William Pulls Out and Leaves Her Cold
At the door, Mera saw Professor Targaryen with that... strange witch.
She welcomed them inside and led them to her private cubicle, which was for her Auror.
Many single male Auror peeked out to observe, only to discover it was that Ancient Runes professor again.
Then they all secretly beat their chests and stamped their feet, sighing to the heavens.
One of the department's most beautiful talents is about to be plucked!
It's not that Mera is particularly beautiful—she is certainly not bad-looking—but the most important thing is... the power of the Picquery family.
His grandfather was once the Chief of Staff of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, responsible for assisting in the management of the President of the Magical Congress.
Aunt Seraphina Picquery was the former president of the Magical Congress of the United States of America and participated in the war against Grindelwald.
The old man is the former Director of the Legal Affairs Department.
Even the most ordinary dad... was still the Head of the Auror Office.
Have you ever seen an Auror who could work as a miner for a year and then come back to work there again?
Mera is that special case.
This network of connections, this illustrious lineage... can any ordinary wizard compare?
If we catch up with this, we can skip eighty years of hard work and go straight to the stomach!
He could only blame himself for not having a face similar to Stark's.
Indeed, everyone believes that the young lady has feelings for the young professor because he looks like Stark.
But as everyone knows, that renowned genius already has a girlfriend, who is none other than the equally famous Granger.
There's no way he could possibly be interested in Picquery.
As a result, many people harbored malicious grudges in their hearts:
"A pathetic replacement; the Targaryen will be cuckolded by the Stark sooner or later."
Whether it was green or not, William didn't know, but seeing Picquery's enthusiasm made him feel a little uncomfortable.
The two had met a few times before, but their relationship was rather casual. They never expected her to like their online persona so much.
I wonder how Professor Babbling flirts with girls... I should learn a thing or two from her next time.
William was lost in thought, while Picquery was talking non-stop:
"Professor, did you come back from Canada yesterday? Why didn't you tell me beforehand so I could pick you up!"
William, considering the persona that Babbling had created, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, cultivating an air of refined elegance.
I got back a little late, so I didn't want to bother you. How have you been lately?
Picquery laughed and said, "I'm exhausted. I even spaced out during the meeting and got a scolding from Mr. Graves."
She turned to Hermione and asked curiously, "And who is this?"
Hermione extended her hand warmly, "My name is Katherine, I'm from Finland, and I'm Darren's good friend."
He took me on a tour of the United States.
Picquery squeezed Hermione's hand and gave it a very formal shake.
"My name is Mera Picquery. You're so lucky... to have a professor as your private guide."
But when he came to United States that year, I was his tour guide.
Two women make a drama, and Picquery began her exchange with this unfamiliar young woman. "He might not be familiar with many things, if you'd like, I can help him..."
"It's nothing," Hermione said, feigning enthusiasm, almost letting anyone see her rolling her eyes.
"No need to trouble yourself, Darren is fine, I think he's great!"
Last night, we talked for a long time in the room... until late at night.
William glanced at Hermione with a narrowed eye.
We're all using pseudonyms, but I didn't expect her to still insist on asserting her dominance.
Hermione practically said it outright, and they "chatted" for a long time in bed. Picquery looked her over but didn't say anything for a while, creating an awkward atmosphere.
"How interesting," she finally said. "But the professor has been in Ilvermorny for several years now, so he might be a little different than before."
By the way, the book-reading app I've been using recently [app name] lets you cache books and read them offline!
"It's okay, we're getting to know each other better." Hermione winked playfully at William.
"I will slowly rebuild that unspoken understanding between us, the kind we used to have, where we can talk about anything."
Picquery gasped for breath; having never experienced sweet romance before, she was clearly no match for Hermione.
William realized that if things continued like this, the situation would become unmanageable, so he quickly interrupted the two of them, saying:
"Mera, I need to talk to you about something... It's something I asked you to do before, remember?"
"Actually, I've already forgotten," she replied, squinting. "You made me do so many things, I can't remember which one it was."
Another awkward silence ensued.
Mera burst out laughing. "Professor, I was just kidding!"
Is it about the Scourers?
"Frankly, for Derry Florence Dane's sake," she grinned, "I don't understand why you're so obsessed with this history."
Derry Florence Dane is an United States woman.
She was accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692–1693.
Therefore, United States wizards are accustomed to calling out her name when they are surprised, which is similar to the rhetoric of "Merlin's XXOO".
Therefore, one can easily tell which region a wizard comes from just by their spoken language.
William, of course, wouldn't make a mistake in this regard; he could easily imitate a Northern Europe accent, and then explained:
"I'm writing a paper, you know, Scourers are a great starting point."
Mera nodded and began rummaging through her bookshelf.
William glanced at the documents on the table and asked curiously:
Are there any cases?
Mera sighed. "Six children have gone missing in New York recently."
William glanced at the documents and noticed they were all from Muggle families.
He asked in confusion:
Why would a disappearance like this warrant an investigation by the Auror?
Wizards generally don't concern themselves with Muggle affairs, since Muggle are governed by national governments.
In the United States, in particular, the gap between the government and the Magical Congress is deeper than in any other country, and there is even less reason for them to concern themselves with these matters.
"Because there are traces of a wizard," Mera said seriously.
"The Improper Use of Magic Office discovered magical fluctuations in that Muggle neighborhood during its monitoring."
Then a child went missing from that neighborhood.
She clearly didn't remember the International Statute of Secrecy very well, and poured them out to William and other "unrelated people" as if spilling candy:
"The master is convinced that this series of disappearances is related to a wizard, but he has no leads at the moment."
No wonder Babbling wanted to seduce Picquery; if it were William, he would definitely try to make her his little bird too.
Tonks- type Spy #2 activated.
Mera handed the organized documents to William and whispered:
"Recently, an organization called the Third Salem has been formed, which seems to be related to the Scourers, and they have been giving speeches all over the place."
The Magical Congress is also monitoring the situation.
William suddenly realized why Professor Babbling had asked him to find Picquery.
So Tom's clue... was here!
He traveled around giving speeches, using his eloquence to bewitch wizards.
This is indeed his old profession.
"Where did they do it?" William asked.
"Let me think..." Picquery pondered for a moment and then said, "Liberty Island."
"Okay, Mera, we can talk again another time. I have to go now!" William grabbed Hermione's hand and ran out immediately.
"Huh?" Picquery craned his neck, watching the Targaryen disappear into the distance.
After getting the information, they just left me here and ran off with other women?
Ha~ Men!
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