Chapter 872: An Innocent Bystander
Chapter 872: An Innocent Bystander
To most wizards, the dark wizards lurking in Knockturn Alley and the shadows of Cornwall posed little threat.
They shared a common trait—they tended to stay in fixed locations. The wizards in Knockturn Alley rarely ventured beyond the passage into Diagon Alley, and the wanderers in Cornwall only gathered near an Atlantic port.
As long as one stayed away from these places, there would be no issues.
But was this truly the case?
While a rifle could threaten a pack of hungry wolves, driving them into desolate areas, the wolves could also choose to evade the frontal threat and find alternative means.
For instance, they could locate foxes and moles, digging a path underground, thus bypassing the rifle's threat and gaining direct access to the garden behind.
As Bartemius Crouch Jr. emerged from the passage, gazing upon the streets with their distinct styles, a glint of excitement and madness flashed in his eyes.
"What an impressive feat," he exclaimed, his tongue flicking out in excitement. "I never imagined the legend to be true, that there's indeed a secret passage connecting Cornwall to Devon beneath the sea."
"Unfortunately, we're short-staffed; otherwise, we wouldn't have completed it just a year ago," said a wizard with reddish-brown hair, approaching and scrutinizing Bartemius Crouch Jr.
His muscular arms were like marble, and a scar that ran across his entire face made him appear exceptionally menacing.
"Bapol Lainis," the wizard introduced himself. "Owner of a second-hand Dark Arts shop."
"Crouch... the Dark Lord's most loyal servant."
Lainis couldn't help but smirk when he noticed the other wizard's habit of flicking his tongue.
Was this a bee sting on his tongue? Did all British wizards behave this way? Especially after hearing the other wizard's introduction, he couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Hehehe... sorry, I couldn't help it," Lainis grinned, revealing his dirty, yellowish teeth. "It's the first time I've seen someone proudly call themselves a servant. Were you bred from house elves?"
The wizard beside him also burst into unrestrained laughter.
"You..."
The hooded wizard took a step forward, but before he could say anything, he suddenly clutched his neck and let out a painful moan.
Thud!
The next moment, a head slammed into the ground, rolling over to Bartemius Crouch Jr.'s feet.
"Apologies, my men are not very considerate. How could they leave such things lying around?" Lainis said expressionlessly, waving his wand to sweep a skeleton necklace from the fallen wizard's feet.
"Are you provoking the Dark Lord?" Bartemius Crouch Jr. asked, his expression turning fierce as he brandished his wand.
"The Dark Lord? That's a ridiculous title in Britain," Lainis scoffed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
Two green lights collided in mid-air, forming a larger ball of light.
The battle began in a way neither had anticipated.
But moments later, both wizards simultaneously ceased their spells.
"Not bad, you have some skill," Lainis said, fixing his gaze on Bartemius Crouch Jr. "According to the agreement, a witch named Lestrange was supposed to come, why the change?"
"That useless witch? She's dead!"
"Is that so? What a pity." Lainis's gaze shifted to Bartemius Crouch Jr.'s wand-holding hand. "But I recall she had a mark."
Bartemius Crouch Jr. rolled up his sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark on his arm. A serpent, as green as the skull it emerged from, coiled and twisted, appearing incredibly lifelike.
The serpent's eyes seemed to hold a magical allure, staring directly at Lainis, who instinctively took two steps back.
"Very well," Lainis's expression softened slightly, glancing at the Dark Mark again. "As we said before, we're willing to join the Dark Lord... But as per the agreement, after the Dark Lord clears out the Ministry of Magic, Cornwall and Devon will be ours.
"Additionally, you owe us a commission of thirty thousand Galleons."
"No problem. The Dark Lord never mistreats any of his loyal servants," said Bartemius Crouch Jr., turning his head. The person beside him immediately reacted, tossing a heavy box to the ground.
The box opened to reveal a pile of golden Galleons, shimmering with a golden glow, causing the breaths of some nearby wizards to quicken.
"I think you've misunderstood something," Lainis said, leaning over the box and taking a deep breath. Then, looking at Bartemius Crouch Jr., he continued, "We're merely business partners, and we're not house elves."
Bartemius Crouch Jr.'s face contorted into a fierce expression once more, but this time, he managed to restrain himself.
"Yes, business partners," he forced a fake smile, making a decision in his mind.
Disloyalty to the Dark Lord meant certain death, but now wasn't the time. After dealing with the pests of the Phoenix Society, these fellows would be next.
He struggled to control his expression, but this only amused Lainis.
It was evident that the man before him, like Lestrange, was an ivory tower dark wizard. Though skilled, they were only bold within their homes and had never ventured out.
He was too inexperienced, his thoughts were as transparent as glass.
But Lainis didn't mind. Everyone had their secrets, and these Galleons were real. As long as there was money to be made, nothing else mattered...
Lainis gently caressed the Galleons in the box. Just as he was about to close it, his peripheral vision caught sight of a wand—a wand that had seemingly appeared out of thin air.
Without hesitation, Lainis instinctively rolled to the side.
"Boom!"
A spell struck the spot where he had been standing, shattering the box and sending countless coins flying like rain.
At the same time, Lainis drew his wand and aimed it at an empty area behind the Death Eater.
"Puff!"
Accompanied by a dull sound, something seemed to catch fire, and a charred mark appeared in the air.
Clang!
A broken piece of wood fell to the ground and rolled a couple of times. To be precise, it was a wooden prosthetic leg with a crimson stain of fresh blood on it.
"Alastor Moody!"
Lainis instantly became furious. As someone who frequently dealt with Aurors, he instantly recognized this as Alastor Moody's prosthetic leg. Upon realizing that his opponent had fled, he immediately pointed his wand at Bartemius Crouch Jr.
"Damn you! How dare you bring an Auror here! Kill them all!"
"I think it's obvious that you exposed our location!" Bartemius Crouch Jr. was seething with anger.
He was well aware of how Alastor Moody had arrived; the location made it clear that he had been following them.
In other words, he hadn't fallen for Gylman's trap but had been tailing Morbus, who was meeting up with them. Those two fools had fallen for it.
However, in the current situation, he couldn't reveal the truth or admit to it.
Countless spells exploded in the air like fireworks.
Meanwhile, not far away in the woods, Alastor Moody was hobbling along.
He had been following the Death Eaters with his Invisibility Cloak, planning to disguise himself as a Death Eater and kill the wanderer wizard named Lainis, causing internal strife among them. He hadn't anticipated that Lainis would be so perceptive.
After all, as a dark wizard with a bounty so large it could fill a book and who had eluded capture across multiple countries, he had to be perceptive to have survived this long.
His only hope now was to escape this wood that served as a quarantine zone as quickly as possible.
Alastor's face was grave.
His Phantom Apparition had been interrupted, and although the spell had been partially deflected by the prosthetic leg, he had still sustained some injuries. He couldn't perform another Phantom Apparition in a short time.
He could only hope that the chaos he had caused would buy him some time, at least enough to send out a message.
Lainis's group numbered around a hundred, and with the secret passage leading directly to Devonshire, the Phoenix Society would be at a severe disadvantage if they were unaware of the situation.
With this in mind, Moody quickened his pace.
However, missing a leg, even with temporary support from Transfiguration, made movement extremely inconvenient.
Before long, a spell struck him from behind.
Bang! The green light hit his back, and Moody exploded.
"Transformation Spell!" Bartemius Crouch Jr. sprinted towards him, half of his face charred, indicating severe injuries.
"He's a legendary Auror; how could he be captured so easily?"
Lainis approached as well, and the two seemed to reach an agreement. They temporarily set aside their differences and prioritized hunting down Moody.
"I've already sent someone ahead to the exit. He won't get away!" Lainis said coldly, "Split up and search. Send a signal if you find any clues. He's been hit with the Fire Surge; he can't have gone far."
"I refuse to believe that we, with our numbers, can't capture an injured Auror!"
At his command, the followers behind him immediately dispersed. Bartemius Crouch Jr. waved his hand, and the Death Eaters joined in the search.
The two then chose different directions and sprinted off.
Not long after they left, a nearby clump of mud started to shake, and a hand emerged from it.
"It's me, Professor Moody. Don't hurt your own people."
"Do you think you can fool me with this trick?" Moody launched himself off the ground with a spring. "Kyle wouldn't come to a place like this at this time."
"You're wrong there. Why can't I come?" Kyle shrugged. "What, do I need a ticket to get in here?"
Moody didn't reply, nor did he speak. He lifted his hand and cast two spells.
Kyle had intended to use the Iron Body Charm again, but he realized the second spell was green, so he quickly jumped to the side.
"Avada Kedavra... Professor Moody, you're going too far." Kyle patted his chest with lingering fear. He dared not test if his silver shield could block the Killing Curse.
"I gave up three thousand Galleons to save you, three thousand! And you use the Killing Curse on me?"
"Prove your identity!" Moody continued to hold his wand.
"You were in Hogwarts during my fifth year." Kyle said, "The first lesson was about the Unforgivable Curses and learning the Iron Body Charm."
"Draco Malfoy knows this information too." Moody frowned.
Kyle rubbed his forehead. Did he just call him Draco Malfoy? This statement was even more outrageous than the Killing Curse.
"Fine, the headquarters of the Phoenix Society is at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the ancestral home of the Black family."
Moody's intact eye suddenly contracted.
"Are you really Kyle?"
"Of course. Death Eaters wouldn't reveal the headquarters of the Phoenix Society."
"But... how did you end up here?"
"Mr. Weasley told me about a lighthouse in Devonshire, so I went to check it out, and I actually found something." Kyle said.
He had indeed gone to Devonshire based on the address provided by Mr. Weasley and happened to witness the Death Eaters' rendezvous.
"How did I not notice you!"
"If you can follow Death Eaters with the Invisibility Cloak, why can't I follow you with it?" Kyle sighed. "To be honest, I always thought you had already noticed me but didn't say anything. Until you suddenly jumped out just now, I didn't react... Professor Moody, can't your Magic Eye see through the Invisibility Cloak?"
"The Magic Eye can only see through one layer of the Invisibility Cloak..." Moody paused for a moment before speaking.
Since he had been under the Invisibility Cloak himself, it was impossible for him to see Kyle, who was also cloaked.
"Oh, I see. Okay." Kyle nodded. "But Professor, when you jumped out just now, you really scared me. I..."
"No, they're back." Moody's Magic Eye suddenly drilled into the back of his head, and he gripped his wand tightly. "You'd better leave quickly and tell Dumbledore about this!"
"Ah, there's no rush. The main thing is, I don't know where Dumbledore is right now."
Compared to the tense Moody, Kyle was much more relaxed, so much so that Moody felt he had already defected.
In the blink of an eye, over a dozen people appeared around them.
"I felt something was off earlier." Lainis stepped out from the crowd, staring at Moody with malice. "You should have run faster since you were injured. I didn't expect you to slip past us right under our noses."
"This time, you won't get away."
"Bapol Lainis!" Moody looked at the dozen people around him, and his heart sank to the bottom of the valley.
It was too late to run now, and the situation was even more complicated with Kyle by his side.
What was this, a buy-one-get-one-free deal?
If the timing had been different, he would have grabbed Kyle's ear and asked him why he didn't just leave earlier... Whether it was to deliver a message or call for reinforcements, it would have been more useful than staying here and talking so much nonsense.
"Wait, who are you again?"
At this moment, Lainis finally noticed Kyle behind Moody.
"I'm an innocent passerby who happened to be here." Kyle raised both hands. "Um... well, you guys continue. Pretend I'm not here."
"Are you insulting my intelligence?" Lainis sneered. "Whoever you are, since you're here, stay and keep Alastor company."
Lainis didn't pay much attention to Kyle's sudden appearance, mainly because the other person was too young. A wizard who looked to be not even twenty years old was as insignificant as a passerby in his eyes.
He stared at Moody, a glint of uncontrollable excitement in his eyes. "It's so exciting. I never thought that the legendary Auror, who filled Azkaban with prisoners, would die at my hands. You didn't expect it either, did you, Alastor?
Moody didn't speak or respond to his taunts. Instead, he quickly closed his eyes, and the Magic Eye retreated into the back of his head at the same time.
Because Kyle had whispered to him from behind to close his eyes.
Under normal circumstances, Moody would never make such a suicidal move during a fight, but his body's instincts led him to trust Kyle in that moment.
Then, Moody felt something slide past him, and a cool sensation spread from his remaining leg.
...
(End of Chapter)
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