"Former Head of Magical Creature Control Acquitted!"
"At 10:00 a.m. GMT on December 20th, the International Wizarding Law Tribunal, Wizengamot, held a significant trial concerning the case of malfeasance against Mrs. Diana Greengrass, former Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
Following deliberations, over three-quarters of the Wizengamot found no evidence of misconduct by Mrs. Greengrass, resulting in her acquittal. However, officials from the Office of the Minister for Magic have not commented on when Mrs. Greengrass might resume her duties.
Mr. Cuthbert Mockridge, Director of the Goblin Liaison Office, continues to serve as Acting Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The Daily Prophet will continue to follow this case and provide further updates in the coming days."
Jon put down the Daily Prophet, his gaze shifting away from the brief article tucked in the corner. Ordinarily, news of such importance would never be tucked away in a corner like that… but considering how Minister Cornelius Fudge and his cronies had been acting more erratic by the day, nothing surprised Jon anymore.
After carefully rereading the piece to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Jon finally let out a quiet breath of relief.
It seemed that Astoria's mother was safe, and most wizards in the magical world still supported her. Jon only hoped that once Astoria heard the news, her spirits would lift a little.
Just as he was about to move on to another section of the paper, a clear voice came from beside him.
"Hello?"
...
The voice came from a girl seated next to Jon—one of his "travel companions" on this trip. She wore a pale blue chiffon dress with a hint of Greek elegance, her auburn hair flowing gracefully over her shoulders. Her brown eyes, bright with curiosity, flicked toward the newspaper in Jon's hands.
When Jon turned to her, the girl smiled politely. "Sorry, I might be imagining things… but I could have sworn the picture in your newspaper just moved."
"Of course, it might have just been my imagination!" she added quickly. "Or maybe some kind of new product?"
"Of course it's your imagination," Jon replied calmly, tucking the Daily Prophet back into his backpack. "How could a newspaper portrait just move on its own?"
"Yeah… that'd be pretty unbelievable!" the girl said with a small laugh. She didn't pursue the topic of the moving image any further, though. From her expression, it seemed she was more interested in talking to Jon himself.
"May I ask your name?" she said a bit shyly.
"Patrick… Christopher Patrick," Jon answered evenly.
"That doesn't sound like an English name… more like a German one?"
"No, I was born in Austria," Jon said with a shrug.
"A country full of art!" the auburn-haired girl said playfully, giving him a quick wink. "But it's a bit strange, isn't it? An Austrian living in England, heading to France just four days before Christmas?"
"My parents are in France," Jon explained.
"Living there?"
"Not permanently… we should be back in a few years."
"I see… and where are they staying for now?" the girl asked curiously.
"My dear lady," Jon said, unable to resist a wry smile, "if I may ask—are you from Scotland Yard or MI6?"
"Sorry!" The girl immediately laughed, looking a little embarrassed. "I was being nosy. I'm just a British exchange student, heading back to France for Christmas, like you."
"Once we land at Charles de Gaulle Airport…" She paused, then asked softly, "Would you like to grab a coffee together? There's a lovely café nearby."
"I'd love to," Jon replied politely, "but once I'm in Paris, I'll need to catch a connecting flight to Ajaccio—the capital of southern Corsica—so I might not have time."
"Oh, that's a shame." The girl looked genuinely disappointed, shaking her head with a sigh.
Jon had politely turned down the Muggle girl's invitation, though he couldn't deny that she was quite pretty.
He slipped on his eye mask and leaned back to sleep as the plane lifted off from London Heathrow, bound for Paris.
...
By the time Jon arrived in Corsica, it was already afternoon. It took him quite a while to locate his destination, and by then, the sky was already darkening.
He spotted two small houses near the coastline and glanced at the address written on the note in his hand before hurrying over.
Stopping in front of the courtyard of the left-hand house, he leaned forward to peek inside, then knocked softly on the door while slipping the iron ring off his finger.
"Who's there?"
Mrs. Judy Hart, who had been watering several palm trees in the yard, turned around irritably. Then, all at once, she froze—the watering can slipping from her hands.
"Jon…"
She rushed over, opened the gate, and pulled her son into a tight embrace.
"Long time no see, Mom."
"Yes, it's been a year and a half… You've grown so tall, taller than me already!" Mrs. Hart's eyes glistened with tears of joy.
"Mom, you've gotten prettier too!"
"Hmph… No matter how busy you are, you should visit more often," she scolded lightly. "From the way Mr. Doge and Miss Jones talked, I thought something terrible had happened to you. It wasn't until Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself came to assure us you were fine that we finally felt at ease."
"Well, I'm back now," Jon said with a small smile. "How have you been living here?"
"Wonderfully. The climate's much better than England's, and the scenery's beautiful. Winter temperatures rarely drop below fifteen degrees, and summer hardly ever rises above twenty-five. It's just a bit dull at times," Judy said with a smile. "But that's only for me. Your father and our neighbor have been having the time of their lives together every day."
"Neighbor?" Jon frowned slightly.
"Hmph. Just a playboy—changes girlfriends about once a month," Judy said coldly. "He calls himself a writer but hasn't published a single book. Claims he used to be a professor too—honestly, has he looked at himself?"
"Really? Then… what's his name?" Jon asked with a wry smile.
"Lockhart?" Mrs. Hart frowned in thought. "I think that's it… Gilderoy Lockhart!"