Chapter 314: A Fitting Death
Chapter 314: A Fitting Death
Isabelle watched silently as the events unfolded. Even now, she still didn't fully understand how Albert had pulled it off, but the defeated and helpless Rowena Smith lying before them was proof that they were the ultimate victors.
She had survived and now had a chance for revenge, all thanks to Albert.
However, Isabelle couldn't help but voice her lingering question, "Actually, you were prepared for all of this, even more so than me. Although I don't know where you got that artifact, if you had such a powerful dark artifact, why didn't you use it from the start? Going up against Rowena Smith head-on was indeed reckless."
As a smart person herself, Isabelle knew that Albert wouldn't act recklessly without a good reason, and so she was curious as to what had driven him to take such a risk.
"Reckless? No, I merely pretended to be reckless," Albert replied as he searched Smith for magical artifacts with a Truth-Detecting Spell, addressing Isabelle's question, "When I saw my future self coming back from the past, I knew I would win, but I didn't know how I would defeat Rowena Smith."
"But you didn't do anything," Isabelle said, even more puzzled.
Then, she remembered something—Albert had indeed done something. According to him, he had helped his "past self" break free from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse more quickly.
Although Isabelle thought that had been a risky move, Albert had gone through with it and had even intentionally let his past self know of his future self's existence. This was something that was forbidden, yet it had somehow worked out for Albert.
"I originally thought that my future self would use the 'Hag's Scream' to take down everyone and then bring us to safety, but the outcome surprised me," Albert said as he took away the artifacts from Rowena Smith, intending to keep the valuable ones for himself.
"There wasn't a better option. I could only follow the intuition that the Felix Felicis gave me."
"You took Felix Felicis?"
"The result wasn't too bad, was it? Although the Luck Potion doesn't bring true luck, its effects are still quite remarkable." Albert took out a small bag of Galleons from Rowena's pocket, weighed it in his hand, and then pocketed it.
"You still haven't answered my question," Isabelle said.
"When I saw us on the Living Map using the Time-Turner to go back to the past, it meant that we had survived Rowena Smith, and it didn't seem to be that difficult... Our future selves just had to go back and clean up the mess," Albert explained.
"Why?"
Albert knew what Isabelle was asking and said, "If it had been a matter of life and death, I would have definitely left a warning for my past self to go find Dumbledore directly. I value my life, after all."
"You would have left a warning for your past self?"
Isabelle was shocked by Albert's train of thought. Interacting with one's past self was undoubtedly a very risky endeavor, and many people had lost their lives because of it.
However, Albert's way of thinking was completely different from Isabelle's. With proper preparation, seeing his future self would, at most, cause his heart to beat a little faster.
With the assurance of his future self, he could be bolder in dealing with Rowena Smith and, at the same time, complete the task on the panel.
However, what annoyed Albert was that his future self didn't seem to be planning to show up. So, under the guidance of the Felix Felicis, he had come up with a quick plan—to divert Rowena Smith's attention and then escape with Isabelle, leaving the rest of the problems for his future self, who would already be prepared, to deal with.
"You still haven't answered my question," Isabelle persisted.
"If we wanted to get all the information out of Rowena Smith, we had to think of another way to get her to lower her guard," Albert said as he continued to busy himself with his own matters, "People only relax their vigilance when they think everything is under control."
In fact, Rowena Smith had indeed spilled everything, and Albert hadn't wasted his breath talking to her.
Of course, Albert's battle with Rowena Smith wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment decision. If he wanted to completely finish all the tasks related to Rowena Smith, it was necessary for him to display a bit of Gryffindor recklessness, and the Felix Felicis had helped him guide and bring out his acting talents.
Rowena Smith had been too confident in her own strength and hadn't intended to kill them immediately.
Of course, if it hadn't been for Albert's incredibly bold move, they probably would have ended up as food for the Acromantula.
Most importantly, after being hit by the Cruciatus Curse and falling to the ground, Albert had noticed that several new tasks had appeared on the task panel.
Among them was one that made Albert decide to take a risk.
Showdown:
You encounter a formidable foe whom you cannot defeat, and an irreconcilable conflict arises. Thus, you resort to battle to resolve the issue, showing your opponent that you are not someone to be trifled with.
Battle duration: 10 minutes.
Reward: 10,000 experience points, 1 skill point, and obtain a specific skill from Rowena Smith.
Of course, the main reason Albert dared to take such a risk was that Rowena Smith didn't intend to kill them immediately, so he wasn't worried about being killed by her right away.
After that, Albert didn't cast the Avada Kedavra curse at her.
"I wonder what's going on in that head of yours!" Isabelle sighed, feeling that Albert wasn't being entirely truthful, but she didn't intend to press the issue further.
After all, everyone had their secrets.
Albert took away all the magical items on Rowena Smith, cast several spells on her to ensure she couldn't use a Disillusionment Charm to escape, and only then did he wake her up.
"I'm here to fulfill my promise. Those two Cruciatus Curses were really painful, and now I'll let you experience the same," Albert said, lifting his foot and kicking Rowena Smith.
In the silent forest, the sound of something shattering could be faintly heard.
With her entire body immobilized, Rowena Smith's eyes bulged, the bloodshot eyeballs threatening to pop out of their sockets.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just fulfilling my promise," Albert withdrew his gaze and turned his attention back to the task panel, murmuring, "This also completes the revenge task."
Speaking of which, Rowena Smith was quite a good person! He didn't waste his breath arguing with her.
Just from this wave of completed tasks, there were no fewer than ten of them, a truly bountiful harvest! Isabelle, who had witnessed Albert's crime, also seemed to sense Rowena Smith's lingering sadness and felt the urge to give her a few kicks herself to calm her nerves.
"Never mind, let's not drag this out. Let's finish her off," Isabelle suppressed the cruel thought and, looking at Rowena Smith, repeated softly, "Look, those big guys can't wait to enjoy their meal."
Under Isabelle's control, the Acromantula slowly walked forward, its massive body blocking Rowena Smith's view.
In her gaze, the Acromantula's sharp claws loomed larger and larger, eventually turning into shadows of death that engulfed her completely.
Rowena Smith was dead, killed by the Acromantula.
Albert and Isabelle slowly backed away, giving the Acromantula time to feast.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached, and Albert narrowed his eyes, putting the earmuffs back on and casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself before quietly moving to the side and pointing his wand at the direction of the sound.
Who could it be?
The owner of the footsteps soon appeared in Albert's line of sight, raising his wand to confront Isabelle but quickly lowering it.
"Uncle Hagrid, what are you doing here?" Isabelle lowered her wand and asked cautiously.
"It's good that you're safe. Is Albert alright?"
"He's fine."
"That's good." Hagrid glanced in the direction where Albert was hiding and breathed a sigh of relief. "That bastard Rowena didn't do anything to you, right? And where is he?"
"He's dead. He wanted to feed us to the Acromantula, so we fed him to them instead," Albert said calmly.
"He deserved to die!" Hagrid's reaction was a bit beyond what the two had expected. "He actually dared to plot against you. What a despicable man!"
You actually believed that?
Albert was stunned.
He soon understood what had happened. The Wildsmith family's response was faster and more ruthless than expected.
"To be honest, I never thought you'd be able to handle the situation yourselves. It's truly a relief. This way, Gerber doesn't have to die," Hagrid's words confused the two even more, but he continued without waiting for a response, "Go back to school and don't show any signs of suspicion. I'll take care of things here. Rowena Smith will be permanently missing."
"You've been watching us."
"Not exactly. I was providing discreet protection to ensure you don't die mysteriously outside of school," Hagrid explained quickly. "Someone will explain everything to you. For now, head back to school and maintain your disguises. Also, aside from Galleons, don't touch anything else that belongs to him, as it could lead to exposure."
Albert handed over several unidentified items from his pockets to Hagrid. These items were indeed hot potatoes, and he thought it would be best to get rid of them. So, he also tossed the bag of Galleons to Hagrid, wanting to sever all connections.
"I'll get you a new batch of Galleons later," Hagrid nodded in satisfaction. "Be careful on your way back."
After Albert and Isabelle left, Hagrid narrowed his eyes at Rowena's mangled body and took out a small two-way mirror from his pocket. "Rowena really intended to harm them. But now, he's been fed to the Acromantulas instead. I'm handling the aftermath."
"It's for the best that he's dead..." Gerber sounded a bit dejected as he murmured.
"I'll come over to help you deal with the aftermath," Professor Broad stood up, nodded to the other two companions, and quickly left the hall.
(End of Chapter)
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