A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 326 The French Aurors have never been so incompetent!

Apache grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and sprinkled it into the miniature fireplace, whereupon a fiery head appeared.

"This is the Paris Carriage Headquarters, Carriage Number Seven. Please state your purpose." A gentle female voice came from inside.

Apache glanced at the door behind him, lowered his voice, and excitedly said to the customer service representative:

"Two wanted criminals by the Ministry of Magic are on our carriage... now!"

The customer service representative paused for a moment, then asked urgently, "Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain!"

The other party hesitated for five seconds before saying again, "I will contact the Ministry of Magic immediately and have them connect to your fireplace via the Floo Network."

The flames went out, and Apache waited anxiously for two minutes before the flames in the fireplace suddenly blazed up again.

It was no longer a young woman, but a middle-aged man. His voice was steady as he said, "I am Odom, the Auror of the Ministry of Magic. Who are you?"

Apache's hands trembled uncontrollably as he excitedly said, "Mr. Auror, I'm Apache, the ticket seller, and the person next to me..."

Odom interrupted impatiently, "Your headquarters contacted the Ministry of Magic and said you saw our wanted criminal—"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Auror." Apache, unperturbed by the other's rudeness, replied cheerfully.

"I compared the photos in the newspaper, and it's definitely them, a man and a woman, not very old, they look like a couple, and they even..."

"Is the wanted criminal currently in your carriage?" Odom interrupted again, "Please answer directly with yes or no!"

"Yes."

"Can they hear you and me? Yes or no?"

"No! There's a door blocking the view—"

Where are you taking them?

Boulevard Lyon.

"Which specific location, or which building?"

"They didn't say, they just told us that when we got there, they would let us park."

Odom hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Where are you now?"

"We've already passed Place Vendôme," driver Russell quickly reported, much like he was using a map app.

"Two minutes later we arrived at the Tuileries Gardens; five minutes later, we reached the Arc de Triomphe du Triomphe; ten minutes later, we passed the Jude Boehm National Museum; fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the Louvre."

"If you send an Auror now, as long as the Apparition appears at the next intersection, it will be able to..."

Odom hesitated for a moment, then refused, saying, "Don't stop, don't slow down, keep going straight to Lyon Boulevard. We'll immediately send Aurors to ambush there; we have our own plan."

"But, Mr. Auror..." Apache became impatient.

"No buts, they're just little wizards, they're not dangerous at all, don't be afraid!" Odom's voice was deep.

Hearing the other person's stern tone, Apache shrank back.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "Didn't you say in the newspapers that the other side was dangerous?"

Now you're comforting me, saying it's just a little wizard and there's no danger at all?

You're kidding me!

"I want you to keep an eye on them both and make sure they don't show any unusual behavior," Odom carefully instructed.

"If Stark apparates with that girl, you'll have to follow him..."

"But sir, I can't Apparate, and I haven't obtained the certificate."

"...Then don't show anything unusual! We'll stay in touch, so keep in touch at all times."

"I understand." Apache's voice trembled as he asked, "Mr. Auror, about the bonus mentioned in the news..."

"As long as we catch them, you won't lose a single penny!" Odom said impatiently.

Odom left the fireplace, and Clegane, the Chief of the Legal Enforcement Division, standing beside him, revealed a slight smile on his cold face.

"Finally, news from Stark," Clegane said softly. "It wasn't for nothing that I faced so much pressure to issue a nationwide warrant for the Order of Merlin."

Especially young British wizards.

Frankly speaking, if this matter goes wrong, Clegane's political career will probably be over.

The other party was not an ordinary wizard after all; he was a genius with some reputation in Britain and even internationally... not to mention that he was only fourteen years old.

But if Scamander's box is found and the Englishman is successfully convicted, his prestige in the country will soar, and it's not impossible for him to become the next minister.

"Sir, why don't we just wait at the intersection where the carriage will pass and intercept Stark?" Odom paused for a moment.

"That ticket seller is obviously an idiot. I'm afraid he'll give himself away and Stark will Apparate away with the girl."

“No, a young wizard can’t use magic outside of school,” Clegane shook his head. “He won’t Apparate in front of the ticket seller; that would leave evidence.”

"But he's already used a lot of magic, and may have even illegally used compound potions!"

"Yes, we know that, but do you have any proof?" Clegane said angrily.

"Stark just arrived in Paris and registered his wand. Has the wand licensing office detected any magic in his wand?"

"No." Odom's momentum weakened.

Stark left the hotel with a second-year witch, then went to the scene of the Scamander attack, and then quietly left, disappearing completely.

Throughout the entire process, who among you witnessed him casting a spell?

Odom shook his head in shame. What the director said was true, but the more true it was, the more incompetent they seemed.

The French Aurors had never been so helpless, being completely outmaneuvered by a minor wizard.

"Therefore, to understand a person, one must begin with what they have done," Clegane said earnestly.

"Stark won't leave us any leverage; I clearly underestimated the kid."

"The youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin... At first I thought he was just lucky, but now it seems I was wrong, terribly wrong."

Odom was taken aback; it was the first time he had ever heard the director admit his mistake.

"Immediately send all Aurors to lie in ambush on Lyon Avenue. Our target has never been Stark, but Scamander's chest."

Since he went there, the box is probably there too.

"We must find and convict Scamander, or we will become a laughingstock of France internationally," Clegane ordered.

Just then, another Auror rushed over and whispered, "Sir, something's happened."

"What's wrong?" Crigan asked.

"Many Dementors have been discovered near the northern coastline."

"Dementors?" Clegane frowned. "Why aren't they in Azkaban? How did they get to France?"

"It's unclear at the moment, but the other party seems very arrogant and has already attacked several Muggles."

"What are these British guys doing?" Clegane said angrily.

"One Scamander and one Stark have already kept us on our toes, and now they've sent Dementors... Do they really think France is their backyard?"

"Immediately banish the Dementors, then lodge a protest with the International Confederation of Wizards, requesting sanctions against the foolish British Ministry of Magic!"

The Auror paused for a moment, then turned and left, seemingly to write a letter of protest.

Odom, standing to the side, couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"If protests were effective, there would be no Grindelwald and Voldemort."

Besides, the Grand Master of the Federation is the great Dumbledore… he’s that damned Englishman.”

……

……

The carriage sped along Voltaire Boulevard.

William turned his head to look out the window. He could see the facade of the famous Dossauds Museum of Fine Arts.

As the gaze continues to move, the ancient Ramses Obelisk comes into view, the symbol of the Jude Boehm National Gallery.

Hermione tilted her head and leaned on William's shoulder, gazing absently at the scenery outside the carriage with the boy.

Hermione, however, was thinking about something else: if only the carriage could travel like this forever.

The cockpit door opened, and the ticket seller came out.

Hermione was startled by the sound of the door opening and gently raised her head.

Apache quickly closed the door, found a seat, and started fiddling with his radio.

Hermione looked around, then suddenly sat up straight in her chair, as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh, Merlin, William!" She turned to look at him, her face ashen.

Apache stared intently at the "extremely dangerous" fugitives.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then resolutely stammered in her broken French, which was worth only five knuts:

"William, we...we've come to the wrong place!"

"Hmm?" William looked at the girl, puzzled.

Hermione held William's hand tightly, her eyes shining with determination.

"No! We shouldn't go to the Boulevard Lyon, we should go to..."

Hermione couldn't remember how to say Louvre in French, so she pointed to the glass pyramid that was slowly appearing in the distance.

"The Louvre?" William prompted in French.

"Yes, we should go to the Louvre..."

"Scamander's trunk is in the Louvre!" Hermione said in broken French.

"I swear on the honor of the Ministry of Magic, I'm absolutely certain!"

William frowned...Does the Ministry of Magic have any reputation?

Isn't that thing just like Fudge's integrity, already shattered into pieces?

……

……

(End of this chapter)