Chapter 169: Chaos
Chapter 169: Chaos
"Below London, there's a small town called Enfield where one of my old school friends lives. We fell out after some unfortunate events, but she should still trust me."
Eddie quickly explained to Sherlock.
"Her name is Sophie Federman. She should be living in a house with a red roof on the eastern side of Enfield. Tell her the truth, and if you don't meet me in person, she should be able to believe you."
"Then have her take you to the Ministry of Magic. She works in the Department of Magical Transport and has the authority to enter and exit the Ministry at any time."
"Madame Selwyn has been staying in the Department of Mysteries, which is located on the ninth subterranean level. The Silencers working there rarely leave under normal circumstances."
Sherlock absorbed all the information and then asked, "What about you? What do you plan to do next?"
Eddie glanced at the intense battle raging outside.
"I have to leave immediately. The Death Eaters placed two layers of tracking magic on me. I managed to break the surface layer back in Cambridge, and they thought I was unaware of the deeper one, which is why I could outmaneuver them today."
"That deeper magic is more troublesome. I can only mask it temporarily and can't remove it entirely. The Death Eaters will eventually rediscover my location. If they continue fighting in the city, many innocent Muggles will die. I need to leave the city and draw them away!"
His resolve was unwavering, and he didn't seem to care about the consequences if the Death Eaters caught him.
Sherlock didn't press the issue further. He gathered the scattered wands from around the room and put them back in his pocket. Time was of the essence; the sooner he delivered the message to the Ministry of Magic and exposed the traitor, the sooner Eddie could be out of danger and return.
"Once the traitor is caught, how can you be notified?"
"Connect to the fireplace at the Ministry of Magic on the Isle of Man. I should be there at this time tomorrow!"
Eddie and Sherlock exchanged a final look. They didn't say anything more and raised their wands to Apparate.
By the time they left, the battle in the streets had reached a fever pitch!
Aurors and Death Eaters on broomsticks were dueling in the sky above the city, casting countless green and red spells that streaked through the night like meteors. The sound of Apparition echoed continuously as reinforcements from surrounding cities arrived, including both Aurors and Death Eaters!
"Should we request more reinforcements from the Ministry?"
Tris, an Auror who had just arrived from York and joined the battle, narrowly avoided a sickly green spell!
He swung his wand in retaliation while shouting to Mad-Eye Moody, who was maneuvering his broomstick to a lower altitude, wand aimed at a Death Eater diving low to bombard Muggle homes with an Explosive Charm. A precise red beam shot from Moody's wand, striking the moving Death Eater dead center!
The Death Eater fell limply from his broom, likely to either die or be left permanently crippled.
"We can't send any more!" The wind howled into his mouth as Mad-Eye Moody shouted, "There are only Kingsley's two teams left at the Ministry! If we send them here, the entire Ministry of Magic will be empty!"
"But if this continues, everyone in the Muggle city will know what's happening!" Tris said anxiously.
Mad-Eye Moody's face was grim. He looked at the Death Eaters who were hovering in the sky, barely engaging with the Aurors and instead bombarding the Muggle city below with spells. He shouted at Tris.
"Take your people to the west and north, I'll handle the east and south! Drive them to the center! And don't use Anti-Apparition magic!"
Sherlock Apparated onto the street where the Leaky Cauldron was located in London.
He didn't have any intention of going back to the bar at this moment. Instead, he decisively used Alohomora to open the door of a nearby car, then used Control Magic to start it and drove toward the town of Enfield, south of London.
He had never been to this town, so he couldn't Apparate directly there. Summoning the Knight Bus might not take him there either, as the next stop is determined by the order in which passengers board, not by proximity.
At this moment, a Muggle car was the best means of transportation.
Sherlock kept his foot on the gas. Fortunately, Enfield wasn't far from London. About twenty minutes later, he entered the town and quickly found a red-roofed house on the eastern edge.
He got out of the car and tapped the engine hood with his wand. The car started on its own, retracing its route back to where Sherlock had first used it. It would automatically avoid other vehicles and pedestrians, and the only thing the owner would notice was a slightly lower fuel level.
Sherlock then knocked heavily on the door of the red-roofed house.
Soon, a light came on in a second-floor bedroom. A young, pretty woman in a nightgown opened the window and looked down at Sherlock with a scowl.
"It's so late, you can't be a door-to-door salesperson, can you?"
Sherlock stared at her and said earnestly, "Eddie Butler sent me to find you."
The woman was clearly taken aback. After a few seconds, she stomped her foot in frustration, as if angry with herself.
"Just use Alohomora to come in! I'll be right down!"
Sherlock, no longer concerned about manners, used Alohomora to open the door and entered the home of the witch named Sophie.
As he stepped inside, Sophie was just descending the stairs, wand in hand.
"You'd better tell me he was framed! That you came to help clear his name! If you're here to persuade me to join the Dark Lord, you'll be facing the Wizengamot's trial!"
Sherlock met Sophie's gaze. Her wand was pointed directly at him, and her eyes were filled with tension, as if she feared he would say that Eddie had truly become a follower of the Dark Lord.
"You're right", Sherlock shrugged. "Eddie was framed. He didn't betray the Ministry of Magic, and he didn't join the Death Eaters."
Sophie's eyes lit up with hope, but her wand remained steady. She tried to calm herself and said urgently, "Then what happened to him? Why didn't he come to me himself?"
Sherlock used the briefest, most concise words to recount everything Eddie had told him to Sophie.
Three minutes later, the witch's wand dropped to her side.
(End of Chapter)
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