William, Corrupted by Money
French Ministry of Magic
A grand, artfully designed hall was packed with people. These wizards were all journalists from around the world.
With such a major event happening in Paris, journalists from all over the world, as if they had discovered Gringotts ' Niffler, flocked to the city like mad.
The French Ministry of Magic had no choice but to hold a large press conference on short notice to unify their statements.
This will prevent journalists from reporting indiscriminately, suppress rampant anti-French forces in various regions, and prevent them from wantonly smearing France's image as the leading Europe power.
As heroes who saved Paris, William and Hermione were naturally present at the press conference.
The spokesperson for this press conference was Cregan, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
He first emphasized the heinous nature of the terrorist attack, then highly praised the Ministry of Magic's fine tradition and style of hard work... Finally, he praised international friends William and Hermione and expressed his sincerest blessings to them!
It was a very simple thing, but Cregan kept talking about it for two hours.
This is probably what a leader is like!
Yawning is contagious. After William yawned, Hermione yawned too... Finally, the two of them put their heads together and started to take a nap openly.
There's nothing I can do!
The two of them worked until late last night to clean up the mess, and now they are naturally tired and sleepy.
Cregan seemed to realize he had talked a bit too much, so he rambled on for another half hour before finally starting the Q&A session.
"Mr. Cregan, where did Arya Grindelwald obtain Muggle weapons of mass destruction?" a France journalist asked first.
This person is clearly a plant of the Ministry of Magic, allowing Cregan to strategically shift blame and issue Trump- style accusations.
He indeed shouted, "You might want to ask Ukraine about this. Don't ask me. Ask Ukraine, and you'll get an extraordinary answer."
"What do you mean, Director?"
"The Soviet Union was in a state of division, and the Ukraine Ministry of Magic failed to shoulder its responsibilities; they lost the nuclear bomb, which led to the Paris nuclear crisis!"
"Will similar incidents happen again in the future?" another France journalist asked.
"Of course not, we will strictly prevent it!" Cregan promised. "We have already informed the International Confederation of Wizards."
The International Confederation of Wizards recently decided to urge the Muggle government to pressure the Ukraine government to destroy its nuclear weapons as soon as possible!
"I've heard that Arya is Grindelwald's daughter. Does this mean that the Dark Lord Grindelwald is taking action?"
"No, we inquired with the Austrian Ministry of Magic... Nurmengard is perfectly normal, Grindelwald is still imprisoned there!" Cregan replied.
"Furthermore, according to current investigations, Arya is merely Rosier's adopted daughter and has no relation to Grindelwald himself."
"And what about the criminal Arya Grindelwald? Have you caught her?" a Germany journalist asked accusingly.
"After what she did, the French Ministry of Magic won't let her get away with it, will they?"
"This... the Auror is still at large, and we will issue an international warrant for her arrest!" Cregan said solemnly.
"Here, I would like to reiterate my advice to certain terrorist forces: stop persisting in your reckless actions, or you will only end up harming yourself and others."
"Of course, the arrest operation cannot rely solely on France; it is the responsibility of all countries in the world," Cregan added.
Reporters were abuzz with discussion, expressing their dissatisfaction with the French Ministry of Magic's incompetence, its empty rhetoric, its attempts to shirk responsibility, and its attempts to manipulate other countries.
United Kingdom did a much better job... strictly confining Voldemort to the British Isles, preventing him from escaping and causing trouble for other countries.
"So how does the Ministry of Magic plan to address the problem of widespread leaks?" an United States journalist asked.
"Most Muggle saw the dragon; France exposed the magical world, and you cannot cast Memory Charm on the entire city!"
"In fact, we can," Cregan said bluntly, looking at the United States journalist.
"Mr. Scamander has provided the Ministry of Magic with the Swooping Evil Venom. With his help, we will erase all Muggle memories."
Swooping Evil Venom is a luminous liquid substance extracted from the egg sacs of Swooping Evil. When properly diluted, it has the ability to erase bad memories.
During the Battle of New York, Newt used this method, mixing himself into the rain, to directly erase the memories of all the Muggle in New York, making them forget the Obscurial.
Cregan, a seasoned cynic, told the United States journalist that they would learn from the advanced experiences of the Magical Congress of the United States of America.
Old man Newt, standing to the side, kept nodding approvingly with his head down, seemingly agreeing with what Cregan said—though it would have been even better if he hadn't drooled.
Old Man Newt goes to bed earlier than William and Hermione; he hates sitting at his desk. These long press conferences are killing him.
Cregan didn't seem to care. He gestured with his hand and said loudly, "We will work with the Muggle government to launch a plan to rebuild Paris, which I hope to complete within five years."
Paris is a treasure to all humanity. Starting tomorrow, a nationwide donation program will be launched, extending beyond our national borders.
Here it comes! Online begging, late but it's here!
The reporters whispered amongst themselves, expressing their dissatisfaction with the French Ministry of Magic's shamelessness.
"Speaking of Mr. Scamander," a sweet voice suddenly rang out.
That voice sounds so familiar!
William and Hermione, who had slept for more than two hours, were startled awake. They looked up and found that it was indeed a familiar face!
--Rita Skeeter!
This woman is in Paris too!
Rita tossed her elegant hair and pulled several newspapers from her crocodile-skin bag.
She smiled, revealing three gold teeth. "Mr. Director, I have a few France newspapers here."
I noticed that your Ministry of Magic first arrested Mr. Scamander, and then issued nationwide warrants for the arrest of Mr. Stark and Miss Granger.
"Not to mention that Scamander and Mr. Stark are both recipients of the Order of Merlin and enjoy great international prestige."
One of them is an old man, and the other two are Hogwarts students... Forgive my bluntness, but without them, Paris would have been destroyed, yet you imprison one and have wanted two others.
Such persecution of heroes, causing them to bleed and weep... How does the French Ministry of Magic explain this?
Rita flashed a "nuclear-kind" smile.
Cregan cursed under his breath; this was the hardest thing to explain, especially the orders to arrest William and Hermione.
His arrest warrant was unreasonable and illegal from the start!
Normally, such things could be covered up and forgotten, but these two wanted men have saved Paris and become the Chosen One!
Such illegal warrants can be amplified and severely damage the reputation of the French Ministry of Magic.
Cregan, forcing a smile, explained, "Actually, the whole mobilization to hunt down Mr. Stark and Miss Granger was a setup by us."
The real intention was to lower the enemy's guard so as to lure Arya out.
The reporters present exchanged bewildered glances.
Cregan insisted, "We France Auror always like to do things unexpectedly, to pull off some seemingly crazy, but very creative, pursuit methods."
"In conclusion, we successfully stopped Arya... Mr. Stark and Miss Granger are certainly innocent, and neither of them was harmed."
Cregan wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Is that so, dear Mr. Stark?" Rita looked at William. "Don't be afraid, speak up bravely, we United Kingdom are not afraid of France!"
William smiled. "That's right, Hermione and I are indeed cooperating with the French Ministry of Magic."
The so-called wanted notice... was just an act to put Arya on her guard.
All the reporters sighed in disappointment; this was not the sensational answer they had hoped for.
That answer is absolutely ridiculous!
Of course... that's nonsense!
William helped the French Ministry of Magic cover up the affair because they were paid a hefty sum to keep quiet.
Just like the Gringotts incident back then.
The French Ministry of Magic paid William and Hermione a one-time compensation of 10,000 Galleon as emotional distress damages. William also took Norbert's body with him.
That's right... Norbert died. He fell from that height and died instantly!
His body was a bloody mess; even his mother (Hagrid) wouldn't recognize him!
They died a horrible death.
The dragon's corpse was originally to be confiscated by the French Ministry of Magic, but after some bargaining, it was "gifted" to William and Hermione for their magical research.
Faced with such an exorbitant hush money, William and Hermione had no choice but to comply with the Ministry of Magic's demands.
William didn't want to be corrupted by the power of money, but he had no choice!
Ultimately, Newt did illegally smuggle dragons, and the dragon Norbert, under Arya's control, caused immense destruction.
Even if Newt is shut down for eight or ten years, it wouldn't be a loss.
In order to prevent Newt from spending the rest of his life in tears behind bars, William had no choice but to temporarily abandon his principles and collude with evil forces.
He accepted money and the fire dragon only to mask his inner grief.
Yes, he was truly heartbroken; his mouth was practically stretched to the back of his head in a grimace.
Sigh, as expected... It's hard to be a person, it's hard to be a wizard, and it's even harder to be a good wizard who sacrifices himself for his friends.
But William did it!