Chapter 167: Chapter 167: The Youngest Recipient of the Medal of Valor (Fourth Update)
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Three days later, at the headquarters of the French Ministry of Magic, George and Amy stood proudly on the podium.
Below them were Aurors and staff from the French Ministry of Magic, along with reporters from various magical newspapers, including the renowned Daily Prophet.
The French Minister of Magic stepped forward and placed two Medals of Valor on George and Amy. He then handed each of them a pouch containing one thousand Galleons.
"On behalf of the French Ministry of Magic, I hereby award the Medal of Valor and a thousand Galleons to George and Amy for their outstanding contributions in capturing the dark wizard, Rodrigues Maddox.
Thank you for your dedication to the wizarding community of France. You are always welcome to visit us!"
As the Minister's speech concluded, George and Amy bowed, receiving thunderous applause. The magical cameras clicked incessantly.
When everything was over, Lina looked at George, who was wearing his medal, and said with a smile, "George, you must be the youngest recipient of the Medal of Valor in French history!"
"But it's well-deserved. Honestly, I was just riding on your coattails."
Beside her, Amy was holding the pouch with a thousand Galleons, her face beaming with joy.
"It's been ages since I've had this much gold!" she said. "Tonight, dinner's on me. Let's eat at the best tavern on Magical Street!"
"Aren't you planning to return to England?" George asked, weighing the pouch of Galleons in his hand. "I heard from the Auror captain that he's already informed the British Ministry of Magic about Old One-Eye's confession and the situation here. They've canceled your dismissal and reinstated you as an Auror."
Amy put her hands on her hips and raised her head proudly.
"It's not just about being reinstated as an Auror. They've promoted me to Deputy Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
But I've already requested to start after summer break. I promised to teach you over the summer, and I can't break my word."
"That's my teacher—dedicated and reliable! You deserve a thumbs up!" George said, smiling and giving her a thumbs-up.
Amy's promotion to Deputy Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation meant she might become the head in a few years. Even if his boss, Barty Crouch Sr., wasn't taken out by his son, he would likely retire soon.
This was good news for George. He now had another connection in the Ministry of Magic.
He already knew Tonks and her colleagues in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ludo Bagman, who had invited him to join Quidditch, was in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.
Now, in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he had Amy—a connection forged through life-and-death experiences.
And he was only in his second year! George was already building a solid foundation within the Ministry of Magic.
George stayed in France, honing his magical skills and secretly studying powerful ancient magic. Occasionally, Hermione would visit, and they'd explore Magical Street together.
This peaceful routine lasted until the start of the school term.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel Universe, George was sitting on the lawn in the school garden, focusing on sensing the natural energy around him and trying to establish a connection as described in the ancient spellbook.
The professor suddenly approached from the direction of the teaching building.
"George, I've found the friend you asked me to locate!"
"So, does that mean we're getting a new teacher at the school?" George slowly opened his eyes and thought to himself:
"Looks like my wand will have a new core soon."
Taking his phone from his pocket, he scrolled through the latest news.
Since he had to control the activities of his avatars across three worlds while delving into magical research, he hadn't left the school in weeks or paid attention to outside events.
He hadn't even bothered to check on the situations with S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra.
"Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's secretary, has been appointed CEO of Stark Industries. Does this mark the beginning of the company's decline?"
"Tony Stark attacked at the Monaco Grand Prix, successfully subdues his assailant."
The accompanying image showed Tony in his Iron Man suit, extending five sharp claws from his gauntlet to cut through the attacker's weapon.
"Tony Stark throws lavish parties at his mansion—possible signs of mental instability."
Scrolling through several headlines, all of them about Tony Stark, George paid them little attention.
Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. would surely handle Iron Man's issues. Even if Hydra kept Fury preoccupied, George could always remind Tony if necessary.
Iron Man's problem was simple to solve—he just needed to study the template his father left behind to discover a replacement for the palladium element.
"Found it!"
Soon, George found news about the Hulk among the sea of headlines.
"A green monster wreaks havoc at Calvo University in Virginia, military forces retreat in defeat."
The news article included a video showing the transformed Hulk swinging a military Jeep and smashing it wildly against the soldiers.
The comments below were quite amusing. Most claimed the video was CGI, with self-proclaimed experts offering "proof" to support this theory. Even a few students from the university who claimed to have witnessed the event firsthand were not believed.
As a result, the news wasn't particularly sensational—most people treated it as mere entertainment.
It was akin to stumbling across videos in his previous life of shadowy figures appearing during lightning storms, strange waterspouts, or UFO-like alien ships. Hardly anyone took them seriously.
Unless it was an event on the scale of the New York alien invasion, which was impossible to cover up, small-scale unusual incidents could easily be suppressed by the government and media with a bit of effort.
"Where is he now?" George asked as he put away his phone.
He recalled that after Bruce Banner's battle with General Ross, he had traveled to New York with his girlfriend to find Dr. Sterns. The purpose was to use the cure developed by Sterns to neutralize the Hulk gene in his body and return to normal.
However, George couldn't quite remember which university Dr. Sterns was affiliated with.
"In Manhattan, at Grayburn University," replied Professor X.
"There's an angry soul slumbering within him. Would you like me to assist?"
George had already explained Bruce Banner's situation to the professor, who had even used the Cerebro amplifier to enter Banner's mental world and understood how to calm him.
Instead of answering immediately, George countered with a question:
"Where's Steve? I haven't seen him these past two days."
"Steve mentioned he wanted to use the weekend to visit an old friend and would be back tomorrow," Professor X explained.
Steve being Captain America wasn't something Black Widow or S.H.I.E.L.D. could overlook. After learning from Black Widow that Peggy Carter was still alive and recovering in a hospital, Steve had taken leave to visit her.
"In that case, Professor, it's best if you stay at the school. I'll handle this myself—it shouldn't be too big of an issue," George said.
For the students' safety, either he or the professor had to remain on campus. Leaving everything to the careless Wolverine wouldn't be entirely reliable.
(End of Chapter)