The French witch heard Harry's words. Her English was clearly not very good, and she paused for a moment before reacting, scrutinizing the two boys.

"You're the ones Yuma brought back yesterday?"

Her pronunciation was odd, confirming her poor English, but at least she could still communicate.

Harry nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Yuma took us to the French Ministry of Magic. We met the gentleman locked in there yesterday, and we have some questions for him. Can we talk to him?"

The witch hesitated, obviously because Harry and Draco were too young. But last night, she had heard some rumors.

It was said that Yuma's entire team had been defeated by two British wizards at Nicolas Flamel's house, sparking quite a bit of discussion among their colleagues.

It wasn't until Girard stepped forward and explained that the British wizard was a Head of the House from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and that losing to him and his friends was no disgrace, that the gossip died down a little.

From the badges pinned to the boys' chests, the witch immediately recognized them as the children brought by that Hogwarts' Head of House from Britain.

Under Harry and Draco's hopeful gazes, the witch finally nodded.

"He's not really a suspect anymore. He's only staying here temporarily because his home has been sealed off. If you know him, then go ahead."

With permission granted, Harry and Draco's faces lit up with excitement, and the two stepped into the detention room.

The young man, Rosier, who was sitting on the bed with his knees drawn up, looked bewildered when the two boys entered, unsure what else the Aurors needed from him.

Draco couldn't wait to speak first.

"Tell us! Are you the one who impersonated-"

Before he could finish, Harry slapped a hand over his mouth from behind!

Draco struggled fiercely, finally breaking free from Harry's grip. By then, Harry was already apologizing.

"Sorry, he's not great with words. I'm Dudley Dursley, and this is Draco Malfoy."

Rosier stared at them blankly… He clearly didn't recognize the names.

"Our teacher met you yesterday. Do you remember? At Dover Port. He was wearing a black trench coat, with his hair tied into a short ponytail."

With just that brief description, Rosier recalled the figure.

"You're that kind gentleman's students?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes." Harry replied with a smile, "We wanted to know how you ended up here. Did you do something wrong?"

Draco, who had been glaring at Harry for cutting him off, now turned his attention to the young man as well.

At the question, Rosier's face twisted with sorrow again.

He covered his face and burst into tears.

"They… they say I was involved in Nicolas Flamel's kidnapping!"

…

"The Rosiers were involved in the kidnapping case."

In Yuma's office, the wizard spoke with a grave expression.

"That was our initial suspicion because Muggles confirmed that on that afternoon, the Flamels were seen outside the Rosiers' apartment in the 16th arrondissement. They were led inside by two men."

"Yesterday, we acted as quickly as possible to seal off and investigate the Muggle apartment. At the same time, we looked into the Rosiers' background and learned that Patrick Rosier was a Squib from the Rosier Family. We immediately contacted his parents."

"But his biological parents outright denied ever having this son and accused us of insulting them… and their family name."

At this point, Yuma visibly sighed in frustration.

"After that, we dug into Patrick's Muggle records and found the car dealership where he worked. That's when we discovered his sales supervisor had been Confunded into giving Patrick five days off for no reason."

"Next, we traced Patrick and his wife's self-drive trip to Edinburgh. They were supposed to return yesterday morning, so we stationed people at Calais Port to intercept them and brought both him and his wife in for questioning."

"It was during this time that we learned about you and your friend. Based on your movements, we guessed you might be heading to the Flamels' home and set up an ambush there… leading to what happened afterward."

Severus and Lupin flipped through the documents compiled by the French Aurors, quickly finding the section related to Patrick.

"You didn't find any clues from this Squib from the Rosier family?"

Yuma nodded grimly.

"Correct. At first, we suspected Patrick Rosier might have been a key player in the kidnapping… or at least coerced into participating. But after thorough interrogation, we realized he and his wife knew nothing at all!"

"He himself was severely affected by the Confundus Charm. During his time in Britain, he experienced multiple accidents, and he had no idea what had happened in his own home."

"What about the investigation of his home?" Severus pulled out a photo clearly taken inside the apartment.

"All the furniture in the Rosiers' home had been cleared out and discarded. The entire place was completely emptied, leaving behind some alchemical symbols and runes. The Ministry's alchemy experts examined them and confirmed that the symbols were unmistakably the work of Mr. Flamel… his alchemical techniques have a very distinctive style."

"Where's the Philosopher's Stone?" Lupin asked the crucial question at the right moment, "Was the stone taken along with the Flamels, or is it still in their home?"

Yuma shook his head.

"We can't confirm whether the Philosopher's Stone is missing or not. Only the Flamels knew its exact hiding place… not even their house-elf was aware of it."

"So, you can't rule out the possibility that the kidnappers took them to force them to reveal the Stone's location?" Severus pressed.

"That's one possibility." Yuma said gravely, "But the alchemical traces left in the apartment also make us suspect that the perpetrators didn't just want the Stone… they may have been after the knowledge behind its creation!"

"Stealing knowledge?" Severus glanced back at the portraits of the two men and scoffed, "These two thugs look like brutes… who would've guessed they were scholars at heart?"

Though he spoke lightly, internally, he was already discussing with Ghost Snape.

'Doesn't that shorter, stocky man look a bit like the Shafiq who used to follow your master?'

Of course, Ghost Snape could also see the portrait, and he sneered, [He has distinct Middle Eastern features. He's put on weight and lost some hair since back then, but it's definitely him. The Shafiq Family's ancestry traces back to Egypt.]

Having confirmed his suspicion, Severus didn't keep the information to himself. He singled out the portrait of the shorter, Middle Eastern-featured man and placed it in front of Yuma.

"This man, just judging by the portrait, bears a strong resemblance to someone I once knew."

Yuma froze for a moment before his face lit up with excitement.

"You recognize him?!"

"Thomas Shafiq. A Death Eater who once served under You-Know-Who, though he wasn't part of the inner circle. His usual operations weren't in Britain but in Eastern European countries, where he organized pure-blood supremacist movements among local wizards as a liaison."

Severus recalled.

"After You-Know-Who fell, he vanished too. The British Aurors never caught him, and he never resurfaced in the Wizarding World. Many suspected he fled to the Middle East. "

Yuma abruptly stood up from his chair, his voice tinged with urgency.

"But now he's appeared in France… and is involved in Nicolas Flamel's kidnapping! The British Aurors' suspicions weren't wrong! The incidents in both countries are connected! The remaining Death Eaters who escaped justice have regrouped… prison breaks, abductions, kidnappings, they must be planning something bigger!"

"We need to inform Girard immediately! Once we cross-reference Thomas Shafiq's records with the man in the portrait and confirm it's him, we'll form a joint task force with the British Aurors!"

With that, he quickly left the office to relay Severus's discovery to Girard.

However, Severus, who remained behind, wasn't as optimistic as Yuma. He stroked his chin and muttered to Lupin, "I think both the British and French Aurors are mistaken. The Death Eaters wouldn't regroup this quickly. Besides, You-Know-Who has been gone for so long… without his return, those in hiding wouldn't dare provoke the Ministries of both countries like this."

Lupin, lacking Severus's insider knowledge, frowned, "If the people behind Flamel's kidnapping aren't connected to Barty Crouch Jr.'s group, then who are they?"

Severus didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the documents Yuma had provided and flipped through them again… this time paying special attention to the testimony about Sister Aimee.

"If we want to get to the bottom of this, sitting here won't be enough. We'll need to visit the scene ourselves and re-interview the witnesses to see what really happened."