https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1340-Invading-the-Ancient-Castle/12528301/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1342-You-ve-Picked-the-Wrong-Opponent/12528303/
Chapter 1341: Unforeseen Twist
Chapter 1341: Unforeseen Twist
"Are they really Death Eaters?"
Li Jordan couldn't help but want to rant as he watched the two black wizards who had just emerged, only to be immediately ambushed and knocked to the ground.
"Hey, leave some for me too!"
"Stop chattering and finish off the enemies quickly."
Angelina's voice came from the darkness ahead, suggesting that she was planning to sneak around for a surprise attack.
With the help of other members in drawing their fire, Angelina, concealed under a Disillusionment Charm, easily evaded the black wizards' attention and took them down with ease from the side.
"The defenses here are weaker than we expected."
Shan'na held the live map to observe the situation in the castle, ensuring that no enemies were left undetected.
"The main reason is that we have more people, and we also ambushed them in an unscrupulous manner."
Albert remained vigilant, keeping an eye on the situation inside and outside the castle and overseeing the overall situation to prevent any sudden reinforcements of Death Eaters or the appearance of the mysterious person.
Although the possibility of this was extremely low, it was still necessary to be prepared. Any unexpected event could catch both sides of the attack on the castle off guard.
Albert was well aware that the ease of their intrusion was not due to the weakness of the black wizards here. It was because they never expected to be attacked at this time, and the outer protective magic that originally guarded this place was easily torn apart like thin paper.
The black wizards, finally realizing the dire situation, fought back desperately. However, they never anticipated that their enemies included not only the group before them but also several more insidious individuals who hid and launched surprise attacks.
The battle outside the castle lasted only a few minutes before Li Jordan's group cleared the obstacles and knocked out everyone who could move.
"Are you taking pictures?"
After cleaning up the flying brooms that others had thrown aside, Hesca hurried over to Albert. Seeing the young wizard taking pictures of the phoenix mark above with a camera, she was completely stunned, not understanding what he was doing.
Was he in the mood for photography at such a tense moment? Was he out of his mind?
"They will be used in the magazine, to boost morale."
Albert turned to ask Hesca, who had just finished collecting the flying brooms and come to help, "What do you plan to do with these people?"
"Uh, I don't know."
Hesca looked lost. As enemies, she felt that it would be best to finish them off, but she couldn't bring herself to say those words.
"Then let's leave them here."
Albert walked over and delivered a coup de grace to the black wizards who had been knocked down, not killing them but casting a spell to disable their arms.
"Wh-what..."
Hesca was stunned by Albert's actions.
"If we don't kill them, we'll cripple them completely. At least they won't be able to oppose us for a short time." Albert took out his pocket watch to check the time and said, "We have three minutes left. Get ready to evacuate."
"Just leave them be?"
Hesca hesitated and turned to look at the direction of the castle.
"You should trust them. With the advantage, the Order of the Phoenix won't lose to the Death Eaters."
In fact, Albert was right; the Order of the Phoenix did have the upper hand.
The number of Death Eaters guarding the castle was not large. Only the truly loyal inner circle of Yaxley had the qualification to stay in the castle, assist him, and share a portion of the benefits.
"Aren't we going to help them?"
Harry kept looking back. Moody had just led a group to block the Death Eaters at the staircase, and the two sides were now in a stalemate.
"Follow orders, Harry. Our task is to rescue the others." Sirius Black waved his wand, using the Alohomora spell to open the iron door of the dungeon, and then he led everyone into the dungeon, startling a few unlucky prisoners who were half-asleep.
"Things are going more smoothly than we expected."
Ron squatted on the ground and opened the suitcase, from which Dobby the house-elf emerged.
"Knock them out, quickly."
Sirius had experience from the previous rescue and knew how to be more efficient.
So, without giving the others time to react, they all waved their wands, using the Stunning Spell to incapacitate the unlucky souls imprisoned in the dungeon one by one.
"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and put them in the suitcase." Sirius unlocked the chains on the prisoners while urging the stunned Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Dobby held his wand to help keep watch over the surroundings. He would be responsible for leading everyone away from here.
"I didn't expect it to be so simple and crude. I've been wondering how to complete the rescue mission within ten minutes." Ron muttered after moving the prisoners into the suitcase.
"Ollivander isn't here." Hermione suddenly spoke up.
"Don't worry, someone has gone to rescue him. Dobby, how are Moody and the others doing?" Sirius asked Dobby while urging the others to get into the suitcase and wait.
"Mr. Moody is leading people over here, and as for Mr. Ollivander, the Weasley brothers have found him." Dobby handed the map to Sirius. He was ready to take everyone away, and this was not the first time he had done something like this—he was indeed experienced.
On the other hand, the Weasley twins had also successfully found Ollivander, who was being held captive. The elderly wizard's situation was much better than the others. Although he was forced to help make wands every day, he at least had a separate and relatively comfortable room.
When George used the Alohomora spell to open the door next to the workshop and let Ollivander out, Fred had already rudely barged into the workshop and cleared out all the wands and wand-making materials inside, leaving the still-groggy Ollivander dumbfounded.
"It's a matter of resource utilization. Leaving them here would be a waste." George explained to Ollivander with a smile and then took out a broken hat from his pocket and called out to his twin brother, "Hurry up, Fred. We're running out of time."
"Done."
Fred tightened the rope, stuffed the bag that had been enlarged with the Undetectable Extension Charm into the inner pocket of his cloak, and smiled at the elderly wizard next to him, "Mr. Ollivander, I assume you wouldn't mind using the front door to leave, right?"
"Oh, of course not. As long as I can get out of this damn place, I regret not heeding Mr. Anderson's advice to hide." Ollivander reached out and grabbed the broken hat, listening to George's countdown, and then they both disappeared.
Compared to the smooth operations of the others, Truman and Kenneth's group did not fare as well.
They did find Yaxley's stash of money and valuables in the master bedroom of the castle, but the contents were far less than they expected, or even pitifully small.
"I dare say Yaxley must have kept the most valuable items elsewhere. Otherwise, with his greed, there's no way he'd have so little here." Kenneth looked annoyed. The box in front of him contained only some silverware that didn't seem very valuable, and the number of Galleons was pitiful.
"Don't be silly. If I were him, I would definitely keep most of the valuables in a Gringotts vault." Truman thought Kenneth was being too greedy.
"Maybe we should check other places. If Albert only sees this small amount of loot, he'll probably be furious and suspect that we embezzled some of the valuables."
"Truman, I'd say Yaxley must have kept the most valuable items elsewhere. Otherwise, with his greed, there's no way he'd have so little here." Kenneth looked annoyed as he surveyed the meager contents of the box in front of him, which held only a handful of silverware that didn't seem particularly valuable and a scant number of Galleons.
"Don't be silly. If I were him, I would definitely keep most of the valuables in a Gringotts vault." Truman thought Kenneth was being overly greedy; their current haul was already substantial.
"Maybe we should check other places. If Albert only sees this small amount of loot, he'll probably be furious and suspect that we embezzled some of the valuables."
“Albert isn’t as greedy as you, and we’re running out of time,” Truman retorted, feeling exasperated. In his opinion, the contents of the box were more than enough.
“You must be joking. Do you have any idea how much it costs to maintain the Defense Association? Do you think the donations are enough to cover the expenses for those expelled students? Don’t be naive, Truman. Money is never enough, and you can’t rely on Albert for everything. Otherwise, what are we even doing here?” Kenneth was amused by Truman’s innocence, considering he had been working for the organization for several years.
“I know there are still plenty of good things in this castle,” Truman muttered, reaching into his pocket for the door key that Albert had prepared in advance. “But if we miss the opportunity to get the key, we’re done for. Or do you want to stay here?” Kenneth fell silent at the mention of staying behind.
With the actions they had taken that night, remaining in the castle would likely mean they would be unable to escape.
This was Yaxley’s lair, and he would surely respond to it being raided. Reinforcements of Death Eaters could arrive at any moment.
Moreover, not all the wealth stored in the castle necessarily belonged to Yaxley. To maintain control over the group of Dark Wizards, he had to provide them with substantial benefits.
Indeed, Kenneth was correct in his assessment. Not long after their retreat, Yaxley rushed back to the castle with several other Death Eaters, only to find it in disarray, with the Phoenix symbol floating above. Yaxley angrily roared, “Damn the Order of the Phoenix!” …
“This feels terrible!” Ollivander struggled to get up from the damp ground, his frail health making the use of the door key quite uncomfortable.
“It’s not safe here yet. We need to Disapparate once more.” Although Fred and George didn’t think any Death Eaters would pursue them, they remained vigilant and heeded Albert’s warning.
Only when they reached the safe house protected by the Fidelius Charm could they truly relax.
So, Fred and George each supported Ollivander by an arm and helped the elderly wizard to his feet. Together, they Disapparated.
“Where are we going?” Ollivander staggered after the Disapparating, and he had to lean over and dry-heave for a moment before he could stand upright again.
The twins regretted not stunning Ollivander first before bringing him away, as it would have spared him some discomfort.
“Hang in there, we’re almost at the safe house,” George said, patting Ollivander’s back as he glanced at Fred.
The latter raised his wand and sent green sparks flying into the sky.
“A safe house?” “Yeah, it’s the place protected by the Fidelius Charm, where those unlucky students who got expelled are temporarily hiding out,” George explained, his wand at the ready as he scanned their surroundings with caution.
They could only hope that Tonks had taken care of the person who was supposed to be guarding this area.
Seeing the same color of sparks in the sky, Fred and George breathed a sigh of relief, and they led Ollivander through the streets toward the safe house.
Noticing Ollivander’s confusion, George clarified with a smile, “The sparks indicate that there’s no danger around. If there were different colors or other variations, it would mean this place isn’t safe, and we’d have to move to another backup location.” “How did tonight’s operation go?”
Several figures emerged from the dark streets—it was Mr. Tonks, accompanied by a few older students.
“The rescue plan went smoothly,” Fred replied with a smile. “With Albert leading the team, there’s no way it could have failed.” “Where are the others? Why are there only three of you?” Mr. Tonks asked, puzzled.
“The others who were rescued won’t be brought here. The Order has made separate arrangements for them,” George explained with a smile.
The rescue plan had been in the works for a long time, and the Order of the Phoenix had naturally made preparations. Those rescued from the castle’s dungeons would be properly taken care of, and if they were willing, they could join the noble cause of fighting against Voldemort.
However, the results were often disappointing.
Not a single person among those rescued from the castle’s dungeons had the courage to stand against Voldemort, and even Ollivander lacked such bravery.
Harry, who was aware of this, felt incredibly frustrated and even began to doubt his own influence.
“Those people are cowards. No wonder they were caught by Voldemort’s followers,” Ron said when he learned about this. He thought they shouldn’t have bothered rescuing such people from the dungeons.
“That’s enough, Ron. Some things can’t be forced,” Hermione said, sharing Ron’s disappointment but understanding that such matters couldn’t be rushed.
Lupin noticed the glum mood of the trio and gently consoled them, “Don’t forget, our primary goal was to rescue Ollivander. The others were just a bonus.” “I suddenly understand why Albert had Dobby send them to that particular safe house. He must have anticipated this outcome!” Harry couldn’t deny his disappointment, but he was also impressed by Albert’s insight.
“What about Ollivander? Will he join us?” Ron asked eagerly.
“He… well, he sort of agreed,” Sirius replied with an odd expression on his face. “Ollivander has been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse, and his health is poor. He has nowhere else to go, so he accepted Albert’s offer of protection and will provide us with wand-related support.” Otherwise, Ollivander didn’t really have the courage to stand against Voldemort.
Of course, there wasn’t much that Ollivander could actively help with, apart from ensuring the safety of those who had been rescued and preventing them from falling into Voldemort’s hands again.
Ollivander was aware of his own limitations, and even if he didn’t agree, he had little choice in the matter. He was, in a sense, forced to join their cause.
At a simple celebration, Kingsley raised his glass to the members of the Order of the Phoenix and said, “We have saved a group of people, once again thwarted the Death Eaters, and with Harry’s joining, I believe more and more witches and wizards will bravely stand up to oppose Voldemort and his followers. This is our greatest victory.” As the members of the Order of the Phoenix toasted to their great victory, the members of the Defense Association also raised their glasses in celebration. However, the atmosphere was not as festive, and upon learning that the rescued individuals were all cowards, many felt that it wasn’t worth the effort to save them. They were particularly pleased with Albert’s decision to have Dobby send those people to the less-than-ideal safe house.
In their opinion, standing against Voldemort didn’t necessarily mean fighting against Dark Wizards. There were other ways to contribute to the cause, yet those people lacked the courage to even help defeat Voldemort. It was only natural that those who had worked hard to rescue them would feel disappointed and look down on them.
After all, those who had been rescued from the castle’s dungeons were all witches and wizards who had suffered persecution at the hands of Voldemort and his followers.
“Do you mind if I record this in my book?” Shanna asked Albert privately.
“It’s up to you. But when you’re done, let me take a look at it first,” Albert replied, confident that this detailed account of the Second Wizarding War would provide an unexpected surprise for the wizarding world in Britain.
(End of Chapter)
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