Chapter 1340: Invading the Ancient Castle
Chapter 1340: Invading the Ancient Castle
After Albert announced tonight's rescue plan to everyone, the conference room immediately buzzed with whispers, which grew louder and louder as people grumbled about assisting the Order of the Phoenix. They believed that the Defense Association was fully capable of carrying out this rescue mission on their own.
"Quiet!"
Albert tapped his finger on the table, silencing the noisy room.
"We still need help to expel the large number of Dementors outside the castle and to keep any incoming Death Eaters at bay. This will prevent our team from being attacked from both fronts and buy us enough time to rescue Ollivander and the others," Albert explained calmly as everyone in the room stared at him. "And it's more appropriate for the Order of the Phoenix to bring those captured by the Death Eaters into our fold."
"We are fully capable of rescuing those captured by the Death Eaters on our own," Lee Jordan spoke up, raising his hand to express his opinion.
Everyone felt that, with a surprise attack, the unprepared Death Eaters wouldn't stand a chance against them, especially with Albert on their side. They had no doubt that Albert alone could easily take care of the Death Eaters.
However, Lee Jordan fell silent after enduring Albert's stare for a moment.
"This is no game," Albert said. "I need to be responsible for everyone who believes in me, instead of increasing the risk of accidents by acting on impulse." After Sana announced the list of members participating in tonight's operation, Albert began explaining the plan for the evening.
"As far as I know, that old castle is Yaxley's secret base, and it may have other purposes besides being a prison for important prisoners," Albert said to Kenneth. "I need someone to help me search the castle. If there are any valuable medicinal herbs, raw materials, or items, take them all. Don't forget to bring your dragon-hide gloves."
After the meeting, Kenneth smiled and teased, "Looks like we're running low on funds again."
"Our funds are never enough," Albert shook his head. "Think about the items we provide for free to our official members. Don't expect me to pay for this bottomless pit out of my own pocket. Even if I were rich, it still wouldn't be enough. And as for expecting others to pay, that's even more out of the question." Although the four of them had indeed made a good profit during this period of chaos, as the Defense Association expanded, their expenditure also grew. This money certainly wouldn't appear out of thin air, and using their enemies' wealth to fill this hole was undoubtedly the best option for now.
"Leave it to me!"
Kenneth didn't mind doing this kind of work, and he was well aware of the difficulties Albert faced in maintaining the Defense Association. However, he still casually asked, "But how do you plan to turn those items into Galleons?"
"There's always someone who can help us solve our problems."
"Mundungus Fletcher?" Kenneth guessed who Albert was referring to and shook his head. "That guy isn't reliable."
"Thieves have their uses, and he can contribute to defeating the Dark Lord," Albert said calmly.
"I can help you... keep an eye on him," Kingsley volunteered for this lucrative task.
"You should be looking at the bigger picture," Albert shook his head. "That's just a small amount of money."
Kingsley was speechless. It seemed that this wasn't the first time he had heard this phrase.
Yes, he seemed to have said something similar to his father a long time ago.
How did he end up on the receiving end now?
In the end, Kingsley shrugged and gave up on the idea of profiting from this opportunity.
Ever since this matter was decided, the entire association had been buzzing with excitement.
If they could successfully destroy the Death Eaters' secret prison and rescue Ollivander and his group, they would gain a lot of additional help. Especially with Ollivander gone, the captured Death Eaters would have a hard time getting reliable wands in a short period.
That would undoubtedly be another great victory.
To completely defeat the Dark Lord, they needed to accumulate advantages through successive victories while weakening and suppressing the number of his followers.
As Albert formulated the plan and mobilized the members of the Defense Association, the Order of the Phoenix encountered a minor setback.
Harry also wanted to participate in this rescue mission.
Most members of the Order were reluctant to let Harry take on the risk, but Harry's reasoning left them unable to refute him.
"The entire British wizarding community needs a boost in morale. My involvement in this operation will strengthen everyone's confidence and let them know that I am leading the charge against the Dark Lord.
Moreover, I need the Dark Lord to know what I've been up to lately, so he can let his guard down. That way, he won't suspect my true intentions."
Harry truly didn't feel that this operation was particularly dangerous. The Dark Lord was still abroad, and even if he received news and rushed back, it would take time. As long as they could complete the rescue within the timeframe Albert had set, they wouldn't have to face much risk at all.
"Alright, Harry, but you must follow orders. That's very important," Sirius agreed, nodding.
"Sirius."
Mrs. Weasley frowned deeply, clearly unhappy with Sirius' decision.
"Harry knows what he's doing," Sirius reassured her.
Kingsley hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed as well.
As long as they followed Albert's plan, they usually didn't encounter much trouble. And, as Harry had said, his participation in this operation would boost everyone's confidence, which was especially important when calling on others to stand up against the Dark Lord.
Kingsley wasn't the only one who thought this way; the other members of the Order agreed as well, with the sole condition that Harry must obey orders.
Mrs. Weasley was displeased with this outcome.
After the meeting, Sirius pulled Harry aside.
"What is it, Sirius?" Harry asked, puzzled, as he followed Sirius into a room.
"Here, remember to wear this under your clothes," Sirius said, handing Harry a leather jacket.
"What's this?" Harry asked curiously, examining the jacket.
"A dragon-hide jacket. I had Anderson make it for you," Sirius said, patting Harry's shoulder. "Remember to follow orders during tonight's operation. Anderson will have the Defense Association members buy us time, and we must finish the job and get everyone out within ten minutes."
"Is it really necessary to be that rushed?" Harry raised an eyebrow, seemingly understanding why Albert wanted them to complete the mission within ten minutes. "Is it because you're worried that the Dark Lord will rush back from abroad?"
"Yes, we can't be sure if the Dark Lord will suddenly show up. It's unwise to confront him directly right now. We're just there to rescue people, and the success of the operation is the top priority," Sirius continued to explain. "The Death Eaters are slow to react to unexpected situations, especially in the middle of the night. They definitely won't be able to respond in time, and not all Death Eaters have the courage to use the Dark Mark to summon the Dark Lord. If something goes wrong, the Death Eater who uses the Dark Mark will face severe punishment. Most importantly... the Dark Lord probably won't be able to figure out what's happening in Britain and rush back from abroad within ten minutes.
"That's the advantage of a surprise attack; no matter who encounters it, their reaction is more or less the same."
Speaking of which, this was actually a tactic often used by Death Eaters in the past, only now Albert was using it against them.
It could be said that he was turning their own methods against them.
"Harry, what are you holding?"
Ron, who had just returned to the bedroom and was discussing the meeting with Hermione, immediately noticed the leather jacket in Harry's hand.
"Dragon-hide jacket," Harry explained to the two of them. "Sirius just gave it to me."
"That thing's expensive, a few hundred Galleons each," Ron said enviously as he took the jacket from Harry. "Fred and George also have similar jackets. They say it has a strong defensive effect and can easily block ordinary spells and weaken Dark magic."
"Can it only defend against ordinary spells?"
To be honest, Harry wasn't very concerned. In his opinion, it was only slightly better than those defensive props.
"No, Harry, trust me, this dragon-hide jacket is definitely worth the money," Ron insisted.
Whether or not the dragon-hide jacket was worth the price, Harry didn't know. He only knew that it was expensive, and he felt like asking Albert for a refund, but custom-made items obviously couldn't be returned.
In the following time, everyone studied the rescue plan and used the live-tracking map to observe the number of Death Eaters in the ancient castle and the location of the hostages, proposing and analyzing how to solve any problems that might arise.
"I bet Anderson has definitely planted spies among the Death Eaters."
Upon seeing the live-tracking map, Ron whispered to Hermione.
If they hadn't planted insiders within the castle, there was no way they could have obtained an accurate layout of the castle, let alone create this live-tracking map.
"He probably used the Imperius Curse to control some unlucky Death Eater and made him provide information. I remember the Wizarding World recently killed Avery because he was a traitor," Ron added.
Moody didn't see any problem with that and instead admired Albert's capabilities. It wasn't easy to plant insiders among the Death Eaters without being discovered.
As for using Unforgivable Curses?
Well, that was a discussion for another time, after they had won the Wizarding War.
Besides, they had no evidence that Albert had used the Imperius Curse on the Death Eaters anyway.
After a simple dinner, everyone took sleeping potions and went back to their rooms to rest.
Before the darkness of dawn, the energetic members of the Order of the Phoenix set out almost in full force.
However, their luck wasn't very good. As soon as they Apparated, they were greeted by terrible weather.
The pitch-black night sky poured down with torrential rain, and the icy raindrops hitting their faces made Harry shiver.
"I hate the rain!"
Harry tightened his rain cloak and moved closer to Ron and Hermione.
"Are we going to wait for them here?" Ron asked in a low voice.
"No, we need to go to the pre-arranged meeting point to rendezvous with them. Everyone, keep up and don't fall behind," Moody instructed as he mounted his broomstick and took to the air, signaling for the others to follow.
A group of broomsticks glided through the pitch-black wilderness, guided by Moody towards the back of a nearby hill. As they rushed through the heavy rain, they were surprised to find that the Defense Association members had already arrived and were waiting for them.
"Harry, I didn't expect you to join tonight's rescue operation as well," Angelina said as she approached Harry.
"It's been a while, Angelina. I heard you joined the Quidditch Club," Harry replied, surprised to see her here. It seemed like the Gryffindor team was bravely standing up against the Death Eaters.
"Okay, quiet down, everyone."
Albert stepped forward from the crowd, using magic to amplify his voice so that everyone could hear him over the rain and the chatter.
"I think there's no need for me to repeat everyone's tasks again. If there are any issues, bring them up now. Once we start, we'll need to act quickly," Albert said, scanning the crowd. After confirming that everyone was ready, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
Their target was an ancient castle not far from the rendezvous point, located on another hill just a few minutes' broomstick ride away.
As they approached the castle and felt the increasingly chilling aura and the presence of Dementors, Albert raised his wand and summoned his Patronus first.
Following closely behind Albert, the members of the Defense Association also raised their wands and summoned their respective Patronuses to lead the way.
This group of Patronuses tore through the night like sharp blades.
The small number of Dementors originally stationed around the castle were immediately dispersed by the large number of Patronuses.
"Everyone, cast your Patronuses!" Kingsley exclaimed.
He was surprised to see the young people displaying advanced defensive techniques against Dark magic, and they seemed to be even better at coordinating than the Order of the Phoenix.
He had only seen this level of coordination in Auror squads.
With a large group of Patronuses clearing the way, the entire team did not encounter any interference from the Dementors. The Dementors, which Yaxley had heavily relied on, were completely overwhelmed by the onslaught of Patronuses.
Who would have thought that someone would dare to invade a castle heavily guarded by Dementors?
"They've spotted us. You'd better hurry up," Albert said as he quickly landed on a hillside, raised his wand, and waved it in the air. With a flourish, he tore through the ancient magic that enveloped the castle, fully exposing it to everyone.
"Ron," Moody called out.
"What? Oh, right," Ron replied, snapping out of his daze as he felt the cold rain soaking through his clothes.
"You too, Hermione," Moody added.
"Got it," Hermione said, and with a wave of her wand, she cast a spell that sucked away all the light sources within the castle, plunging the surroundings back into darkness.
"Follow me," Kingsley said as he led a group of people forward, holding a thick iron plate in front of them. They all wore special glasses that Albert had prepared, which allowed them to see clearly even in pitch darkness.
"I still think it would be better to sneak in quietly using Disillusionment Charms," one of the members whispered.
"Don't be foolish. As soon as we get close to the castle, we'll trigger the alarm. They definitely know that enemies have invaded by now," Kingsley replied.
As the Order of the Phoenix rushed into the castle, the Defense Association members also began to carry out their assigned tasks.
"Cedric, take your team and keep the Dementors at bay. If there are any enemy reinforcements, send up a red flare," Albert instructed. He then released the Phoenix Society's phoenix mark into the sky and led the others to deal with the group of Death Eaters camped near the castle.
This was, after all, the lair of the interest group that Yaxley had put together, so naturally, there were quite a few Death Eaters gathered here. As the invaders descended upon them, it was like poking a hornet's nest, waking up the Death Eaters who were still sleeping in their beds. Apart from those on night watch, most of the Death Eaters were still groggy and confused, and none of them had expected that this ancient castle would be invaded one day.
After all, ancient wizarding families usually had strong defensive magic in place, making it almost impossible to breach.
Yet, here they were, facing exactly that situation.
(End of Chapter)
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