Chapter 600: The Argument
Chapter 600: The Argument
With Hermione's help, Liam only took three to four days to prepare the wedding gifts for the three newlywed couples. During this process, he discovered that Rose Madonna was indeed a very powerful alchemical product, especially when used to assist in the creation of other alchemical items. In comparison, its benefits in combat seemed less significant.
Time quickly passed into late July, with no major incidents occurring. Normally, this would have been the time for Voldemort to launch another attack on Azkaban Prison to rescue the Death Eaters who were captured at the Ministry of Magic last year. However, due to a lack of manpower and Dumbledore's intimidating presence, Voldemort had to abandon this plan.
Unlike the Muggle world, where magical protection is minimal, Azkaban, as an ancient wizard prison, has extensive magical defenses. With the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore now fully prepared, Voldemort had no confidence in breaking Azkaban's defenses and rescuing the Death Eaters before Professor Dumbledore arrived. Once Dumbledore reached Azkaban, Voldemort's side would not only fail to rescue anyone but also risk losing the Death Eaters involved in the rescue attempt.
In this eerie silence, time moved into the end of July. Liam and Hermione, as agreed, headed to The Burrow. They waited for a few minutes on a path near the village mentioned in the letter, and then they saw Mrs. Weasley hurrying over, wearing a vintage-style dress that could very well be a genuine antique.
"I'm really sorry, but because Harry is coming, The Burrow is now under various protective measures provided by the Phoenix Order and the Ministry of Magic. So you'll have to walk a bit to get to our house", Mrs. Weasley said apologetically.
"It's fine; we understand the need for security during this time. Our manor requires us to go to a designated spot a kilometer away just to receive an owl letter for safety. Sometimes, safety means a bit of inconvenience", Hermione replied. She and Liam then followed Mrs. Weasley toward The Burrow.
"—I'm saying it again, Mundungus, we only bailed you out of Azkaban because you promised to help us. Now you're telling us you won't do it!" As soon as they entered, Liam heard Mad-Eye Moody's loud voice coming from the kitchen.
Everyone was shouting, so no one noticed their arrival. Liam and Hermione peeked into the kitchen and saw about seven or eight members of the Phoenix Order gathered around a table, arguing.
"Yes, I did promise to help you if you got me out of Azkaban. But you didn't tell me it would be a life-threatening job. If you had, I'd have preferred to stay in Azkaban. Besides, with the Dementors gone, I don't mind staying there for half a year", Mundungus argued loudly, even drowning out Mad-Eye Moody's shouts.
"But it's too late for that now", another voice chimed in. Liam recognized it as Sirius Black's slightly cynical tone. "We've already paid the bail, and it wasn't cheap because you're a repeat offender. If you don't want to do this mission, you can just pay us back 387 Galleons. I'll waive the six Sickles."
"387 Galleons, you might as well kill me!" Mundungus leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I'm not going, and I won't pay you back. Do what you will."
There was no good way to deal with Mundungus's stubbornness, so everyone seemed at a loss. At that moment, Sirius Black, who was facing the kitchen door, noticed Liam and Hermione peeking in.
"Ha, Liam, Hermione, you’re here too." Sirius Black raised his right hand in greeting. "We were just wondering when you two would show up."
"We would definitely come at the agreed time; we wouldn’t miss the wedding for anything", Liam said, then turned to look at Mad-Eye Moody. "By the way, I overheard you guys talking about something at the door. Could you tell me what you need to do?"
"Well, we’re planning to bring Harry here before the Magic effect protecting him wears off", Mad-Eye Moody explained to Liam. "I was originally going to Apparate with Harry, which is the simplest and safest way. However, Pius Thicknesse, the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has made a big fuss. He’s declared many actions illegal, leading to imprisonment if caught. For example, connecting Harry’s house to the Floo Network, placing a Portkey in his room, or Apparating in and out. He claims this is to protect Harry from being captured by the Dark Lord. But everyone here knows it’s pure nonsense. Harry’s mother’s Spell has already taken care of that. All he’s really doing is blocking Harry from leaving safely."
"Pius Thicknesse", Liam repeated the name, realizing he didn’t know much about this person. "Is he a Death Eater? Why is he doing this?"
"Pius Thicknesse is the Deputy Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement", Sirius Black said. "From what I remember, he’s a Pure-blood Wizard who usually favors Pureblood Families. But he’s not a Death Eater. To be precise, he’s one of the Ministry of Magic’s guys who were pushed into power after the Pureblood Families were severely weakened following the last war."
"As for why he’s doing this?" Sirius Black frowned. "We’re not sure. His reasons seem very reasonable on the surface. If we hadn’t known that Voldemort’s side has planted enough spies in the Ministry to gather intelligence on our actions, I might have believed him.
So, I really can’t tell if this is a plot by Voldemort’s side or just well-intentioned but misguided. But objectively, his suggestion has indeed caused us a lot of trouble."
"Actually, the worst part isn’t even that", Lupin said slowly. "The biggest challenge in our plan is Harry. He’s not yet of age and has a Trace on him—"
"Professor, may I interrupt?" Liam raised his hand to indicate he had a question. Once Lupin paused, he continued, "I think I have a way to shield the Trace. I believe this method should work for Harry as well."
"We had already guessed that", Mad-Eye Moody said. "An Alchemist needs a lot of practice to improve their skills. The only explanation for how you’ve achieved such a high level of Alchemy at your age is that you’ve used all your time to practice. However, the problem now is that the Ministry of Magic has increased surveillance in Harry’s area, even at the expense of monitoring other regions. Any magical fluctuation in that area will be detected."
"Damn!" Liam muttered, knowing that such a shield would indeed cause a brief magical power fluctuation. When he had created his own shield, he had used the Multiverse General Store to mask that momentary surge. Later, when he helped Hermione, he had taken her to a Wizarding community to blend in with the crowd and confuse the Ministry’s surveillance. So, with Harry being under such heavy surveillance, his previous methods wouldn’t work.
"So, what’s our current plan?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Right now, we’ve spread a false rumor in the Ministry of Magic that we will transfer Harry on the 30th of this month", Mad-Eye Moody cleared his throat and continued. "Of course, we don’t expect this to completely fool the Dark Lord. So, we’ve come up with a plan to divert the enemy’s forces as much as possible."
(End of Chapter)
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