Chapter 1455: Who Takes the Fall?
Chapter 1455: Who Takes the Fall?
Late at night, upon hearing familiar footsteps in the corridor, Ron, who was still awake, hurried out of bed. He interrupted the couple passionately kissing in the hallway, asking, "Harry, Ginny, where are you two off to?"
Ginny glared at Ron irritably for ruining the moment, then turned to storm back to her room. However, she paused as the door to the adjacent room opened, and a sleepwear-clad Hermione emerged.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
Feeling uncomfortable under everyone's gaze, Harry tried to divert the attention away from himself.
"Just now, Bill was ambushed by a group of Death Eaters and severely injured," Ron said after a moment's hesitation.
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems," Hermione explained to the concerned pair. "Thankfully, Harry's dragon-hide jacket mitigated the damage. Bill's injuries aren't life-threatening, and Madam Pomfrey has already treated him for the Dark Magic wounds."
Hearing this, Ginny's tense expression softened somewhat.
As long as Bill was alright, that was all that mattered.
"What's the meaning of this?" Harry asked, puzzled by the strange circumstances of Bill's injury. Ever since the Phoenix Society adopted Albert's advanced strategies and started using detection watches, ambushes by Death Eaters had become extremely rare.
"It's a long story," Hermione shook her head.
Noticing that Ginny was walking with a slight limp, Ron frowned in concern as he opened the door and invited the pair into the room. "Are you alright, Ginny?"
"I'm fine," Ginny replied curtly.
"Alright, it's late. Let's get some rest and discuss this tomorrow," Hermione interrupted Ron, signaling for Ginny to return to her room and preventing Ron from asking further questions.
"What happened earlier?" Back in their room, Harry didn't give Ron a chance to voice his questions, taking the lead in the conversation.
Only after Ron had climbed back into bed did he begin to recount the events that had transpired earlier.
"They're getting desperate," Harry muttered.
"What?" Ron asked, his expression one of confusion as he hadn't quite caught Harry's meaning.
"The Death Eaters are getting antsy because we're not taking the bait. Thank Merlin for Albert's warning," Harry clarified.
Without Albert's heads-up, the Death Eaters' madness might have led to heavy casualties for the Defense Association and the Phoenix Society.
Indeed, members of both groups had already sacrificed their lives in this Wizarding War, and Albert's help had been invaluable in minimizing losses.
"No wonder he thinks my progress is slow. Maybe I should step up my game," Harry mused, recalling their previous conversation. He knew that the faster the war ended, the fewer lives would be lost.
"It's not your fault, Harry. The Blasting Curse is notoriously difficult to master, and not everyone can pick up spells as easily as Anderson. Just because it's simple for him doesn't mean it is for us," Ron consoled his friend.
"I know. Let's get some sleep. I'm beat," Harry said, taking off his clothes and glancing at Ron before closing his eyes.
To be honest, he was a little regretful that he hadn't waited until morning to return.
The next morning, upon learning of Bill's injury, Fred and George also rushed to see their still-unconscious brother. After hearing that it was Harry's dragon-hide jacket that had saved Bill, they generously offered to lend their own dragon-hide armor to the pair temporarily.
After all, Fred and George usually stayed at the Association headquarters and rarely ventured out, so their chances of encountering danger were slim.
As for Dark Magic defense items, however...
They were more than happy to provide the Phoenix Society with a batch of supplies worth no less than a thousand Galleons.
This was undoubtedly a generous offer.
Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were worried about their son's condition. While supporting the resistance against the mysterious figure was one thing, risking their entire family's fortune was another matter entirely.
Moreover, the shop wasn't even theirs, and the Weasley parents certainly didn't want Fred and George to sour their relationship with Albert over this issue.
"We've already informed Albert about this, and he agreed," George said, noticing his mother's concern. "He knows that we can't just sit back and let Dark Wizards run rampant."
"Does he intend to let this slide, then?" Moody furrowed his brow, well aware that the Phoenix Society members alone couldn't stop the Death Eaters' atrocities. They needed Albert and his strength to counter the mysterious figure; otherwise, any hasty actions would result in heavy losses for the Phoenix Society.
"Numerous Muggles have already been massacred, and if this continues, we'll have a big problem on our hands," Kingsley, who understood Muggles better than most wizard folk, said gravely. "Those maniacs seem intent on dragging Muggles into this damned war as well."
"You should bring this matter to the attention of the International Wizarding Federation instead of trying to solve it yourselves," George advised, echoing Albert's sentiment that their small group couldn't possibly resolve the issue alone.
"It's no use. The International Wizarding Federation doesn't give a damn about the turmoil in Britain. In fact, they seem to be reveling in our misery," Kingsley replied, having already tried to contact the usually authoritative federation and provide them with evidence of the Death Eaters' crimes, only to be met with indifference and a blatant disregard for the situation.
"Then we should take it to the press and force them to help resolve Britain's problems. After all, many of the Dark Wizards causing chaos in Britain hail from other countries, and this catastrophe shouldn't be borne by Britain alone. We can't afford to shoulder it all," George said, interpreting Albert's earlier words about 'not being able to afford it' not as an inability to defeat the Death Eaters but as a reference to dealing with the aftermath of their actions.
"...But," Kingsley began.
"Even if we defeat those Dark Wizards, what then? Do we just slaughter them all?" George's expression turned peculiar as he spoke of this.
"That won't do. If Albert starts massacring Death Eaters, the mysterious figure will likely retaliate by doing the same to us. For now, both sides are engaged in a stalemate to prevent the killing from spiraling out of control," George explained, aware that this was also why Albert was reluctant to take action. The young man wasn't keen on killing, and if he had been, the Death Eaters still roaming free would likely have been eradicated by now.
Of course, it was also possible that Albert didn't want to bear the sin of taking so many lives, especially after witnessing the ugly sides of so many people. That was likely why he had chosen to support the Phoenix Society instead.
For now, this group of people was the majority of the forces he could unite, and even if there were more in the future, they wouldn't amount to much. There was no point in wasting further time on them.
(End of Chapter)
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