A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 168: The Mastermind Behind the Plan

"Have the attackers been caught? Are there any casualties?" Professor Bubaji asked urgently, completely unaware of the events outside as she had been under protection from the very beginning.

"We've got some leads," Felix Harp's eyes flickered with an odd light. "Professor Bubaji, I might need to temporarily depart..."

In the next moment, his figure twisted and vanished, reappearing in a patch of woods outside the Bursley's Inn.

"Reveal the footprints."

Felix waved his wand lightly, and from its tip emanated large wisps of golden mist. Chaotic golden footprints appeared on the ground, pointing diagonally in a specific direction.

Though the area covered by the golden mist was not vast, it was enough to indicate the direction.

Besides this...

Felix retrieved a few strands of brown hair, sourced from the boy whose mask he had lifted.josei

He murmured softly, "Reveal your trail, owner of the hair."

Then, he crushed a strand of hair between his fingertips, turning it into a burst of golden light that blended into the mist, forming the illusion of a flustered young boy.

He witnessed a brief scene:

"Wait for me, Euriah!" the boy shouted.

"Put on your mask, Byrns!" a stern voice admonished the boy.

The illusion disappeared after, leaving Felix in a pensive state. "Byrns... is that the boy's name? And who is Euriah? From behind, he somewhat resembles the student leader who led the organization's retreat."

Felix hastened his pace, piecing together the puzzle of the entire incident—

Why did the initial attack scene leave behind an emblem of the International Confederation of Wizards? Was it truly the threat spoken of by the black-market information dealer Aladdin?

Why did the head of the American Legislative Council, Sylester, repeatedly request reinforcements for defense?

And why were there both strong and weak assailants, even including underage children?

All of these now had explanations.

The root of it all lay in the convoluted legal system of the American wizarding society—a system that was severely restrictive to prevent exposure of the magical world. The original Rappaport's Law strictly prohibited all forms of interaction, including friendships, marriages, and even the need to conceal one's wizarding identity from the closest of people.

By 1965, this law was officially repealed, but its legacy endured, with many of Rappaport's provisions absorbed into other laws.

This left many wizard families with mundane backgrounds and first-generation half-bloods disillusioned, feeling deceived by the Magical Congress of the United States.

As time went on, this gave rise to a resistance organization—the Renewal Society.

The Renewal Society was a relatively moderate secret group, but its members strongly opposed the Magical Congress of the United States' practice of closely scrutinizing the friends and relatives of wizards to keep the magical world hidden.

...

In Felix's estimation, the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was likely the headquarters of the Renewal Society, continually supplying fresh recruits. How many years had the Renewal Society been growing? And how many members had quietly infiltrated various professions?

For instance, were there members of the Renewal Society within the American Magical Congress? An intriguing question indeed.

This was why Felix had told Sylester, the leader of the Legislative Council, that they were fighting a destined-to-fail war.

One representing the present, the other representing the future—how could victory be achieved?

Felix pondered the role he should play. He didn't intend to lead the fledgling Renewal Society in a counterattack against the Magical Congress of the United States, even though with a few years' effort, he could extend his influence throughout the magical world.

But what purpose would that serve?

Cresting a hill, Felix heard heated arguments. Silently, he cast a Disillusionment Charm upon himself and blended into the crowd.

Before him were only a dozen or so black-robed wizards, which struck him as odd. Had they divided themselves into groups?

Had they set up more than one hiding place?

Felix became even more convinced that the Renewal Society was not merely a pastime of Ilvermorny students; at least, adult wizards similar to Alastor Moody were involved.

...

"It's not over yet!"

"Bethany stayed at the scene. Eurya, you're closest to her. What do you suggest we do?" said the short boy whose mask had been lifted by Felix Harp, Byrns.

Felix was less than a meter away from him, and it was through his hair that Felix had found this group of attackers. Felix scrutinized Byrns' young face. It was marked with bloodstains, his brown hair turned blood-red.

Student leader Euriah surveyed his downcast companions, his voice laden with difficulty. "We can't go back. That person, that gentleman... he's too powerful. We don't stand a chance. Your sister..." He couldn't continue, his eyes filled with sorrow.

Felix listened in silence. So, the girl who was severely injured by dark magic—Bethany—and Byrns were siblings?

Hmm... First, he revealed Byrns' face, exposing him completely, and then he healed Byrns' gravely injured sister, Bethany.

Felix was at a loss trying to comprehend their relationship.

Others chimed in, trying to console the tall boy.

"Byrns, Euriah is in a tight spot too. If that gentleman hadn't refrained at the end—"

"None of us can run away." Someone interrupted.

"At this point, the American Aurors from the Bureau of Magical Law Enforcement are surely here," a student said impatiently, removing his mask to reveal a round face.

"Can we contact Daniel?" someone suggested. "He must know something."

Euriah shook his head. "His communication is restricted. Before the operation, I only told him the timing and the hiding spot."

Felix keenly noted the new name, "Daniel." Combining the context of their conversation, it was likely that this Daniel was an official of the American Magical Congress and quite possibly an Auror.

However, he had heard Maxwell mention that they had explicitly denied entry to American Aurors. So, did this Daniel sneak into France?

Byrns wiped away a tear of faint red and trembled as he said, "My sister, she's hurt badly. Will they treat her, Eurya? I'm worried about her. I don't even know if she's alive..."

Others removed their masks too, revealing faces etched with worry.

Byrns continued, his lips quivering, "Her, her injuries... Will they take care of her, Eurya? I'm so worried about her. I don't even know if she's... alive."

As everyone's faces reflected concern, Euriah bit his lip. "It's all my fault—"

Just then, an unfamiliar voice interrupted, "Eurya, you've been reckless with this operation!"

The group turned their heads, expressions lighting up with surprise. "Daniel!" they exclaimed in delight.

Two adult wizards appeared in the hollow—a tall figure with fiery red hair and a slender build, and a sturdy, short wizard with deep brown hair.

Everyone surrounded the two wizards, asking questions left and right.

"Daniel, do you know how Bethany is? She's my sister. I'm very worried about her safety!" Byrns spoke.

"Yeah, has she received treatment?"

At Daniel's fiery red hair, his expression turned grim. "I'm not entirely sure of the situation. According to the plan, we pretended to be led away by you and even spread false information to others. We never went to the Bursley's Inn at all."

"But Bethany... as long as she's alive, nothing bad will happen to her. Sylester won't be able to bear that cost!"

Byrns eased slightly, then had a thought. "Can you guys check on my sister's condition now? Officially, you're Sylester's bodyguards, right?"

American Auror Daniel appeared apologetic. "Byrns, our entire team snuck in. We can't show up before the French Ministry of Magic."

"It's all the fault of those pure-blood Aurors in your team. It's because of one of them that Matt was caught!"

"Absurd!" Daniel reprimanded. "Matt dared to attack a high-ranking official of the Magical Congress and got caught. And he's blaming someone else?"

The crowd lowered their heads in silence.

Felix's mind stirred. Matt? Was that the member of the Renewal Society Sylester mentioned was captured? He had indeed heard these people mention during their retreat, "The person has been rescued, we can withdraw."

So, this Auror had provided the information. No wonder they could quickly determine where Matt was being held.

On the other side, Daniel, an adult and an Auror, spoke more gently now. He looked at Euriah. "At that time, the situation was urgent, and communication wasn't smooth. I didn't have time to inquire in detail. How did you manage to create such a big scene? I don't remember passing any information to you. Was it from others in the Renewal Society? Fury? Herman? Kelly?"

Others looked to student leader Euriah, who had initiated the operation.

"It was from 'The New York Specter,' Daniel," Euriah confessed. "Matt saw from there that Sylester was attending a meeting in Paris, and he privately contacted a few people, all graduates. We thought we were strong enough and didn't tell anyone..."

"We planned to abduct her and get evidence of her crimes and some intelligence on high-ranking Congress members from her."

Daniel looked at him with an appraising gaze.

Euriah continued candidly, "It went smoothly at first. We found the perfect opportunity to strike. Sylester and her entourage were no match, let alone those Muggle Studies experts. But then, two Congress Aurors suddenly appeared, and they were strong. We retreated, but they pursued relentlessly. Matt was caught in his effort to give us a chance to escape..."

As Auror Daniel spoke from his perspective, Euriah listened with fascination. He only knew that Matt was captured and that he had rallied everyone to rescue him. He had no idea there were so many twists and turns.

Reading tip: Recently introduced characters in the past few chapters:

Bethany (heavily injured, treated by Felix Harp, the catalyst for the events).

Euriah (student leader).

Daniel (American Auror, a member of the Renewal Society, secretly passing information).

Byrns (Bethany's brother, whose mask was lifted by Felix).

Matt (heard in eavesdropped conversations, a captured attacker).

Others are temporary characters.

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