In the shadows inside the entrance hall, two senior students from Aqion Academy were discussing something in low voices.
"Have you confirmed the route? If we get it wrong, we can only watch him head to the United Kingdom. Our reach doesn't extend that far."
"Don't worry! The kid chose a public route, so he'll definitely have to apply for a Portkey through the Ministry of Magic. To leave Greece, he has to transfer through North Macedonia. Our people are already there keeping watch. We have to intercept him before he crosses the border."
"And what do we do after we intercept him? The people from the school probably can't handle him, can they?"
"Relax. I contacted the Cleaner. He won't get away."
Clearly, they had long known which route Cass would take to reach the port, and that a ship bound for the United Kingdom would be waiting there. The rain was still falling, and the wind from the bay had weakened, but the figures in the mist had not entirely dispersed.
All of this was the result of careful planning.
Meanwhile, at the Greek Ministry of Magic, the Portkey Office window was at the very end of the corridor on the left side of the main hall.
When Cass handed the school-issued expulsion certificate and the Ministry-issued exit permit through the window, the old man inside, who had been dozing with his head lowered, raised his head. He was actually blind, his clouded eyes unable to focus.
Yet Cass still felt that the man was watching him. Instead of issuing him a Portkey according to procedure, the old man slowly ran his fingers over the documents until he reached the Greek Ministry of Magic's steel seal in the lower-right corner, as well as an unfamiliar embossed mark. (Only