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Chapter 1168: A Battle of Wits and Bravery
Chapter 1168: A Battle of Wits and Bravery
As the group discussed in hushed tones, Lupin, who had been standing by the window observing the street through a telescope, suddenly exclaimed in a sharp whisper, "The target has appeared, but... I don't see anyone tailing him."
After speaking, Lupin passed the telescope to Arthur and quickly turned to look at the large scrying mirror on the table.
Surprisingly, the Dark Magic Detector showed no response.
In fact, Sirius, almost at the same time, looked down at the detection watch in his hand, and it also showed no reaction. Only in the corner of the room, the reflection in the enchanted mirror seemed to stir slightly, hinting at some unseen presence.
Sirius and Lupin exchanged a swift glance, their eyes filled with suspicion and uncertainty.
"How likely is it that Kenneth is under the Imperius Curse?" Sirius asked, a hint of concern creeping into his voice.
Moving to the window, Sirius took the telescope from Arthur and focused it on Kenneth, who was walking towards Albert's residence with a briefcase in hand.
"Impossible," Arthur replied, his eyes fixed on Kenneth's retreating back. "The Ministry has had their eyes on him the entire time, and the person who delivered the goods to Thicknesse last time is definitely not the same person as this one." He paused, then added, "As a precaution, the current Kenneth is actually Kingsley in disguise, and he's taken a Felix Felicis. He should be able to handle any unforeseen circumstances that might arise within the next half-hour."
"I find that Muggle over there rather suspicious," Sirius said, his eyes narrowing as he noticed Kingsley's actions. He shifted the telescope towards the middle-aged man who had just gotten out of the car. "What do you think? Could he be the one tailing us?"
"If a Death Eater were disguising themselves as a Muggle, they should still be detected by our sensors," Lupin said, tilting his head towards the scrying mirror and the live map in his hand. There were no strange names or indications that the man was anything but an ordinary Muggle.
Moreover, they didn't believe that a Death Eater could disguise themselves with a Polyjuice Potion and escape detection by their sensors.
"The scrying mirror could be faulty," Arthur suggested.
"I don't know," Sirius mused. "But I doubt all the other Dark Magic detectors would malfunction at the same time." He was convinced that the pedestrian was up to something. "Kingsley's intuition should be sharp after taking the Felix Felicis. His actions just now were definitely a result of feeling watched. That Muggle... could he be under the Imperius Curse?"
"Oh right, I almost forgot about this."
Sirius pulled out a bottle of potion from his pocket, broke the seal, and poured it into his mouth. The effects of the potion helped clear his thoughts and sharpened his focus.
"If the Death Eaters have confirmed that Albert is hiding in this village," Sirius began, his eyes gleaming with newfound clarity, "their next move would be to pinpoint Albert's exact location. Knowing that the Ministry is keeping an eye on Kenneth, they'll want to avoid a direct confrontation with us. They'll want to find out where Albert is hiding first."
"I'll keep an eye on that Muggle," Lupin volunteered, "while you, Arthur, watch our surroundings. Sirius, contact Kingsley and see what he's noticed on his end." Sirius quickly made the necessary arrangements and sent a message to Kingsley, who had entered the house.
"Just heard from Kingsley," Sirius said hurriedly. "He also felt like he was being watched."
"We're the ones watching him," Arthur pointed out.
"No, Kingsley suspects that the Death Eater is nearby, and he also finds that Muggle suspicious," Sirius corrected him.
"Should we have the Ministry apprehend that Muggle?" Arthur suggested.
"No," Sirius shook his head. "I think we should let him leave. Only then will the Death Eaters know Albert's exact location." He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Perhaps they'll come tonight."
"If I were a Death Eater," Lupin said, his eyes narrowing, "I'd create some sort of distraction to draw the Ministry's attention and then sneak in for a surprise attack on Albert."
"The effects of the Wit-Sharpening Potion are even better than I expected!" Lupin marveled, realizing the benefits of having such potions on hand.
"Indeed, it certainly clears the mind," Sirius agreed. He hadn't considered the advantages of such potions before. Ever since Albert had Harry take a potion to the trial last year, it felt like they had unlocked a whole new world of possibilities.
As Sirius had suspected, the middle-aged Muggle who had just passed by Albert's house was indeed being controlled by the Imperius Curse. However, even with the help of the Wit-Sharpening Potion, Sirius still couldn't quite piece together the entire truth behind this incident.
The truth was that Albert had set this plan in motion several days ago.
Even the most foolish of Death Eaters would have learned from their mistakes. Relying solely on Kenneth as bait wouldn't be enough to lure Bella into their trap, but that didn't mean Albert was out of options.
During Kenneth's last delivery to Thicknesse, Albert, with the help of Thicknesse and Alecto Carrow, had successfully convinced Bella that they had used a Veritaserum on Kenneth to extract information about Albert's possible hiding places.
But why was it only a possibility?
Well, Alecto Carrow had claimed to Bella that due to magical contracts, even under the influence of Veritaserum, Kenneth couldn't reveal anything about Albert's whereabouts. Obviously, they were prepared for such an eventuality, but that didn't mean they couldn't find another way to track him down. Alecto had secretly placed a tracking mark on Kenneth, allowing them to follow his movements discreetly.
As for why they didn't just control Kenneth with the Imperius Curse—that was to avoid raising suspicions with the mudblood, Albert. He was a sharp one, and if he noticed anything amiss, he'd vanish without a trace, and then they'd be back to square one, struggling to find any leads.
In fact, the entire plan had gone rather smoothly. The only hiccup was that deliveries to Thicknesse didn't happen every day, and with Kenneth cooped up at home, constantly under the watchful eye of the Ministry, Bella hadn't found a suitable opportunity to capture and interrogate him further.
Whether or not to interrogate Kenneth was not the main issue; the crucial task was to locate the Mudblood, so they could only patiently wait for Kenneth to make another "pickup" and deliver it to Thicknesse, making the pickup location their target.
However, according to the news from the Ministry of Magic, Kenneth's actions were being monitored, and the Ministry seemed to intend to continue using him as bait to lure them in.
This piece of news almost twisted Bella's nose in anger, as the Ministry's actions made them look like fools.
"Do they really expect some idiot to fall for this?" Bella wanted to kill everyone who stood in her way.
"We need someone to help us scout, preferably without attracting the attention of the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic," Alecto Carrow suggested to Bella as she gazed at the village in the distance.
This was a pointless statement, as they hadn't sought any other helpers; here were only Bella, Alecto Carrow, and Narcissa Malfoy, and they had already pinpointed the village where Albert might be hiding through their tracking magic.
"Perhaps we can burn down the village with the Blasting Curse and force that Mudblood out." Bella's eyes blazed with fury, and a series of setbacks had made her lose patience. She had originally thought that she could easily kill that Mudblood, but now she found that she couldn't even find his whereabouts.
Bella's promise to Voldemort was about to become a joke, which made her extremely agitated. She didn't want to disappoint the Dark Lord.
So, that Mudblood must die.
"That will only scare him away."
Narcissa Malfoy thought Bella must be crazy to come up with such an unreliable idea.
If possible, she didn't want to be enemies with Albert at all. That guy was too terrifying.
Narcissa Malfoy now just wanted to live with her husband and son, but that seemed to be the most luxurious wish.
"Narcissa, what do you think we should do?" Bella looked at her sister impatiently.
"Maybe... we should find a scapegoat." Narcissa Malfoy looked at the Muggle car driving towards them and came up with a brilliant idea. She briefly described it to the other two, and soon gained their agreement. The unfortunate Muggle gentleman was then controlled by the Imperius Curse and ordered to go to the village.
After the middle-aged Muggle left the village, Bella eagerly used Legilimency to peer into his memories and thus find Albert's possible hiding place.
After sending the Muggle to meet his maker with a well-placed Avada Kedavra, Bella excitedly announced her decision, "We plan to take action at three o'clock in the morning tonight. This time, we must kill that Mudblood."
"Bella, don't you think the whole thing is going too smoothly? Don't forget that the Mudblood can predict the future." Narcissa Malfoy was still a little uneasy. "Could this be a trap?"
"Nonsense. Narcissa, when did you become so cowardly?" Bella retorted sharply.
"If we don't track him, they'll just have to wait idly. And I don't believe he can prophesy everything. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let people deliver goods to that shop, nor would he be unaware that the shop owner, Thicknesse, is already under our control."
"But he can predict the future and may foresee our next move." Narcissa argued, her husband, Lucius, had fallen into a similar trap, even though they had left some backup plans.
"Cough, I think the chances of capturing that Mudblood are slim." Alecto Carrow voiced her speculation, "I suspect that the ones hiding there might be the two young Weasley boys."
"Even if it's not that Mudblood, I'll pry information out of them." Bella said murderously, suddenly feeling that Alecto's guess was probably correct.
"I think you need more help." Narcissa did not like rash actions but still suggested, "That Mudblood is very cunning. We can't rule out the possibility that this is a trap."
"Narcissa is right. We're facing a cunning and dangerous individual, and we must be prepared for the possibility of a trap." Alecto nodded, "Don't forget the painful lessons others have learned."
However, Bella and her gang did not know that they had already been seen through.
Sirius, who had just taken the Wit-Sharpening Potion, and his group carefully discussed the matter and unanimously agreed that the Muggle was suspicious. The reason was simple: when the middle-aged Muggle left the village from the other side, he actually left his car in the village. This seemed highly suspicious, and Arthur, who had once owned a car, had a lot of say in this matter.
"Maybe we're wasting our time."
At the Ministry of Magic's operational meeting, Kingsley said to the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Auror Office, "But in the worst-case scenario, we'll only waste a night, and it won't be a big loss for us. Moreover, we now have evidence, so the chances of success are high."
"Are you referring to that middle-aged Muggle's unreasonable actions?" Gawain muttered, feeling threatened by Kingsley, who was undoubtedly more suitable for the position of Head of the Auror Office than himself.
"Very well, Kingsley is right. Even if we fail, we won't lose much." Scrimgeour interrupted.
"I suspect that the Death Eaters will likely cause trouble to divert our attention." Kingsley ignored Gawain's words and continued, "I suggest that we take preventive measures to avoid being caught off guard."
"Gawain, I need you to keep the best Aurors on standby. If Kingsley's prediction comes true, you may need to lead a group of Aurors and the Crisis Response Team to handle the situation."
"Understood." Gawain nodded.
"Excellent. Let's keep those involved in tonight's operation for the briefing." Scrimgeour quickly made arrangements, and he was never really worried about the plan failing. Since Albert intended to use the Ministry to strike at the group of Dark Wizards targeting him, he must have prophesied the entire plan.
(End of Chapter)
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