Because the previous French Minister had fallen victim to Grindelwald's Imperius Curse and died unexpectedly at the International Confederation of Wizards meeting a month earlier, Bruno and the others conducted a thorough investigation of the Ministry upon their return, in addition to the election of a new Minister.
However, while this idea was good, it was not easy to implement.
The death of the previous Minister was so sudden that high-ranking officials, who had the ability to compete for the office of Minister, began to resent each other, and the Ministry was thrown into chaos. The investigation into the deaths of the Ministry's members spiralled out of control, and many officials and Aurors were branded saints and thrown into prison without trial.
At first, Fleur and the others thought that it was just a political struggle, and that the ministers' candidates were using this opportunity to get rid of their dissidents so that they could rise to power.
However, during one of their missions, she and her fellow Aurors stumbled across a clue that the Saints they were supposed to have arrested and imprisoned for questioning had re-emerged in front of them, committing a heinous murder of Muggles.
Fleur found it very strange at the time, and when they caught the Saints, she learned from the Auror that there had been trouble in the prison a few days ago, and that several prisoners had escaped due to poor control.
Fleur, naturally, would not have believed such a nonsensical answer, and she and her colleagues, who had also sensed that something was amiss, discussed the matter privately.
However, before they could find out anything, they were mysteriously wanted and hunted by a group of people who claimed to be French Aurors.
Each one was more vicious than the last, using all manner of dark magic with almost no restraint, and several of her fellow witches and wizards fell victim to various jinxes while fleeing Paris.
Ivan's brow furrowed as he listened to Fleur's story. Grindelwald's infiltration of the French Ministry of Magic must have gone way beyond his imagination.
From the fact that Fleur and the others were wanted on a trumped-up charge, it was clear that the French Ministry of Magic was not far behind, if not completely fallen.
For all they knew, Grindelwald might have taken control of or replaced the Ministerial candidates, taking full control of the French Ministry of Magic in the name of Saint Search.
This was not a bad thing. Ivan had been troubled by the fact that he could not find Grindelwald and the Saints, but now he had a target.
Though Fleur's escape must have put the opposition on their guard, Grindelwald had been operating in France for too long to give up so easily.
Yvonne's frown disappeared and she said, "Don't you worry too much, Fleur. If Grindelwald and the Saints are hiding at the French Ministry of Magic, the International Confederation of Wizards will not sit idly by."
Fleur nodded apprehensively, then seemed to think better of it and said, "Oh, and one more thing. Before we escaped from the Ministry, the Captain got word that some high-ranking members of the French Ministry of Magic seemed to be discussing an attack on the Muggle rulers."
Ivan's eyes met Pierce's, and he saw the gravity of the situation.
Grindelwald, unlike most wizards living out old dreams, never underestimated Muggle power or threat.
Ivan had previously wondered how Grindelwald would counter-attack after his defeat at the League, and was most worried that Grindelwald would simply announce the existence of the wizarding community, or hide in the shadows and wait to gain control of the heads of state.
The former would undoubtedly bring the Muggle-wizard conflict to the fore, and in the face of a host of Muggle denunciations and successive confrontations, the neutral wizard would likely side with Grindelwald.
They were officially part of the wizarding community, and their power would be greatly reduced if they had to settle disputes between wizards and Muggles, consider a potential war, and find a way to deal with Grindelwald.
This was clearly not something Ivan wanted to see.
As for the latter, it was impossible to guard against. Grindelwald had the power to sneak into the President's home and control the President with the Imperius Curse.
Although the heads of state were protected by a large number of Aurors, they were unable to stop Grindelwald's actions, and could only try to get word to him that he was in control of the Prime Minister.
Now there was a slip-up in France. If the entire Ministry of Magic had fallen, what about the Aurors who had been protecting the French President?
The worst-case scenario was that Grindelwald had secretly taken control of the French President, and possibly other high-ranking officials as well.
France was a nuclear power, and one misstep could have disastrous consequences.
With this in mind, Yvonne began to worry about Grindelwald. She had to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"Rest here for a while, Fleur, and I'll send more men to keep you safe," Ivan said solemnly.
"No, there's no need. I'm healed and ready to return to battle. Don't forget that I'm also an Auror!" Fleur said firmly. She could not forget her comrades who had died trying to protect her, and she was desperate for revenge.
"I'm sorry, Miss Delacour, but you may not know this, but everything concerning Grindelwald and the Saints is now in the hands of the League's rapid-response force, the finest of the best…" Ivan did not hesitate to refuse Fleur's offer.
"But the French Ministry of Magic—" Fleur began, but Ivan cut her off.
"You're not going to be able to do anything on your own. As the person who provided the vital information, your job should be to keep yourself safe."
"Also, the wound on your face has just healed. I can't guarantee that the spell has been removed, so you'd better stay in the hospital for a few more days to prevent the injury from relapsing…" Ivan said, trying to scare her.
As a former representative of Beauxbatons House, Fleur was quite good compared to her peers, but in Ivan's opinion, she was far from good enough, especially when it came to dealing with the Dark Arts.
Under Ivan's patient persuasion, Fleur had no choice but to give up on the idea of joining the fight and go to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
After placating Fleur, Ivan gave Pierce a look and left Bohan and the others…