71. Cheers!

The news of Grindelwald's prison escape once dominated the front pages of major magical newspapers worldwide.

However, now that Grindelwald has disappeared, the news is no longer as hot.

The sudden drop in temperature makes Aurelius suspect that certain individuals may have interfered.

These individuals have prevented the wizarding media from further boosting Grindelwald's reputation and spreading his "crazy" ideas through newspapers.

However, Aurelius's accusations are purely speculative and lack evidence.

The news may be simply outdated, as new events occur every day, and the media tends to favor current news over old news.

To them, Grindelwald is just a name—a tool to generate attention-grabbing headlines and increase sales. Soon enough, the name Grindelwald seems to vanish, replaced by other news, such as the marriage of Scamander and Lestrange.

Aurelius notices a moving photo featuring Newt, someone he hasn't seen in over six months. Reading the accompanying news article about their unique love story almost makes Aurelius question what he knows. Could the story he's familiar with be false? The photo is incredibly misleading.

Newt, with his head lowered, appears to be engaged in conversation and laughter with a dark-skinned girl. On the edge of the photo, a man who bears a resemblance to Newt but appears more confident and sunny can be seen.

The photo, combined with the ambiguous press release, easily leads one to believe that Newt is in love with a Lestrange.

However, flipping to the front page of the newspaper, Aurelius, with his half-moon eyes, remarks, "I see the Daily Prophet is as stubborn as ever. Can't the BBC learn from them?" Despite knowing the truth, Aurelius doesn't believe a word of the report. Scamander is indeed married to a Lestrange, but it's not Newt—the up-and-coming author and expert on magical creatures who has gained popularity in the past six months.

Instead, it's his brother, Theseus Scamander, a decorated war hero from the previous conflict with Grindelwald. However, what piques Aurelius's interest is that Leta Lestrange, who he knows to be Newt's first love, seems to be Theseus's wife. "What in the world is going on? This is like a lover turning into a sister-in-law," Aurelius muses, doubting if he picked up the correct script. Aurelius has no interest in the affairs of Newt's brother and sister-in-law. He puts down the newspaper and calls out, "Nagini! Has Mr. Aldo responded to your letter?"

"Not yet," Nagini said, walking in with a brand-new first-grade textbook. She was trying to catch up on her lessons. Like Aurelius, Nagini had never been to school. She had magical powers but didn't know how to cast spells.

"We've been waiting for over two months, and Mr. Aldo hasn't responded?" Aurelius asked.

Nagini shrugged, clearly frustrated.

The French Ministry of Magic had a strong presence at all levels since they were the only ones remaining in the world. Dumbledore's name didn't carry much weight here. It took him two months just to forge connections with the Director of the Legal Enforcement Department and the Assistant Minister. As for the Minister of Magic, I haven't even met him.

Boom, boom, boom!

Aurelius and Nagini exchanged questioning glances and then turned their attention to the door.

"Who could that be?" Nagini asked, her doubts evident.

They were unfamiliar with France, so they couldn't fathom who would be knocking on their hotel room door.

She didn't recall ordering room service.

Aurelius narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said, "I might have an idea. Please open the door."

Nagini approached the door and opened it.

A middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes stood on the other side. He appeared to be around forty or fifty years old, wearing a gray felt hat and a coat. One hand was tucked in his pocket, while the other wore a leather glove. He knocked on the door.

"In this heat, aren't you feeling hot?" Aurelius asked, finding amusement in the man's attire.

"Well, it's not too bad. Luckily, I have magic. A cooling spell can take care of it," the man replied, smiling. He removed his hat to reveal a head with thinning brown hair mixed with some gray. However, it didn't make him appear old and faded; instead, it added to his mature, stable, and resourceful charm.

"You seem to know me and know that I would be coming," the man said, entering the room and hanging his hat and coat on the hook.

His magical gloves flew down on their own, twisting and floating into the hat.

"Albus Dumbledore," Aurelius said with a smile. "He's known as the only man who can stand against Grindelwald. How could I not recognize him?"

Dumbledore, the old bee, was much less reserved now than he would become later on.

However, various media outlets from different countries were giving Dumbledore credit for being the savior.

Grindelwald was terrifying. He could silently steal other people's wands and had exceptional transformation skills. He could defeat a group of highly trained Aurors with a wand that wasn't even his own. If Newt hadn't launched a surprise attack and if there wasn't a lack of knowledge about magical creatures, Grindelwald might have never been caught. He could openly kill and escape from a heavily guarded prison.

These scattered pieces of information made Grindelwald's threat grow more and more each day. And Dumbledore has been called by some media newspapers as "the only person who can rival Grindelwald" - yes, some, referring to the "Daily Prophet."

To put it bluntly, this group of people is afraid and wants to give themselves a reason not to be afraid, so they push someone out to act as a shield for them.

Fortunately, they chose Dumbledore. Out of regret for his past, he chose to stand up and try to stop Grindelwald in his way.

But during this trip to France, it was obvious that he was not here for Grindelwald.

"I have been waiting for this day to come, and I always thought you might come earlier," Aurelius said, reminiscing with an old friend. "What would you like to drink? Coffee, tea? Or Coca-Cola?"

"Coca-Cola? Great, I like the sweet taste," Dumbledore said, taking a sip of the fizzy, dark unknown drink and couldn't help but praise it.

"You are a little different from what I imagined," Dumbledore looked at Aurelius.

"Oh, you are quite different from what I imagined," Aurelius also looked at him.

"Hahahaha——" The two looked at each other and smiled, clinking glasses happily.

Cheers!