Chapter 664: After the Conflict
Chapter 664: After the Conflict
On a small hill outside Hogsmeade, Liam stood beside Professor Dumbledore near the Shrieking Shack. Voldemort's retaliatory attack had ended rather anticlimactically, leaving only a trail of destruction in its wake.
Liam was certain that Voldemort had not escaped unscathed. According to the plan, Liam's goal in the battle was to use his magic to hold Voldemort long enough for Professor Dumbledore to arrive, and then to face Voldemort together with Dumbledore.
To that end, Liam chose a powerful binding spell derived from the power of Rose Madonna. This spell, while sacrificing most of its offensive capabilities and requiring a relatively long casting time, possessed an unprecedented level of constraint. It was even more effective than the water cocoon Dumbledore used to trap Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic years ago.
If Voldemort had taken the time to slowly break free, Liam believed he could have escaped relatively unharmed. However, Voldemort had used brute force to break free once he realized Dumbledore was approaching. Even Voldemort, facing this new magic that involved the rules, had to pay a significant price.
This was why Voldemort emerged with his clothes resembling the tattered rags of a Dementor, and why he fled without even a parting threat. He knew that in his current state, if he faced Liam and Professor Dumbledore together, he might not be able to escape at all.
"Alright, Liam", Professor Dumbledore said, glancing at the situation in Hogsmeade. "I need to go to the Ministry of Magic to assess the damage and the specific impacts across the country. Would you like to come with me?"
"No, thank you", Liam declined. He had fully recovered during the lull. "I don't think I'll be of much use at the Ministry. I'll head to Hogsmeade to see if I can help with the cleanup."
"Alright, then let's each do our part", Professor Dumbledore said, turning and walking up the path toward the Shrieking Shack. Liam, on the other hand, made his way down the hill to Hogsmeade.
In just a short time, the flames in Hogsmeade had been extinguished. For wizards, putting out ordinary flames was a simple task. By the time Liam reached the streets, he could see several wizards already using magic to repair the damage to the buildings.
"How's the situation?" Liam asked as he entered Weasley's Joke Shop, which had been set up as a temporary triage center. The room was crowded with people, and several healers were moving between the injured under Penelope's command.
"Not terrible, but not great either", Penelope said, looking exhausted. "Thanks to our thorough preparation and the support of the werewolves, we significantly reduced the enemy's advantage. Your blocking the Dark Lord's attack was crucial, so there were no fatalities. However, the enemy is still stronger, and we have a lot of injured."
"Are there any critically injured people I can help with?" Liam asked directly. "You know I have a good grasp of healing magic as an alchemist."
"Head up to the rest room on the second floor; all the critical cases are there", Penelope said, glancing at the stairs. "The Dark Lord and his followers have effectively taken control of London, making things difficult. For example, these injured should be taken to St. Mungo's, but that's impossible now."
"But isn't St. Mungo's supposed to treat all patients and remain permanently neutral?" Liam asked, confused. "And an ancient magical institution like that can't be easily breached by Death Eaters."
"Theoretically, yes, and the Dark Lord has issued an order prohibiting harassment of St. Mungo's", Penelope explained. "The Death Eaters have not entered St. Mungo's, but they have taken control of all the entrances and are conducting forced inspections. As a result, our people can't get in to receive treatment."
“This is just—” Liam found himself at a loss for words, so he simply bid Penelope farewell again and headed upstairs.
At the entrance to the third floor, Liam noticed that all the noise from below had been completely blocked out. It seemed that a significant amount of protective Magic had been cast on this level. When he reached the end of the corridor and pushed open the door to the lounge, he heard Hermione shouting, “Fred, quickly pass me that White Fresh Essence. I’ve run out of it on this side.”
There weren’t many severely injured patients in this makeshift Healing Room, only five in total, including the one Hermione was currently treating. However, their injuries were indeed quite serious. Liam observed a thin layer of blood-red smoke enveloping each of the patients. This was a special Magic Hermione used to sustain life, typically only employed in cases of severe injuries.
“Liam, you’re back.” After using the White Fresh Essence, the patient on the Emergency Bed in the center of the room had stabilized, allowing Hermione to take a brief rest. She looked up just as Liam entered and greeted him. “Liam, how is the situation outside now?”
“All the attackers have been driven back, including the Dark Lord.” As soon as Liam spoke, everyone in the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere lightened considerably. It was then that Liam noticed that, in addition to Hermione and Fred, Zhang Qiu was also providing treatment. He had heard that she had married Cedric right after graduation and then worked as a Healer at St. Mungo’s.
“Alright, how are the patients doing now?” Liam asked once everyone had calmed down a bit. “Is there anything you need help with?”
“The patients’ conditions have stabilized for the most part,” Hermione replied. “However, we need you to make a batch of Elixirs that can neutralize the negative energy of Dark Magic and nourish the soul. We’re running critically low on these, and there were too many Death Eaters using Dark Magic and the Cruciatus Curse.”
“By the way, didn’t any of the injured Death Eaters get captured?” Liam asked, puzzled. “I would have thought the Ministry of Magic and the Hogsmeade villagers wouldn’t just kill all their enemies.”
“None were captured,” Zhang Qiu answered. At that moment, she was using her wand to remove Dark Magic from a Hit Wizard’s wound, and thin tendrils of black smoke rose from the wound and dissipated into the air. “During the battle, the distance between the two sides was considerable, so the Magic hit rate was low. It was only after you drove back the Dark Lord that Professor Lupin and the Werewolves launched a counter-charge, and that’s when we managed to inflict any significant damage on the enemy.”
“However, once the attacking Death Eaters realized things were going wrong, they fled quickly. Apart from the two Death Eaters Lupin and the others killed in the initial surprise attack, we didn’t capture anyone. It seems the rest were taken away.”
“I see.” Liam then moved to a corner of the room and set up his Alchemy Table to start making the required Potions. Given the relatively low difficulty of these Elixirs and the ample supply of ingredients, Liam could produce them in bulk through Alchemy.
Within just seven or eight minutes, the first batch of ten bottles of each type of Potion was ready. Fred quickly took five bottles of each type downstairs, while Hermione and Zhang Qiu began administering the Potions to the severely injured patients in the room.
In the Magic World, once the right medication is administered, healing is usually very quick, except in rare cases. The severely injured patients quickly showed signs of improvement after receiving the necessary medication, no longer appearing on the brink of death. This greatly relieved Ryan and the others, and Hermione also dispelled the Magic she had been using to sustain the patients’ lives.
(End of Chapter)
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