Chapter 168: The Mastermind Behind the Plan
Chapter 168: The Mastermind Behind the Plan
"Have the attackers been caught? Any casualties?" Burbage asked urgently, completely cut off from the outside world and protected from the beginning.
"We have some leads", Felix said, his eyes gleaming with a peculiar light. "Professor Burbage, I may need to leave for a bit..."
In the next second, his figure twisted and vanished, reappearing in a forest outside Boussard Hotel.
"Footprints, reveal yourselves."
Felix waved his wand lightly, and a thick golden mist poured from the tip. On the ground, chaotic golden footprints appeared, slanted in one direction.
Although the golden mist covered only a small area, it was enough to point the way.
Additionally—
Felix took out a few brown hairs, which came from the young man he had unmasked.
He murmured softly, "Reveal the path, owner of these hairs."
Felix crushed the hair on his fingertip into a golden light, which merged with the golden mist. A panicky boy's illusion appeared.
He saw a brief scene:
"Wait for me, Uriel!" the boy shouted.
"Put on your mask, Byers!" a stern voice ordered the boy.
The illusion then disappeared, and Felix wore a thoughtful expression. "Byers... so that's the boy's name. And Uriel? The silhouette looks like the student leader who led the retreat of that organization."
Felix quickly followed the trail, having pieced together the events—
Why was an Ilvermorny crest left at the first attack site? Was it really the threat mentioned by the black market intelligence dealer, Aladdin?
Why did Celeste, the head of the American Congress of Magic, repeatedly request additional personnel for defense?
And why were the attackers of varying strengths, including underage children?
Felix had an explanation for all of these.
The root of all this stemmed from the American Congress of Magic's flawed legal system—designed to prevent the exposure of the magical world, they enacted extremely stringent laws. The initial Rappaport's Law strictly prohibited all forms of contact, including friendships, marriages, and even concealing one's Wizard identity from the closest of friends.
By 1965, this law was officially repealed, but it was more symbolic than practical. Many provisions of Rappaport's Law were absorbed into other laws.
This left many Wizards from Muggle families and first-generation Halfblood Wizards feeling betrayed, believing the American Congress of Magic had deceived them.
Over time, this frustration gave rise to a resistance group—the Reform Society.
The Reform Society was a relatively moderate secret organization, but its members strongly opposed the American Congress of Magic's strict scrutiny of the friends and family of Wizards to keep the magical world hidden.
...
In Felix's estimation, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had likely become the hub of the Reform Society, continuously supplying fresh blood. How long had the Reform Society been operating? How many members had infiltrated various industries?
For instance, were there Reform Society members within the American Congress of Magic? That was an intriguing question.
This was why Felix had told the head of the Congress, Celeste, that they were fighting a losing battle.
One side represented the present, the other the future. How could they possibly win?
Felix was still pondering what role he should play. He had no intention of leading the fledgling Reform Society in a counterattack against the American Congress of Magic, even though he could potentially spread his influence throughout the entire magical world in a few years.
But what would be the point?
Turning a corner, Felix heard heated arguments. He silently cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and melded into the crowd.
There were only a dozen black-robed Wizards in front of him, which surprised him. Were they hiding in batches?
Did they have more than one hiding place?
Felix became even more convinced that the Reform Society was more than just a fun activity for Ilvermorny students. At least some adult Wizards, similar to Aurors, were involved.
...
"It's not over yet!"
"Bethany stayed at the scene, Uriel. You're closest to her. What do we do?" the short boy Felix had unmasked, Byers, asked.
Felix was less than a meter away, and he had used Byers' hair to locate this group of attackers. Felix carefully examined Byers' young face, which was covered in blood scabs, and his brown hair had been stained crimson.
The student leader, Uriel, glanced around at his disheartened companions and struggled to speak, "We can't go back. That man, that gentleman... he's too strong. We don't stand a chance. Your sister..." He couldn't continue, his eyes brimming with sorrow.
Felix listened silently. So, the girl who had been severely injured by dark magic—Bethany—was Byers' sister?
Uh... First, he had exposed him by lifting his mask, and then he had healed his seriously wounded sister, Bethany.
Felix couldn't quite make sense of the relationship between the two.
The others also chimed in, trying to console the young man.
"Byers, Uriel is in a tough spot too. If that gentleman hadn't held back at the end—"
"None of us would have escaped", someone else added.
"By now, the French Ministry of Magic's Aurors must have arrived", a student said irritably, pulling off his mask to reveal a round face.
"Can we get in touch with Daniel? He would definitely know what's happening", someone suggested.
Uriel shook his head, "His communication is restricted. Before the operation, I only told him the time of the attack and the hiding place."
Felix keenly noticed the new name, "Daniel." From their conversation, he deduced that Daniel was likely an official from the American Congress of Magic and possibly an Auror.
However, he remembered Maxwell mentioning that the entry request for the American Aurors had been explicitly denied. So, had Daniel sneaked into France?
Byers wiped away his pale red tears, his lips trembling, "My sister, she's still severely injured. Will they treat her, Uriel? I'm so worried, I don't even know if she's still alive..."
The others also removed their masks, revealing faces filled with worry.
Uriel clenched his teeth, "It's all my fault—"
Just then, a stranger's voice interrupted, "Uriel, your operation was too reckless!"
Everyone turned around, their faces lighting up with surprise, "Brother Daniel!"
Two adult Wizards appeared in the hollow. One had long, fiery red hair and a slender build, while the other had short, dark brown hair and a stocky, sturdy frame.
The group quickly surrounded the two Wizards, bombarding them with questions.
"Brother Daniel, do you know how Bethany is? She's my sister, and I'm very concerned about her safety!" Byers said.
"Right, has she received any treatment?"
The red-haired Daniel's expression darkened, "I don't know the exact situation. According to our plan, we pretended to be lured away by you and spread false information to others. We didn't go to the Boussard Hotel."
"But as long as Bethany is still alive, she'll be fine. Celeste can't afford the consequences!"
Byers felt a bit relieved but then had a thought, "Can you go and check on my sister now? You're supposed to be part of Celeste's security detail, right?"
The American Auror, Daniel, looked apologetic, "Byers, our entire team snuck in. We can't show our faces at the French Ministry of Magic."
"It's all because of your team's Pureblood Auror. He's the one who captured Matt!"
"Nonsense!" Daniel scolded, "Matt had the audacity to attack a high-ranking official of the French Ministry of Magic. Blaming someone else for his capture is ridiculous!"
Everyone lowered their heads, silent.
Felix's heart raced. Matt? Was he the Reform Society member Celeste mentioned had been captured? He had indeed heard them say, "We've rescued the person; we can retreat now", as they were retreating.
It turned out this Auror had provided the information, which explained how they quickly determined Matt's location.
On the other side, Daniel's tone softened as he addressed Uriel, "The situation was urgent, and communication was poor. I didn't get a chance to ask for details. Why did you plan such a large-scale operation? I don't recall sending you any information. Was it from someone else in the Reform Society? Fury? Herman? Kelly?"
The others looked at Uriel, the student leader, who had initiated this operation.
"It was the New York Ghostly Gazette, Daniel", Uriel said sheepishly. "Matt saw that Celeste was attending a conference in Paris, France. He contacted a few of us privately, all graduates. We thought we were strong enough, so we didn't tell anyone..."
"We were preparing to kidnap her, to obtain evidence of her crimes and some intelligence about the upper echelons of Congress."
Daniel looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze.
Uriel spoke frankly, "At first, everything went smoothly. We found a suitable opportunity to launch a surprise attack. Celeste and her lackeys were no match for us, let alone those muggle research experts. But then, two Aurors from Congress suddenly appeared. They were very strong, and we had to retreat, but they pursued us relentlessly. Matt was captured to buy us time to escape..."
Daniel, being an Auror, added the information he knew, "Those were Celeste's hidden forces. The French Ministry of Magic only approved her and Cecil to enter, and they didn't allow Aurors from Congress to enter the country. So, she had to sneak in the two people she trusted the most to protect her."
"No wonder their actions were so covert and they deliberately avoided the French Aurors!" Uriel exclaimed, suddenly understanding.
"Big Brother Daniel, weren't you there?" a short-haired girl asked.
Daniel replied irritably, "If I had been there, none of this would have happened!"
He calmed down and said, "Let's go over it again. You and Matt got the intel from the newspaper, organized the first operation in secret, and were defeated by Celeste's hidden forces, resulting in Matt's capture. Then, to rescue him, you gathered more people and planned this operation."
Uriel nodded. As the student leader of the Reform Society, he had the authority to do so—of course, only among Ilvermorny students.
This was also why Felix thought the attackers were generally not very strong.
They were all Uriel's classmates.
Daniel continued his analysis, "This is your perspective. Now, I'll tell you how Celeste and I viewed this operation, and it will serve as a warning: You made far too many mistakes during this process!" His expression suddenly turned serious.
Felix, hidden in the shadows, curled his lips slightly. Indeed, the Reform Society had a practice of 'sharing experiences,' which made them more cohesive. If this continued, they might become a new force, potentially influencing the entire American magical community.
Daniel began to recount the events from Celeste's perspective, which intrigued the somewhat naive Ilvermorny students.
"Because of the presence of me and others, her first two attempts to capture her target failed—"
"Thanks to Big Brother Daniel's intel!" a freckled girl exclaimed excitedly.
"We are all members of the Reform Society", Daniel said, deflecting the praise. "This meeting... I'm not sure if she set it up as a trap. It was too risky and could easily cause an international incident. But she was definitely on guard and ordered her two most trusted Aurors to sneak into France and hide in the shadows."
"Your first operation failed under these circumstances!"
"And I, along with the other members of the Reform Society, were completely unaware of this."
"After capturing Matt, Celeste had the opportunity to get the list and realized you might try to rescue him. So, she contacted Congress for reinforcements, and we were the second batch."
Daniel pointed to the stocky wizard beside him, who scratched his head bashfully and said nothing.
"Celeste's pretext was to guard against Grindelwald's followers, but I learned from my Pureblood teammates that it might have been your doing."
"Thus, we became another significant factor, alongside Celeste, you, and the French Ministry of Magic."
The others listened intently. Uriel only knew that Matt had been captured and that he had called everyone to rescue him, but he was unaware of the many layers involved.
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Characters Introduced in Recent Chapters:
- Bethany: (A supporter of Felix, who was treated by Celeste, serving as the catalyst for the events.)
- Uriel: (Student leader.)
- Daniel: (American Auror and member of the Reform Society, secretly passing intelligence.)
- Beth: (Bethany's brother, whose identity was revealed by Felix.)
- Matt: (A captured attacker, mentioned in Felix's eavesdropping.)
(End of Chapter)
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