Kingsley's Loss of Composure

Two hours after the Knockturn Alley explosion incident a week ago.

At this moment, only an extremely complete parabolic pit remained at the scene. Ministry of Magic personnel stood around in small groups, looking troubled.

The perimeter had been sealed off by Ministry of Magic Aurors with a barrier, so there weren't many onlookers.

Of course, there were still some people, like reporters, who desperately wanted to get firsthand information to snag the headline for tomorrow's Daily Prophet.

In the center of the incident site, a vortex suddenly formed in the air, and the next moment, two figures appeared.

One of them wore a purple robe, had dark skin, and a stern expression. He was Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror for the Ministry of Magic.

The other person was tall and thin, with a face full of wrinkles. His silver hair and beard were long enough to be tucked into his belt, and he wore a gray and white robe. Behind his half-moon spectacles, a pair of bright, piercing blue eyes sparkled.

"Dumbledore, I apologize for disturbing you, but my Retrospection Charm was completely unable to restore the situation at the time of the incident," Kingsley said.

"All we know now is that an adult brought a child to Knockturn Alley, after which a group of people tried to rob them. During the fight, someone used the Killing Curse, and the person being attacked suddenly turned into a cat-headed, human-bodied creature... Did you discover anything?"

After speaking for a while, Kingsley looked up and noticed Dumbledore's gaze fixed on the mid-air.

"Hush!" Dumbledore said softly, "Kingsley, be patient. The more anxious you are, the more likely you are to miss the truth. Look there, that's the center point of the entire parabolic area."

As he spoke, Dumbledore drew his wand, which had many circular nodes in the middle, and gently pointed it at the air.

A white orb of light appeared in the air, and then the orb gradually emitted circular waves that expanded outwards, eventually fitting perfectly with the entire parabolic ground.

A "sphere" with a diameter of over ten meters appeared in this space.

Kingsley's pupils flickered with unease, and he involuntarily swallowed. "There's nothing left within the range covered by this sphere... Good heavens, what kind of spell is this?!"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know either."

After speaking, he flicked his fingertip, brought the tip of his wand to his mouth, and blew gently.

"Trace Flash—"

A large amount of golden mist spewed out from the tip of Dumbledore's wand. Soon, this golden mist enveloped the entire space.

Then, the golden mist in a chaotic state began to gradually form into various shapes, finally reconstructing the entire scene of Knockturn Alley.

This was the Retrospection Charm; the emitted mist could form scenes that had happened in the past.

Unfortunately, due to the magical fluctuations that had occurred here, even Kingsley, a top Auror, could not restore the past.

Fortunately, he had found Dumbledore.

As the mist flowed, two figures, one large and one small, appeared from the alley entrance. Although their faces were unclear, Kingsley recognized them as the instigators of this incident.

Soon, seven figures appeared again in the golden mist, surrounding the large and small figures, seemingly in the act of robbery.

Then, the golden mist depicted the robbers' first attack. To Kingsley's stunned gaze, the man being attacked swatted the spell away with his palm.

Swatted away a spell with his palm?!!

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, also somewhat surprised. This method of countering spells was… a bit too unique.

Then, the man seemed to say something to the child while snapping his fingers, fending off the numerous spells that were coming at him…

The Retrospection Charm continued to replay the events, and the more Kingsley watched, the more shocked he became.

A palm, a snap of fingers, being struck down by a spell, the child's magical outburst, and finally transforming into a cat-headed, human-bodied form…

As the golden mist played out the scene, Dumbledore and Kingsley soon saw the man draw a "huge" wand and gently tap the air.

Then, all the golden mist forming the current scene began to collapse, finally scattering abruptly and creating a golden ripple that shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

The spell ended!

"Dumbledore, what… what was that?" Kingsley mumbled somewhat dazed and numb.

Dumbledore shook his head with a grave expression. "I don't know either. It looks like ancient magic. That huge wand is not something modern wizards use."

"Those people in Knockturn Alley said he resisted the Killing Curse, but that wasn't the Killing Curse, was it?" Kingsley asked, looking a bit lost, seeking confirmation from Dumbledore.

The golden mist of the Retrospection Charm could restore the scene but not the sound or color, so he couldn't be sure if it was the Killing Curse.

He couldn't be sure…

Dumbledore looked at Kingsley and patted his shoulder. "Kingsley, don't deceive yourself. You and I both know that the trajectory of that man's wand movement was the Killing Curse."

Dumbledore's words shattered Kingsley's last bit of stubbornness. His brow furrowed, and he muttered indistinctly to himself.

Dumbledore looked directly at Kingsley. "More than one person can resist the Killing Curse, can't they? This has happened before.

And that person might be a cat, cats have nine lives, right?"

To help his old friend regain his composure, Dumbledore made a small joke and smiled.

Kingsley realized he had lost his composure. He shook his head, and at that moment, an Auror walked over from behind.

"Captain Shacklebolt, there's new information from the Ministry."

Kingsley took a deep breath, composed himself, and then looked at the approaching Auror. "Speak!"

"This man is the same person who was flying over London twelve days ago. At that time, he injured several people from the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, disarmed them, and then disappeared."

Kingsley nodded with a grave expression, then looked at Dumbledore and said in a low voice, "How should this matter be handled?"

As an Auror, Kingsley served the Ministry of Magic, but as a former member of the Order of the Phoenix, he preferred to seek advice from Dumbledore at this moment.

"That's your concern," Dumbledore's eyes flickered, but he didn't give Kingsley the answer he wanted.

Kingsley sighed. If Dumbledore wasn't willing to get involved, he already had a general prediction for how things would unfold.

Make a big deal out of a small one, and a small deal into nothing.

After all, Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic and the second minister after the mysterious man, only needed to maintain the ecosystem of the wizarding world and implement commercial and people-friendly policies to be remembered in history.

Regarding this mysterious and powerful suspect, he would certainly not want to investigate too much, let alone let the public know.

Mu En didn't expect that he would eat a whole rack of lamb chops at this meal. To be honest, it was a bit too much for a human. But when he thought about how he had slept for a week, it felt reasonable.

As for Harry, he ate this meal with some trepidation. Uncle Mu En kept glancing at him from time to time, as if brewing something in his mind, which made him a little scared.

Today, Mu En didn't appear too refined. He simply tidied his mane, wore an ordinary shirt, and put on a wide-collared robe.

Harry had seen a crescent moon and skull logo on the back of this robe before, and he thought it might have something to do with the pirate past Mr. Lucifer had mentioned.

However, what Harry couldn't figure out to this day was... were there still pirates these days?

In short, the meal ended with him thinking all sorts of random thoughts.

Just as Harry was about to clear the plates, Mu En waved his hand, and all the plates floated up automatically and landed in the kitchen sink.

"Harry, sit down," Mu En gestured with his hand.

Harry took a deep breath and sat down nervously.

"Given your excellent performance at work recently, I have some ideas. I wonder if you'd be interested."

Harry scratched his trouser leg under the table, staring at Mu En: "Uncle Mu En, you tell me, I'll definitely be willing."

As long as he wasn't sent back to the Dursleys, he was willing.

Although it was all work, he would be scolded when working at the Dursleys', and when he wasn't working, Dudley would play with him, and he wouldn't get enough to eat.

It was different at Moonlight Castle. He would work every day, chat with Mr. Lucifer, and play with Meteor. It was so much fun.

Oh, right, he named that flying broom Meteor. Their relationship had warmed up quickly during this time, and Harry had become good friends with it.

"That's good, but I have to tell you. Participating in magic research can be very dangerous," Mu En said with a smile.

"Magic... magic research." Harry didn't react immediately, then showed a troubled expression: "But I... I don't know anything."

Mu En gently twirled his cat whiskers, unconcerned: "Don't be silly, kid. There will definitely be on-the-job training."

"On-the-job training?"

Mu En nodded: "That's right, you'll learn some magic."

Harry suddenly stood up, his face flushed, and said loudly: "I'm willing, I... I... of course I'm willing!!"

He even made the child stutter.

But it was no wonder Harry was excited. The feeling of powerlessness he had in Knockturn Alley a week ago had made him unable to sleep well all week.

If Mr. Lucifer hadn't made him concoct an Energy Potion for himself every day, he would have collapsed long ago.