Chapter 855: The Albanian Forest
Chapter 855: The Albanian Forest
Upon hearing Oren's words, Kyle's first instinct was disbelief.
How could he possibly believe it... Voldemort had only started becoming active after Harry began attending Hogwarts. But when Oren was at Hogwarts, Harry was just an ordinary boy living in his aunt and uncle's closet.
"You don't believe me?" Oren said blandly, seemingly having guessed Kyle's thoughts. "At first, I didn't believe it either. But I saw him with my own eyes, hiding pathetically in the Albanian forest, worse off than the lowliest spirit."
"Albania!" Kyle hesitated, his heart wavering slightly.
After all, it was in Albania that Quirinus had encountered Voldemort.
"How did you end up there?"
"Did you forget my profession before I came to Hogwarts?" Oren chuckled.
"Profession... a bard, no, I should say a member of a magical beast smuggling team disguised as bards."
"I was the captain." Oren corrected him. "The Albanian forest has the highest concentration of Runy Snakes, and those magical beasts are quite valuable. We've visited there numerous times."
Kyle frowned.
No, he still wanted to kill him.
He twirled his wand in his hand, but Oren immediately sensed his intention.
"Don't bother. You know you can't kill me." Oren shifted his position once more. "And don't forget, the Dark Lord is nearby."
Kyle lifted his head and glanced into the distance.
The sky over there had been flashing with the green light of the Killing Curse since earlier, and the frequency was increasing. It was clear that the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore was reaching its climax.
If he made a move, Oren would most likely run over to seek help, and the fight would turn into a two-on-two confrontation.
Voldemort might not care about Oren, but Dumbledore would surely be distracted trying to protect him.
As he hadn't fully recovered yet, Kyle didn't want to go over there and end up being a burden.
After pondering for a moment, Kyle put away his wand.
"That's a wise decision. Staying here is beneficial for both of us." Oren smiled. "Now, let's continue. Where were we?"
"Albania." Kyle said, "How did you know it was the Dark Wizard?"
"It's quite a coincidence, actually." Oren said, "Back then, we had lost track of our intended target, and a few hot-tempered guys in the team wanted to take out their frustration on a group of ordinary snakes. But I noticed that one of the snakes was different."
"How was it different?"
"Its eyes." Oren slightly raised his head, as if recalling something. "Snakes don't have emotions, but I saw anger and contempt in its eyes.
"Yet it was just a snake, not even a magical beast. How dare it show contempt towards a wizard?"
"So you suspected it was the Dark Wizard?"
"Not at that time."
Oren shook his head. "Everyone knew that the Dark Lord had perished. Even though I sensed that the snake was unusual, I didn't think in that direction. I assumed someone was using them for magical experiments... If you've worked in the Ministry, you'd know that such things are quite common."
"Until not long after, someone in the team suddenly went insane for no apparent reason."
Oren said calmly, "At that time, I was alone, tracking the trail of the Runy Snakes deep into the forest. I saw that snake again, and with it was a fellow smuggler who was supposed to be on the other side of the forest... the very person who had almost killed it before."
At this point, Oren suddenly turned to Kyle and asked in a strange tone, "Do you know what a person with two faces looks like?"
Kyle blinked.
Of course, he knew. The face on the back of Quirinus' head was his first encounter with Voldemort.
However, Kyle didn't share this information with Oren. He stood there quietly, waiting for the rest of the story.
"I've seen it." Oren murmured, "I'll never forget that face, appearing on the back of the head—ugly and hideous. But I recognized it. It was the face of the supposedly dead Dark Lord.
"How ironic, isn't it? The once-feared Dark Lord, still alive. Even though he could only possess a snake and cling to life in the most repulsive way, he was indeed alive.
"That's when I knew he would return and bring about a war more terrible than the one a decade ago."
"Didn't you tell anyone else?" Kyle looked at him.
"Why would I tell anyone else?" Oren countered. "And even if I had, do you think anyone would have believed me?"
"No, they wouldn't have."
"I've always been this way," Oren said, unbothered.
Kyle looked into his eyes, trying to find the loopholes in his previous statements.
First, why did he go into the Albanian forest alone? Even Oren knew that venturing into the forest alone was far more dangerous than going in a group, especially for a vast forest like Albania's.
Having one more person meant an extra pair of eyes, and in the event they encountered a magical beast that they couldn't beat or outrun, that person could help buy some time... After all, someone like Oren wouldn't cherish his companions' lives; they had always valued galleons above all else.
Additionally, there was also the question of why he hadn't been discovered by Voldemort...
Squinting, Kyle continued, "Then what happened? Where did the possessed person go?"
"Who knows..." Oren said nonchalantly, "The Dark Lord didn't seem to fancy his body and quickly returned to the snake's body. He became crazy, and we abandoned him."
To discard someone without a second thought—that was indeed their style.
However, the fact that the possessed person didn't die after being possessed by Voldemort also indirectly proved how weak he had been at the time, barely able to 'feed' without restraint.
When he had possessed Quirinus, he had nearly sucked him dry, leaving Quirinus a mere shell, almost like a zombie.
"But I kept an eye on things, and after that, the Dark Lord was able to possess stronger Runy Snakes," Oren sighed. "I wanted to continue observing, but due to some reasons, I had to leave Albania and come to Britain."
"The notebook?" Kyle asked, thinking it through.
He remembered that the reason the Hit Wizards had gone all out to capture a magical beast smuggler was because of a notebook.
"That's right," Oren smiled, "Our funding came from those big shots, and their requests naturally took top priority."
"Are you interested in hearing about it?" Oren asked, looking at Kyle with a mocking expression. "If you are, I can tell you all about it. I guarantee it will blow your mind."
"I'm not interested in cleaning up the wizarding world," Kyle waved his hand dismissively. "You'd better keep it for yourself as insurance."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Oren snorted. "It's been useless since Fudge was killed. He started buying things from us when he was the Disaster Deputy, and he was the one who wanted to keep the notebook hidden the most."
Was Fudge also involved in this matter?
Oh, right, apart from the Law Enforcement Department, the only other person who could mobilize the Hit Wizards was the Minister himself. Given Fudge's reputation for being cautious, he definitely wouldn't want his dirty secrets exposed.
"If you don't want to hear it, then forget it," Oren said, changing the subject again. "As for what happened next, you already know. I accidentally met Dumbledore, and to hide from the Aurors, I came to Hogwarts and became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"At the same time, I was curious about the so-called Dark Arts curse. It was said to be cast by the Dark Lord, and if it still existed, it would prove that he was indeed still alive."
"So, did you find out?"
"Of course," Oren sighed. "When the Hit Wizards faced me, they didn't realize anything was amiss, but they repeatedly failed when dealing with a first-year student. Wouldn't you call that a curse?
"And what surprised me even more was that after I finally managed to shake off the Hit Wizards and returned to Albania, I found that the Dark Lord was gone. He seemed to have left the forest... That's when I guessed that he might be making a comeback soon."
"BOOM!"
A loud rumble echoed from the distance, and a blue lightning bolt tore through the sky like divine punishment. Even from this far away, they could feel the impact.
A strong gust of wind blew, stirring up clouds of dust and fallen leaves.
"What a terrifying power," Oren said, looking into the distance as he stood up. "With such powerful magic, the battle over there should be coming to an end soon."
"I have one more question," Kyle asked quickly. "Why did you join the Death Eaters?"
"That's none of your business." Oren said bluntly, "Our chat time is over, and by the way, I'll give you one more message. Regarding that wedding with the werewolf..."
As he spoke, a hint of unconcealed disgust flashed in Oren's eyes, but it quickly vanished.
"It's best not to go back to Godric's Hollow, it's even more dangerous there... Oh, and don't ever consider me an ally. Next time we meet, there won't be any friendly chats, I'll kill you."
"Tsk, tsk, someone who's been chased all over by a Venomous Leopard actually wants to kill me." Kyle sneered, "I'm so scared."
The exaggerated tone, coupled with an extremely punchable expression, finally pushed Oren past his limit. His face turned purple with rage, and he gritted his teeth so hard they seemed in danger of cracking.
What was even more infuriating was that he had no way to refute Kyle's words. Indeed, Kyle was no longer someone he could deal with. Aside from anything else, those two 5X-level magical beasts would leave any Death Eater aside from Voldemort himself utterly helpless.
Oren gave Kyle a deep look, then, without another word, he disapparated.
After Oren's departure, Kyle glanced once more in the direction of Dumbledore's battle with Voldemort.
At some point, the area had fallen silent once more.
A soft 'puh' sound signaled Dumbledore's reappearance in a nearby clearing.
"Quick, he'll be here soon." But even as he spoke, Dumbledore's legs gave out, and he almost fell to the ground.
Kyle rushed forward to support him.
Just then, a flash of green light shot towards them from afar, but in the instant the Killing Curse was about to strike Dumbledore, he disappeared once more.
Kyle vanished with him.
When Voldemort arrived, there was no one to be found.
"Dumbledore, are you just going to keep running?" he roared. Half his face was charred black, and his bald head now sported a spiderweb of cracks, making him look even uglier than before.
Receiving no response, he vented his anger on the surrounding trees, obliterating a large section of the once-beautiful forest in an instant.
"Someone rescued Dumbledore!" he said coldly, looking back over his shoulder, "Oren, I need an explanation. Where were you just now?"
"I was chasing that despicable Kyle Joba, my lord." Oren lowered his head respectfully.
"Did you kill him?"
"No, my lord."
"Then you have failed!" Voldemort's old wand glowed with a sickly green light once more.
He was in a foul mood, and if Oren didn't give him a satisfactory answer, he wouldn't mind taking his anger out on this otherwise decent servant.
"He got his hands on some 5X magical beasts, they're very tricky. I don't have your powerful magic, my lord, killing him would take time."
Oren looked calmly into Voldemort's eyes, showing no sign of evasion even though he knew Voldemort was a Legilimency master.
And what he said was true. Fluffy the three-headed dog and the Venomous Leopard, one thick-skinned and the other capable of spraying toxic mist in addition to its tough hide, were indeed very tricky opponents.
"But I led him to Bellatrix, there are many of our people there, and they will surely be able to kill him."
Passing the problem to someone else—that was Oren's plan. And if he never saw Kyle again, it would be Bellatrix's fault for failing in her task, what did it have to do with him?
"Bella!"
Voldemort's anger only increased when Oren mentioned her.
Bellatrix had taken seventy Death Eaters with her, almost three times the number of members in the Order of the Phoenix, and yet she hadn't returned with news of their deaths as expected.
Were they all incompetents?!
At this point, Voldemort had no more energy to waste on reprimanding Oren for his failure. His mind was now occupied by a single thought.
Since Dumbledore had run away, he would take his anger out on the members of the Order of the Phoenix and collect some interest on what he was owed. He would make Dumbledore understand the consequences of his cowardice.
Oh, and there was also Bellatrix Lestrange. In light of her previous loyalty, he had given her several chances, but time and again, she had messed up her tasks.
This time, she must be punished, she must face the wrath of the Dark Lord.
Voldemort took a deep breath, and the flesh on his face began to writhe. Soon, the charred parts, including the cracks on his head, returned to normal.
He looked towards Godric's Hollow and, without a word, transformed into a cloud of black mist and flew away.
...
(End of Chapter)
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