Featherlike snowflakes drifted silently down from the sky, only to be swept up by a gust of wind. The figure racing through midair had long since vanished into the endless white snow.
Suddenly, the person pulled his broom sharply upward and hovered in midair, looking down at the village below, completely shrouded in thick, freezing mist.
"Was this... caused by Dementors?"
After observing it carefully, Albert drew his wand from his robe pocket and pointed it at the vast swath of freezing mist ahead.
A fierce storm surged forth with a sweep of his wand, ready to disperse the mist blanketing the village in one go.
Yet the strange mist merely rippled slightly, showing no sign whatsoever of being dispersed.
"Oh, that's quite surprising."
Albert froze for a moment. He lowered his gaze slightly at the newly triggered panel quest called "Liberation," then looked up at the village shrouded in snow and wind, falling briefly silent. He had probably guessed what was going on with the village covered in freezing mist.
"Looks like it's a trap deliberately prepared by the Death Eaters... Forget it, I'll handle it myself," he muttered.
Partly because he wanted to complete that fairly rewarding quest, and partly because he did not want anyone else to take the risk.
If they could not disperse the mist, the Association members would have no choice but to deal with Inferius attacks inside it, and casualties were highly likely.
He had come ahead to scout precisely because he did not want the Association members to suffer casualties. Maintaining high morale was important when facing Voldemort.
Otherwise, with Christmas so close, Albert could not be bothered running around everywhere.
After tapping himself lightly with his wand, Albert tilted his broom and plunged headfirst into the mist.
Visibility was terrible. He