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Chapter 521: Black Professor
Chapter 521: Black Professor
The wind blew from all directions, and Swift, like a black ghost, soared through the rugged mountains, its wings brushing the tops of towering trees. The conversation with Dumbledore from the night before replayed in Felix's mind—
“I have intelligence that Voldemort plans to personally capture Amelia when she returns from Azkaban using a Portkey.”
“What do you plan to do, set a trap?”
After a long silence, Dumbledore shook his head in the darkness. “Not this time. We don’t have a foolproof plan, and we can’t act as if we knew about this in advance.”
Felix understood. This was to protect the spy, who was likely Severus Snape.
“Then what—”
“I won’t be involved in this operation... it’s part of a plan.” Dumbledore whispered, the silver moonlight reflecting off his glasses, obscuring his expression. “I’m not sure if it will be necessary, but I can’t show up lightly, especially not if Voldemort catches a hint.”
...
Felixstowe Port is the largest and busiest container port in the UK, located in East Anglia on the southeastern coast. On a small, desolate stretch of beach near the port, two figures materialized from the twisting air.
Sirius and Bones stood together, gripping an old Daily Prophet.
“I hate Portkeys. Why can’t we take a boat like we did on the way there?” Sirius rubbed his head; he had bumped it on Amelia’s knee during the Portkey trip, which often led to various mishaps.
“The people staying behind need the boat more than we do,” Bones said, stuffing the newspaper into her pocket. “Since we’re returning early, we’ll have to make do.”
Sirius muttered under his breath.
Bones smiled. “Congratulations, Black Professor.”
Sirius looked at her smugly, but his expression changed suddenly. “Someone’s been lurking around here.” He drew his wand, scanning the area vigilantly. Bones followed suit, her wand tip glowing as the sand on a portion of the beach began to tremble.
“Are you sure?” Bones asked, her expression serious. “It might just be a passing Muggle.”
“I’m not sure,” Sirius said, “but I have a feeling—watch out!” He waved his wand, and a burst of fire exploded in the air, the sound deafening. Sirius stumbled backward, but he ignored the pain, his eyes fixed on a direction. He gasped, “Voldemort!”
Voldemort stood on the beach, having appeared at some point, seemingly waiting for a while.
“Amelia Bones,” Voldemort said, holding a wand in his pale fingers, bowing slightly. “I hope you will join me at my castle as a guest.”
“And if I refuse?” Bones asked, her voice low.
“As one of the Twenty-Eight Purebloods, I believe you won’t be so stubborn. But if you insist—”
“You killed my brother,” Bones said through gritted teeth, thrusting her wand like a sword. The sand on the ground swirled, forming a sandstorm. “Go!” she shouted to Sirius, who immediately placed his hand on her, preparing to Apparate.
The sandstorm suddenly reversed, forming a heavy wall that crashed down on them. Sirius and Bones were thrown far away, struggling to get back up.
Voldemort calmly walked toward Bones. “I will have to extract the information from your mind, and there might be some gaps, which I do not wish to see.”
Sirius lay on the ground, feeling more than one rib broken. He fired a red spell, which Voldemort deflected with ease, stopping in his tracks. Voldemort seemed to notice Sirius for the first time, his red eyes flashing with malice, staring for two seconds—
“Avada Kedavra.”
“Earth to Wall!” Bones shouted, and a wide wall rose from the sand, blocking the Killing Curse.
The two regrouped.
“Transfiguration,” Voldemort said with disgust.
“You find a way to escape. You’re more important than me,” Sirius said through clenched teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his ribs aching. He forced himself to cast spell after spell.
“He’s targeting me; I can’t escape,” Bones shouted, waving her wand. The rocks along the shore seemed to come to life, rushing toward Voldemort. “We need to think of another way—”
Voldemort smiled cruelly, deflecting the spells like a cat playing with a rat, casually blasting the rocks apart. The spells left marks on the two. If not for the need to capture Amelia and extract the secret of the prophecy, he would be more relaxed.
Suddenly, Sirius grabbed Bones’ hand and forced an Apparition, despite the risk. Voldemort’s wrist snapped, and his wand whistled, a bloody wound blossoming on Sirius’ chest, but the two had already disappeared.
Voldemort approached the spot where they had vanished, his gaze fixed. A moment later, he appeared in a nearby deserted area.
Sirius and Bones barely managed to stay on their feet.
“Why do you always try to Apparate? For a skilled Wizard like me, I can follow your traces, and I even interfered with your landing point,” Voldemort explained generously, hoping to plunge the two, who were supporting each other, into despair.
But his explanation was met with a prepared, powerful spell.
Sirius conjured a dozen iron arrows in the air, each rusted like Scabbers, and they let out a shrill cry as they flew toward Voldemort. Bones simultaneously waved her wand, and the ground around her and Sirius suddenly sank. "Use the Portkey, he can't stop it—" She pulled out the newspaper from her pocket. "Mentos!"
A blue light flashed over the newspaper, and it quickly returned to normal.
"Hang on, just three seconds—" She looked at Sirius, whose chest was gushing blood. "Three, two—"
Sirius stared at the sky, his eyes widening as Voldemort suddenly appeared floating in mid-air. A green light barrier descended, and Sirius broke free from Bones' grip, sending a red spell toward Voldemort. He gritted his teeth, determined to hold on for a few more seconds.
Bones reached out to grab him, but she vanished in a twisted blur the moment she touched him.
It's over... Sirius thought. He couldn't stop Voldemort's Killing Curse, but at least one of them had escaped. He began to ponder what the afterlife might be like. After a few seconds, he realized he was still conscious.
A massive object had blocked the spell. Sirius blinked, and it seemed to be a huge Galleon?
Sirius was speechless.
On the ground, Felix blamed himself for his mistake. He hadn't anticipated Sirius would force an Apparition and succeed, which was different from the time he had let Sirius off easy. It took some time to catch up, but he managed to arrive just in time. A Shrunk Coin blocked the Killing Curse, and this familiar scene made Voldemort vanish into the air, facing off with Felix from a distance.
"Voldemort, as you would say, your appearance here today was foolish", Felix said calmly, showing his new wand. He had to suppress his urge to kill, as he wasn't confident he could keep Voldemort at bay, and revealing his trump card and associated magic would be unwise.
Voldemort stared at his wand, his expression grim.
"Felix Hep." He muttered, the madness in his eyes flickering. He had already decided to retreat, and Lucius' intelligence flowed through his mind—Felix Hep had a new wand, while he was stuck with an average one. He was almost driven mad with jealousy.
Voldemort silently vowed that the next time they met, he would obtain a wand befitting his status, one that allowed him to cast spells without hesitation. He looked at Felix expressionlessly and disappeared on the spot.
Felix didn't move. If it had been Sirius, he would have pursued without hesitation, but facing Voldemort without the element of surprise could be disastrous.
"Is he gone?" a weak voice asked.
Felix took a few steps forward and looked at Sirius, who was sitting in a pit, drenched in blood. Sirius leaned against the edge of the pit, irritated. "If Voldemort's gone, then hurry up and help me. My blood won't stop, I... damn it, I'm dying."
Felix smiled. "You still have the strength to swear, so you're not dying anytime soon." He quickly treated Sirius' injuries, and after several potions, Sirius' condition improved, though his face was still as pale as a vampire's.
As he was treating Sirius, several Aurors descended from the sky. Bones' face was as dark as a storm cloud, but her expression froze when she saw Sirius joking with Felix.
"You're alive!?"
"Almost didn't make it", Sirius said weakly, nodding toward Felix.
"I'll take you to St. Mungo's", Bones said, her lips pressed together.
Unexpectedly, Sirius shook his head. "No, I need to go to Hogwarts. Professor Black can't miss the Opening Feast."
"I'll take Sirius to the Hospital Wing first", Felix said to the worried Bones.
...
In the Great Hall.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked toward the long staff table.
"Professor isn't here, Sirius isn't here, and even Hagrid is missing. What's going on?" Harry said anxiously.
"They might be delayed", Hermione speculated. "Didn't you say Professor Lupin had to leave for something? He really turned into a Swift?"
"Yeah", Harry said. "But Professor didn't say what he was doing." He suddenly thought of Sirius. Could there be an emergency on Sirius' end?
"Don't worry, they'll be fine", Ron reassured him.
The Sorting Ceremony began, but Harry didn't pay much attention, feeling that the Sorting Hat's song was particularly long this year. When the ceremony ended and the tables were filled with food, Harry had to accept the reality.
Suddenly, the side door of the Great Hall opened.
Felix and Sirius walked in. Felix spoke briefly with Dumbledore, who nodded lightly, and then they took their seats at the empty spots.
Sirius waved at Harry with a bright smile, showing no signs of any problems. Harry responded enthusiastically, almost throwing his fork onto the neighboring seat.
"Guess what Sirius and Professor are talking about?" Hermione asked, looking toward the staff table and picking up some jam.
"I'll ask tomorrow, but for now, I just want to eat", Harry said happily.
At the staff table, Sirius was complaining to Felix, "What did you give me? I have no appetite at all..."
"Uh——you can consider it a tonic. The ingredients are very precious, including dragon blood." Felix replied without revealing any emotion.
(End of Chapter)
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