have to be put on hold for a while. We've been investigating the Purifiers case these past few days, and we have information on several hundred young wizards that we need to check. Could you send some people from home to help?"

Mrs. Rosier glanced at her. No wonder she suddenly brought the young professor home and had to carefully plan to mobilize her family's resources. She was both annoyed and amused: "What kind of case is it that Beauxbatons and the Auror Bureau of the Ministry of Magic don't have enough manpower together and you have to come home to ask for help?"

"You specifically invited Melvin to act as a lobbyist, do you think I would refuse?"

"After wandering outside for two years, do you still remember your surname?"

"..."

Christine shrank back, the usually composed witch now resembling a little girl who had done something wrong.

“I’ll have people gather at the Ministry of Magic tomorrow morning. You can give them your orders yourself,” Mrs. Rosier said expressionlessly.

……

The soft light from the crystal candlesticks spilled down as the person seated at the head of the table in the side hall watched the guests leave, her back hunched almost imperceptibly as she leaned back in her chair and sighed softly. The house-elves cleared the table even more quickly, afraid of offending the mistress.

“Nino said Christine saw Melvin off,” said Mr. Rozier beside him. “Melvin didn’t want to stay overnight, and they didn’t take the talismanic carriage. They saw him off at the door and then Apparated away. Christine is still in the garden and will be back soon.”

"I understand." Mrs. Rozier pinched the bridge of her nose, her voice sounding slightly tired.

"The business deal just now didn't reach a definite agreement, did it?" Mr. Rozier stood up and massaged his wife's shoulders. "In the past, when discussing business at the dinner table, you would always ask the other party for a definite commitment, preferably with a contract. This time, it seems like you didn't ask for anything, just a vague intention."

“Melvin and I have reached an understanding that leaves room for each other. Over the years, I have been very eager to do business, but those were all trivial deals. Melvin is different.”

Mr. Rozier nodded, his hands moving gently: "The mirror is a big business."

“I want to invest not only in scale and profits, nor just in the mirror, but also in Melvin himself,” Mrs. Rosier said softly. “He has cultivated his own power in Romania, Budapest, America, and Britain, and with the mirror he has accumulated wealth in a short time that other families have not accumulated in hundreds of years… He is the new Nicolas Flamel with this Midas touch.”

Mr. Rozier paused for a moment. In Paris, France, the name Nicolas Flamel was almost as famous as Merlin.

……

The next morning, before dawn.

In Furstenberg Square, a group of wizards stood in the morning mist, their figures ethereal and indistinct, wearing the Rozier family crest on their chests, their faces solemn.

Two figures stood in front of them, one of whom was Miss Rozier, and the other was Melvin, a temporary member of the investigation team.

Not far away was the birdcage elevator of the Ministry of Magic, with Aurors constantly hurrying by carrying folders. People came and went, occasionally casting glances in this direction, but all kept their distance and observed from afar.

After Mr. Bonnell and Mr. Grevis left last night, they immediately recalled the Aurors who had finished their shifts. They had been searching through the files all night, and after several hours of overtime, they had only managed to eliminate a group of local junior wizards, which meant they hadn't found any useful clues.

However, narrowing the scope of the investigation is equivalent to advancing the investigation process, and it is believed that the cult members and the trail of the Momo will be locked soon.

The wizards employed by the Rozier family were not officially employed and could not be called up overnight like the Ministry of Magic. Instead, they gathered all the staff in the morning and assembled at the entrance of the Ministry of Magic. Christine was distributing envelopes and only mentioned checking student information, without revealing anything about the Obscurus.

At this moment, Christine was giving instructions in an orderly manner: "What you need to do is verify the students' identities, report any abnormal situations in a timely manner, and if you encounter any unexpected situations, do not linger in the fight. Return to the Ministry of Magic immediately or notify others nearby. The purpose of this operation is to investigate, and arrests are not your concern."

"Yes, ma'am."

A series of popping sounds rang out, and the figures of this group of local Parisian wizards disappeared into the morning mist.

"Very much like an Auror captain," Melvin muttered.

Christine turned to the young professor, pursed her lips, and said, "Let's begin."

The two walked out of the square side by side, their figures darting through the streets of Paris. They heard no obvious sounds, and with just a slight lift of their feet, they were at one end of the street one moment and at the other the next.

A gentle breeze blew from the banks of the Seine. On this midsummer June morning, the fog was exceptionally thick. Even after the sun rose, the fog did not dissipate. People dressed in strange costumes appeared from time to time in the streets and alleys of Paris.

Christine lowered her voice: "I checked all the envelopes, and there's no little wizard named Bastad."

“Maybe this is just a nickname given by cultists, and that's not the girl’s real name.” Melvin quickly flipped through the envelope in his hand. There were no familiar names, but he did see Bastian, a typical French name.

(End of this chapter)