The Silent Bookstore Manager at Hogwarts

Strasbourg—Harry had never even heard of the place before. His knowledge of France was limited to the name of Paris and some of the most popular French jokes among the British.

"Because Strasbourg is located near the border and is a mixed area of ​​multiple ethnic groups, the struggle for this place was always very fierce in ancient times, and it only improved in modern times."

Harry squinted. When they arrived in Strasbourg, the sun was rising, and the dawn's rays lavishly adorned everything around them with a golden glow, as if they were wrapped in gold.

"What are we doing here?"

"Tourism, huh? By the way, I've heard there are quite a few interesting things here, since the relics of war still lie quietly underground."

The two walked out of the station. It was very quiet. Pedestrians came and went on the street but paid no attention to the two children. Even though Harry and Red did not use any spells at this time, no one cared why the two children were here.

Where are we staying now?

"It'll probably be some retired Ministry of Magic employee who will have a chat with us; after all, Nicolas Flamel's influence is irreplaceable."

Reid shrugged. They arrived at a small villa according to the address. The owner of the villa, an elderly man with white hair but who looked very warm, greeted them.

"That bastard Nicolas Flamel is still alive? That's amazing... And you two little Englishmen just got here from Paris? He actually remembers me, this poor wretch?"

An elderly man who called himself Andre received the two young wizards. It was clear that he had stopped paying attention to anything in the wizarding world since his retirement, so much so that he knew nothing about what Harry and Red had just done in Paris.

"Alright, alright. Back when that old bastard was building his studio in Paris, I was an Auror at the time, and all I ever thought about was getting that old guy to hand over all the contraband he had on him, otherwise I'm afraid the whole of Paris might have been blown to bits. But then..."

Andrei reminisced about the past for a while, but quickly came to his senses and shook his head.

"Let's not talk about that... Although I can't arrange accommodation for you, as you know, the locals living here always know a few good friends, and I'll recommend a good place for you."

Harry remained silent the entire time until he and Red walked out of the small villa.

"Red........"

"A very nice old man, but he clearly doesn't realize he's quietly settled into his favorite garden, does he?"

Harry nodded. They should have realized it sooner. How could someone who lived in the same era as Nicolas Flamel possibly still be alive today? The kind old man, unaware that he was already dead, still relied on his memories from his previous life to give them a final bit of help.

"Then we won't bother him anymore..."

The two returned to the city, and the address the old man named Andrei had given them was still in business. Although the "friend" Andrei had mentioned had run a hotel in Strasbourg more than a hundred years ago, the hotel was now being run by the old man's descendants.

"This is a really nice place, isn't it?"

The hotel owner sat down leisurely, and for the sake of the generous amount of francs, he specially prepared a local-style stew for Red and Harry, a Strasbourg-style stew with white wine and juniper berries.

This is a specialty dish made with potatoes, carrots, onions, and pork, lamb, or beef; the ingredients are marinated in white wine overnight and then slow-cooked for several hours, infusing the stew with a rich aroma of wine that awakens Harry's empty stomach.

"Don't worry, although we added some wine to marinate it, it won't make you drunk. If you really want to get drunk, you'll have to pair it with our best white wine."

The owner, being an ordinary person, obviously didn't realize that the two people in front of him were actually minors; otherwise, he would never have served a stew made from ingredients marinated in wine.

"Have you identified the problem?"

"Hmm, this place... there's nothing unusual about it, but the whole city seems a bit too..."

Harry sat thoughtfully in the room and answered Red, saying that they didn't have much space today, but Harry had already sensed something wonderful about Strasbourg.

"It's too convoluted, isn't it? In many places, if you're not a local, you would never even imagine that there are roads like this."

Red finished saying what Harry hadn't said.

"Yes, that's it..." Harry nodded firmly, finally realizing what was wrong with what he had been subconsciously feeling.

"This city has been ravaged by war, so it's normal for there to be more side streets and secret passages... Of course, this is also a good thing for us, since the [Night Travel Technique] occasionally uses these side streets."

Harry shuddered. If he were to wander through the streets and alleys of Strasbourg without using any spells, he would get lost in less than half an hour. There were indeed too many alleys and secret passages in the place.

"How about practicing your Doors and Walls first? Locating doors and walls is essential for the operation. Next... Alohomora. Although it's just a lock-picking spell, it can be quite useful when the time is right."

Harry kept these points in mind, and he had become accustomed to following Red's instructions in his practice.

"Of course, the most important thing is... we can explore the battlefield ruins, after all, Strasbourg has indeed seen quite a few battles."

The two then determined their next objective, but what they didn't expect was that the Death Eaters had already begun their operation.

"That boy who miraculously survived... that enemy of the great Dark Lord, he went to France alone and killed him... clearing the way for the Dark Lord's resurrection!!"

The remnants of the Death Eaters reached a basic consensus. They began to slowly emerge from their various hiding places. There were signs of the Dark Lord's resurrection. Although they didn't know who had spread the news, according to the information they had received from the Death Eaters in Britain regarding the Ministry of Magic, the boy named Harry had indeed gone missing. Otherwise, Dumbledore wouldn't have rushed to France so hastily.

"Find the boy before Dumbledore! Then kill him!"

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[Trace: 5] (The Death Eaters have begun their operation; they will start searching France.)