Chapter 790: Battle in the Valley of Godric
Chapter 790: Battle in the Valley of Godric
Where was Dumbledore... Ron wasn't the only one with this question. The others clearly remembered seeing and speaking to Dumbledore, yet he had suddenly vanished without a trace.
But apart from Kyle, no one could provide an answer.
The moment the Death Eaters appeared, Kyle tensed up. He paid no heed to the bickering Harry and Hermione, not even sparing them a glance. Instead, he searched intently among the Death Eaters.
A moment later, Kyle breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they were all wearing masks... It was standard for Death Eaters, and their presence indicated that the most troublesome individual was not among them.
If that was the case, there was nothing to worry about.
By the time Kyle came to his senses, the battle had already begun in earnest. Brilliant spells flashed from all directions, and under such intense attacks, the protective magic surrounding them held for only a brief moment before shattering completely.
Everyone was exposed to the Death Eaters. The sky seemed shrouded in a thick, dark fog as they descended, their numbers giving them the advantage as they surrounded their targets.
Harry had the most people by his side.
Hermione had just intended to lead him away when someone interrupted them. Various spells assailed them from all sides, making it difficult for her to concentrate on using Disapparition.
Left with no choice, Hermione made a split-second decision. She pushed Harry away and dove in the opposite direction, barely avoiding the incoming spells.
Ron, however, was a step too slow. A spell hit him on the shoulder.
Ron cried out, clutching his shoulder as blood gushed from the wound, soaking his robe.
"Ron, Ron! Are you alright?" Hermione asked, her voice trembling. But her voice was quickly drowned out by louder explosions.
She tried to get to Ron, but the descending Death Eaters blocked her path.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, brandishing his wand.
While he successfully disarmed one Death Eater, facing so many enemies diminished the usefulness of this advantage.
"Kyle!" Cedric called out. "Go save Harry. I need to help Lupin and Tonks. They won't last much longer!"
"No, you stay here!" Kyle instantly appeared in front of Ron, waving his wand to conjure a silver shield that deflected all the incoming spells aimed at them.
At the same time, the ground beneath them rose high like a wave, carrying Harry and Hermione away from the Death Eaters' encirclement.
In just an instant, the crisis facing the trio was temporarily averted.
"Go to Cedric," Kyle glanced at the disheveled trio and then turned and shouted, "Leave this to me! Protect yourself!"
With that, Kyle vanished from sight once more.
"Using Disapparition in the middle of a battle?!" Hermione exclaimed, startled as she regained her senses. "That's too dangerous!"
"Compared to that, I think we should focus on ourselves for now," Cedric said gravely as he joined them. "You don't need to worry about Kyle at all. He mastered that spell back in our fifth year..." He then cast a Protego spell, shielding them from a spell that flew at them from the side, and retaliated with a Stunning Spell.
Harry and Hermione also began their counterattack, forming a circle around the injured Ron to protect him.
Meanwhile, Kyle had already appeared in the center of the battlefield, where Lupin and Tonks were holding their ground.
Facing Bellatrix and seven or eight Death Eaters, the two were barely managing to withstand the onslaught. If it weren't for Sirius' timely assistance, they wouldn't have lasted even this long.
"Aguamenti!"
A jet of water shot out from the tip of Kyle's wand, twisting and transforming into arrows of water in midair as they sped toward the densest cluster of Death Eaters.
Cries of pain rang out from the crowd, and the relentless barrage of spells momentarily paused.
Kyle immediately cast a Transfiguration spell on the ground beneath Lupin and Tonks, using the same tactic he had employed to rescue Harry, flinging them out of the encirclement.
"You again!" Bellatrix glared at Kyle, her hand clutching her arm where the 'arrow' had grazed her. "You dare ruin my fun!"
"Yes, but what can you do about it? Going to kill me?" Kyle shrugged.
"If that's what you desire!" Bellatrix shouted madly, raising her wand. A jet of green light shot toward Kyle.
But in the next second, Kyle vanished with a 'pop', not only dodging Bellatrix's Killing Curse but also appearing right behind her.
"Ventus Accio!"
The howling wind transformed into the sharpest of blades, and its range was even wider than the water arrows.
In an instant, several Death Eaters closest to Kyle fell like harvested wheat, screaming as they crashed to the ground. The blood they sprayed was turned into a mist by the wind, splattering on the other Death Eaters nearby.
"Tsk..." Kyle frowned, dissatisfied with the result.
This was a modified version of the spell, Ventus Accio. Well, the range had indeed increased significantly, but the power seemed a bit underwhelming—only capable of taking out a row of enemies.
It was only then that Bellatrix regained her senses. She found it hard to believe that just from that brief exchange, half of her forces had been taken out of commission.
"You must die!" Bellatrix made her decision in an instant. Taking advantage of Kyle's preoccupation with the other Death Eaters, she swiftly raised her arm, sending a streak of red light toward him.
The curse flew swiftly, reaching Kyle in the blink of an eye. As it was a sneak attack, and Bellatrix's timing was impeccable, she believed Kyle wouldn't be able to dodge it, not even with Disillusionment Charm.
However, Kyle had no intention of evading.
As the red light approached, the intricate silver shield reappeared, deflecting the curse back toward one of the Death Eaters standing opposite him. Before the unfortunate individual could react, they fell unconscious, eyes rolling back.
By then, Kyle had already returned to Lupin's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sirius.
What puzzled them was that Bellatrix made no further move to attack.
She stood there, her entire being suddenly stiffening as if in a daze.
"This is impossible!" She screamed, her eyes fixed on Kyle. "How can you use the Dark Lord's magic?"
She remembered clearly that during the struggle for the prophecy sphere in the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort and Dumbledore had engaged in a fierce battle in the Ministry of Magic's atrium. At that time, the Dark Lord had used this very same type of shield, an Iron-Armored Spell, to deflect Dumbledore's attacks.
Bellatrix had always believed that this was a spell unique to Voldemort, never expecting to witness it again, and certainly not in the hands of Kyle.
Why Kyle? How could it be him? Bellatrix couldn't accept this turn of events.
She suddenly went berserk, wildly casting curses in his direction.
For some reason, Kyle made no attempt to counter her attacks, merely standing there with a smile on his face. However, whenever a curse drew near, the silver shield would materialize, deflecting the attack onto one of the fortunate Death Eaters.
Kyle was delighted and had to restrain himself from laughing out loud. But the happier he seemed, the more frenzied Bellatrix became, hurling even more curses his way, only to have them deflected onto her fellow Death Eaters.
This turn of events only added to Kyle's amusement.
It was as if a cycle had formed—he simply stood there, and the surrounding Death Eaters were gradually taken out by their own comrades.
It wasn't until the Death Eaters realized what was happening and scattered, moving away from Kyle and Bellatrix, that Kyle finally heaved a somewhat disappointed sigh.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Sirius had managed to rescue the injured Tonks and return to the fray.
"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" He asked as he joined Kyle. "Wasn't he at the wedding earlier? How come he's suddenly disappeared?"
"Professor Dumbledore had something urgent come up, so he left," Kyle replied without turning his head, simultaneously sidestepping a streak of green light.
The Avada Kedavra Curse, a highly specialized branch of Dark Magic, was greatly enhanced by both magical power and malicious intent, posing a significant challenge to the Iron-Armored Spell. Kyle wasn't sure if he could deflect it, so caution was the better part of valor.
However, his evasive maneuver caught Bellatrix's attention, and she seemed to snap out of her stupor, letting out a piercing scream that summoned the surrounding Death Eaters.
At least twenty hooded figures flew toward them, forming a large circle that enclosed Kyle, Sirius, and the others.
"Avada..."
Under Bellatrix's command, the light from the Killing Curses was nearly bright enough to illuminate the entire sky.
"It's over!" Lupin said despairingly, gripping Tonks' hand. He turned to Kyle and continued, "Run! Don't worry about us!"
There was no way they could escape so many Killing Curses. Even if they managed to dodge the first wave, they wouldn't be able to evade the second or third... Without any support, it was only a matter of time before they were hit.
However, Kyle was different. Lupin had noticed that Kyle could freely use Disillusionment Charms in the midst of battle.
This meant that what would be a deadly situation for other wizards was of little concern to him; he could easily leap out of the encirclement.
Thus, the ability to use Disillusionment Charms during combat was an important indicator of a wizard's strength.
Unfortunately, aside from Kyle, none of them could manage such a feat, and they could only buy time by constantly changing their positions.
The one fortunate aspect was that the Killing Curse couldn't be cast as easily as other spells, giving them some breathing room.
"I can't do it," Kyle shook his head.
"Listen, Kyle, now is not the time to be stubborn!" Sirius said urgently. "Go, if you don't, we're all going to die here!"
"No, I can't," Kyle shook his head again, then added, "I mean it literally. The Killing Curse carries too much malicious intent. In this situation, it's almost impossible to use Disillusionment Charms, not even for Professor Dumbledore.
"Moony, get ready to fight to the death," Sirius clenched his teeth, "Regardless, we must ensure Kyle escapes!"
"Understood." Lupin replied calmly, his thoughts aligning with Sirius'.
The two of them, along with Tonks, positioned themselves beside Kyle, ready to defend him against the Killing Curses.
With three of them taking the brunt of the attacks, Kyle would undoubtedly be able to escape the encirclement.
"Don't be so tense." Kyle said, "We have reinforcements."
"Reinforcements?" Tonks' eyes lit up, "That's right, the Ministry of Magic should have received the message by now. Given their speed, the Aurors should be arriving soon."
"No, I'm not talking about the Aurors." Kyle shook his head.
"Not the Aurors? Then who? Dumbledore?"
"Something like that." Kyle nodded, "Oh, it's here. Be prepared to turn into a Portkey."
What is it?
A Portkey?
Tonks hadn't fully processed what that meant when a golden-red figure suddenly appeared above them.
Fawkes grasped Lupin and Tonks by their shoulders with his claws.
At the same time, three Killing Curses sped towards them with incredible velocity.
But in the next second, the light of the curses merely passed through an apparition of flames, and Lupin and Tonks, who had been there just moments ago, vanished without a trace.
"Phew, just in time." Kyle breathed a sigh of relief, and grabbed Sirius' shoulder, "Get ready..."
"Huh?" Sirius turned to Kyle, looking bewildered, and then he found himself in a different location.
In the distance, they could still see the remains of the cottage and the decorations that hadn't been completely destroyed, but there was not a Death Eater in sight. A rough estimate placed them about a mile away from their previous location.
"Apparition!" Sirius exclaimed, "But I thought you said..."
"Yes, I can't use it." Kyle nodded, "But I have a prop."
He extended his hand, showing Sirius an inconspicuous ring on his finger.
The reason it was inconspicuous was that the ring was tightly adhered to his finger, as if it had been painted on, and one would not notice it unless they looked carefully.
It was a birthday gift from Diana during his first year, a magical item that could be used for Apparition three times.
The greatest advantage of this item was that it was unaffected by external influences; as long as there was no Anti-Apparition Charm present, it could be used freely, and the malevolence of the Killing Curse was no exception.
"A magical item?" Sirius blinked.
"What's the problem? If you don't have the skill, you make up for it with equipment. It's the same as using money to buy power. Is there an issue with that?" Kyle glanced at Sirius with a hint of disdain, "I would have expected you to understand such a simple concept, given your surname is Black."
Sirius felt his face grow warm.
Kyle's words were spot on; there was nothing wrong with using magical items when you lacked the skill. Even a wizard like Godric Gryffindor had a fairy-forged sword that was indestructible. It was a common practice in the magical world.
Another example was the Invisibility Cloak, or a flying broom, which were also used for convenience.
Aside from their expensive price, these items had no drawbacks.
And the Blacks were certainly not lacking in Galleons.
"Or perhaps," Kyle teased, looking at Sirius, "you feel that using such an item is unsportsmanlike, and you want to have a fair duel with the Death Eaters?"
"Of course not!" Sirius quickly shook his head, "I just didn't expect you to have such a valuable item... The Black family has never possessed a magical item that can store Apparition. If word of this got out, people would be scrambling to get their hands on it."
Kyle shrugged nonchalantly, neither confirming nor denying.
The Portkey ring... let's call it that for now, while it may not be as famous as the legendary Deathly Hallows, it was certainly not far off in terms of reputation.
However, now was not the time to discuss such things.
Kyle looked towards the distance, where a few small dots were approaching, "It looks like the Death Eaters have spotted us, and they'll be here soon. You should leave this place immediately."
Kyle's words snapped Sirius back to the present, and he turned to run back.
"No, you should be the one to leave. I still need to rescue Harry and the others."
"There's no need."
Kyle stopped him, "Do you think Fawkes was just having dinner when we were surrounded by Death Eaters?
"His arrival here means that everyone else, including Harry, has already been rescued. Lupin and Tonks were the last ones.
"As for where Fawkes sent them, I'm not sure, but it's definitely far from here."
...
(End of Chapter)
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