"Are you ready?"
"Relax, Thomas has already lured those Aurors to Lyon. No one knows we're here."
"Damn it, those Aurors are chasing us too closely. We can't stay in France for long. Did she say how soon we can move to Austria?"
"No choice. Having Nicolas Flal alone isn't enough… we still need to get those other things too."
"Who's with Thomas in Lyon?"
"Carlo. With him there, there's no need to worry."
"Then we'll have to be careful from now on. Once we sneak in, we'll need to make contact with that little rat..."
"Quiet! Soone's coming!"
…
Monastery.
Not long after Severus and the others had left, while the nuns were just finishing lunch with the children, two elderly n arrived at the monastery.
They wore shabby coats and looked disheveled, as if they had traveled from far away.
Seeing them begging for help outside the monastery, the nun who had greeted Yuma earlier cautiously approached the gate and asked, "Do you need sothing?"
"Kind lady, we've co all the way from Le Coudray-Montceaux. Could you spare us so food? We haven't eaten in a day!"
The one who spoke was a black-haired old man. His French carried a strange accent, clearly not his native tongue, but that wasn't uncommon in France.
The other man, who looked even older, wore a tattered round cap and pleaded, "Could you give us sothing to eat? We don't need money… just so food and water would be enough.
After hesitating for a few seconds, the nun opened the gate for them.
"Please, co in. We still have so warm food and soup left. You can eat inside."
"Oh, thank you! Bless you! Praise the Lord!"
They bowed repeatedly in gratitude, following the nun into the monastery.
The front courtyard was empty at this ti, as the children were resting after lunch. As the two beggars entered, their eyes darted around, observing their surroundings. They didn't seem unfamiliar with the place, only pretending to follow the nun's lead.
Just then, Sister Aie, who had been cleaning up the kitchen, heard the commotion and stepped out. She spotted the two elderly n trailing behind the nun.
"What's going on, Lefevre?"
"These two gentlen haven't eaten in a day. They were hoping for so food and water." The nun said.
Sister Aie nodded, unsurprised. Monasteries often helped the holess, so it wasn't unusual for people to co seeking aid.
"Go tend to the children. There's still so leftover sausages and bread from lunch… I'll bring them out."
The two old n showered Sister Aie with thanks as they were seated at the dining table. The nun who had brought them in left to look after the children, while Sister Aie went to fetch the food, leaving the two n alone.
"Should we move now?"
"Not yet! Wait for her to co back!"
"There's no one else here!"
"That's exactly why we wait!"
Soon, Sister Aie returned with a basket of food.
She placed the bread and sausages on the table, then sat across from them, as if intending to stay and watch them eat.
The two old n stared at the food but didn't touch it. Instead, they exchanged a glance and slowly slid their right hands into their coat sleeves.
Sister Aie seed completely oblivious to their movents… her attention was drawn to sothing outside the window, as she heard footsteps approaching!
When she spotted Severus and Lupin, who had left just two hours earlier, striding quickly down the corridor outside, her face twisted in shock and confusion.
But that expression quickly shifted.
By the ti she turned back, the two ragged old n had already drawn small wooden sticks from their sleeves!
"What are you doing?!"
Sister Aie stumbled back, shrieking!
Whether startled by her reaction or by the sound of hurried footsteps from the hallway, the two n flinched. Instead of chasing after the fleeing nun, they spun toward the door… just as Severus and Lupin burst in, having heard the scream!
Without hesitation, Severus raised his wand and struck!
"Petrificus Totalus!"
A streak of red light shot from his wand!
But the two seemingly frail old n reacted with surprising speed… and eerie coordination.
"Protego Totalum!"
"Bombarda!"
A powerful Shield Charm effortlessly blocked Severus's Body-Bind Curse, stronger than any Auror's Shield Spell they'd seen!
And in the next second, the loud sound of the Blasting Curse rang in the ears of Severus, Lupin and the others!
"Finite Incantatem!"
Lupin barely managed to counter the explosion with a general counter-spell.
Severus flicked his wand, summoning a gust of wind to clear the smoke… but the two old n had already vanished!
Staring at the scorch marks left by the explosion, Severus and Lupin both frowned.
"They're not ordinary wizards. No normal witch or wizard has that kind of skill or coordination… hell, most Aurors can't pull that off!"
"There's no one like that among the Death Eaters either. They must be using so thod to disguise their real identities. But I'm certain… even if Barty Jr. were here, he wouldn't be able to coordinate with anyone like that!"
"Can we track their Apparition?" Lupin asked.
Severus shook his head.
"This is France. Only the French Ministry has the authority to track all Apparition and Disapparition… we can't do that. For now, stopping them and confirming their objective is enough."
As the two spoke, Sister Aie ca running back, clutching a wand in her hand. Having lived in the Muggle World for so long, she had long since lost the habit of keeping it on her at all tis.
She had left earlier to retrieve it.
"Where are those two?" She gasped, out of breath.
"They fled the mont they realized we were wizards." Severus said, glancing at her.
Lupin added, "Are the children safe?"
"The children?" Sister Aie frowned, "They were here for the children?"
Severus stared into her eyes.
"Since you've already been honest with us this morning, would you mind telling us… how many Squibs are currently in this orphanage?"
"Two. Only two are still here. One was abandoned by their parents, and the other lost their father… their witch mother didn't want them."
It was possible for Squibs to be born to wizarding families, but the probability wasn't high enough for them to be common.
Just as they were speaking with Sister Aie, Yuma finally arrived at the monastery with his team.
Soon, they learned from Severus what had just happened, along with his theory that the killers had co to abduct Squib children.
"Are they trying to use Squibs as so kind of necessary ingredient for an alchemical ritual?"
Yuma's eyes were wide with shock.
"My grades in alchemy at Beauxbatons were decent, but I've never heard of Squibs having any special alchemical properties!"
"But it's clear their target was this orphanage." Lupin said, "The person in Lyon was a diversion… this is where they really wanted to co!"
Yuma took a deep breath and nodded.
"I understand. I'll report this to Girard imdiately and arrange protection for these children!"
After watching Yuma send one of his n back to the Ministry while staying behind with the rest, Severus and Lupin left.
"Sothing doesn't feel right."
Severus frowned, speaking quietly.
Lupin, however, didn't see the issue.
"We arrived just in ti, didn't we? If you hadn't figured this out and we'd been a step slower, those two would've already attacked Sister Aie. She's no match for them… the children would've been in danger."
"That's not what's bothering ..." Severus was still replaying the brief skirmish in his mind.
"Their behavior was off. Why didn't they act imdiately? If their accomplices had already lured the Aurors to Lyon, this was their best opportunity. So why, even after infiltrating the orphanage, did they hesitate? Why wait until after eting Sister Aie to draw their wands?"
"Maybe... maybe they weren't sure about the situation inside the orphanage? They didn't know how many wizards were here?"
"No. With the skill they displayed, they didn't need to be that cautious."
Severus shook his head. He led Lupin back to the apartnt building in the 16th arrondissent, then stood across the street, staring at the tall, imposing structure.
"I have a feeling this building is the key to solving the mystery. They kidnapped Nicolas Flal to perform so alchemical ritual here… but was it really just for an experint?"
After murmuring to himself, Severus suddenly spoke up, "Can you do a favor, Remus?"
"What do you need?" Lupin simply pulled out his wand.
"Go back to the French Ministry and get a cara."
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