Early the next morning, as the morning sun streamed through the window, Ivan sat up in bed and turned to look at Hermione, who was fast asleep.
The little witch was curled up under the blanket, her fair face still flushed, and Ivan had no intention of waking her. He leaned over and kissed Hermione on the forehead, then quickly put on his battle robe, got out of bed, washed up, and used Apparition to return to the International Confederation of Wizards.
By the time Ivan entered the headquarters, Colin Morton and the other Aurors had already arrived and were gathered in the hall, awaiting his orders.
After the past few days of training, the six hundred Aurors were no longer as disorganized as they used to be. They were all dressed in neat uniforms and stood solemnly on either side of each other.
Ivan nodded to himself at this, then turned to Fren. "How's the job I arranged for you three days ago coming along?"
Furlong did not hesitate to reply. "The results are in, President Harls, as we were able to extract information from a senior French Ministry of Magic official last night."
"As Miss Delacour reported, Grindelwald has the entire Ministry under his control, although he has not been seen for a month, and the high-ranking official is unaware of his movements," Flen added.
"What about Alison? Did you find the witch I asked you to find?" Ivan asked after a moment of silence.
"According to the man's confession, this witch, Alison, is also in the French Ministry of Magic, and is now in the position of secretary to the Minister…" Flan replied.
"Good! You did a good job…" Ivan nodded in satisfaction. Due to the urgency of the situation, he had only given Fran three days. He thought she would be lucky to find out anything, but she did.
Since the other side was also present, the French Ministry of Magic would be able to get their hands on the Horcruxes…
With that in mind, Ivan turned to the Aurors on standby and began to assign tasks.
The six hundred wizards present were soon divided into three groups.
The first group was the largest, consisting of four hundred men led by Flen, and the most difficult, as they were expected to march straight into the French Ministry of Magic to capture the Saints.
The second group was given to Colin Morton by Ivan, who was pleased with the performance of the experienced Auror after a few days of observation.
Thus, after much consideration, Ivan decided to send the second group of one hundred and forty wizards to the Élysée Palace to secure the President of France and, if necessary, take control of the presidential palace.
However, Colin Morton was, after all, a Norse wizard, and Ivan had only known him for a little over a month. Ivan did not trust an outsider 100 percent, so he placed Dawlish on this team to assist in the Colin Morton operation.
As for the remaining sixty Aurors, they were to be used as a backup force or to assist in their retreat if the situation got out of hand.
"You have to be discreet, understand?" Ivan warned Colin Morton and the others. Controlling the French President was no small task. If they failed, they would have to face the French military…
"We'll see to that, President Harls," Colin Morton replied solemnly, obviously aware of this fact.
Ivan's gaze swept across the room, and he enunciated each word clearly. In case the disappearance of the senior official alarmed Grindelwald, he decided to act today.
… .
At nine o'clock in the morning, Ivan and Fran arrived at the huge square in front of the Palace of Versailles under the cover of the Disillusionment Charm.
However, they were not tourists today — one of the routes into French headquarters for magic was located there.
The famous tourist attraction, Versailles, had a large number of visitors, enough to make Ivan frown, and wonder why the French Ministry of Magic would set up its headquarters in such a crowded area. Wouldn't they worry about their officials being accidentally exposed to Muggles when they went to work?
However, when you think about it, the North American Parliament Building seems to be even more arrogant. It was simply designed inside the bustling Woolworth Building. Perhaps this is the so-called "the small lurks in the mountains, the middle lurks in the city, and the large lurks in the court"…
While Ivan was lost in his thoughts, the four hundred Aurors were already in position. They were divided into small groups and quietly released their magic. Some of them entered the Palace of Versailles, while others dispersed and expelled the Muggles who were wandering around the square.
Under the influence of the Confunding Charm, the Muggles who came out to have fun suddenly remembered that they had some urgent matters to attend to at home, and they left Versailles in a hurry. However, there were too many tourists nearby, and they could see Muggles gathering in the distance.
"Too slow!" Ivan scowled, worried that he might attract the attention of the French Aurors, even a fool could tell when so many Muggles were rushing out.
If a battle were to break out prematurely and both sides engaged each other in the square, it would most likely result in the deaths of many tourists.
Flan apparently realised this, but couldn't think of anything better to do.
"What about the next rain? Let them go… it doesn't matter if they go into the palace. We can gather them and protect them," Ivan suggested suddenly.
It's raining? For a moment, Fran was stunned. She looked up at the clear sky. It didn't look like rain.
Flan turned to Ivan and was about to ask him something when Ivan snapped his fingers and the clear sky darkened. The white clouds turned black and, with a loud crack of thunder, rain began to fall.
"What's going on? It's raining?" a Muggle couple exclaimed in surprise. They had seen the weather forecast for the day. It was supposed to be sunny, but the curtain of rain was getting heavier and heavier. Not wanting to get drenched, the couple ran towards the Palace of Versailles.
Like returning ants, the crowd in the square surged towards the interior of the palace, but what they could not see was an invisible curtain rising from all directions, enveloping the entire palace complex.