Chapter 1181: A Despicable Tactic
Chapter 1181: A Despicable Tactic
Indeed, Albert's guess was correct; their infiltration was not as flawless as they had hoped.
As they entered the village, the strong shielding charms they carried did not directly trigger any invasion alerts. However, the Dementors floating in the mist hovering over the village noticed their presence.
Most spells had little effect on these evil, dark creatures, which was why they were so feared by wizards.
Instead of immediately pouncing on Albert and his companions upon detecting their intrusion, the Dementors chose to notify the Dark Wizards in the village.
Their enemies were clearly waiting for the four of them to take the bait.
It was all the Ministry's fault for teaching them such tricks. Otherwise, in a typical situation, these Dark Wizards would have tried to capture them by sheer force of numbers.
Of course, it was also possible that they had almost failed miserably while trying to capture Cedric the last time, so this time, they were much more cautious.
Such caution seemed pointless, as they were now facing someone even more cautious and cunning than Cedric.
Upon realizing something was amiss, Albert did not plan to modify their original plan, as it was designed to accommodate most unforeseen circumstances.
"Put on your earplugs," Albert signaled to Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, blocking his own ears as well. He then pulled out a cylindrical metal object from his pocket—it had been a while since he had used a "Dementor's Scream."
The main reason he hadn't used it recently was that directly throwing Mandrake roots could easily give away his trick to the Dark Wizards. If they learned it, they might use it against him one day, and who knows, it could spell disaster for him.
Albert did not want to encounter such a situation.
Once the three of them had their earplugs in place and Albert confirmed they couldn't hear anything, he twisted the cylindrical metal object and, with a spell, threw it into the room.
The crisp sound of the metal object hitting the ground instantly drew the attention of the group of Dark Wizards hiding in the hall, ready to ambush them.
How could these inexperienced foes possibly anticipate such a despicable tactic?
A strange sound suddenly emanated from the metal object, catching the group in the hall off guard. One by one, they fell unconscious under the stealth attack of the sound waves.
After waiting for about ten seconds, they saw someone jump down from the second floor within their line of sight. However, before the two figures could even react, they were hit by streaks of red spells and fell straight to the ground, unconscious.
The three of them turned their heads in unison, staring at Albert in astonishment. They couldn't understand what he had done to make the Dark Wizards jump down from the upper floor.
It was as if they were fleeing for their lives.
Albert waved at the three, signaling them to blast open the front door of the house. However, instead of entering through the main entrance, the four of them created a new doorway from the wall. After all, there was no rule stating that one had to use the front door, and it would be foolish to do so when you knew the enemy might be waiting in ambush. Why give them the opportunity to attack you?
As it turned out, this decision was spot on. When they entered, they saw someone trying to lie in wait for them by the door. But as soon as this person noticed the sudden appearance of a doorway in the wall, he froze, his mind seemingly unable to process what he was seeing.
Then, he was hit by a spell and knocked unconscious.
Watching the foolishly ambushed wizard, George couldn't help but marvel at Albert's quick thinking. By taking this unconventional approach, what was supposed to be a tough battle turned into a leisurely stroll. Their enemies were effortlessly dealt with.
No, it was Albert who had pulled it off effortlessly.
Albert did not immediately put away the Dementor's Scream. Instead, he gestured to Lee Jordan to protect Segrick, who was tortured by the Cruciatus Curse and looked deathly pale. Fred and George followed the original plan and finished off the incapacitated foes, confiscating their wands to ensure they wouldn't cause any more trouble.
Albert, on the other hand, used a spell to control the Dementor's Scream, making it hover in front and emit sound waves to interfere with others. He then quietly took care of those who had their ears plugged. The whole process went so smoothly that Albert himself found it incredible.
Perhaps they were so unprepared that they fell for his trick?
"What do you plan to do with them?" Fred asked, removing his earplugs after Albert put away the Dementor's Scream. He nodded toward the row of Dark Wizards who were tied up like caterpillars.
"Hand them over to the Ministry, or..." George made a chopping motion with his hand, the implication clear.
Killing them would undoubtedly be the best choice. If they were imprisoned, who knows if the mysterious figure would one day break them out of jail and let them escape, that would be an absolute disaster.
"Let's not rush. Let me first browse through their memories and figure out what's going on?"
As Albert raised his wand, ready to search the memories of these Dark Wizards, the surrounding air suddenly turned icy cold, causing the four of them to shiver.
They looked in the direction of the approaching chill, and it was clear that a large number of Dementors were heading their way.
Albert did not immediately summon a Patronus, but instead turned to the three beside him and reminded them, "Summon your Patronuses."
"Aren't you going to summon yours?" Lee Jordan asked, puzzled.
"This is an opportunity for you all. Only by successfully summoning your Patronus in front of a Dementor can you truly master this spell." Albert shook his head, "Now is the time to test your mastery of the Patronus Charm."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan quickly exchanged glances and simultaneously summoned their Patronuses. They could feel their joy and happiness fading as the Dementors drew near, making it even harder to cast the spell.
In fact, they had failed.
Only a wisp of white mist emerged from their wand tips, instead of the solid Patronuses they had hoped for.
As the Dementors closed in, the trio's anxiety and unease intensified, hindering their ability to successfully cast the Patronus Charm.
It was only when a bright beam of white light blossomed before them, rushing towards the oncoming wave of Dementors and dispersing them, that they felt relief.
"It seems your practical experience is lacking."
Albert shook his head as he watched the Dementors scurrying about, "Perhaps we should capture one and use it for Patronus practice."
"Capture a Dementor?"
The three of them turned to look at Albert, their eyes wide.
"Of course, we'll need to prepare a cage to ensure it remains under our control." Albert pondered the feasibility of this plan in his mind.
"Or, we could use a Boggart instead. Since you can turn them into giants, I'm sure you could modify them to resemble Dementors," George suggested, his face twitching at the thought of Albert's intense teaching methods.
This suggestion was met with agreement from Fred and Lee Jordan.
"That thing is only good for scaring people, it's not very useful."
Albert didn't dwell on the matter of the Dementors, as they were difficult to capture and even harder to tame.
He instructed George to contact Sandra while he used his communication quill to send a message to Skrimgeour, also informing the Ministry to send someone to handle the situation.
"I really wish the Ministry would just get rid of them."
While Albert searched their memories, Lee Jordan searched their bodies for any useful items, and Fred and George kept watch to prevent any surprise attacks.
"Any findings?"
"After joining forces with the mysterious figure, they were tasked with causing trouble and creating chaos for the Ministry," Albert continued, "Just as you suspected, the student from Cedric's year who was invited to join them had already fallen under the Imperius Curse. He was the one who passed information to the Death Eaters, leading to the leak within the Defense Association and the exposure of Cedric."
"He had terrible luck." The trio didn't blame Cedric; they just felt that he had been incredibly unfortunate to encounter such a low-probability event.
"It was Corban Yaxley who ordered them to capture Cedric, in an attempt to extract information about the Defense Association from him, and also to determine if there was any connection between the organization and me..." Albert's tone paused as his expression turned peculiar, "...they also sent someone to notify Bellatrix Lestrange. I think that crazy woman is probably on her way here, and we ought to prepare a little surprise for her."
The four of them exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with mischievous intent.
"What about Cedric, though? Shouldn't he be receiving treatment at the hospital?" George reminded them.
"Send him to Hogwarts. I trust Madam Pomfrey and Cho Chang to take good care of him there." Albert glanced at the deathly pale Cedric and instructed Dobby the house-elf to take him away. Hogwarts seemed a safer option than St. Mungo's at the moment.
(End of Chapter)
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