Scrimgeour glared at Vincent, a warning in his eyes, as though he would bolt at once if Vincent failed to give him a reasonable explanation.
Vincent shook his head again. "Think about it. Where would a wanted Dark Lord who had just attacked Gringotts and flown across London on a fire dragon, along with the Head of the Auror Office who was supposedly still hunting him but was actually on vacation, be likely to appear?"
Scrimgeour continued glaring at him.
"Deep in the mountains? An abandoned castle? Some Chamber of Secrets protected by hundreds of layers of defensive spells?" Vincent counted on his fingers. "Exactly. Those would be the top choices on your Auror search list. You'd waste enormous amounts of manpower and resources investigating places that 'look' suitable for a dark wizard to hide in. You would never..."
He pointed at the elevator wall beneath their feet. "...come to inspect a luxury hotel in central London that requires real-name registration and is filled with wealthy Muggle businessmen and foreign tourists. Especially when the hotel's owner and most of its long-term guests have nothing to do with the Wizarding World and even scoff at supernatural events."
The elevator doors slid open soundlessly, revealing a quiet corridor carpeted in thick plush carpeting.
As Vincent led the way, he continued his "lesson." "There's a philosophical saying in the ancient East: 'The most dangerous place is the safest place,' because real danger often comes from blind spots in perception."
"The Ministry of Magic, including you, instinctively equates a safe house with a magically concealed location. The Muggle world, especially a place like this—public, bustling, and governed by clear rules—simply does not exist as an option in your investigative logic."
His tone carried mockery toward the Wizarding World's rigid preconceptions. "It's too conspicuous, too