https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-1642-A-War-Without-Victors-Ninety-Two-/12529416/
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Chapter 1643: A War with No Victors (Ninety-Three)
Chapter 1643: A War with No Victors (Ninety-Three)
"How's Mom?"
Ginny swayed slightly at the question, reaching out to steady herself on the table so she didn't lose her balance and fall.
"Mrs. Weasley is fine," Lee Jordan quickly reassured her. "She retreated as soon as she received the warning from the mirror."
"I'm glad she's safe," Lupin murmured. "It seems the protective charms around the Burrow worked."
Ever since the attack on Kingsley, everyone had been on high alert, fearing a similar incident might befall them.
To that end, they had cast numerous protective charms around their homes to ensure they wouldn't be caught off guard by werewolf attacks. Even if a large group of Death Eaters were to attack, these charms would at least buy them some precious time to react and not be taken by surprise.
"Mrs. Weasley is at 12 Grimmauld Place. I just came from there to bring you the news," Lee Jordan said, meeting Ginny's gaze.
"As long as she's alright, the rest can wait," Albert said, turning to Lupin. "Could you please take Ginny to 12 Grimmauld Place? I think Mrs. Weasley could use the comfort of her family right now."
"Of course. Let's go, Ginny," Lupin said, motioning for Ginny to leave with him.
"Is this because of Harry's wedding?" Moody asked, frowning slightly as he looked at Albert. "I have to say, I find this whole thing rather odd. There's no point to what they're doing."
"It's hard to say," Albert replied, then turned to Lee Jordan. "I have another favor to ask of you. Could you please go to Diagon Alley and inform Fred and George about what happened at the Burrow?"
"Sure, I'll go notify them right now," Lee Jordan said, having just calmed down. He then headed out of the tent and disappeared with a pop, ready to deliver the message.
"You should have a way to contact the Ministry, right?" Albert asked Moody.
"I thought you would have gone after them immediately," Moody said, still puzzled by the situation. He couldn't quite make sense of it all. What did this group of Death Eaters, who had once sided with Voldemort, hope to achieve by doing this? Did they want to add to their own troubles?
"With your efficiency, it would have taken at least five minutes to get here. Even if I had rushed over, I probably would have found nothing but an empty house. And if I had managed to catch those people, they would likely have just been puppets controlled by the Imperius Curse," Albert said, glancing at Moody. He waved his wand to send his Patronus to find Sandra, as he needed someone to replace Ginny in the tent to prevent Avalon from being attacked by Death Eaters as well, though the likelihood of that was low.
However, his guess was not far from the truth. Though Sirius had informed the Ministry almost immediately, the Aurors still failed to catch the Death Eaters who had attacked the Burrow. They had arrived even later than Albert and Moody, only helping to put out the fire and gather some useless intelligence before hurrying off again, leaving Harry and Ron staring silently at the ruins of the Burrow.
"Those people left after setting the fire," Moody said, looking at the half-burned building. It was clear to everyone why the Death Eaters had done this.
"If I had stayed..." Mrs. Weasley said, looking at the burned-out shell of her home with a mix of sadness and self-reproach. Initially, she hadn't left right away but had used her Disillusionment Charm to observe the situation secretly after receiving the alert. However, upon noticing the sizable number of enemies, she had hurried to 12 Grimmauld Place to seek help.
Mr. Weasley, who had rushed home upon receiving the news, put his arm around his wife and said gently, "No, dear, you did the right thing. You couldn't have taken on that gang of thugs by yourself. The important thing is that you're safe. As for the house, we can always rebuild."
Looking at the Weasley couple, Sirius offered, "Why don't you stay at 12 Grimmauld Place for the time being? There's plenty of room there."
"I just don't understand what they hope to gain from all this," Harry said, his brow furrowed.
"Maybe they're trying to divert our attention with the full moon approaching," George suggested, his expression grim.
"That's possible, but not very likely," Sirius said. "We're not that easily fooled."
"What about Harry and Ginny's wedding? Should we postpone it?"
"Don't worry, Harry. We still have time to prepare your wedding with Ginny," Mrs. Weasley said, hugging her daughter gently. She looked up at Harry and added, "We won't let them get away with this."
"Are we just going to let them get away with it?" Ron asked, clearly furious.
"What else would you suggest?" Fred snapped at Ron. He was angry too, not because they had burned down his home, but because those bastards had dared to target his family.
"Why don't we sneakily take revenge? It has to be one of those pure-blood wizarding families who once sided with Voldemort," Ron said, clenching his fists tightly. He wanted to strike back hard, just as Albert had burned down Malfoy Manor, to show those bastards that they weren't to be messed with.
"That would be breaking the law, and we have no evidence," Mr. Weasley quickly cut off Ron's wild idea. He was genuinely afraid that his sons might do something excessive.
"We're not idiots. We know better than to do something like that," Fred and George said, exchanging a glance. Each put an arm around Ron's shoulders to comfort him. "Don't worry, we'll have our chance to get back at them. They can't hide forever."
This was said partly for the benefit of others. The twins had already decided to secretly support Nelson and find an opportunity to take out those bastards once and for all, to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.
"I just heard from Sandra..." Hermione, who had rushed over from Avalon, fell silent as she took in the sight of the completely burned-out Burrow. Fortunately, she had a habit of keeping important things in her Undetectable Extension Charm-enhanced bag, so her losses in the fire were minimal. However, the Weasley family had suffered significant losses, even though they didn't have many valuable possessions. Their daily lives would be greatly affected.
"There are no leads, and the Ministry doesn't even want the Prophet to report on this," Kingsley said that evening as he and Percy visited. They were conveying the Ministry's stance on the matter.
It wasn't that Kingsley didn't want to do something; they simply hadn't found any relevant evidence. The Ministry also had their own considerations: they suspected that the pure-bloods who had sided with Voldemort were trying to distract them and intended to do something big during the full moon.
"Can't we use Albert's divination to identify the culprits?" Ron deliberately raised his voice so that those around him could hear his conversation with Harry.
"That wouldn't count as evidence, especially when the suspects are from an ancient pure-blood family," Percy shook his head. "It could easily lead to some very unpleasant consequences."
"So we're just going to let it go? Mom was almost in danger!" Ron yelled at Percy.
"I know, but don't let your anger cloud your judgment," Percy said, placing a hand on Ron's shoulder. "If you really want revenge, we can disguise ourselves as Death Eaters and burn down their houses tonight. But that wouldn't accomplish much, and it would only bring more trouble. We need an opportunity to send those bastards straight to hell, all of them."
(End of Chapter)
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