"Not exactly."
Nicolas shook his head, correcting Severus.
"That hag ghost left, but whether the woods her heart guided her to were just any random woods or if she returned to the Pyrenees mountains, I never verified afterwards."
"It's still possible she was drawn back to her old haunt by the obsession in her heart."
Even if a definitive conclusion about ghosts couldn't be reached yet, Severus's gains from this trip were already extremely substantial.
He and Nicolas waited until his wife had rested briefly. Then, as the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the three of them went together to the French Ministry of Magic.
After a night of cleanup, the Inferi hidden beneath the abbey had been completely dealt with by the Aurors.
These dark magical creations were like indestructible demons to Muggles, but for wizards, as long as their numbers weren't overwhelming, collectively eliminating them under the Aurors' siege wasn't overly difficult.
Severus had learned the origin of these Inferi at Nurmengard: they were remnants from Grindelwald's peak period when he attempted to create an Inferi army.
Although the Inferi were handled, the alert level across the French magical community wasn't lowered, instead, it became even stricter.
Firstly, the monastery was completely gone.
The Aurors concluded that the nuns, sisters, and orphans were likely beyond hope!
The explosion was so massive that no structure survived, and they found no bodies.
Secondly, intruders had breached the Ministry itself that very night!
According to the account of the British official who had remained at the Ministry, the culprits who kidnapped the Flamels had indirectly used magic to control the Squib, Patrick Rosier, connecting him to the fireplace in the Minister's office to invade while the Ministry's defenses were depleted.
This invasion triggered the guard of the Matagot cats. Simultaneously, a British wizard and two British children courageously protected the innocent, controlled Squib and prevented greater damage within the Ministry.
After consulting with the Ministry's experts on magical creatures and communicating with the Matagot cats to understand the full sequence of events from the previous night, the French's politicians were further shocked to learn that during the previous night's battle, the British child named Dudley Dursley, relying solely on a broomstick, had cooperated with the Matagot cats to subdue a goblin armed with a wand!
This was clearly major news as well.
However, the French Ministry of Magic became extremely busy after clearing the Inferi and dispelling the Dark Mark.
They were urgently contacting the British Ministry and had already confirmed that the culprits were the resurgent Death Eaters.
Furthermore, the entire Ministry was undergoing a large-scale review, which finally revealed that only one set of confidential files related to the Death Eaters was missing from the secure cabinet in the Minister's office!
This undoubtedly further confirmed the judgments of the Aurors and the politicians.
And then, early this morning, just as the Aurors, who had barely rested all night, returned to the Ministry, and the politicians, who had been up all night, were preparing for the stormy day about to begin-
An even more unexpected and ecstatically received piece of news arrived.
The Flamels had been rescued!
It was early, not yet normal working hours.
The operations commander, Girard, who had been organizing the Aurors all night, her superior department head, who had rushed back from home so quickly he hadn't even had time to remove his sleeping cap, the highest-ranking Minister of Magic, Rousseau, along with other high-ranking Ministry's officials, all returned to the Ministry.
The events of the previous night had already left these individuals deeply frustrated.
The massive commotion at the monastery had affected many Muggles, yet after defeating the Inferi, they had found nothing.
The intrusion into the Ministry itself, the theft of a confidential file… and ultimately, the heroes who protected the Ministry from harm turned out to be wizards from Britain, and two children not even old enough to attend wizarding school.
It made the French wizards look like a joke!
This was clearly supposed to be an extremely terrible day.
But the news of Nicolas Flamel's retrieval was about to sweep all this gloom away completely!
When the high-ranking officials actually saw Nicolas himself at the Ministry, the joy on their faces was impossible to conceal.
"My God! You're finally back safe and sound!"
Minister of Magic Rousseau gave Nicolas a huge hug, not caring whether his old bones could withstand it.
Nicolas's status in the French Wizarding World was, in a way, even more transcendent than Dumbledore's in Britain, and he was more favored by politicians.
Centuries of history had proven that this fossil-like old wizard truly had not the slightest interest in power, never any intention to interfere, and was even quite willing to help the Ministry solve some difficulties.
Therefore, Rousseau's happiness at Nicolas's safe return was genuine!
These past few days, his greatest fear was that Nicolas would die unexpectedly during his tenure.
That would have tarnished his reputation for all eternity in France. Everyone would remember it was his incompetence while leading the Ministry that led to such a tragedy.
Fortunately, that disaster was averted!
Just as Rousseau was excitedly chatting with Nicolas, inquiring about his health and how he managed to return, Girard, who had first received Nicolas upon his return to the Ministry, quietly tugged at Rousseau's sleeve.
This gesture made Rousseau's heart skip a beat. Years of political instinct told him there was something off about the circumstances of Nicolas's rescue and return.
On the surface, he remained composed, still holding Nicolas's hand with a full smile, talking about how the Aurors had been working hard on the search and rescue, looking for clues all these days. Then he yielded his position, letting other department heads speak with Nicolas, while he quietly retreated to the back of the crowd.
"What's going on?" He asked Girard in a low voice.
Girard's expression wasn't good, one could even say it was somewhat awkward and grim.
"Mr. Flamel didn't return on his own."
Rousseau asked sharply, "Just tell me who it was."
"Severus Snape." Girard took a deep breath.
Upon hearing this name, Rousseau's expression also changed.
Although it didn't become as ugly as Girard's, he still frowned tightly.
"Did they say who they escaped from?"
Girard shook her head.
"They haven't mentioned that yet. But Minister, just Snape's identity as a British wizard..."
Rousseau just stared at her.
"We invited him to join the investigation team. His being a British wizard can be covered with that pretext. The key is the culprits! Who exactly were the culprits!"
Girard's lips moved a few times. Then she spoke carefully.
"How should... the Aurors inquire?"