"Stop all this noise! Quiet down, everyone! Put out the fire, now! And if I find out who's behind this, no one will be spared!"
The silver wand leader appeared, shouting frantically at the crowd.
After that, a large number of silver wands suddenly appeared, shedding their invisibility as they gathered around the cell to cast spells and start putting out the fire.
Meanwhile, the people nearby noticed something important: there were far fewer guards in the prison at night compared to the daytime, with only a handful on duty.
This realization gave many inmates courage, and some even began shaking the steel bars of their cages, hoping to use the chaos as a chance to escape.
The prison quickly descended into chaos.
At that moment, the silver wand leader stood up and, with just a few uses of the Cruciatus Curse, knocked several troublemakers to the ground, warning the others to back off.
The silver wands then quickly managed to control the fire, but neither they nor the noisy wizards realized that two invisible inmates had slipped out of their cells near the fireplace.
Nathan and Bob hadn't expected Jimmy's plan to work so well.
They had only intended to use the fire to draw the silver wands' attention, but it ended up stirring nearly everyone in the prison.
While the silver wands were busy dealing with the fire and troublemakers, the two invisible wizards quietly moved closer to the fireplace, undetected.
Nathan and Bob's escape went surprisingly smoothly.
Using the dim light to their advantage, they cast disillusionment spells on themselves and then, during a brief moment of chaos in the prison, used transfiguration to soften the cell walls.
This allowed them to walk right out without much trouble.
Meanwhile, the silver wands were too busy dealing with the fire and trying to suppress the wizards' riot to notice anything unusual near the prison.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Nathan and Bob made their way to the fireplace without any trouble.
The whole situation felt almost unreal, like a dream, but there was no time to get caught up in feelings.
As soon as they reached the hearth, they grabbed a handful of Floo powder and threw it in.
"Ministry of Magic!" Nathan called out.
He spoke so clearly he bit his tongue to make sure he didn't mess up.
Immediately, emerald green flames engulfed them, and within moments they vanished from the terrifying prison.
On the other side, Jimmy had been watching the corner closely.
When he saw the fireplace activate, he shouted desperately, trying to draw the silver wands' attention and buy Nathan and Bob some time.
Nearby, Moody observed everything with a shake of his head, silently amused by their efforts.
'These guys really work hard,' he thought.
'If I hadn't known their plan in advance, they might've been done for.'
Then he glanced thoughtfully toward the fireplace, wondering how Andre's preparations were coming along.
As the main mover in this whole drama, he hoped nothing would go wrong now.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Bob arrived one after the other in the hall of the German Ministry of Magic.
They stumbled out of the fireplace and immediately started coughing violently.
After being stuck in the prison's confined, foul-smelling air for so long, the fresh air felt almost suffocating.
They collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath as if they'd been through a nightmare.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed in their ears, breaking the tense silence.
Someone was approaching!
After enduring long-term high stress, Nathan and Bob had become extremely sensitive.
The moment they heard footsteps, they nervously turned to see who it was.
To their relief, it was two Aurors on patrol, walking toward them.
"Who are you? Don't you know it's late at night? Why are you trespassing in the Ministry of Magic at this hour?" one Auror demanded, leaning in.
They quickly noticed that the two men on the ground looked dirty, disheveled, and smelled foul.
One of the Aurors suddenly pulled out his wand, and the two men flinched.
"Don't! Don't hurt us! We're not bad people, we came for help!"
Seeing the wand, Nathan immediately raised his hands above his head, hoping not to be treated like criminals right after their escape.
"Help?"
The Aurors exchanged looks, then ordered, "Put your wands down, keep your hands visible, and stand up."
Nathan and Bob complied, allowing the Aurors to get a better look at them in the dim light.
Once they realized the two had no wands on them, the Aurors relaxed slightly and asked calmly, "Who are you? Why do you look like Muggle homeless people?
You said you need help. Are you in danger?"
"Yes, Mr. Auror," Nathan replied emotionally.
"We were kidnapped and imprisoned by villains. We escaped today with great difficulty, and came straight to the Ministry seeking help."
His voice trembled, and tears began to fall uncontrollably.
The weight of their ordeal had overwhelmed him now that he finally felt safe.
"Don't panic. Tell me slowly, who kidnapped you? Do you have any companions with you?"
The Auror's tone softened as he saw their pitiful state.
"Yes, we have others," Nathan said.
"And the one who captured us is..." he began.
But before he could finish explaining that they had been imprisoned by the silver wand Gang, Bob quickly interrupted him.
Nathan felt a firm hand press against his shoulder, stopping him from speaking further.
Turning his head in confusion, he saw Bob looking at him with a serious expression.
Suddenly, Nathan realized he couldn't just blurt out anything about the silver wand.
They had learned back in prison that the silver wand might be mysteriously linked to some people within the German Ministry of Magic.
Even though the two wizards in front of them were Aurors, there was no guarantee they weren't connected to that same group.
What if these Aurors were reporting to those colluding with the club?
If that were true, they'd just walked straight into a trap.
After a brief pause to gather his thoughts, Nathan chose his words carefully.
"We need to tell Director Andre about what happened to us. Can you take us to see him?"
One Auror raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Director Andre? You don't just get to meet him on a whim. If you're here for help, you'll have to explain everything first. Only then will we consider whether to arrange a meeting with the director."
Nathan's voice grew urgent.
"No, you have to believe me. What we've faced is almost beyond belief. You won't trust me if I just tell you. Please, I'm begging you both."
His emotions spilled over; he even teared up, almost kneeling in desperation.
They had to understand, Jimmy was still covering for them, risking a lot.
If things went wrong, the consequences could be disastrous.
Seeing Nathan so emotional, one Auror glanced at his partner.