A certain Hogwarts professor of runes.

Everyone fell silent.

Daniel's tone softened slightly as he looked at Yuria. "The situation was urgent before, and communication wasn't smooth, so I didn't have time to ask in detail. How did you manage to create such a commotion? I don't remember passing any information to you. Was it someone else's intelligence? Fury? Herman? Kelly?"

The others looked at Yuria, who had initiated the operation.

“It’s the New York Ghost, Daniel,” Julia said sheepishly. “Matt saw in it that Celeste was going to a conference in Paris, France. He and I contacted a few people privately, all graduates. We thought we were good enough, so we didn’t tell anyone…”

“We are prepared to kidnap her and extract evidence of her crimes and intelligence from some high-ranking members of Congress.”

Daniel looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Yuria said frankly, "It went very smoothly at first. We found the right opportunity to launch a surprise attack. Celeste and her henchmen were no match for them, let alone those Muggle research experts. But then two Congress Aurors suddenly appeared. They were very strong. We retreated all the way, but we were still being pursued. Matt was captured while trying to buy us time to escape..."

Daniel added, “That was Celeste’s hidden power. The French Ministry of Magic only approved her and Cecil, and did not allow Aurors from Parliament to enter the country. Celeste chose two of her most trusted people to smuggle them in to protect her, and Corey Menon was one of them.”

"No wonder they made their move discreetly when we were about to succeed, and deliberately avoided the French Aurors!" Julia suddenly realized.

"Brother Daniel, weren't you there at the time?"

Daniel said irritably, "If I were here, none of this would have happened!"

He calmed down and said, "Let's go through this again. You and Matt got intelligence from the newspapers and secretly organized the first operation, but it was defeated by Celeste's hidden forces, and Matt was captured. Afterwards, in order to rescue Matt, you gathered more people and planned this operation."

Yuria nodded.

Daniel continued his analysis: "This is your perspective. Now I'll tell you how Celeste and I view this operation, which will also serve as a warning to you: you should know that you made too many mistakes in the process!"

Everyone stared at him in utter silence.

"Because of my presence and the presence of some other people, her first two entrapment attempts both failed."

"Thanks to Brother Daniel's intelligence!"

“We are all members of the Reformation.” Daniel shook his head. “This meeting… I’m not sure if she saw it as a trap, after all, it’s too risky and could easily cause an international dispute. Of course, she might have been forced into a corner! But she must have been prepared, so she ordered her two most trusted Aurors to sneak into France and hide in the shadows.”

"Your first operation failed under these circumstances!"

"As for me, Abuk, and others, we knew nothing about it."

"After that, Celeste got the chance to get the list because he captured Matt, and he also thought that you might launch a rescue operation, so he contacted Congress to send more people. Abbey and I were in the second batch."

“Celeste’s excuse is to guard against Grindelwald’s admirers, but I’ve gotten some inside information from Corey Menon and I suspect it might be your doing.”

"At this point, Abbey and I have become another important influencing factor, following Celeste, you, and the French Ministry of Magic."

The others listened intently, but Yuria only knew that Matt had been captured and that she had gathered everyone to rescue him, unaware of the many twists and turns involved.

Chapter 167 Perspective and Decision

Daniel continued to explain

"At this point, Celeste began to make mistakes."

"Her first mistake was that she didn't anticipate that the French Ministry of Magic would not agree to Parliament sending additional personnel to assist in the defense, so the seven of us American Aurors couldn't appear in the open. Therefore, although the French side sent more personnel, her own power and information channels were actually compromised."

"But she also made a remedial plan: first, Parcel contacted us, and second, she asked us to take turns monitoring the hotel, especially on the day of the meeting, which is today."

“But then came her second mistake.” Daniel laughed. “She didn’t realize I and Abok were there, which gave us the opportunity to tamper with things.”

"Actually, we only did three things, and luckily, we succeeded in all of them. First, we found out where Matt was being held, in the basement of the hotel; second, we contacted Yuria, but we actually encountered the same problem as Celeste, communication was not good, even worse than her."

He glanced at Yuria. "Otherwise, I would advise you to cancel the second attack and look for another opportunity to rescue Matt."

"Fortunately, we gave you the most crucial information: including the time Abuk and I would be on duty from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, and Matt's whereabouts!"

"The third thing is that, as agreed, Abuk and I lied and said we had discovered your trail, and took the others away to give you time to act. It was only five minutes, but those five minutes were crucial."

“As for Celeste’s third mistake,” Daniel said, his expression turning serious, “that was also your mistake; she underestimated your recklessness.”

"She never expected that you would organize a rescue team of more than fifty people. Yuria, most of the people following you are still in school. Have you considered how irrational your actions are?"

"Have you thought about what would happen if there were injuries or fatalities?" he said sternly.

Yuria lowered his head in shame; he really hadn't thought that far ahead.

Byers, standing to the side, stubbornly said, "We were prepared! They'll erase my parents' memories anyway, won't they?"

Daniel looked at the tears welling up in his eyes and hesitated to speak.

Yuria tugged at Byers' arm and looked at Daniel: "It was indeed my fault. I shouldn't have involved them, and I shouldn't have launched an operation without investigating properly. If that gentleman hadn't shown mercy, we would have been wiped out long ago."

Daniel asked curiously, "Are there any masters in the French Auror?"

Yuria said bitterly, "No, he's a Muggle research expert. He, he's simply... I can't describe how powerful he is."

Daniel was very curious about the Muggle research expert he mentioned. Were there really experts in this profession? But he knew this wasn't the right time to ask.

The others listened to the entire incident in a daze; it was far more complicated than they had anticipated.

"Brother Daniel, are you coming directly to our side?" Yuria asked.

“You gave me three hidden addresses. I’ve already been to the other two. Matt was very kind; he told me he didn’t reveal a single word,” Daniel said with a smile.

"Well done, Matt!"

"Good job!"

“Brother Daniel,” Julia asked worriedly, “Matt has been exposed. Will Celeste target him?”

Daniel thought for a moment, “I don’t think so, but there will definitely be surveillance, and you definitely won’t be able to contact him in the short term.”

The group looked at each other in silence, their initial excitement turning somber.

Yuria remained silent, deep in thought; this series of events had helped him grow immensely.

After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and said to everyone, "I'm going to turn myself in."

"what!"

"No, Julia!"

"Think about what we're doing this for!"

They started clamoring, and a burly wizard shouted angrily, "Let's just gather everyone and fight our way back!"

The two adult wizards exchanged a glance. Daniel said, "If you want to check on Bethney's condition, there's no need to rush. There's no need to put yourself in this situation..."

“No, Daniel,” Yuria said calmly, glancing around until everyone was silent before speaking, “Comrades, this might be an opportunity.”

Yuria raised her voice: "Think about it, Celeste went to great lengths to cover it up before. Seeing that our Reform Society had grown stronger, she wanted to secretly arrest people and get the list of personnel. But the two traps she set up before failed because of Brother Daniel's advance notice, and she started to panic! This time she was prepared as well, and in a sense, she succeeded."

"She caught Matt!"

The eyes of the others fell on him, following his constantly moving figure.

"But she failed. As Daniel said, she may have anticipated that we would launch a rescue, but she didn't expect so many people to come, nor did she expect that our companions would be among the Aurors assigned to her!"

Yuria continued to organize his thoughts, looking sincerely at everyone. "So, this is an opportunity, an opportunity to make things really big!"

“You write to Les Magica de France and Les Cats, and I will turn myself in.”

"If I am guilty, let the law judge me, and let the world remember my crimes!"

……

Felix was organizing his manuscript in his room. He figured the meeting was going to fall apart. A small number of Muggle research experts had slipped away the moment the attack happened, and the rest of the unlucky ones were either sent to the hospital or came back to demand answers after waking up. The French Ministry of Magic was in a complete mess and things hadn't calmed down yet.

Moreover, with half of the hotel collapsed, how could the meeting possibly proceed? Fortunately, no one died.

Celeste's troubles are even greater. Although she averted the worst consequence—the death of a girl named Bethney—the matter can no longer be covered up, and she is likely to face quadruple accountability from the public, the French Ministry of Magic, the Magical Congress of the United States, and the International Federation of Wizarding Societies.

Felix picked up a stack of newspaper clippings from the bedside table. Maxwell had given them to him, and most of them were about Celeste herself, from her political views and public statements to the legal system she established, and so on...

In one particular headline, she held up her magic wand and delivered a passionate speech, the title of which was her famous quote: "Law is the cornerstone of order, and we are the cornerstone of law."

Felix tossed the clippings into the air, watched them turn to ashes, and gave a mocking smile.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside: panicked shouts and hurried footsteps were clearly audible.

Felix looked puzzled. He walked out of the room and into the lobby on the first floor, where the officials from the French Ministry of Magic had incredulous expressions on their faces.

Felix grabbed the young Auror's arm. "What happened?"

"Mr. Haip," he stammered, "something terrible has happened!"

"Reporters have all arrived, and Muggle research experts from various countries are also watching..."

Who are we watching?

"The attackers! Or rather, two of Iphamoni's students!"

Chapter 168 The Snowball of the Times

This has really blown up.

Felix stepped out of the hotel, the flash of his magic camera dazzling, puffs of purple smoke billowing from it. The French magical journalists were as excited as if they'd taken a maniacal potion, their noses and necks flushed an unnatural red.

Two black-robed wizards stood in the courtyard, with an empty space around them. People seemed to have a conflicted feeling; they wanted to get closer to take a look, but they also harbored some apprehension, so they chose an awkward spot.

Their masks had been removed, revealing two young faces.

“Byers, you don’t need to come along,” Yuria whispered.

“I’ve already been seen, so what’s there to be afraid of? I just hope I can see Besni one last time before I’m locked up,” Byers said nonchalantly.

"You might regret it."

"At least not yet. Why haven't they arrested us yet? The reporters have been taking pictures for a while now, and to be honest, the flashes are making my eyes water."

Julia said rationally, "The longer it drags on, the better. See? Celeste is dumbfounded."

Celeste was truly stunned. She was warning Moore, who was constantly wiping his sweat, in a commanding tone, "Mr. Director, you cannot let reporters in. This concerns the diplomacy of our two countries."

Moore uttered a string of indistinct French: "I can't control them, but journalists have that right."

"Shouldn't we at least take these two students with us?"

“I can’t make that decision; it concerns diplomacy between our two countries,” Moore retorted with the same words. “I’ve already informed the minister that I won’t do anything until he arrives. Perhaps you can do it yourself.”

Celeste was certainly not foolish enough to do it herself; didn't she see the reporters outside were already bursting with excitement?

Is she going to add fuel to the fire?

What will her reputation be like tomorrow?