Chapter 396: Let It Be As If I Never Came
The wizards arriving on the island after the event weren’t all aware of the full circumstances. In fact, Professor McGonagall had contacted Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge and Head of the Auror Office, Rufus Scrimgeour. The other wizards had been summoned without being informed of the nature of the enemy they would face.
When they arrived via Portkey, they saw Silent Shadow wreaking havoc above the island—Dumbledore and several Hogwarts professors already locked in battle with dark creatures. Many had already fallen, and more Muggles lay dead on the ground.
The Aurors instinctively fell into their most familiar role: combating dark creatures and protecting vulnerable, helpless Muggles.
A young Auror with striking red hair spotted a severely injured Muggle soldier lying near the edge of the battlefield, moaning as he struggled to stay conscious. Without hesitation, she cast a spell, pulling him from the deadly clutches of the encroaching Black Fog.
“You okay? Where are you hurt? Oh—sorry!” She pulled too hard, accidentally slamming the soldier into a lamppost. The young Auror winced at the sharp crack she thought she heard—like a bone breaking.
The soldier’s eyes rolled back slightly, gasping for breath, unable to speak.
“I’m so sorry! I’m always so clumsy—do you hurt badly? Is it really painful?”
The Auror hurriedly apologized, her hair shifting to gray in sympathy with her distress.
The soldier squinted at her changing hair, coughed a few times, and asked, “Who are you?”
“I? I’m Nymphadora Tonks. You can call me Tonks.” She looked down, guilty. “Just wait—let me get someone to treat you.”
“You’re… wizards?”
The soldier had witnessed the spectacle of wizards raising wands to control Silent Shadow, but he still needed confirmation. “All of you?”
“Yes, we’re all wizards from the British Ministry of Magic,” Tonks nodded.
Then she froze—she’d just broken the Confidentiality Act. Her heart skipped a beat.
But then she remembered: in this situation, secrecy was already meaningless. As long as they erased all Muggle memories afterward, her actions wouldn’t be illegal.
Relieved, Tonks patted the soldier’s arm. “Don’t worry. Your injuries will be healed in a second. We’ll take care of that thing in the sky. By morning, everything will be back to normal.”
The soldier didn’t respond. He watched the woman with the shifting hair raise her wand and join the fight against the Black Fog.
No one inside cared about the dying Muggles. No one thought they could do anything but survive or scream.
When Silent Shadow appeared, the wizards’ focus naturally shifted. The soldier, barely conscious, crawled toward the ruins of a nearby building, dragging his body through debris, pushing aside bodies, and pulling out a machine gun from beneath the wreckage.
He leaned his heavy frame against a concrete slab, propped the gun on a stone, and aimed it at the wizards.
Blood streamed from his forehead into his eyes, blurring his vision. But to him, anyone standing was an enemy—especially the loud, flustered witch who’d just saved him.
He took a deep breath and fired without hesitation.
Click-click-click-click-click-click—
The rapid gunfire unleashed a storm of bullets toward the wizards battling Silent Shadow.
Instantly, six or seven wizards fell—bloody blossoms blooming across their chests and abdomens. Others hastily cast Shield Charms or dived for cover.
The carefully coordinated effort to suppress Silent Shadow collapsed in chaos. With a sudden whoosh, the creature shot forward—only for the wizards to break off a piece of its tail.
A streak of light flashed from high above. The gun’s barrel twisted violently. Suddenly, Dumbledore appeared, his face pale with shock.
With a flick of his wand, he sent the machine gun flying.
“Who should die? What in Merlin’s name is happening?”
Rufus Scrimgeour roared, slashing his wand. The concrete slab shielding the soldier exploded into fragments. A sharp boom echoed, and the Auror’s wand snapped into a transparent barrier in front of him—unharmed.
But when he saw the scene ahead, the lion-hearted man froze. His fury had nowhere to go.
The soldier had shot himself. He slumped forward, head lowered, legs spread—his posture a silent mockery of arrogant wizards.
“Help! Help!—” Another young Auror screamed, clutching Tonks, her body soaked in blood. “Help! She’s dying!”
“Shut up! Can’t you cast a healing spell?” Scrimgeour barked, limping over and casting a healing charm.
Then—silence.
They heard it again. The chilling, guttural voice of Silent Shadow.
This time, the dark beast charged straight at the wizards.
Dumbledore sighed, raised his wand, and shattered a massive chunk of the creature. The Black Fog recoiled, then suddenly plunged underground. Stone cracked and shifted beneath the earth.
Moments later, Silent Shadow burst from the opposite side, its black tendrils lashing toward the stunned Fudge.
More spells shot toward the creature—but the fire was scattered, weak.
Scrimgeour, watching his dying subordinate, glanced at the tense battlefield. As he prepared to lower his wand, someone appeared with a sudden pop.
“Let me take her,” said Madam Pomfrey, stepping in to take over the treatment.
“Madam Pomfrey!” Several young Aurors gasped in surprise.
Almost every Ministry employee had once studied at Hogwarts. Unless they were among the very few older staff, they’d all been treated by her at some point.
Scrimgeour exhaled in relief. He turned back to the fight, barking orders to the few remaining Aurors: “You—get every Muggle on this island unconscious. Women, children—no exceptions!”
“But…” The young Aurors hesitated.
Using magic on Muggles—that was a law.
Even if most wizards ignored it, these new recruits still followed it like scripture.
“Do you want to get shot again?” Scrimgeour snarled. “Just do it. I’ll take full responsibility!”
“Yes… yes, sir!”
The Aurors scattered, searching for any Muggle still conscious—then casting Stunning Spells without mercy. Even those already unconscious, or dead, were stunned anyway.
---
After the gunfire, Wade instantly returned to the window, watching the chaos unfold.
Several Aurors were injured, needing treatment. Others had to be diverted to subdue Muggles. The number of wizards left to fight Silent Shadow was now dangerously low.
The creature had learned. It no longer charged into the wizards’ circle. Instead, it stayed at the edges—attacking isolated wizards, then darting off to slaughter Muggles on the island.
Like industrial smoke, the Black Fog spread, blending with the ruins—making it impossible to tell where the core truly was.
Everyone feared the worst: Silent Shadow escaping.
If it reached a city, the destruction would be catastrophic. Worse still, it would violate the Confidentiality Act on a massive scale.
Decades ago, a Silent Shadow—Cleddens—had caused chaos in New York. Though the Ministry eventually purged the Muggle memories using a toxin mixed with rainwater, no one could be certain whether everyone had forgotten. And no one could guarantee every photo of magic had been destroyed.
What if someone liked the rain?
What if someone found the memory thrilling—fun, even?
Now, the wizarding world was like a bird burying its head in the sand, pretending magic hadn’t been exposed—so it could fool itself into believing everything was normal.
And it was no longer willing to hear any dissenting voices.
Besides, times had changed. With Muggle media advancing rapidly, hiding a disaster like this was hundreds of times harder than before.
The only silver lining? The creature was still focused on the island, desperate to die here—no signs of fleeing to spread destruction elsewhere.
---
“Mabel… what happened?” Haley clutched the bedsheet tightly, worry in her voice. “Is she hurt? Did it inconvenience you to tell me?”
“She’s not hurt,” Wade said, pointing out the window. “She’s right there.”
The girl tried to sit up, but suddenly winced, clutching her chest. After a moment, she forced herself back up and leaned against the window, staring out.
She saw ruined buildings, swirling Black Fog, wizards waving wands, soldiers lying still. To most, this would shatter their worldview.
But to Haley, it looked like a dull baseball game broadcast—uninteresting, unremarkable.
She stared for a moment, then turned to Wade. “I don’t see Mabel.”
Wade looked into her clear, unwavering eyes. After a pause, he said, “The Black Fog… that’s Mabel. Her past pain gave birth to the dark creature—Silent Shadow. She’s its host, trapped within the fog.”
Haley’s eyes widened. She stared at Wade, then back at the swirling darkness.
Wade didn’t know if she understood. After a moment, he added, “I hope you can help awaken her humanity. If the creature takes over completely—emotionally and mentally—she’ll lose herself forever. She’ll become Silent Shadow… and there’ll be no way to bring her back.”
“Awaken?” Haley looked uncertain. But she clenched her fist, stepped onto the windowsill, opened the window, and took a deep, long breath.
Wade stared.
What is she doing?
He’d planned to bring her closer, but she was already opening her mouth to shout.
Wade quickly cast a Loudening Charm.
“MABEL—!”
Her voice—sharp, clear, piercing—ripped through the sky, cutting through the darkness, shaking every ear.
The battlefield fell silent for a heartbeat.
Then, Silent Shadow vanished.
A gust of black wind swept toward the window.
Wade yanked Haley back, pulling her against the wall, and cast several Shield Charms.
The thick Black Fog poured through the window, then rapidly contracted, thinning—until it formed a gaunt, pale figure.
Mabel stared at the girl, stunned, whispering, “H… Haley?”
“Mabel!” Haley cried, rushing into her arms.
They embraced tightly, faces glowing with the joy of a dream come true.
“I was so scared you were hurt!”
“I thought you were dead!”
Their voices merged, as if speaking as one.
Wade couldn’t help but smile.
Mabel looked up at him. “You saved her, didn’t you? Thank you.”
Wade hesitated, then shook his head. “No… the one who truly saved Haley was you. And second, Madam Pomfrey.”
When they arrived, it was already too late. Haley’s survival wasn’t due to luck—but because Wade had reversed time. And he did so only because Mabel had created Silent Shadow in the first place.
So in truth, Mabel had sacrificed her own future to save Haley’s life.
Mabel didn’t understand—but she didn’t question. She held the girl tightly, overjoyed to have her back.
Silent Shadow vanished. The wizards in the ruins stood frozen, wary, expecting a sudden attack from any direction.
Dumbledore, alone on a high perch, looked toward the distance—then vanished.
He reappeared moments later in the operating room.
Seeing the two girls hugging and talking, Dumbledore exhaled in relief. He smiled. “Looks like your plan worked.”
“Thank Merlin it did,” Wade said, relieved.
“Normally, as the one who solved this crisis, you’d be down there, basking in praise and adoration. Maybe even the front page of The Daily Prophet…”
Dumbledore paused.
Wade waved his hands frantically. “No, please—don’t mention my name. Just… let it be as if I never came.”
Compared to fame and titles, Wade still valued the Time-Turner more.
Think about it—today, he’d broken so many Ministry prohibitions. Any one of them could be grounds for the Ministry to take it back.
Dumbledore chuckled. “That’s exactly what I thought. At your age, too much attention is dangerous. Today’s honor will one day become someone’s weapon against you.”
“So Professor Snape will take you back to school,” Dumbledore continued. “I’ll erase all traces of the Time-Turner’s use. And whatever you’ve seen here—don’t tell a soul.”
Wade nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
He knew the Headmaster wasn’t hiding his achievement. He was protecting him.
An organization capable of such a feat would retaliate in terrifying ways.
He asked, “What about Miss Skeeter… and the children in the dungeon?”
“Don’t worry,” Dumbledore said. “Someone will handle it. After this, her troubles can finally be resolved.”
He pointed his wand. A silver phoenix burst from the tip and soared into the sky.
Moments later, the grim-faced Professor Snape appeared at the entrance. He nodded at the Headmaster, grabbed Wade’s shoulder, and with a pop, they vanished—reappearing at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
“Whoa—”
A giant cheer erupted from the nearby Quidditch pitch.
(End of Chapter)
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