Early in the morning, Yuma came to fetch Severus and Lupin.

He first took the two to his office and briefly explained the situation currently known by the French Aurors.

"We discovered Nicolas Flamel's disappearance on the afternoon of August 2nd, at four o'clock. At the time, the house-elf that had long served the Flamel Family came to us, saying its two masters had left in the morning and never returned… something that had never happened before."

"In the past, no matter what they went out to do, they would always inform the house-elf of their return time so it could prepare accordingly. But this time, Mr. Flamel said before leaving that he was going to attend an appointment and would be back by lunchtime, or at the latest, two in the afternoon. However, the house-elf waited until four o'clock and still saw no sign of their return."

"The house-elf panicked and went straight to the Ministry, reporting the situation and pleading with us to find them."

"Afterward, we investigated the Flamels' movements. From their friend, the current headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Madame Maxime, we learned that on the morning of the 2nd, the Flamels were supposed to attend a gathering of the French Alchemy Association. Though they had long resigned as chairpersons, they remained key figures in the organization."

"However, according to the alchemists present, the Flamels only stayed for two hours before abruptly leaving, as if they had received some urgent news. After that, no one knew where they went."

As Yuma spoke, he handed copies of the Ministry's findings to Severus and Lupin, showing them the testimonies from the house-elf and the alchemists.

"On the night of the 2nd, while we stationed Aurors at the Flamel Family's residence, we also dispatched four teams to investigate their friends and frequented locations. Eventually, we found a lead at a small monastery on the outskirts of Paris, where a witch resided."

"The lead came from Sister Shelly Aimee, a nun at the monastery. The Flamels had sponsored the place, which often took in Muggle orphans and aided the elderly. Sister Aimee was a witch who had moved from a church in Sweden to France eight years ago and had maintained a close relationship with the Flamels."

"After contacting Sister Aimee, she told us that around one in the afternoon on the 2nd, she had seen the couple in the 16th arrondissement. They looked unwell, and when she greeted them, they seemed not to notice her. At the time, she noticed two men in poorly matched Muggle clothing accompanying them. These are the sketches our Aurors drew based on Sister Aimee's description."

He pulled out two charcoal sketches and handed them to Severus and Lupin.

Severus glanced at the portraits. One of the men, who had Middle Eastern features, looked somewhat familiar. At this point, he interjected with a question.

"Since I've been in Britain for a long time, I'm not entirely clear on how your Ethics Review Committee operates here. But given that this concerns the Flamels, such a critical lead… did you request the sister to provide her memory?"

Yuma nodded and took a deep breath.

"We immediately submitted an application to the Wizarding Ethics Review Committee. Once approved, we carefully asked the sister for her consent. As she had devoted her life to the church, magical clergy are usually wary of such requests. But as a friend of the Flamels, she selflessly agreed to extract her memory from that afternoon and provided it to us."

"The original memory is stored in the archives, and nearly every Auror involved in the case has reviewed it. Just as Sister Aimee described, she did see the Flamels that afternoon in the 16th arrondissement. The two men accompanying them were accurately depicted in the sketches after adjustments."

"We've now issued warrants for these two men and enlisted the help of Muggle police. From questioning Muggles living near that street, we identified an apartment."

Yuma finally produced a photograph, which is a picture of a young couple that looked familiar to Severus.

"Patrick Rosier and Mary Rosier. They married a year ago. Mary is a pure Muggle, while Patrick is a Squib from the Rosier Family!"

…

To be honest, though Harry had acted confident and firm when agreeing to Draco's request, he felt uneasy once they actually stepped out.

Draco had at least attended many wizarding events with Lucius and had seen plenty of grand occasions. But what had Harry experienced since leaving with Severus?

Being kidnapped alongside a Muggle girl by a vampire and a wizard, then started living on the run with them.

Being taken by a pack of werewolves and living with a group of children and Lupin.

The consequences of these incidents were severe, but in the moment, Harry hadn't fully grasped their weight.

What stuck with him most was standing up in front of the werewolves, fully expecting to be bitten to death, and declaring himself the student of Severus Snape.

But even then, there hadn't been many people around.

Later, he'd visited the British Ministry of Magic several times with his teacher, but Kingsley had always been there to receive them.

Besides, Severus had been by his side, so Harry never felt like it was a particularly formal place.

Now, though, as he walked alone (Draco was naturally excluded) through the halls of a government that governed every aspect of wizarding life in a foreign country, he truly felt the solemnity and grandeur brought by power and politics.

Every witch and wizard in the corridors seemed to be in a hurry, each carrying documents that could determine the fate of individuals or entire groups within the French's Wizarding World.

In the shadows along the walls, small black cats occasionally darted between legs, their mouths full of materials that kept the Ministry's departments running.

They moved incredibly fast, weaving through the crowd without needing to avoid anyone… as if they couldn't physically collide with the people around them.

Draco was also awestruck by the scene before him… a seemingly chaotic yet orderly operation, where wizards with their own thoughts and ideas functioned like the most precise cogs in the massive machinery of the Ministry, maintaining the order of wizarding society.

This was something he had never truly felt while following the adults around.

Only when they were left unprotected and placed in the heart of this complex human organization could they fully grasp the indescribable weight of it all.

Harry took a deep breath and turned to look at Draco.

Draco also gulped at this time and looked at Harry.

After a moment of silent exchange, Harry spoke first.

"Maybe... today we should just stick around the Auror Office?"

Draco crossed his arms, putting on a brave front.

"If that's what you want, I suppose I can respect your feelings!"

In the end, after venturing barely a dozen meters beyond the Auror Office's floor, they sheepishly retreated back.

The French Aurors were busy, but since they had eaten dinner and spent the night here, this place felt far more comfortable than the unfamiliar corridors beyond.

The two boys kept to the edges, careful not to disturb the preoccupied adults.

They wandered around the Auror Office until they eventually slipped into a hallway lined with what looked like unused dormitory rooms.

Seeing the empty chambers, Draco scowled indignantly.

"These French liars! Look at this! They clearly have spare rooms, yet they made us squeeze together!"

Though Harry couldn't read the French labels on the doors, the small windows revealed that these were definitely not standard dormitories.

"They didn't lie. These are probably holding cells for suspects."

"How would you know?" Draco asked back, skeptical.

"Because I almost ended up in one with Professor at the British Ministry." Harry shrugged, "We should leave. This isn't somewhere we should be wandering around."

Draco scoffed at Harry's caution.

"You coward! What are you scared of? Didn't that French guy say yesterday that we could go anywhere as long as it wasn't marked 'Restricted'?"

With that, he swaggered forward boldly. Harry hesitated but then quickened his steps to follow.

Soon, they spotted a young female Auror lounging idly outside one of the holding cells, examining her nails.

She gave them a suspicious glance at first, but upon noticing the French Ministry badges on their chests, she simply shrugged and went back to her nails.

Draco, emboldened, peeked into the half-open cell beside her. Inside, a young man sat on a hard bunk, hugging his knees. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying recently, and he stared blankly ahead.

Recognizing him, Draco immediately perked up.

"Look! It's that Rosier guy we saw boarding the ship in Britain yesterday! Snape said he was a Squib from the Rosier Family!"

Harry didn't understand his excitement.

"What's that got to do with you?"

"If this is a holding cell, and he's here, that means the French Aurors arrested him for doing something wrong!"

Draco, who had been too scared last night to listen to Severus and Yuma's full conversation, had missed key details. Harry had heard them but hadn't paid much attention to the name 'Rosier'.

Now, the young Malfoy heir had concocted his own theory.

"He must have been pretending to be a Rosier! This guy's probably a Squib from some half-blood or Muggle family, trying to tarnish the reputation of pure-bloods by stealing their name!"

Harry found his reasoning flimsy.

"I doubt the Aurors would arrest someone just for impersonating a family name."

Draco puffed out his chest with a haughty sniff, "What do you know? The honor of pure-blood families cannot be disrespected. Our surnames are symbols of our nobility! If some random Squib can just claim them, it's an insult! Of course the Aurors would lock them up!"

Harry gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing. Instead, he approached the young witch guarding the cell.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Could we speak with the man inside?"