Other than the faint, mournful howl of wind and snow outside and the occasional crackle of firewood burning in the fireplace, the little cabin was utterly silent.
Apparition had failed?!
Jasna, already haggard, went deathly pale in an instant.
After a moment of dazed shock, she hurriedly collected herself and tried to Apparate again.
She could indeed sense the connection to space, but her body could not enter the void smoothly. An immense force was invisibly preventing her from Apparating!
This was undoubtedly the effect of an Anti-Apparition Charm!
After a brief panic, Jasna's expression suddenly sharpened. Her killing intent brimming in her eyes, she glared at the old Muggle's cloudy gaze.
This old Muggle had lied. He was actually a wizard. For some unknown reason, he had saved her and concealed his identity?
The thought flashed through Jasna's mind. She had lived in the dark side of Europe's magical world for ten years and knew well how treacherous people could be, but...
Her gaze lingered over the old Muggle's weathered face, and the guess in her heart became less certain.
He truly looked like nothing more than an ordinary Muggle. She could sense no magic within the old Muggle's withered body.
Then who had sealed off this mountain range and forbidden Apparition? The German Ministry of Magic?
Another thought sprang into her mind, making Jasna look startled and suspicious.
That was indeed possible.
Given their crime of breaking into Oxta, the German Ministry of Magic might have gone so far as to seal off the nearby mountains and scour every mountain and river, trying to find Death Eaters who might not have escaped. Or criminals who had survived the flash flood, had not been rescued by their Death Eater companions, and could only flee into the mountains and forests.