Chapter 115: The Unlucky Professor McGonagall

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Scrimgeour gazed at the wand shop not far away, seemingly tempted.

Just then, Kingsley, who had just led people to search the surrounding areas for clues, hurried over, drawing everyone's attention.

"Any discoveries?" Scrimgeour asked expressionlessly.

"Yes!" Kingsley pulled several keys from his pocket and handed them to Scrimgeour. "We found these near some shops. The doors of those shops all bear traces of the Unlocking Charm being cast, yet these keys can directly open the magical locks on those shop doors..."

Scrimgeour took a key, examined it carefully for a moment, and said, "You mean the thief stole all the keys to those shop doors and then threw them right outside the shops?"

"Most likely so. Moreover, none of the shops show signs of forced entry, and no merchandise is missing. I suspect this is a demonstrative act by the thief," Kingsley stated without hesitation.

"That makes sense," Scrimgeour mused. "It seems casting the Unlocking Charm on the shop doors was also an act of provocation and demonstration; after all, the Unlocking Charm cannot open magical locks."

Kingsley nodded in agreement, and even Mafalda expressed her concurrence.

"It appears this intruding wizard is extremely powerful; an ordinary wizard could not achieve this. Perhaps we should investigate how each shop owner's keys were stolen," Scrimgeour said in a deep voice.

At that moment, Aurors kept arriving, delivering keys found during searches throughout Diagon Alley, and soon Scrimgeour held a large pile of keys...

Everyone stared at this huge bunch of keys, falling into a stupor...

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Allen watched as his night's achievements were uncovered one by one, feeling increasingly uneasy...

"After finding the keys, we tested them on the nearby shop doors and discovered they could all open the magical locks," an Auror summarized.

The atmosphere grew exceedingly gloomy; this matter exceeded everyone's limits of imagination, and no one could comprehend the intruder's intentions...

"This intruder's methods are very bizarre! Stealing one shop's key isn't hard, but stealing keys from so many shops without being detected is extremely difficult; I cannot imagine how the intruder managed it..." Mafalda was the first to break the heavy silence.

Scrimgeour did not respond to Mafalda; instead, he whipped his head around, looking seriously at Kingsley, and said, "Notify all Aurors to heighten their vigilance and not relax. Any operation must involve at least a two-person team. If the intruder is spotted, do not engage directly; call for backup immediately!"

Then, taking a deep breath, he added, "The intruder is extremely powerful! Extremely dangerous!"

"This is not a drill!" Scrimgeour concluded finally.

Kingsley nodded heavily, accepted the order, and departed.

Scrimgeour then turned to Mafalda and said sternly, "You had better instruct your people in the Department of Magical Misuses to do exactly as I just said, to avoid unnecessary casualties; after all, your personnel are not Aurors trained for combat."

Mafalda wiped the cold sweat from her face and nodded vigorously.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Allen stared wide-eyed as this group's speculations grew increasingly distorted, though this was fine; at least they weren't focusing all their attention on him.

Just then, a young Auror approached, leading two wizards dressed in pajamas.

"Chief, new developments!" the young Auror reported to Scrimgeour, then pointed to the two wizards he had brought. "These are the owners of Flourish and Blotts and the magical masterpiece shop; they just stated that their keys were not lost..."

Scrimgeour whipped his head around once more; Allen even worried he might twist his neck from using too much force.

Scrimgeour stared sternly at the young Auror and the two wizards, his eyes containing infinite pressure. "Our people have already tested them; these keys can open your shop doors!"

"Could your keys have been swapped?" Scrimgeour asked suspiciously, eyeing the two shop owners.

"Impossible; our shops use the best magical locks,

and the keys are designed with extreme precision and are difficult to forge. I am now absolutely certain that the one in my hand is genuine!" the owner of the magical masterpiece shop declared, displaying his key.

But the next moment, he was rendered speechless; staring in disbelief at a key in Scrimgeour's hand, he snatched it, turned it over and over examining it, then pulled an identical key from his pocket, placing the two keys side by side for comparison...

"Impossible! Impossible!" the owner of the magical masterpiece shop murmured. "Even the two hidden patterns on them are exactly the same..."

The owner of Flourish and Blotts also retrieved his key to compare with the one in Scrimgeour's hand, with identical results...

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Scrimgeour looked at the two distraught shop owners and gently took a key back from their hands...

The owner of the magical masterpiece shop suddenly grabbed Scrimgeour's hand, exclaiming, "The one you took is my key!"

Then he handed over the key in his own hand, but immediately felt that this one also seemed genuine; after repeated comparisons, he said dejectedly to Scrimgeour, "I can't tell which one is real anymore..."

The same thing happened to the owner of Flourish and Blotts...

Scrimgeour looked at the two shop owners speechlessly; the next moment, as if thinking of something, he told them, "Give me all the keys; I have a solution!"

The two shop owners, in a daze, handed the keys in their hands to Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour waved his wand and recited the incantation on each of the four keys: "Finite Incantatem!"

Two of the keys had their Transfiguration undone, turning into two small twigs...

Everyone was stunned by this scene; they had looked for so long yet failed to realize these keys were products of the Transfiguration Charm.

"The intruder is extremely skilled in Transfiguration! Normally, items transformed by the Transfiguration Charm differ slightly from the original, but this intruder's Transfiguration Charm has altered the keys to a degree where true and false are indistinguishable; this is unheard of..." Scrimgeour's brow furrowed even deeper.

"However, this is also an extremely useful clue! We now need experts skilled in Transfiguration to support us!" Scrimgeour's brow relaxed somewhat.

"Do you mean we should invite Professor Dumbledore?" the young Auror asked.

Scrimgeour glared at this ignorant young man and said, "Do you think you can invite Professor Dumbledore? I am talking about Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts!"

"Ah?" the young Auror said in surprise. "Professor McGonagall just resolved the major disturbance regarding Hogwarts admissions recently. Yesterday, I saw her applying at the Department of Magical Transportation for a Portkey to Egypt; she is probably already vacationing in Egypt by now!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry and send someone to Egypt to fetch Professor McGonagall! Keep a low profile! Be polite; Professor McGonagall has always been reasonable and understands the priority of matters! Do this before the Transfiguration Charm effects on these keys fade!" Scrimgeour commanded expressionlessly.

The young Auror dared not disobey his superior's order and hastily Disapparated away...

Egypt.

Inside a luxurious guest room.

Fast asleep, Professor McGonagall did not yet know that her vacation was about to end before it had even begun...