Chapter 1202: Voldemort's Minor Setback
Chapter 1202: Voldemort's Minor Setback
"Who taught you that?"
Hermione was curious as to how Albert had learned the Mind-Shutting Charm, and she wasn't the only one intrigued by this man shrouded in mystery, longing to uncover his secrets.
"Izabel," Albert replied without hesitation.
Hermione paused briefly, clearly not expecting that name.
"Shall we go?" Albert said.
"It's quite a distance to the dental clinic. How do we get there?"
Hermione knew that Albert had never been to their family's dental clinic and wouldn't know its exact location, so they couldn't just Apparate there directly.
"By the way, can you teach me?" Before Albert could respond, Hermione asked, "I want to learn the Mind-Shutting Charm, too."
"You want to learn the Mind-Shutting Charm?"
"Mhm." Hermione nodded. "I don't think it should be too difficult."
"We can discuss that another day when I have more time. For now, let's get going." Albert didn't refuse and instead signaled for Hermione to get ready to leave.
"How are we getting there?" Hermione voiced her concern again.
Albert waved his wand, and with a series of cracks, his broomstick appeared. "I can fly there."
"Do you only have one?" Hermione asked, immediately realizing her mistake. Of course, Albert would only have one broomstick.
"We can squeeze together," she mumbled.
"I suppose regular flight wouldn't be an issue."
"No, it's fine. It's just..." Hermione realized her mistake.
"I'll use this!"
Albert waved his wand and summoned a bicycle out of thin air.
"What is that?"
Hermione looked at the cool-looking bicycle and then at Albert, puzzled.
"It's a bicycle I modified." Albert gestured for Hermione to get going. This was one of his previous creations, capable of traveling on land, water, and in the air.
As Hermione watched, Albert twisted a switch on the handlebar, and the entire bicycle floated in the air. He slowly pedaled upward into the sky.
"I was thinking of getting a motorcycle, but those things are bulky and not very convenient, so I settled for a bicycle. This way, I can even ride it on the road without any issues." Albert calmly explained, noticing Hermione's bewildered expression.
"Are we sure this is okay?" Hermione worried.
"You should trust my Disillusionment Charm skills. As long as the spell's effect lasts, we don't have to worry about those problems." Albert signaled for Hermione to lead the way.
"No, I mean, we're breaking the law right now." Hermione was indeed concerned about these issues, as most ordinary people wouldn't want to challenge the authority of the law.
"Don't worry, as long as the Ministry doesn't know, there won't be a problem." Albert kindly reminded Hermione not to go too fast, as this multi-purpose bicycle couldn't reach high speeds.
"Actually, sharing a broomstick between two people shouldn't be an issue either." Hermione quickly added, "I haven't ridden a broom in a long time, and I'm a bit rusty."
"Is it this way?" Albert asked, pointing to the road ahead.
"Yes, it's just up ahead." Hermione nodded. "We're not far now. Should we descend?"
Soon enough, Albert signaled for Hermione to land and then walk the rest of the way to avoid any possible surveillance near the Grangers.
In fact, Albert's judgment was accurate. The detection watch reacted, indicating that there was indeed someone monitoring Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
He repeated his previous actions, sneaking up on the person and knocking them out.
"What's wrong?" Hermione noticed Albert's furrowed brows and asked, confused. "Is something amiss?"
"It's the Imperius Curse. They're likely under its influence." Albert stared at the man in front of him.
"Is that unusual?" Hermione furrowed her brows, trying to think of any irregularities.
"It is. The detection watch only reacts to Dark Wizards. The fact that it reacted to these two means they are Dark Wizards. But why would the mysterious person use the Imperius Curse to control them?"
"Of course, it could also be the work of Death Eaters," Albert said, no longer paying attention to the unfortunate man. "This is quite abnormal. When something abnormal happens, there's usually a reason. We should get your family out of here first and see what the situation is."
The two headed directly to the nearby dental clinic. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had just sent a patient away and were sterilizing their tools when, without any warning, they suddenly fell unconscious.
"Don't hesitate. Let's get out of here."
Albert waved his wand to close the shop and gestured for Hermione to take her parents, who had been knocked out.
"Is the situation that bad?" Hermione anxiously looked at Albert while holding onto each of her parents' arms.
"I don't know, but don't let your guard down, or we might fall into a trap." Albert reached out, and with a wave of his hand, they Disapparated.
They reappeared in front of an abandoned half-built building.
Before Hermione could react, she was fighting the nauseating feeling rising in her stomach.
"Follow me."
Albert waved his wand, causing Mr. and Mrs. Granger to float in the air, and then he took Hermione's hand and led her into the half-built building.
"Do you think this is a trap?"
"It's always good to be cautious." Albert said to Hermione, "There's a temporary safe house I prepared here. We need to observe the situation first."
"This..."
"The best evidence is the fact that your parents have been cursed with a Tracking Charm." Albert waved his wand, and with a series of cracks, Dobby the house-elf appeared.
"What can Dobby do for you, sir?"
"I need your help to move them to a different location."
As Albert attempted to lift the Tracking Charm from the Granger couple, the spyglass in the safe house suddenly emitted a sharp sound, indicating that an uninvited guest had invaded the half-built building.
"What's going on?" Hermione felt her brain couldn't keep up.
"Stay calm. Go check the map on the wall and see who it is." Albert commanded calmly.
"It's the mysterious person and several Death Eaters!" Hermione screamed.
She felt like she was going crazy. What was going on? Why was the mysterious person here?
"Alright, Dobby. Take us away from here to Safe House Number Eleven."
After lifting the Tracking Charm, Albert also cast a Disillusionment Charm on everyone.
As his wand passed over the map on the wall, it instantly turned into a pile of ashes. After erasing their traces, he put away his wand and reached out to the house-elf.
Dobby immediately took Albert and his companions and Disapparated. This time, they appeared in a room.
"I hate Disapparating." Hermione squatted on the ground, feeling nauseous, but Albert pulled her up and led her toward the safe house on the other side of the apartment.
"If they're not chasing after us, then we're safe." After entering the safe house, Albert pulled out a notebook from his Undetectable Extension Charm bag, filled with maps of various safe houses.
Flipping to the map of the nineteenth abandoned building, Albert noticed that the mysterious figure and his companions were still there, heading towards the safe house's location.
Albert's caution took Voldemort by surprise. Especially when they noticed something amiss, he efficiently knocked them out and took them away, making Voldemort feel incredulous and even suspecting the presence of a spy among his ranks.
However, he still tracked the Trace Charm left on the two Muggles to this location, which was also the main reason why Voldemort didn't kill the Granger couple. Dead bodies would've alerted Albert, yet he still underestimated his opponent, who swiftly discovered and erased the Trace Charm.
Voldemort was furious that his schemes were seen through. He waved his hand, signaling his followers to step back, and forcefully broke into the safe house. Soon, they were drawn to the shrieking of the Sneakoscope, but what angered them was the absence of anyone inside; it was as if the people they were pursuing had vanished into thin air.
"Slippery little mouse."
Voldemort waved his wand, shattering the annoying Sneakoscope, and then used the Revelio Charm, intending to continue the pursuit, only to find that the traces left behind had been destroyed. What surprised Voldemort even more was that Apparition was prohibited in this area, yet they had disappeared without a trace.
The Death Eaters following Voldemort dared not breathe a word, afraid of provoking his wrath. Just as he was about to take out his frustration by destroying the safe house, a peculiar and mocking voice suddenly echoed through the abandoned building.
"How shocking! I never expected the infamous mysterious figure to come after me personally. I'm truly flattered."
The Death Eaters on alert heightened their vigilance, afraid of an ambush by that shameless individual.
There was no other choice; Albert had already used countless painful examples to demonstrate to the Death Eaters his cunning and deceitfulness. Now, only a handful of stubborn Death Eaters dared to cause trouble for Albert.
"Albert Anderson, you despicable coward!"
Voldemort's scarlet eyes burned with rage as he waved his wand, attempting to locate Albert's position.
"I know you're looking for me, but I advise you to stop. Be careful, or I'll report you to the Ministry and have the Aurors after you," the voice taunted.
"Look, I knew you wouldn't be able to find me."
Voldemort located the source of the voice and found that it was coming from a radio.
Or rather, that despicable man had been here, and he had just left, deliberately leaving behind a radio to mock him.
"Damn Mudblood, one day I will..."
"There won't be such a day." Albert's voice came from the radio, "You and I are not mortal enemies. Your true opponent is..."
Boom! The radio was instantly reduced to ashes by Voldemort's wrath.
"...be so irritable. Even if you blow up the radio, it won't do you any good..."
At that moment, Albert's voice sounded from nearby, "As I said, your enemy is not me. If you truly manage to kill Harry Potter, I believe we will have our decisive battle one day. But I guess you will..."
The radio was destroyed once more, and this time, Albert's voice fell silent.
"Damn Mudblood, damn Albert Anderson!"
Voldemort roared in anger, his rage burning within his scarlet eyes. He knew this was the Mudblood's blatant mockery, and he dared to play games with him.
The Death Eaters who had followed Voldemort dared not step forward, as their master was in a fit of rage, and they didn't want to become collateral damage.
...
"Alright, we should be safe now."
"I guess... we are."
The series of events left Hermione bewildered, "What just happened?"
"The mysterious figure probably tried to use your family to find and kill me." Albert calmly explained to Hermione, "This was a trap from the very beginning. At least, after he obtained my information through Cassandra, he immediately set up this trap."
The two Death Eaters responsible for surveillance were actually bait. Once we attacked them, the mysterious figure would be alerted, indicating that the prey had taken the bait.
"Are you saying those two Death Eaters were bait?" Hermione asked incredulously, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Yes, don't you think they were too obvious? We discovered them so easily. At first, I didn't pay much attention, but when I noticed another surveillant near your family's dental clinic, I felt that something was amiss."
"To prevent the plan from failing, he also placed a strong Trace Charm on your parents to prevent us from taking them away directly." Albert continued, "Once someone is marked by the Trace Charm, it's difficult to escape the mysterious figure's pursuit."
"But you managed to do it." Hermione was still shaken by the events.
"That's because I was well-prepared and even sacrificed an important temporary base." Albert said nonchalantly.
"What should we do now? Should we alter their memories and have them immigrate to Australia?" Hermione looked at Albert with a bewildered expression, hoping for some suggestions.
"If you want the Granger couple to live a normal life in Australia, we might have to do something else that goes against the Ministry's laws." Albert said casually, "Of course, we do have a quicker way to solve this problem."
"What solution?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"Contact Kingsley and seek help from the Order of the Phoenix." Albert briefly explained his original backup plan, "Kingsley used to be the Muggle Prime Minister's assistant, and I'm sure he has a way to easily resolve your family's immigration issue."
Indeed, Kingsley had a way to handle such matters. After Albert contacted him through the communication signature and explained the whole situation, Kingsley immediately assured Hermione that he could help relocate her family to Australia and ensure their safety.
"By the way, you should be careful yourself." Kingsley suddenly reminded her, "The mysterious figure just destroyed an abandoned building a while ago, and I sense that he's been enraged by something."
"His temper is quite explosive, isn't it? A little setback, and he loses control like that." Albert shook his head, mocking Voldemort, though he didn't expect his actions to anger Voldemort so much; it was quite startling.
"A little setback?" Kingsley's lips twitched as he disagreed with the notion that this was merely a minor setback. He was certain that Albert had done something significant to enrage Voldemort to such an extent.
Perhaps others wouldn't dare, but the man before him certainly had the guts and the ability to do so.
(End of Chapter)
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