Hearing herself mentioned, Isabella hurriedly said:
"I can plan a route for you that avoids the regular patrol routes of the Ministry of Magic and the Church.
"But deep in the Apennine Mountains, the terrain is complex and magical fluctuations are chaotic. Many ancient magical traps still remain. You must be extremely careful."
Douglas turned to Lupin. "Remus, what do you think?"
Lupin said without hesitation, "Douglas, I'll go with you. Whether they need potions, combat experience, or simply someone to listen, I'm willing to do everything I can. And if the Church really is conducting such evil experiments, we must stop them."
Douglas nodded slightly, seemingly unsurprised by Lupin's answer.
He rose and walked to the window, looking out at the magically projected city of Rome, or somewhere farther away.
There, Capitoline Hill and the Church beyond it looked solemn and imposing in the sunlight.
Yet beneath that sacred radiance lay countless unknown shadows and sordid deeds.
Then he turned around, a knowing smile flashing in his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of teasing:
"Lorenzo, you just said Minister Alberti was adopting a position of strategic ambiguity toward my arrival.
"Then did he also ambiguously hint at whether he'd be pleased if I caused the Church a moderate amount of trouble?"
The corner of Lorenzo's mouth twitched, and he gave a wry, knowing smile:
"The minister merely hopes... that order in Italy's wizarding world can be maintained, and that all magical creatures can, within the framework of the International Statute of Secrecy...
"Well, live reasonably.
"As for the Church... if some of their excessive actions could be corrected, I think the minister would welcome that."
Douglas naturally understood the subtext beneath this diplomatic language.
Their bottom line was that he should not go further than last time. Surely