https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-773-A-Welcoming-Gift-from-Knockturn-Alley/12539439/
Chapter 774: Plan of Action
Chapter 774: Plan of Action
"To be honest, I was truly frightened back there." After leaving Knockturn Alley, Newt Scamander patted his chest, his face still carrying a trace of lingering fear.
"It wasn't that bad." Kyle glanced at him, "They were just a group of Dark Wizards, and although there were quite a few of them, we might not have lost if it had come to a fight."
Kyle's tone was calm, as if he were discussing what to have for lunch, and there was something he left unsaid.
Facing Newt Scamander, numerical superiority was a joke. As long as he was willing to open his suitcase, those fantastic beasts wouldn't even need to lift a finger. They could simply run a few laps and trample Knockturn Alley a few inches deeper.
So Kyle really couldn't understand what Newt was afraid of.
"If necessary, we could have also ridden Norberta away." Kyle said.
"I'm not worried about that," Newt looked at Kyle, "I'm worried about you."
"Me?" Kyle pointed to himself, "I'm not afraid of them either, wait..."
Suddenly, Kyle seemed to realize something, "You don't think I'm going to let Norberta deal with those shop owners, do you?"
Although Newt didn't say anything, his evasive gaze seemed to confirm this suspicion.
"How could I... There's no need for that." Kyle shook his head.
Knockturn Alley had existed for so many years for a reason. If Professor Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic hadn't destroyed it, he had no reason to worry.
"And those shop owners were quite sincere." Kyle continued, "Although their tone was harsh, they did help me solve the werewolf problem... It was their way of welcoming us, as they said.
"Now that they've shown willingness to cooperate, why would I want to create a bunch of enemies for no reason?"
"It's good that you understand that." Newt said with a smile, "If you really wanted to deal with them, I would have helped you, but after that, I would have taken back the Nundu and the Leopard Cat."
"No..." Kyle waved his hand, "But I can't understand why you would think that. Has my reputation outside really gotten that bad?"
"It shouldn't be like that, right?" Kyle lowered his head and muttered, "I think I have a pretty friendly personality, and on the return trip on the train, I was quite popular."
Newt gave a dry cough and remained silent.
It was mostly because of Kyle's actions over the past few days that had led him to think that way.
In the Dark Forest, he had killed seven or eight werewolf wizards without batting an eye, and the same had happened in Knockturn Alley, where Norberta had killed the man who had mocked him on sight.
It was normal for Newt to have some negative thoughts about this.
However...
If Kyle knew what Newt was thinking, he would have felt completely innocent.
The reason they went to the Dark Forest was to deal with the werewolf threat, wasn't it? In his mind, "solving the problem" definitely involved taking action. How could they reason with werewolves?... That was just ridiculous.
In the end, he even let the surviving werewolves go because of something Professor Dumbledore had said a long time ago. He merely left them in the Dark Forest instead of wiping them out completely.
To be honest, Kyle still felt that he had been a bit soft-hearted. After all, if their positions had been reversed, those werewolves might not have spared him. No, they definitely wouldn't have.
As for what happened in Knockturn Alley earlier, that was purely Norberta's dragon-like behavior, and it had nothing to do with Kyle. He had only wanted to teach that arrogant man a lesson at first, but he hadn't expected Norberta to use so much force.
So it really had nothing to do with him.
Soon, Kyle and Newt returned to the empty Leaky Cauldron. Old Tom was still wiping the cups that he had probably wiped countless times, as there were no customers in the pub, and he had nothing better to do.
The two didn't greet him and instead walked straight out of the pub.
As it was already late, the streets outside were deserted.
"Do you want to go and say hello to everyone?" Kyle asked.
Although he didn't say where, Newt knew that Kyle was referring to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
"I'll pass on that," he shook his head and said.
Newt didn't like crowded places, and he had come out this time because of the werewolf issue. Now that the problem was resolved, he naturally wanted to return.
Kyle understood Newt's personality, and seeing his refusal, he didn't bring it up again.
The two parted ways at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron, with Newt disapparating away, perhaps back to Dorset or to find Dumbledore.
Kyle also used the Disappearance Spell, but instead of appearing directly in Grimmauld Place, he chose to apparate to an alley a street away and then walk the rest of the way, which took about ten minutes.
Kyle arrived in front of the house marked 'Number Twelve'. Since he already knew the address, he could clearly see the situation inside the room, and the lights were on, indicating that someone was still there.
It was probably Fred and George, who had just returned, or someone keeping watch, Kyle thought to himself as he knocked on the door.
Almost immediately, the door was opened from the inside.
"Kyle?"
She gave him a hug, looking relieved. "Fred told me he'd seen you, and that you'd gone to Knockturn Alley. I've been so worried about you. Thank goodness you're alright."
"Of course, there's no need to worry at all." Kyle said with a smile.
"How could I not worry?" Mrs. Weasley said. "You have no idea how evil the people in Knockturn Alley are. If it were up to me, I would never have agreed to let you go to such a place."
"I think they're quite honest," Kyle muttered softly, so softly that Mrs. Weasley didn't hear him.
She ushered him into the house with enthusiasm.
It was then that Kyle realized that not only Mrs. Weasley, but everyone else from the Order of the Phoenix was still up, gathered around the dining table.
Of course, they weren't waiting for him, Kyle was self-aware enough to know that. They were here discussing the plan to rescue Harry.
As soon as Kyle entered, he felt a piercing gaze sweep over him.
It must be Moody, he thought. Even when Moody was sitting with his back to him, that magical eye of his was peering through the back of his head.
"Prove your identity!" Moody turned around and said in a gruff voice, "Molly, you're too careless. What if he's a Death Eater using Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself?"
"That's impossible, Alastor. Put your wand down," Mrs. Weasley said with displeasure. "He knows the location of this place and he knocked on the door."
"It's better to be cautious," Moody insisted, continuing to stare at Kyle. "Prove your identity... When was the last time Dumbledore visited here?"
"The third day after Hogwarts let out for the holidays," Kyle replied casually. "And he only stayed for half an hour."
Hearing Kyle's answer, Moody nodded and lowered his wand. "Apologies, but these are unusual times, and we must be cautious."
"I understand," Kyle said. "If I were in your position, I would ask the same of me."
"Good, that's the way it should be," Moody said.
Kyle took a seat at the dining table, and Mrs. Weasley quickly went into the kitchen, returning with a large plate of steaming hot sandwiches and fried sausages.
"I bet you're hungry, go ahead and eat something."
"Thanks," Kyle said, his eyes lighting up as he grabbed a sandwich and took a bite.
After all the excitement, he was quite hungry, but it was too late to eat, and he hadn't wanted to bother anyone.
"Hey, Mom, why does Kyle get sandwiches and fried sausages when George and I get nothing?" Fred said, sounding aggrieved.
"Yeah," George nodded vigorously. "We want sandwiches too."
"You two don't like corned beef, do you?" Mrs. Weasley said without turning around.
"But we like it now," Fred said, looking at Kyle.
Coincidentally, Kyle was also looking at him, slowly extending a finger.
"Beef sandwich, want one? One Galleon each, or two for three Galleons if you buy from me."
"How much?" George blinked, thinking he'd misheard. "Two for... three Galleons?"
"Yeah." Kyle nodded calmly. "Problem?"
"You're such a swindler," Fred said, gritting his teeth.
"Takes one to know one," Kyle laughed.
Hearing their exchange, some of the others who had been thinking of having a snack suddenly lost their appetite.
Three Galleons for two sandwiches... way too expensive!
Mrs. Weasley didn't say anything either, she just stood there, smiling to herself.
Of course, Kyle wouldn't really take their money. After joking around for a bit, he pushed the plate towards the middle of the table.
Mrs. Weasley had made a lot of sandwiches, obviously more than one person could eat.
So everyone took the opportunity to have a light midnight snack.
...
Before long, the plate of sandwiches and fried sausages was empty, and the conversation turned back to the previous topic.
"We must be cautious tomorrow," Kingsley said. "I've noticed some strange people loitering near Little Whinging lately. I suspect they're Death Eaters keeping an eye on the Dursleys' movements."
"We must not alert them when we go there," he added.
"What if we lure them out?" Tonks suggested. "I could disguise myself as Harry and walk out of that street. That should attract their attention."
"No, that's too dangerous," Mrs. Weasley shook her head.
"It should be fine if we're quick," Tonks argued. "I can change into someone else before more Death Eaters arrive. As long as you all act fast, we'll be fine."
"Alright, let's do that," Moody nodded in agreement. "Also, I remember there are three Muggles living in that house as well. Have we made arrangements for them?"
"Yes, we have. Dedalus will move them to a safe place beforehand," Kingsley replied.
"Once the protective enchantments around the house fail, You-Know-Who will surely go after them."
Kingsley took out a map, on which more than a dozen locations were marked in different colors. He pointed to three of the red marks and said, "First is Grimmauld Place. Apparating directly there would undoubtedly be the fastest, but it would also expose our approximate location.
"Secondly, there's an abandoned garage to the south. I've observed it, and no one ever goes there. It's perfect for Apparating, and if someone is on standby to meet us, we can be back in under two minutes.
"There's also a warehouse across the street, which is a good option, but it's a bit further away and we'd have to take a big detour. Even if we hurry, it would still take at least five minutes to get there."
"No, five minutes is too long. The Death Eaters could easily catch up," Moody shook his head, his eyes falling on the music store. "Let's prioritize this spot. If we prepare brooms in advance, we should be able to move even faster. Charlie, you'll be in charge of the backup, right?"
"Sure," Charlie replied succinctly.
"As for the other locations," Kingsley continued, pointing to the blue marks, "these are to confuse the Death Eaters. We can all Apparate together, so even if the Death Eaters control the Ministry of Magic, they won't be able to immediately pinpoint which one is the real Harry."
Kyle glanced at the map.
Diagon Alley, St. Catchpole Village, the Ministry of Magic... Basically, these were all seemingly safe places, and obviously, even these false locations had been carefully selected to avoid raising suspicion.
"How many of us are there?"
"Linus is at St. Mungo's, Tonks will be responsible for drawing away Little Whinging's informants, and Charlie will be on backup. So, that makes... Wait, Kyle, do you want to join?"
"I can," Kyle said.
"Then that's ten of us," Kingsley said.
"No, eleven," Mrs. Weasley said.
"It's ten," Kingsley looked up at her and said, "Molly, you need to stay here to deal with any unexpected situations... Ron's Apparition skills... Well, they're a bit lacking, and if something happens, he won't be able to escape easily, so we must leave someone here to watch the house."
Mrs. Weasley's face turned red and white by turns, and even though Kingsley had put it very politely, she still felt her face burning.
Hermione, who was the same age as Ron, was already able to participate in the rescue mission, but Ron didn't even qualify to stay and watch the house.
At that moment, she really wanted to rush upstairs, drag Ron out of his room, and give him a good beating.
"Don't be like that, Molly," Mr. Weasley seemed to guess her thoughts and whispered beside her, "Ron hasn't graduated yet. You can't expect too much from him. In fact, he's the one who wants to help the most."
"Yeah, Mom," Fred also rarely spoke up for his younger brother, "haven't you noticed? When we decided to leave him behind before, he looked so dejected."
"I bet he must regret spending his time playing Wizard Chess instead of learning Apparition."
"Or playing Quidditch..."
"Or wandering around the castle at night..."
"Or browsing through Quidditch books..."
"Or flaunting his prefect badge in the castle..."
"Or hanging out with Lavender..."
As Fred and George got more and more worked up, and Mrs. Weasley's face turned redder and redder, Kyle twitched the corner of his mouth.
For a moment, he actually thought Fred and George were genuinely standing up for Ron.
But he was wrong; their personalities hadn't changed at all.
They were just stirring things up, hoping Ron would get a beating.
"Ahem..." Seeing that Mrs. Weasley was about to rush upstairs, Kyle quickly changed the subject, "By the way, you mentioned that Hermione will also be participating in this operation?"
"Yes, that's right," Mr. Weasley also reacted and quickly said, "Originally, she wasn't going to be involved, but she insisted on coming, and not long ago, Hermione also obtained her Apparition license, so she's fully qualified."
"What about my dad? Will he be joining us?" Kyle asked, noticing that Chris wasn't present.
"No, he has another task."
Kingsley said, "Don't forget that Linus is still at St. Mungo's. His safety there is just as important. Originally, Sirius was going to stay with him, but he's worried about Harry, and Tonks's ability to change appearance is very helpful for the operation, so we replaced him with Chris.
"But he's also the most suitable candidate. As long as it's not Voldemort himself who goes there, I believe Chris will be able to get Linus out of St. Mungo's safely."
"I see," Kyle nodded and continued to ask, "What about Professor Dumbledore?"
"There's no news from him yet," Mr. Weasley thought for a moment and said, "If all goes well, he should also be involved in this operation."
...
(End of Chapter)
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