Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 695: The Death Eater's Decision - Novel Cool

Chapter 695: The Death Eater's Decision

Chapter 695: The Death Eater's Decision

After resolving the crisis with the Giants, Kyle and his group did not leave immediately. Instead, they planned to accompany the Giants to their tribe.

Before their departure, Kyle looked at the Death Eater on the ground and asked, "What about him? Are we taking him along?"

"Leave it to me," Hagrid said, taking out a round mirror and whispering to it.

To be honest, the mirror wasn't that big; it was about the size of the one girls usually carried with them. When Hagrid held it, it looked like he was holding a freshly baked corn chip, as if he might crush it at any moment.

Fortunately, that didn't happen.

In no time, two small black dots descended from the sky and, in the blink of an eye, appeared before them.

Sirius and Lupin wobbled as they landed on the ground.

"Greetings, Mr. Scamander, Ms. Maximus," Lupin said, tossing a stone from his hand to the side. They had just arrived through this Portkey, but it was no longer usable.

"Oh, and hello, Kyle, Hagrid. It's been a while."

"It has been a while, Remus," Hagrid replied. "I was just worried that the mirror wouldn't work."

"I've been keeping an eye on the Two-Way Mirror," Lupin said, taking out a similar round mirror and smiling. "As long as you call my name, I'll hear it immediately. How are you? Did you encounter any trouble?"

"It's fine. Everything has been resolved," Hagrid said.

He then briefly recounted what had happened... mainly because when he arrived, the entire valley was already shrouded in thick fog, and he didn't witness the more detailed events.

As they conversed, Sirius, on the other side, had also spotted the Death Eater lying on the ground. He walked over and, upon seeing the man's condition, froze in place.

A pat on his shoulder snapped him out of his daze.

"What's wrong?" Lupin asked.

"Oh, nothing," Sirius shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the Death Eater. "Do you know who he is?"

"Lestrange?" Lupin looked over, sounding surprised.

Although he had just learned the news from Hagrid, seeing it with his own eyes was a different matter.

The man was an old acquaintance of theirs, and they had dealt with him numerous times over a decade ago.

"Yes, Lestrange," Sirius nodded. "Do you remember him from school? He was so full of himself back then."

"Of course, I remember," Lupin said. "The star of Slytherin, the Head Boy, and the Boys' Student Council President."

"Unfortunately, he later joined the Mysterious Man."

"What? Do you know him?" Kyle asked curiously. "You usually wouldn't be so sentimental about a dead Death Eater."

"Sentimental? How could I be?" Sirius shook his head. "We had quite a few dealings in school, and he's my sister-in-law Bellatrix's husband, so he's family."

"Oh, sorry," Hagrid apologized subconsciously. "I didn't mean to..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, Hagrid?" Sirius glanced at him. "He's a Death Eater. Why are you apologizing? Even if I were here, I'd still kill him.

"And speaking of family, we pure-blood families are somewhat related, but I'm not close to him."

"Weren't you cellmates?" Kyle whispered from the side.

Sirius froze for a moment, then turned and glared at Kyle in annoyance.

"Fine, you're right," he muttered. "Lestrange was in the cell next to mine. He said he'd kill me, but a month later, he couldn't say anything... that idiot."

As Sirius spoke, Lupin had already hoisted Lestrange onto his shoulder.

"We should go. Albus and the others are waiting," he said, taking out another stone from his pocket.

"So soon?"

"Don't forget, Portkeys have a time limit..." Lupin said. "We can't be of much help here."

"Alright, then," Sirius placed his hand on the stone. "Are you heading back? We can go together."

"No," Newt replied. "We have other matters to attend to and can't return yet."

"We'll keep in touch if anything comes up," Lupin waved his hand.

With that, the two of them disappeared again.

Kyle and his group then decided to visit the Giants' tribe to ensure everything was fine, as Newt had suggested.

"But can we really do this?" Kyle asked with some concern as they walked in the direction the Giants had taken. "We just stopped the Giants from joining the Mysterious Man, and here, one Death Eater is dead, and another is injured. What if the Mysterious Man gets angry and comes here? We're no match for him."

"Don't worry," Newt shook his head and said, "The Mysterious Man won't come. Before we left, Albus said that he doesn't value any magical creatures and doesn't genuinely care about his Death Eaters. He only uses them as tools."

"He'll definitely be angry, but only because his orders weren't carried out. It won't change his original plan; he'll personally come to avenge them."

"And even if he does come, we have ways to deal with it," Newt assured them.

Seeing this, Kyle didn't say anything further and followed the other three, walking along the massive footprints on the ground.

The location of the giant tribe was even further than he had imagined, and the footprints extended endlessly, with no end in sight.

After walking for about a whole day, they finally reached a more secluded valley, which should be the very center of the mountain range.

Moreover, for some unknown reason, the constant chirping of insects and birds that had never ceased along the way had gradually disappeared without them noticing. It seemed as if some terrifying creature had made them unwilling to approach this place.

Under Newt's lead, they arrived at a hillside and looked down from a distance.

Below was a valley filled with enormous caves that had been dug out by humans.

The giants they had encountered earlier were now gathered in front of the caves, fighting fiercely.

"This is the selection of the New Gogmagog," Newt said, "The giants will choose the most powerful one among them to become their leader. The simplest method is this kind of brawl."

"It's similar to the dragons in Romania," Kyle whispered.

When they were at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary before, they had seen a similar situation, right?

"It's quite similar," Newt nodded. "Or most magical creatures will use this method to select the most suitable leader. Giants and dragons are no exception."

As they spoke, the valley gradually turned red with blood.

It was the blood of the giants, gushing out like a fountain and staining every rock red.

"I wonder how many giants will be left after the New Gogmagog is chosen," Maximus said, his voice carrying a hint of strangeness.

"Don't worry..." Newt shook his head, "Although the giants will kill the previous Gogmagog to confirm the identity of their new leader, the situation is different now. To avoid losing too much combat power, they won't kill their opponents... Oh, look."

Newt pointed below.

Following his finger, Kyle saw a relatively weaker giant being punched and knocked to the ground. However, his opponent didn't take the opportunity to kill him but immediately sought out a new opponent.

At the same time, the fallen giant didn't continue fighting after getting up but instead went to the side on his own.

There were also some shorter or thinner giants there who didn't have the qualifications to participate in the battle.

"See?" Newt continued, "In this situation, falling down means defeat. The last giant standing will become the new Gogmagog until the next challenger appears."

Kyle watched for a while longer.

Indeed, each fallen giant would consciously withdraw from the battlefield.

...

Just like when they were at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary before, the battle between the giants was also a lengthy process.

After quickly eliminating the weakest contenders, the remaining giants engaged in a stalemate.

Kyle and the others had been on the hilltop for a whole week, and the battle was still ongoing.

Kyle, who had initially been full of enthusiasm, was now feeling a bit bored.

The giants' battle was repetitive, with the same tactics being used over and over again. The initial excitement of witnessing the intense, flesh-on-flesh combat had worn off, and watching it for seven days straight had become somewhat tedious.

The good news was that during this time, they hadn't seen Voldemort or any Death Eaters.

Just as Newt had said, Voldemort didn't seem to have come to avenge Lestrange... No, to be precise, he didn't seem to be looking for trouble with them.

"The Death Eaters attacked St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries..."

That day, when Kyle walked out of the tent, he happened to see Hagrid using the two-faced mirror to talk to Remus Lupin.

Because owls would expose their location, they had been using this method to stay informed about the outside world during this time.

"The Death Eaters attacked St. Mungo's?" Hearing Lupin say this, Hagrid couldn't help but exclaim, "How dare they!"

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"Yes, they did," Lupin said. "The good news is that it was a targeted attack, and most people weren't harmed in the assault..."

At this moment, Kyle also walked over and peered into the two-faced mirror.

"Oh, Kyle," Lupin greeted him. "How are you doing there? Haven't encountered any danger, I hope."

"Of course not," Kyle replied. "By the way, the Death Eaters attacking St. Mungo's, could it be because of the Longbottoms...?"

"No, it's not..."

Lupin's voice sounded strange, as if he wanted to laugh but held it back.

"It's for Dolores Umbridge," he said.

"What?" Hagrid scratched his ear. "Who did you say?"

"Dolores Umbridge," Lupin said again. "The Death Eaters attacked the ward she was in and tortured her again in front of everyone."

"Huh?"

Hagrid's expression grew even more perplexed. "But why? Umbridge isn't a member of the Phoenix Society."

"She's from the Ministry of Magic, and it's well-known that she's anti-Dark Arts. Especially recently, her name has been all over the newspapers."

Lupin paused, as if trying to compose himself, before continuing in a nonchalant tone, "The Death Eaters also said that this is the consequence of opposing the Dark Lord. They want Umbridge to publicly declare that the Ministry and the Phoenix Society are useless and will never defeat the Dark Lord."

"Did Umbridge say that?" Hagrid asked anxiously.

"No, she didn't." Lupin's expression became even more peculiar.

"That's good," Hagrid sighed in relief. "It seems I misjudged her before. I didn't expect her to be so tough... If she had said those words in public, we would have lost all face."

"Hagrid..." Kyle patted his arm and said, "What do you think the Death Eaters would do to torture someone?"

"Of course, it's the Cruciatus Curse," Hagrid replied without hesitation. He swung his arm forcefully, "Those bastards, they've been using this method to torture members of the Phoenix Society."

"That's the crux of the matter," Kyle said. "Do you think someone enduring the Cruciatus Curse can still speak?"

"Huh? Can't they?" Hagrid was taken aback, a little confused. "I've been hit by the Cruciatus Curse before. Although it's painful, it's not to the point where you can't speak..."

"Don't forget you're a half-giant," Kyle said, rubbing his forehead. "Your giant blood gives you extraordinary resistance to spells, but ordinary wizards don't have this advantage."

"Oh," Hagrid nodded, seeming to understand.

However, Kyle didn't elaborate further. He turned to look at Lupin in the two-faced mirror, intending to ask more detailed questions.

Just then, Newt's voice carried from not too far away.

"The winner is about to be decided."

Hearing this, Kyle didn't have time to continue talking to Lupin and hurried over.

The valley had completely turned a dark red, and even from this distance, Kyle could smell the blood in the air.

In the valley, only two giants remained, standing unsteadily. As Kyle approached, they simultaneously raised their fists and struck each other's faces with full force.

There was no technique involved, just a raw clash of strength.

Moments later, the giant on the left staggered, and his massive body crashed to the ground.

"Bang!"

The giant on the right raised his head and let out a deafening roar.

At the same time, the giants in the cave came out and knelt before him in submission.

"Looks like he's the new Gogomarch," said Newt. "Wait for me a moment."

With that, he disappeared from his original spot and reappeared not far from the giants.

The kneeling giants immediately stood up, alert.

Due to the distance, Kyle couldn't hear what they said, but he saw Newt extend his arm, lower his head, and slowly walk forward with an odd gait, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right.

The giants gradually relaxed their guard, content to keep their new Gogomarch surrounded.

"Should we go help?" Hagrid asked anxiously. "We're too close. If they swarm him, Mr. Scamander will be in danger."

"Don't worry," Kyle said after observing for a while, waving his hand.

He knew this was Newt's unique way of dealing with magical creatures.

Newt wouldn't have gone alone to meet the giants without absolute confidence.

Additionally, the giants' roars no longer carried the initial aggression and threat, indicating that Newt had succeeded.

With this, the remaining tasks became much simpler, as Newt had extensive experience.

Going there now wouldn't help; it would only escalate the situation.

"It's truly amazing..."

Maxim, standing nearby, exclaimed, "Although we already knew Mr. Scamander had extraordinary abilities with magical creatures, witnessing it firsthand is still astonishing."

"The giant tribe has just elected their Gogomarch, the most tense and agitated time, yet he managed to gain their trust so easily."

She thought back to when she and Hagrid had visited before.

They had giant blood, but even then, they had to lower themselves, offer gifts, and it took a long time before they were granted an audience with the Gogomarch.

Now, Newt had accomplished it in minutes, and the difficulty was much higher than when they had tried.

"He's a professional; the gap is too wide. It's like an unbridgeable chasm, even our inherent advantages can't catch up."

After stopping Hagrid, Kyle prepared to continue questioning Lupin about the situation in the magical world, but the other seemed to have other matters and had disappeared from the two-faced mirror.

(End of Chapter)

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