Chapter 1471: A Desperate Move
Chapter 1471: A Desperate Move
"I doubt the folks at the International Confederation of Wizards ever had good intentions from the start. How else could they have come up with such a rotten idea?"
"Politicians are never to be trusted from the get-go. Expecting them to save Britain is like hoping that Voldemort will suddenly drop dead one day."
"You can tell as much from the bunch of Aurors they sent as reinforcements to Britain. They were utterly routed. I can hardly believe that foreign Aurors are so incompetent."
At that moment, the group was gathered together, discussing the contents of the newspaper and the recent events.
They had been staying in this hotel for quite some time now. Ever since their lives had returned to a semblance of stability, the energetic individuals among them had begun to grow restless.
After all, they were all vibrant young people who were anything but docile.
"Speaking of which, where's Albert? He hasn't shown his face for several days now." Someone suddenly asked.
The room immediately fell silent.
After a long while, a voice spoke up.
"He's probably still teaching Harry magic."
"I wonder when he'll have the time to teach us magic."
These words undoubtedly resonated with many in the room, earning a chorus of agreement.
"Most of you haven't even mastered the most basic spells yet, and you're already itching to learn more powerful magic?"
Originally intended as a gathering to exchange knowledge about magic, these meetings had somehow morphed into gripe sessions.
Every day, there were people raring to go out and stir up trouble.
Looking at the rowdy crowd, Shana sighed softly. She raised her hand and gave a few sharp claps, then raised her voice to drown out the din in the conference room.
"Quiet down, everyone."
Once everyone's attention was on her, Shana continued, "I hope you haven't forgotten Albert's prophecy. Our time is running out, and the final battle with Voldemort is imminent."
"We know," someone interjected with a hint of exasperation. "Albert has mentioned it countless times."
"No, you don't understand. When Albert says something like that, it means the upcoming battle will be extremely perilous."
Shana had lost count of how many times she had said something similar, but she wasn't Albert, and she lacked his ability to truly convince everyone.
However, she couldn't just let them run rampant and suffer heavy casualties! Of course, she suspected that even if she did nothing, most of them wouldn't rashly leave this safe haven. After all, the previous incident had served as a stark reminder, and those who remained here tended to have a bit of sense.
Nevertheless, there was always the risk of someone having a momentary lapse of judgment and doing something foolish. Such occurrences were especially common among the young.
Perhaps it would be best to leave this matter to Albert! Shana decided that she would send Albert a message later.
...
"What do we do now?"
Looking at the towering structure that had just collapsed before them, Lupin and Remus fell silent.
Due to the damned bounty offered by the International Confederation of Wizards, the number of Dark Wizards pouring into the British Isles from all over the world had been increasing, directly leading to frequent accidents across Britain.
"How about we find a way to make them annihilate each other?"
Kingsley gazed at the billowing smoke in the distance, lightly pressed his lips together, and suggested something that left Lupin utterly astonished.
"Are you serious?"
Lupin understood Kingsley's implication, but if he had a choice, he would rather not resort to such measures.
"Do you have a better idea?" Kingsley didn't turn to look at Lupin.
The latter remained silent.
"We can't just stand by and watch them continue to wreak havoc on Muggles. I have a feeling that things could easily spiral out of control," Kingsley said as he turned to face Lupin. "We can't afford to make no preparations at all."
He didn't want to use the Killing Curse to control the Dark Wizards and make them kill each other, as he had no idea what consequences such an action might bring.
But they couldn't just do nothing, as that would only make the situation worse.
"I recall Fred and George mentioning that this Wizarding War will soon come to an end." Lupin brought up another matter—he remembered that it was one of Albert's prophecies, and that guy's predictions had always been spot on.
"I hope this war ends soon, too," Kingsley said, glancing at Lupin. "I hope everyone can get what they wish for and embrace peace. No one likes this damn war, no one. But we can't just sit here and do nothing."
As far as Kingsley was concerned, he still couldn't see any hope for the war's conclusion; instead, Britain seemed more likely to fall completely.
According to his sources, even pure-bloods weren't doing so well lately. The fact that this Wizarding War had affected them the least spoke volumes.
"It's probably related to the Fire Spell that Harry is currently learning!" Lupin said suddenly. "Maybe once Harry masters that spell, we'll be able to take action."
"Don't tell me you believe that the Fire Spell can kill Voldemort," Kingsley interjected. He didn't buy into that idea, although he had no clue why Albert had insisted that Harry must master this extremely difficult branch of Dark Magic.
"All we can do is wait. We have no choice but to put our faith in Harry," Lupin said, aware that Harry needed to be given sufficient time to master the spell, rather than being rushed, as that would be meaningless and might even backfire.
"Maybe we have no choice but to keep waiting, but this waiting feels like an eternity," Kingsley muttered. "If only Dumbledore were still alive. The world has become so foreign since his death."
"Yes, it's a pity, but there are no 'what ifs' in this world. All we can do is believe in Harry and believe that he will lead us to defeat Voldemort."
"I thought you'd say you believe in Anderson." Kingsley brought up another person.
"Sirius trusts him a great deal," Lupin said. "What about you?"
"Me too. After all, we don't have much choice, do we?" Kingsley would have preferred to put his faith in Albert. "He definitely knows a lot more than he's letting on, but they don't intend to share that information with us."
"To be honest, I don't like being kept in the dark like this, but what can we do? They have their own agenda, and we have ours. Let's just focus on what we need to do and trust that Harry will come through for us," Lupin said, looking at the increasingly chaotic crowd in the distance. "Come on, let's go stir the pot over there and divert their attention from the Muggles."
"No one likes feeling like they're being kept in the dark." Kingsley followed Lupin as they Disapparated together.
Soon, they located a Dark Wizard who was wreaking havoc on a Muggle shop.
Not all Dark Wizards enjoyed slaughtering Muggles; some were just troubled individuals who got a kick out of creating various kinds of trouble and watching Muggles scramble in panic. The one they had caught was a pyromaniac who took pleasure in setting fires.
(End of Chapter)
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