Chapter 166: Auror Outpost

Chapter 166: Auror Outpost

Sherlock, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, strolled casually through the streets of Sheffield, wearing a pair of plain glasses.

The Patronus Charm is an independent magical entity and cannot transmit what it sees and hears to Sherlock in real-time.

However, Sherlock can still sense the Patronus's location and, once the charm is canceled, he can learn what it discovered during its tracking.

Sherlock didn't follow the cloaked wizard directly, maintaining a corner's distance to ensure he wouldn't even be in the wizard's peripheral vision.

The raven Patronus, meanwhile, glided through the sky, keeping a watchful eye on the wizard as he wandered through the nearby three streets.

After observing the wizard circle the same three streets three times, Sherlock concluded that this was not just a casual passerby but likely a Death Eater or an Auror Squad member on patrol.

The wizard was currently on patrol duty, and his area of responsibility was within these three streets.

With this information, Sherlock entered a nearby café, ordered a coffee, and sat by the window, waiting for the wizard's next move.

Time passed until evening, and after circling the streets a dozen times, the wizard finally made his next move.

He began to leave the three streets he had been patrolling, heading down the main road as if he were about to depart.

Noticing the change in the Patronus's direction, Sherlock left the café.

He didn't immediately follow his Patronus but instead pretended to look around casually. Sure enough, at the intersection, he spotted a woman with a ponytail, a baseball cap, and a small wand in her hand.

She was another wizard, taking over the patrol from the man.

Sherlock's gaze lingered on the witch for a moment before he nonchalantly turned away and followed the direction the Patronus was tracking.

Such a strict patrol system made it unlikely that the wizard was a Death Eater. The patrolling wizard was most likely an Auror from the Ministry of Magic, which was exactly what Sherlock was looking for!

He followed his Patronus, leisurely walking the same path the male wizard had taken.

However, Sherlock's mind was far from relaxed. He was praying that the wizard's base wouldn't be too far and that he wouldn't Apparate, but instead, continue walking.

It seemed his prayers were answered, or perhaps the area was in Sheffield's city center with more Muggles around. The wizard indeed didn't Apparate and continued walking, eventually entering a small courtyard after about 15 minutes.

The silver raven glided into the courtyard, landing near a two-story building. Through a gap in the curtains, it could see everything in the living room.

Nelson, who had just finished his patrol, entered the Auror outpost in Sheffield.

The outpost was a small courtyard they had rented from a Muggle couple, centrally located in Sheffield. It served as a hub for the Aurors scattered throughout the city, allowing them to quickly respond to any discoveries.

He pushed open the door and walked into the living room.

Two male wizards and a witch were standing inside, and on the sofa sat an older wizard with a wooden leg and a peculiar eye that darted around restlessly.

"Nothing to report today. I didn't even see the ghost of another wizard. And when can we start using Apparition, Captain?"

Nelson began complaining as soon as he entered the living room.

"I've been walking all day, and now I have to walk back to the outpost from that street. My legs are about to fall off!"

Mad-Eye Moody's voice was hoarse but calm.

"We have to wait another day for the Disillusionment Charm to take full effect. Using Apparition would create too much noise, and the Death Eaters would notice."

Nelson grumbled a bit more but didn't press the issue.

Among the Aurors gathered in Sheffield, Mad-Eye Moody was the highest-ranking commander, and everyone followed his orders.

Nelson turned and went upstairs to rest, while Mad-Eye Moody continued listening to the witch's report.

"York’s Aurors are led by Tris. According to their latest intelligence, they haven’t spotted any Death Eaters in York. The same goes for Leeds, Harrogate, Barnsley, and Tonks; they haven’t reported anything significant either."

Mad-Eye Moody frowned and asked, "Not just Death Eaters, what about Eddie? Any news?"

The Witch shook her head. "We haven’t heard anything from Eddie. We left the Aurors’ general mark in all five cities, but we haven’t received any response from him."

She hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say more but held back.

Mad-Eye Moody, in his raspy voice, said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

The Witch stammered, "Do you think, I mean, is it possible that Eddie really has turned traitor, as the Ministry claims? Maybe he’s already aligned with the Dark Lord, or perhaps he’s been a spy for the Dark Lord all along?"

Mad-Eye Moody was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke. "Eddie isn’t one of my Aurors, but his talent and resolve are well-recognized by everyone in the Ministry. If a Wizard of his caliber were to turn to the Dark Lord, he wouldn’t wait this long to defect. And if he were a spy, we’d have to catch him first before making any conclusions!"

A male Wizard standing nearby couldn’t help but interject, "But the higher-ups said that if we encounter Eddie, we shouldn’t hold back. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter."

"What?" Mad-Eye Moody’s voice grew louder. "Even in battles against Death Eaters, we don’t use the Killing Curse. Are you suggesting we use that spell on a comrade who hasn’t been confirmed as a traitor?"

He pounded his cane on the floor for emphasis.

"Over the past decade of fighting the Dark Lord’s followers, I’ve seen all kinds of traitors! Those with weak convictions can be swayed back to the right path. I don’t believe a gifted Wizard like Eddie would fall so far! Especially when the accusations come from those who only hold their positions because of their well-placed fathers in the command!"

The two male Wizards and the Witch standing nearby were taken aback by Mad-Eye Moody’s words. They exchanged nervous glances and then tried to calm him down.

"Don’t say things like that, Captain Moody. Some of the people who returned from Wales did have genuine abilities, like Crouch."

Mad-Eye Moody snorted. "I’ll admit that the Minister’s son might have some talent, but the others? If it weren’t for the current situation and their influential fathers, the command would never have accepted such trash."

As he spoke, his magical eye suddenly began to spin, eventually fixing on the window obscured by curtains!

Before the other three could react, Mad-Eye Moody drew his wand!

"Stupefy!"

The tip of his wand aimed precisely at the curtained glass, and a red beam shot out, hitting the target in an instant!

"Bang!"

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the room!

Shards of glass scattered everywhere, and the other three Aurors, well-trained, quickly reacted, raising their wands and rushing to the shattered window.

But there was nothing there, as if no creature had ever been present.

"What did you see, Captain?"

The male Auror, still holding his wand at the ready, asked calmly.

Mad-Eye Moody’s magical eye continued to spin, searching for the target he had just spotted.

"A bird, it looked like a Patronus!"

As Mad-Eye Moody cast the Stunning Spell at the Patronus, it immediately canceled the spell and dissipated into the air, leaving nothing for the Aurors to see when they pulled back the curtains.

After the Patronus disappeared, Sherlock knew what he had seen and heard.

There was no doubt that the Wizards he had encountered were Aurors. They had arrived in Sheffield two days earlier and weren’t just focusing on this city. They had left personnel in the surrounding areas as well.

The number of Aurors was so large that it seemed the Ministry of Magic’s Auror Office had sent almost all its resources.

Mad-Eye Moody's magic eye was incredibly powerful, capable of seeing things that ordinary people couldn't and even penetrating walls for a clear view.

This is how Sherlock's Patronus was discovered.

But even after being discovered, he had already gathered enough intelligence.

In addition to surrounding and attacking the Death Eaters, the Aurors were also searching for an Auror named Eddie.

They suspected that this Auror had defected to Voldemort's side, but Sherlock found the name Eddie oddly familiar. He had seen it somewhere before but hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, and now he couldn't quite remember where.

The name Eddie wasn't particularly rare in Britain; there were probably a handful of Wizards named Eddie across the country.

So, Sherlock didn't dwell too much on the fact that he had heard the name before.

Discovering the Aurors' movements was a significant gain for him. Even if Mad-Eye Moody detected signs of being watched, Sherlock didn't plan to keep a constant eye on the Auror base in Sheffield.

He only needed to monitor the Aurors patrolling the streets. If the Aurors took any action, these patrolling Aurors would be the first to respond.

Sherlock's main goal was to get noticed by the Ministry of Magic during the upcoming battle between the Aurors and the Death Eaters, ideally helping them out and then requesting to join their ranks.

Therefore, he wouldn't continue monitoring the Auror base, as that could lead to misunderstandings, which would go against his plans.

After returning to his hotel, he summoned his Patronus again to keep an eye on the patrolling Aurors.

He didn't idle in the hotel either.

Sherlock transcribed the Soul Protection Charm he had seen in Selena's underground study into a notebook.

He didn't have a photographic memory, but once he understood the magic, he could reproduce it without needing to be word-for-word accurate. The meaning conveyed was what mattered most.

Soul-related magic was not difficult to understand or learn; the real challenge lay in creating such magic and putting it into practice.

Selena's protective magic had significant limitations.

The protector must have an extreme love for the protected, and when the magic takes effect, the protected soul must be that of a first-year student, not long after their first year.

In other words, this magic was essentially created by a mother for her child. Who else would have such an extreme love for a newborn, besides their parents?

While this magic was powerful, it had little practical value for most Wizards.

Sherlock decided to study it because of Snape.

Yes, he admitted it, albeit reluctantly, but he did feel a bit sorry for Snape.

While Snape might not have been a good person in the past, after Lily's death, he had faithfully followed Dumbledore's plan and was always ready to act as a double agent once Voldemort returned.

Seeing him so devastated after being rejected by Lily, crying and drinking heavily, Sherlock thought that if he had the chance, he might exploit a loophole in history to help this middle-aged man who had lost both love and purpose.

Getting Lily to reconsider and live happily ever after with Snape was out of the question; that would be a serious deviation from history and a violation of morals and conscience. Sherlock didn't believe Lily would accept Snape again.

Instead, he thought about finding a way to ensure Lily didn't die so completely under Voldemort's hand, leaving a glimmer of hope for her survival.

This also served to help Harry.

Even if Harry had already acknowledged Black as his guardian and didn't deny Black's care for him, Sherlock didn't think Black would be a particularly competent guardian given his character.

If Harry could see his mother again or live with her for a while in the future, it would provide him with immense emotional comfort.

The only method Sherlock could think of was the Soul Protection Charm left by the original owner, Selena, which Lily might use for Harry in the future.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end