Chapter 1305: A Bit of Bad Luck
Chapter 1305: A Bit of Bad Luck
"I think we should leave this place for now!"
Nelson Tobin was trying to convince his family with the news he had heard on the radio. Ever since the formation of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission by the Ministry of Magic, Nelson had been quietly paying attention to the situation. Especially after hearing about the recent events in the wizarding world from the Witch Network radio broadcast, he had become even more apprehensive.
Even though a former Auror named Kingsley Shacklebolt had visited and offered to take him to a safe refuge, Nelson had politely refused as his family had no intention of leaving their home to seek shelter elsewhere.
For this reason, Nelson had begged that former Auror to modify his family's memories so that they would leave with him, but Kingsley had also politely refused. Instead, he had taken the time to explain in detail to Nelson's family about the dire situation in the wizarding world and the potential dangers of staying put.
However, Kingsley's words fell on deaf ears.
The Tobins were not well-off. Nelson's parents both had their own jobs, and they were reluctant to give them up easily. After all, it wasn't easy to find work that could maintain a somewhat decent living.
As for the words of the former Auror, Nelson's parents only half-believed them.
In the end, Nelson couldn't bear to leave his parents behind, so he chose to stay and accompany them. As an outstanding student from Slytherin, he believed that he had a good grasp of Dark Curses and defense against Dark Arts. Especially inspired by Anderson's 'Self-Defense Guide', he had mastered many practical spells from the book. Even if Dark Wizards were to show up, he at least had his wand and the skills to protect his family.
"Alright, Nelson, we know what you're worried about. But you should understand that our family isn't wealthy, and your mother and I can't just give up our jobs," Mr. Tobin said, gently patting his son's shoulder as he looked into his pleading eyes. "We promise you, though, that around September, we'll go into hiding for a few days, okay?"
This was the Tobin couple's final compromise.
According to that man, Kingsley, the days right after the start of term at Hogwarts were the most dangerous. As for the radio station on the radio, Mr. Tobin found it a bit ridiculous. He thought that the broadcaster was exaggerating, or else those terrorists called Death Eaters would have shown up by now.
However, Mr. Tobin didn't know that they were actually lucky. It was pure luck that Nelson hadn't subscribed to the Daily Prophet, otherwise, they would have suffered the same fate as the other Muggle-born wizards.
Those Muggle-born wizards who had subscribed to the Daily Prophet and hadn't managed to escape in time had already fallen victim to the Muggle-Born Registration Commission.
The Hit Wizards responsible for hunting down Muggle-born wizards were not kind-hearted people. Many families had suffered due to the meager bounty on their heads.
Yes.
Similar tragedies had been playing out across Britain, and the culprit behind all of this was none other than Umbridge.
Even though Umbridge hadn't found the addresses of the Muggle-born wizards or obtained their family addresses from Hogwarts, she had used her position to get the list from Snape. And through that list, she had identified several Muggle-born students who had long-term subscriptions to the Daily Prophet. By tracking the owls, she had successfully located their residences.
That's how the unfortunate souls mentioned on the Witch Network broadcast had been found.
Even though a small number of people had already moved temporarily, most had chosen to stay. And those who refused to leave their Muggle families had ultimately become targets for the frustrated Hit Wizards to vent their frustrations on.
This was why Nelson had been hoping that his parents would temporarily move elsewhere.
Not long after refusing Kingsley, Nelson began to regret his decision.
He now felt helpless and anxious all the time, fearing that Death Eaters would show up outside their door any day. He prayed that the contact device Kingsley had left him would work, but it seemed like a dud, with no response at all.
Although Kingsley had mentioned that it might take a day or two for the device to activate.
In fact, Nelson still hoped that whoever came would be able to help him modify his family's memories. This was one of the reasons why he had politely refused when Kingsley offered him the contact device.
"Look, this fog and the other strange occurrences in Britain are all caused by those Death Eaters," Nelson said, pointing at the news on TV.
He was still trying to raise his family's awareness of the danger.
"Alright, Nelson, of course, we know that. But isn't it true that there's no safer place in Britain right now?" Mr. Tobin changed the channel and said comfortingly, "We're actually more worried about you. What are your plans now that you can't go to Hogwarts?"
Nelson opened his mouth to say something, but just then, the doorbell rang.
"Who is it at this late hour?" Mr. Tobin frowned slightly.
At this moment, Nelson had already jumped up from the table, suspecting that it was the person Kingsley had mentioned who was coming to take him away.
As Nelson was about to go and open the door, Mrs. Tobin, who had just finished washing the dishes and taking off her apron, was faster than him and headed towards the entrance hall.
Nelson also picked up his wand from the table and followed her. Soon, he heard voices coming from the entrance hall.
"Does Mr. Nelson Tobin live here?"
The speaker was a stranger, his voice that of a middle-aged man.
"There's no one by that name here. You must have the wrong address!" Mrs. Tobin lied as she eyed the stranger in front of her.
She had no choice. The man in front of her didn't look like a good person at all! And after hearing Nelson talk about it so many times, she was naturally on guard.
"Lie."
Suddenly, the middle-aged man became stern.
"I really don't know..."
"Lying comes with a price. Avada Kedavra!"
Then, Nelson saw the entrance hall being enveloped in a chilling green light, and Mrs. Tobin collapsed limply to the ground.
"No!"
Nelson was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Seeing his mother's body, his mind went blank.
Instinctively, he raised his wand and launched an offensive against the "Death Eater" at the entrance hall.
Nelson's eyes were bloodshot, and anger consumed his brain. He wanted to kill those bastards and avenge his mother.
However, the Dark Magic that Nelson was so proud of didn't hit its target. Instead, it blew the entrance door open.
The loud noise undoubtedly woke up the neighbors.
"Nelson, what's going on?"
Mr. Tobin's voice came from the living room as he rushed out, wielding a mop handle as a weapon.
"Don't come out!"
Nelson screamed, trying to stop his father from doing something foolish. Even if he had a gun, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to wizards, let alone a mop handle.
Just as Nelson used a jinx to bounce his father back into the living room, the "Death Eaters" had already forced their way down the corridor, ignoring his curses.
“Avada Kedavra!”
Without hesitation, Nelson used the Unforgivable Curse.
A chilling green light suddenly illuminated the corridor, and the Death Eater it hit froze in place, eyes wide and bulging, as blood trickled from his nose, clearly terrified by the Killing Curse.
"You bastard!"
To vent his anger, the man forcefully swung his wand, sending Nelson flying into the nearby wall, leaving him bruised and battered without any strength to fight back.
"Are you alright?"
A figure suddenly appeared out of thin air, startled by the Avada Kedavra curse just like Nelson had been.
"I thought I was a goner," the man snarled. "That damn Muggle-born actually used the Killing Curse."
"Don't worry, Muggle-borns don't have the magical power to pull off that kind of spell."
His words were far from comforting, and he grabbed Nelson, who was close to passing out, and slapped him several times to bring him back to his senses.
"Mudblood, this is how you use the Killing Curse."
The disfigured Dark Wizard raised his wand, pointing it at Mr. Tobin, who had been easily subdued by his colleague.
"No!"
Nelson's eyes widened in horror, but it was too late. The green light engulfed his field of vision, and his father was gone.
"Alright, now that you've had your fun, let's get out of here." The other Death Eater reminded his colleague after carrying out his cruel act.
"They're all dead anyway."
The man was clearly not satisfied and beat Nelson mercilessly.
"That's enough, don't kill him, or we might not get our Galleons. Our luck hasn't been too bad tonight, at least we got something out of this."
"I almost got scared to death."
As they dragged Nelson out of the room, preparing to Disapparate, the lights in the surrounding area suddenly turned on, but none of the Muggles dared to come out and check. They could only peer cautiously through the windows, observing the situation outside.
"I'm going to burn this place down!"
The man paid no heed to his companion's displeased expression and shot flames from the tip of his wand, setting the entire house ablaze.
"Let's go!"
"I think we shouldn't."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, and the two Death Eaters lost their ability to resist, falling to the ground unconscious.
"Is that it?"
Another voice sounded.
"Are these the only two? I thought the Hit Wizards team had more people."
"This is good enough."
"It's a shame we were a bit late."
"No, our timing was perfect, or you might have ended up in Azkaban."
"I wonder if his luck was good or bad." Cedric's expression was complex as he looked at the unconscious young man.
If they had come earlier, perhaps this tragedy could have been averted.
But there were no ifs.
Albert looked at the burning house and said, "Help put it out so it doesn't spread to other places."
"I think it's enough for just the two of us to handle this."
Fred and George raised their wands, and together they used the "Clearwater Fountain" spell to summon water and extinguish the flames.
"No, I just want you to be cautious," Albert corrected their mistaken view. "Ultimately, the reason we were able to handle this so easily is because they were too complacent. How can you be sure you won't be the next target if you're not careful? Don't forget, both of you are on the Death Eaters' blacklist. If you're not careful, you might step into a trap one day and get yourselves killed."
Albert led everyone on their first rescue mission, hoping to boost their confidence and raise their vigilance so they wouldn't underestimate any enemy.
In this world, wizards were fragile, and sometimes a moment of carelessness could lead to being taken down by a simple curse.
"Ennervate!"
Albert raised his wand and pointed it at the young man who was lying unconscious in front of him, attempting to wake him with a Reviving Spell.
The spell worked, and Nelson soon opened his eyes, coming back to consciousness.
"It's alright now, you're safe," Albert said gently.
"Why did you only come now?" Nelson suddenly burst into tears.
"You should have left with Kingsley," Cedric frowned slightly. "He must have warned you."
"Crying won't solve anything."
Albert could sense prying eyes in the surroundings and frowned as well. He waved his wand to extinguish the streetlights nearby.
"Get up, we have to leave!"
"They killed my family."
Nelson's eyes were filled with hatred as he picked up his wand, ready to make the murderers pay.
"I need to get some information out of them, and then you can do whatever you want with them," Albert said, pushing down Nelson's wand with his hand.
After the twins dragged the unconscious Dark Wizard into the room, Albert glanced at the bodies in the entryway and suggested, "After you've had your revenge, think about what you want to do next."
Then, Albert took out a bottle of Veritaserum from his pocket and forced it down the throats of the other captured Death Eaters.
He discovered that these two didn't actually know the source of the information, which had come from the Muggle-Born Registration Commission in the Ministry of Magic, and they had tracked Nelson's home address through owl post.
Nelson was stunned.
"If they had hidden among Muggles from the start, things would have been much better," Albert said, patting Nelson's shoulder. "Remember to take your luggage and some Pounds, you'll need them."
"Thank you for saving me and for giving me the chance to take revenge." Nelson didn't use their wands but instead stabbed them both to death with a kitchen knife.
"The Muggle police will be here soon, so hurry up and get your luggage. We'll take care of things here," Albert reminded him.
"You really let him kill them."
Cedric's expression was complex as he watched Nelson kill the Death Eaters.
Yes, none of them had ever taken a life before, not even a Dark Wizard.
"I said I wouldn't stop anyone from taking revenge," Albert said, turning the two bodies into stone and burying them in the backyard.
"If they had listened to your suggestion to leave or hide, perhaps this tragedy wouldn't have happened."
Ever since Voldemort took control of the Ministry, they had heard of too many similar tragedies, and this was just one of the unfortunate cases.
(End of Chapter)
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