It wasn't just Headmistress Maxim who had arrived, but also another middle-aged male wizard.
The man wore a huge pointed wizard hat that covered most of his face.
And beside them lay several guests who had tried to flee the Beauxbatons hall during the chaos.
"All Beauxbatons members! Assemble!", Maxim spoke expressionlessly.
Her voice, amplified by a Sonorus Charm, echoed through the vast hall, striking every person's ears.
The guests clutched their ears in pain.
But the Beauxbatons students, who had been panicking just moments ago, now flushed with excitement.
It was as if they had suddenly found their backbone. They surged toward Maxim, forming a formation that could barely be called orderly.
"As you have already guessed, Beauxbatons has been attacked by unknown forces. Since the outer defensive warning barrier remains intact, we have determined that the intruders were mixed in among the guests visiting Beauxbatons this time," Maxim said coldly.
"From this moment on, no guest is allowed to leave the hall. As for the remaining students, sixth and seventh years will follow me to the Beauxbatons grounds for defense and disaster relief."
"The rest will be led by Professor Norman and remain in the hall to guard these suspects!"
The middle-aged man named Norman nodded, then walked to the other side of the hall and blocked the door there.
The moment her words fell, the guests in the hall were no longer willing to accept it.
A fat, big-eared wizard stepped forward and roared, "I am an official from the British Ministry of Magic, and you're just the headmistress of a magic school!"
"Do you really think you're Dumbledore? Ha! Go look at yourself in a mirror! You're just a half-giant, you have no authority to restrict our movement!"
"I order you, right now, let us leave immediately! Otherwise, I will file a complaint with the British Ministry after this and have Beauxbatons punished!"
As soon as he finished speaking, quite a few nobles around him echoed in agreement.
Meanwhile, the expressions of the Beauxbatons students and professors in the hall turned extremely ugly.
To many of the old Beauxbatons members, Maxim was Beauxbatons. The two were one and the same.
It was precisely because of Maxim that Beauxbatons had reached its current level of prosperity.
That was also why, despite fully supporting pure-blood supremacy, Maxim could still firmly hold the position of headmistress.
Some students were already furious enough to rush out and teach the loose-tongued wizard a lesson.
But Maxim simply raised her hand slightly and stopped them with a single motion.
Seeing this, a mocking smile appeared on the noble wizard's face.
Everything was going exactly as he expected.
How could a mere school headmistress dare to offend a Ministry official?
Just as he was about to continue mocking her, he heard Maxim say calmly, "As an official of the British Ministry, why didn't you send your child directly to Hogwarts, but instead travel such a long distance to visit Beauxbatons? That alone proves you have ulterior motives! Seize him!"
The moment Maxim finished speaking, the impatient students around him pounced forward.
They didn't even use their wands.
They directly tied up the wizard along with his wives and concubines.
This instantly silenced the previously restless crowd of guests.
Wherever Maxim's gaze passed, almost all the guests lowered their heads obediently.
They weren't fools. They understood that the situation dictated their actions.
Even if they wanted revenge, they had to preserve themselves first.
Seeing this, Maxim nodded in satisfaction, then began inspecting the assembled upper-year students to ensure no younger students had slipped in.
At the same time, Gabrielle in the crowd stared at Fleur in shock.
Fleur had already made it very clear outside.
Mr. Washington was actually Link.
And now, neither Link nor the "old Washington" was in the hall.
That alone wouldn't have meant much.
But Maxim's earlier words made Gabrielle form a terrifying guess.
'Could it be… that the one attacking Beauxbatons was Link?'
'But… why?'
'Was it because Link couldn't stand Beauxbatons becoming stronger and even surpassing Hogwarts?'
Thinking about it carefully, it actually made sense.
Just like how she loved Beauxbatons, Link must have the same burning devotion toward Hogwarts.
So much so that he would attack Beauxbatons for its sake.
Gabrielle felt a tight pain in her chest.
Her lips parted slightly as she tried several times to call out to Maxim and reveal everything.
But no matter how hard she tried, no words came out.
Fleur noticed something was wrong with Gabrielle and shook her head desperately at her in panic.
Emily, on the other hand, acted far more decisively.
"Silencing Charm! Tongue-Tying Curse! Full Body-Bind!"
With three spells cast in succession, Gabrielle froze in place.
She became like a statue, completely stripped of all sensory ability.
Emily had done everything extremely discreetly, even her incantations barely audible.
But Fleur was still startled and let out a soft cry.
And that single sound made Maxim turn her head.
"What's happening over there?" Maxim frowned. When she saw Fleur and Gabrielle, she asked again, "Is someone injured?"
"N-no!"
Fleur covered her mouth, stammering.
As she spoke, she edged sideways, trying to block Gabrielle with her body.
It was probably the best solution she could come up with.
But in Maxim's eyes, it was full of flaws.
"What are you doing? What happened to Gabrielle?"
Maxim's tone grew heavier.
Fleur was so anxious she was about to cry.
Emily, on the side, let out a long sigh and shook her head.
"Completely useless."
"It's alright, miss," Krell appeared quietly beside Emily and said. "The young master has already arranged everything. We'll be fine."
Hearing this, Emily let out a breath.
"Is that so? Then that's good."
Their strange behavior had already made Maxim sense something was wrong.
She didn't question further and instead said coldly, "Capture them!"
The students who had just tied up the noble wizard immediately rushed toward Emily and the others, eager to act.
Krell sighed.
"It's useless. I already said, the young master has arranged everything."
"What arrangement? I don't see anything," a boy at the front sneered. "Besides, there are over a hundred of us here, and you only have three people. No matter what you've prepared, there's no way you can escape!"
After saying that, he shifted his gaze toward Emily and Fleur.
Maxim's order was to subdue them.
And during the process of subduing, a bit of physical contact or even conflict… that would be perfectly normal, right?
Thinking this, the boy licked his lips excitedly.
At that moment, Krell smiled strangely.
"Who told you we only have three people?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the leading boy suddenly felt a tremendous force strike him in the face, sending him flying.
He wasn't the only one.
Almost all the students surrounding Emily and the others were knocked flying at the same moment.
For a moment, the entire hall was filled with cries of pain.
The force Maxim had planned to use against the enemy and for disaster relief hadn't even set out yet, and nearly half of it had already fallen.
And in the empty space left behind after the students were cleared out, figures began to appear one after another.
They were the Aurors and the Hunters sent by Link.
The Hunters naturally didn't need explanation. The moment they returned to Emily's side, command immediately went back to Krell.
As for the Aurors, their commander, Sand, didn't even look at Krell. He bowed slightly to Emily and said, "Miss, the young master has ordered us to escort you out of Beauxbatons."
Emily nodded and asked with a frown, "How is his situation over there?"
Sand instinctively recalled the terrifying scene of Link and Dumbledore, two veteran legendary wizards, joining forces to smash that monstrous bird into the marsh. He couldn't help but shiver.
"The two gentlemen are doing well. There's no need to worry."
"Then," Emily finally relaxed, "let's go."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Hunters and Aurors formed an arrowhead formation under Krell and Sand's command and began advancing toward the hall entrance.
The students along the way had been completely shocked by the earlier terrifying scene and actually stepped aside on their own.
Seeing this, veins bulged on Maxim's forehead.
It wasn't that she was blaming her students for being useless.
In fact, it wasn't their fault.
Because she had already recognized them.
Half of the people who had suddenly appeared were professional Aurors.
The other half, though not Aurors, were equipped even better than them.
A force of over fifty elite combat wizards like this was simply not something those students could stop.
But she did not retreat.
She stood firmly at the entrance, staring at the rapidly advancing group, gritting her teeth as she said, "I never expected the Washington family to be able to mobilize an Auror unit just to pick someone up."
The moment she said this, the entire hall erupted.
Wizards who had long lived in Britain might not have a deep understanding of how powerful Aurors truly were.
After all, they had always been suppressed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
But in reality, across the world, the Auror units of various Ministries of Magic were the strongest magical military forces in their regions.
The strongest, not the only.
The Ministry's regular forces were actually Hit Wizards.
They were the most numerous and most frequently deployed.
Aurors were the elite among elites.
This was obvious just from their extremely strict recruitment standards.
And being able to mobilize Aurors wasn't just a matter of influence.
It practically meant the Ministry belonged to them.
The Washington family was actually this powerful.
As expected of a mysterious hidden family from America.
For a moment, the noble guests who had already decided to endure quietly suddenly became excited again.
Many of them pushed past the students and rushed toward Emily's group.
Their intentions were obvious.
They wanted Emily to take them along.
Unfortunately, Emily's expression remained cold.
She waved her hand lightly, and the Hunters guarding the rear immediately showed cruel smiles.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Flashes of red light appeared, and the noble guests rushing forward were sent flying back at even greater speed.
This scene was almost identical to how the students had been repelled earlier.
No, these guests were in a worse state.
Because this time, it was the Hunters acting, and they had no sense of restraint.
Even though they were only using low-lethality Disarming Charms, under their powerful magic, the guests wouldn't end well.
At the same time, the Aurors at the front raised their wands.
"Step aside, Maxim. This is my first warning!", Sand said coldly.
Hearing this, Maxim clenched her fists. She glanced at the fallen guests and students behind her, then said seriously, "You can leave, but Gabrielle must stay! She is a Beauxbatons student. I cannot stand by and watch you take her away!"
The moment she said this, the previously hesitant students around her all reddened their eyes.
They gathered again at Maxim's side, gripping their wands firmly.
"Headmistress Maxim, let's fight them!"
"That's right! So what if they're Aurors? Let's fight them!"
"We can't let them take our classmate!"
———
The crowd became fired up.
But Maxim remained unmoving, her gaze fixed on Fleur and Emily.
Sand was equally unmoved.
He ignored the shouting students and continued, "Second warning!"
The moment his words fell, all the Aurors took casting stances, and crimson light flickered at their wand tips.
A powerful pressure surged forward.
The students who had been shouting fell silent instantly.
Maxim's expression, meanwhile, turned extremely grim.
As the most elite force of the Ministry, Aurors had the authority to activate unrestricted lethal force.
But according to protocol, they had to issue two warnings before doing so.
Only if the warnings were ignored could lethal force be authorized.
Their current actions clearly meant they were about to begin a massacre.
And if a fight really broke out…
With so many students here…
Even if they somehow won, what about the attackers outside?
Would they still have the strength to resist them afterward?
Maxim clenched her teeth, then waved her hand.
"All of you, stand aside. Let them pass!"
The students still holding on couldn't react at first.
Some even tried to argue.
But Maxim continued coldly, "Are you no longer willing to follow my orders? Move aside! Aurors do not joke around. They… will kill!"
The remaining students turned pale.
Under Maxim's command, the entrance to the hall was cleared.
Sand and the others didn't relax their guard.
They gripped their wands tightly and escorted Emily and the others out under the hateful gazes of everyone around them.
Throughout the entire process, Fleur kept her head lowered, holding her sister tightly, not daring to look at Maxim.
If the previous incident between her and Maxim could still be explained as a disagreement…
Then this time, it was outright betrayal.
She simply had no face left to face her headmistress.
She could even imagine Maxim looking at her with indescribable disappointment.
It made her feel pain. It made her feel ashamed.
But in reality, Fleur was overthinking.
At this point, Maxim had no attention left for her at all.
She didn't even look at her once.
She simply watched as Emily and the others disappeared into the night, then turned to the dejected students and shouted, "Stop looking like that! Carry out my orders! We are going to defend Beauxbatons!"
With that, Maxim waved her wand and strode toward the sea of fire below the castle without looking back.
Behind her, the previously downcast students slowly lifted their heads and followed.
There was a faint fire flickering in their eyes.
It might have been the reflection of the flames below.
Or perhaps… the fire called hope.
They were going to defend Beauxbatons.
———
[Outside Beauxbatons Castle]
Watching the chaos caused by the destruction of the magic bridge, a trace of reluctance flashed in Dumbledore's eyes.
But things had already reached this point.
There was no turning back.
"Ah!"
Letting out a long sigh, Dumbledore looked again toward the distant marsh.
The monstrous bird controlled by Liro was struggling desperately in the mud.
Link's earlier compressed air blast had already blown apart most of the creature's body.
And since it had no lower limbs…
Even though it possessed tremendous power, all its struggles could do was churn up mud and scatter flower petals. It couldn't get up at all.
"It's time… to end you.", Dumbledore said calmly, then slowly raised his wand.
The brilliant golden light around him began to collapse, eventually forming a large halo behind him.
At the same time, countless points of light gathered at the tip of his wand.
The Vanishing Spell.
Buzz!
A dazzling beam suddenly burst forth.
Carrying terrifying force, it slammed into the monstrous bird in the marsh below.
However, there was no explosion, no shockwave, not even the slightest sign of destruction in the usual sense.
There was only... collapse.
Dust, petals, splashing mud, even light itself.
Everything touched by the beam collapsed into nothingness.
And as the primary target, the giant bird began to rapidly disintegrate under the beam's radiance.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 40 advance chapter through P@treon.