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Chapter 873: Kyle's Plan, Alastor's Thrill
Chapter 873: Kyle's Plan, Alastor's Thrill
It wasn't just vagrant wizards like Bane who possessed an incredibly keen instinct for danger; Auror Moody was equally adept in this regard.
This intuition had kept him alive through countless perilous situations, enabling him to single-handedly fill half of Azkaban with prisoners.
When he felt something unusual on his leg, Moody's entire body stiffened, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on his wand.
Acting on instinct, his hidden magical eye began to rotate subconsciously, but Moody was quicker. In that instant, he suddenly recalled something and immediately raised his hand to pluck out the uncontrollable eye, clutching it tightly in his hand.
The force was so strong that even the strap securing the eye was torn apart.
"Now that's a tough guy!" Kyle couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration.
Moody must have received some sort of information from Dumbledore, which prompted this action.
But, I have to say... that was decisive, although completely unnecessary.
Kyle slowly raised his head.
There weren't many people surrounding them, including Bane, only about a dozen or so—a far cry from the number at Godric's Hollow.
Moreover, in just this short time, more than half of them were already lying on the ground, motionless, as if they were asleep.
A fifty-foot-long serpent coiled before Kyle, its orange-yellow pupils holding an enigmatic power. Any wizard who dared to meet its gaze would instantly lose their life.
This was also partly due to the foolishness of their opponents, who had positioned themselves at various distances, surrounding Moody.
As a result, their formation was extremely scattered, and after coming into contact with the Basilisk's gaze, there was no one nearby to share the curse.
"Monster! Monster!"
"They're dead, they're all dead..."
"Run for your lives!"
No one knew who started it, but the remaining people began to flee in a frenzy.
"If you would..." Kyle said lightly, "Spare the leader, but the rest... leave none alive."
The basilisk remained coiled before Kyle, unmoving, but the treetops behind him swayed slightly, and two dark shadows flashed by.
"Alright, Professor Moody, we're safe now," Kyle said after an unknown amount of time had passed.
Moody opened his eyes and immediately saw the wizards lying on the ground all around them.
"Kyle, you..."
"We're just lucky," Kyle smiled, "For some reason, they suddenly turned on each other, furiously casting the Killing Curse at their own comrades, and ended up killing each other."
Moody opened his mouth.
He didn't believe a word of what Kyle was saying.
Turn on each other? Impossible!
Moreover... Moody looked down and saw a deep mark on the ground, obviously left by some massive creature.
Coupled with the sensation on his leg earlier, the hissing sounds in the surroundings, and the rumors of the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts, he could basically guess what kind of massive creature it was, but he just found it hard to believe.
Why would Dumbledore give something so dangerous to a student who had just graduated?
"Yeah, we're lucky," Moody said after a moment of silence.
After all, he had already retired; he was neither an Auror nor a Hogwarts professor anymore. If Dumbledore didn't care, why should he bother?
Besides, Kyle had just saved his life.
"Yeah," Kyle smiled, "By the way, Professor, do you know who these people are? They don't seem like Death Eaters."
"Vagrant wizards," Moody explained, "There are smugglers, dark wizards, or maniacs who enjoy torturing Muggles. Most of them are wanted by their respective Ministry of Magic. I caught quite a few when I was still an Auror."
"So, the Ministry of Magic just ignores them?"
"It's not that they ignore them, it's just difficult," Moody shook his head, "Look at our location. At the slightest sign of trouble, most people will immediately flee.
"Moreover, this place has become a system unto itself, just like Knockturn Alley. It's impossible to eradicate dark wizards completely. It's better to have them in one place than scattered everywhere."
"That makes sense," Kyle nodded, "How many of them are there?"
"Over a hundred, I'd say."
"That many?"
"This is actually on the smaller side," Moody fixed the strap and put his magical eye back into its socket, "Because Dumbledore has cleaned them out several times in the past, many of them don't dare to come back. There would be even more from other countries.
"The ones you see here are probably from around a decade ago when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was gaining power. At that time, Dumbledore and the Aurors were too busy to deal with them, and that's when they seized the opportunity."
As they talked, Moody's magical eye kept rotating rapidly.
"Be careful, something else is coming."
"Don't worry, it's fine," Kyle said.
As soon as he finished speaking, a six-legged magical creature walked over from the other side, a half-dead wizard dangling from its mouth.
"A Chimaera?" Moody was taken aback for a moment, then looked at the wizard in the Chimaera's mouth.
Bapholoyon Lees?
There were three long gashes on the wizard's chest and back, undoubtedly the work of the Chimaera... unless you were a wizard like Dumbledore or Voldemort, an ordinary wizard would only end up on the receiving end of a beating if they encountered a XXXX-rated magical creature like this, and that included him.
Moody thought that while he might not fear a Kneazle in a one-on-one situation, it would be a different story if he were trying to escape. In that case, the Kneazle's hypnotism and Legilimency abilities could be quite troublesome.
As it happened, Ranis had been fleeing for his life in a state of extreme panic.
When he was dragged over by the Kneazle, he hadn't died, but he was left with only a breath of life in him.
"Good work. I'll treat you to a big meal later," Kyle said.
The Kneazle nodded, then flashed and disappeared into the trees.
Moody's magical eye rolled around.
"Don't bother, Professor," said Kyle. "They should be somewhere else by now, making sure no one else breaks in."
"Them?" Moody sharply picked up on a key word.
However, Kyle didn't explain, and instead asked curiously, "Professor, why would they go to all this trouble to dig a secret passage to Devonshire? Do they plan to take advantage of the chaos when the mysterious person makes their move?"
"I don't think so," Moody said after a moment's thought, shaking his head.
"According to the information I have, this secret passage was started at least ten years ago, when the mysterious person had already fallen.
"Even the Death Eaters only recently made contact with Ranis, and the one in charge of liaising with him was Bellatrix."
At this point, Moody's tone faltered.
He suddenly realized that Bellatrix was dead, and the one who had killed her was none other than the young man before him.
Initially, he hadn't believed that Kyle was responsible for what happened in Godric's Hollow, thinking that Dumbledore had been there and Kyle had merely assisted.
But...
He looked down at the deep mark on the ground again and suddenly began to doubt his earlier thoughts.
Kyle had no idea what Moody was thinking. He stroked his chin, puzzled, and muttered to himself, "If it's not to take advantage of the chaos, then what's the point of this secret passage?"
The Aurors and Hit Wizards at the Ministry of Magic weren't just for show. According to Moody, the only reason these guys had been left alone was that they had stayed put and hadn't caused trouble elsewhere.
It was like Knockturn Alley; as long as the Dark Wizards there didn't step out of line, the Aurors rarely went out of their way to cause problems.
But if they ever decided to stir up trouble, then they'd be facing the Dementors.
Even if the Aurors and Hit Wizards couldn't handle it, there was still Dumbledore. Although he had been focusing his energy on the school and Voldemort in recent years, if it concerned the stability of the British Ministry of Magic, he probably wouldn't mind lending a hand.
Kyle couldn't understand why these guys would go to such lengths just to end up as lunch for the Dementors.
It made no sense.
"If I'm not mistaken, their target is likely Nicolas Flamel," Moody said.
"Nicolas Flamel?"
"Of course, this is just my guess," Moody said, as his magical eye rolled back from the back of his head. "These people only recognize gold. The Sorcerer's Stone, which can turn anything into gold, is an irresistible temptation for them.
"Over a decade ago, I arrested some people and found a lot of information about Flamel and the Sorcerer's Stone among their belongings. But at that time, the Death Eaters were our main target, so we just threw them into Azkaban without investigating further."
"I see, then it's fine," Kyle said, relieved.
Now that he knew their target was Flamel, Kyle lost interest.
Come on, even Voldemort only dared to go after the Sorcerer's Stone with Dumbledore, not Flamel. Although it had something to do with the fact that Voldemort couldn't find Flamel, even if he had, would he have dared to go after him?
Wizards weren't like knights; as their bodies weakened with age, their magic only grew deeper. A wizard who had lived for over six hundred years and was also an alchemist, who knew what kind of tricks he had up his sleeve?
Just the two fire-breathing dragon statues at the entrance were enough to make these wizards wet their pants.
So, when he heard that their secret passage was intended to reach Flamel, Kyle not only didn't want to stop them, he even considered helping them by leaking the location of the estate.
Nicolas had been cooped up in his manor for hundreds of years, and the last time he had taken action was probably sixty or seventy years ago. Listening to opera day in and out had to be boring, and it might be nice to change things up once in a while.
However, after thinking about it some more, Kyle abandoned this tempting idea.
Forget it, there were other things to do, and if they managed to survive, he could plan something later.
It would be best if they could successfully storm the manor, and then he could take advantage of the chaos to dismantle and steal that opera house... He had had his eye on that for a long time.
But he knew he couldn't do that alone; he would need Dumbledore's help. Besides increasing their chances of success, it would also mean someone else to take the blame.
No, no, now wasn't the time for such thoughts...
Kyle shook his head to clear it and turned to Moody.
"Professor, you said there were about a hundred of them, right?"
"That's about it," Moody said. "What, do you want to kill them all?"
"Now, what are you suggesting?" Kyle said righteously. "That's over a hundred wizards, Professor. That's a bit extreme, even for you."
Moody's scar twitched slightly.
Extreme? He might be extreme, but at most, he would send these dark wizards to Azkaban, not kill them.
Moody glanced at the motionless bodies lying on the ground around them.
He didn't consider himself soft, and there were times when he wouldn't hesitate to use an Unforgivable Curse, but the number of dark wizards who had died at his hands might not be more than Kyle's.
"What are you getting at?" Moody asked irritably.
If he were still an Auror, he would definitely take Kyle into custody, even if he were one of their own.
Unfortunately, he was no longer an Auror; he was now a retired, suspicious, and unpopular old wizard.
"Oh, it's like this," Kyle blinked, "Professor, would you mind dying for a bit?"
"If it's worthwhile, I don't mind." Moody said seriously.
He remembered that Sirius Black had cleared his name with Kyle's help, and even Dumbledore had said that Kyle was resourceful and sometimes even he felt inferior.
To receive such praise from Dumbledore was a testament to Kyle's true abilities.
If Kyle truly had a plan that could help defeat Voldemort, he wouldn't mind cooperating to the fullest.
That would be the best outcome for a retired Auror.
"No need to be so serious, it's not a real death." Kyle waved his hand, looking at the unconscious Ranis, "Professor, if you were to replace this guy, do you think you could do it without being discovered?"
"Replace Ranis?" Moody's eyes lit up, "You mean, use a Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate their group?"
"That's the idea." Kyle said quietly.
Moody quickly considered the possibility and realized it could work.
Over a hundred wizards, and all of them were experienced veterans; this was a significant force. If utilized well, they could give the Death Eaters a huge surprise.
"No wonder you wanted to kill all those who escaped."
"Yeah, only by silencing them can we ensure that no one knows what happened here." Kyle glanced around.
With the Kneazles and Leopards around, they were temporarily safe.
"So, Professor, what do you think of this idea?"
"No problem." Moody agreed without hesitation, "My Polyjuice Potion skills are quite good."
"No, Polyjuice Potion is too unreliable." Kyle shook his head, "Only a complex potion can guarantee success, the only problem is that you need to drink it at intervals, which increases the risk of exposure."
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out." Moody said, his eyes falling on the golden flask at Ranis' waist.
"These guys don't trust each other, I can take advantage of that." As Moody spoke, a hint of excitement crept into his tone.
He finally understood why Dumbledore had called Kyle resourceful.
His initial thought was simply to kill Ranis and send news of what happened here back to the Order of the Phoenix, giving them a heads-up, rather than daring to take his place.
Even Dumbledore might not have come up with this plan. His character and powerful strength meant that he was not adept at such intrigue and trickery, or perhaps he didn't need to.
"There's something I must remind you, Professor." Kyle said solemnly, "This plan is extremely dangerous because you will not only have to face these vagrant wizards, but you may also have to confront the mysterious person directly, and it won't be easy to deceive him."
"I'm looking forward to it." Moody's lips twisted, his scar contorting into a terrifying smile.
The thought of dancing on the knife's edge in the coming days excited Moody to the core.
While he didn't enjoy the constant suspicion and danger, he also couldn't adapt to the peaceful, boring life of retirement.
His years as an Auror had shaped his character, making him stand out among ordinary wizards and earning him the reputation of being troublesome among his colleagues.
He was well aware of this, but personality wasn't something that could be changed easily, so he blew up trash cans at the front door, destroyed mailboxes on street corners, and knocked down chimneys on rooftops, meeting with the Reverse-Incident Squad every other day.
"But I don't have a Polyjuice Potion." Moody suddenly thought of a critical issue, "For now, I can only use the Polyjuice Potion as a temporary measure, and then I'll think of something else."
"Don't worry, I have some." Kyle took out several bottles containing a brown potion.
Moody's expression changed as he suspected that Kyle had anticipated this situation and that this visit was intended for him... Otherwise, who would carry Polyjuice Potions around, and so many of them?
The few bottles probably amounted to a pint, enough for two days' worth of doses.
However, Moody was thinking too much; Kyle hadn't planned this.
The potion was just too useful, so before coming here, he had specially prepared some, not expecting to actually need it.
(End of Chapter)
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