Inside and Outside the Dense Fog

Based on the timeline, the Aurors have already returned to Woolworth Building, the headquarters of the American Magical Congress, and reinforcements are on their way.

"Let's retreat to the ground and see how the Aurors of the American Magical Congress plan to handle this."

Seeing the water level rising higher and higher, Loren turned to offer his advice.

Although they can move freely underwater with the help of the Bubble-Head Charm, the water resistance slows down their movements and makes it inconvenient to cast spells... More importantly, the sewage in the underground pipes is just too dirty.

Feeling the cold, damp sewage seeping into her ribs, Hermione felt uncomfortable. She pursed her lips and nodded. The two put their arms around each other and disappeared into the underground pipes in an instant.

The gate at the end of the pipe had been fully opened, and the sewer level in the Brooklyn neighborhood of New York was rising continuously. Countless Werewolf Inferi lurked in the water like a school of Mermaid, densely packed together.

"Mr. Dumbledore, the Chairman requests your immediate presence in the conference room! A major magical disaster has occurred in New York!"

After saying this, the clerk responsible for notifying the attendees of the conference hurriedly ran to the next room.

The underground pipes throughout Brooklyn are malfunctioning, sewage is not draining, and sewage is backflowing from manhole covers. There are rumors that horrific Inferi are mixed in with the sewage, causing serious chaos.

Almost all active Congressional staff were mobilized, including Aurors, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Memory Eraser, and even recent graduates and trainees from Ilvermorny who were pulled out to participate in the emergency rescue.

Watching the clerk hurry away, Dumbledore fell into deep thought. According to his calculations, the emergency should have occurred when the International Wizarding Congress was held. Why was it suddenly brought forward?

Just as Dumbledore was pondering this, another clerk wearing a top hat that covered most of his face hurried over. "Professor Dumbledore, please come with me immediately."

Dumbledore silently observed the clerk before him, without uttering a word.

No matter how lenient the system of the American Magical Congress may be, a qualified superior would not allow a subordinate to wear such a top hat that obscures the view, especially in such an emergency.

Ignoring the wide top hat, Dumbledore noticed his neck. The skin on his neck was very loose, as if a person who was once obese had lost a lot of fat in a short period of time. The skin that was once taut and full of fat had lost its support and become loose.

Furthermore, given this severe staff shortage, why would clerical staff perform repetitive tasks...?

Dumbledore looked at the clerk with indifferent eyes and said calmly, "Tom, I can feel the evil Magic Power in you. Shed your pointless disguise, it's more conspicuous than the sun."

"Greetings, Professor Dumbledore!"

Voldemort removed his top hat and chuckled sinisterly. "Now, we have two choices. First, we can go for a walk outside like a friendly teacher and student; second, we can fight it out here, and as you shatter this body of mine, we can destroy Woolworth Building together and expose another United States. Congress to the public..."

"..." Dumbledore blue eyes radiated an extremely oppressive gaze, flashing with a dangerous glint. "Today is a fine day, perfect for an outing."

Voldemort pressed his top hat to his chest, bowed slightly, and his figure disappeared gracefully.

Dumbledore easily followed the remaining spatial traces.

Half a minute later, the clerk who had just hurriedly walked away returned. "Mr. Dumbledore?"

Looking at the empty room, the clerk scratched his head and hurriedly left again.

A faint popping sound came from the depths of one of Brooklyn's most inconspicuous, deserted alleyways, and the next moment, two figures suddenly appeared in the alley.

This is the closest block to the accident site; the alleyway is right next to a manhole cover. Judging by the timeline, the Werewolf Inferi in the underground pipes should be emerging soon, and the Aurors of the American Magical Congress should have already begun their operation... Loren and Hermione exchanged a glance and threw a few Scourgify and Whizbangs at each other.

The situation was urgent, and they didn't have much time to clean their clothes, so they could only do a simple job.

Not long after the cleanup was completed, they heard the sound of a small group of people gathering outside the alley. They tapped their wands lightly on their chests, and the Magic Power ripples of the Disillusionment Charm spread out again. Loren and Hermione were hiding in the shadows, observing carefully.

The group consisted of several dozen people, each carrying a medium-sized suitcase. Judging from the insignia on their chests, they were all members of the American Magical Congress.

"Quickly! Conceal your movements!" ordered the leading Aurors captain.

Several Aurors members put down their suitcases, used Apparition quickly leap onto a nearby tall building, and stood on the rooftop, extending their wands:

"[Obscuring Mist]"

A wisp of smoke emerged from the tip of the cane, growing and spreading in the air with the wind. The smoke transformed into mist, growing thicker and larger until it silently enveloped the entire street of Brooklyn. The streetscape became blurred, visibility rapidly decreased, and even the tall buildings turned into indistinct shadows, making them difficult to see clearly.

At the same time, television screens throughout Brooklyn suddenly switched to display a serious-looking news anchor in the center. "We are now giving an emergency news report: Due to years of neglect, the underground pipes in Brooklyn New York, have malfunctioned, causing a large amount of sewage to gush to the surface. This sewage contains a large number of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Residents are advised to stay away from the sewage manholes and wait for the repair crew to complete the repairs..."

"Repairs will last from fifteen minutes to an hour. Drivers passing through the Brooklyn area are advised to refrain from traveling there... Please keep doors and windows closed during the repair period to prevent harmful gases from entering your home..."

The drivers, whose cars were stopped in the middle of the street by the thick fog, heard the same news on the radio and began to curse loudly, cursing the unscrupulous construction company and the incompetent government. But when the thick fog drifted into their car windows, they silently shut their mouths and closed their windows tightly.

In the thick fog, there seemed to be figures moving about the streets. They appeared out of thin air in the fog and disappeared in an instant, making them difficult to see clearly. Occasionally, residents and drivers would see this scene, but they thought it was just an illusion created by the thick fog.

As a result, people staying at home immediately sealed their doors and windows, and most people who were outdoors quickly found shelter in nearby supermarkets, shopping malls or department stores. Drivers on the road huddled in their cars, no longer able to know about the supernatural events that were happening in the thick fog, and the surveillance cameras in various blocks were also completely obscured by gray fog.

Outside the alleyway where Loren and Hermione were hiding, the manhole cover closest to the underground pipe accident site trembled a few times, then was ripped off by the powerful water pressure. The mist in a nearby hemispherical area was temporarily dispersed, allowing the Aurors to see the area around the manhole cover clearly.

The Werewolf Inferi surged out with the water flow, scattering in all directions, their throats emitting hoarse breathing sounds.

The Aurors already knew about the underground tunnels, but when a large number of Werewolf Inferi appeared before them, they were still startled, their breathing and heartbeats quickening.

"Action!" Captain Aurors shouted.

The next moment, countless beams of magical energy wove together into an impenetrable net of fire, enveloping the densely packed Inferi. In less than thirty seconds, the first batch of Werewolf Inferi that emerged from the ground were all rendered immobile.

Captain Aurors took out a black briefcase from behind him, half-squatted on the ground to open the briefcase, and waved his wand with his other hand. A whirlwind enveloped the incapacitated Werewolf Inferi, dragging Inferi up and floating them into the black briefcase.

The Aurors breathed a sigh of relief; at least on the ground, dealing with these mindless corpses was relatively easy for them.

Loren and Hermione, who were watching from the sidelines, also understood somewhat. The suitcase was a large spatial device. The Aurors first eliminated the threat of the Werewolf Inferi, and then used the suitcase to contain the Inferi.

Bang!

Before they could catch their breath, another manhole cover not far away was lifted up. This soft sound seemed to start a rhythm like a drumbeat, and more and more manhole covers were lifted up one after another, the drumbeats resounding in everyone's hearts.

As a national symbol, the Statue of Liberty stands nearly 100 meters tall. Standing atop the torch held aloft by the Statue of Liberty, one can overlook most of New York, including Manhattan, New Jersey, and of course, Brooklyn.

"The Inferi moves slowly and can only rely on its sharp teeth and claws, unable to cast spells. Any properly educated wizard can handle it with ease."

Voldemort looked down at the area shrouded in thick fog, a cold smile playing on his lips, "The actions of those foolish Aurors are nothing more than to protect lowly Muggle, and even so, they still have to be timid and use the fog to conceal their movements... It's laughable that they are a thousand times stronger than insects, yet they have to avoid the insects' gaze."

Dumbledore stood a short distance away, ignoring his words, and said softly, "I thought you would launch this during the International Wizarding Congress, Tom. Why did you do it earlier?"

Voldemort glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and let out a sneer.

The old man was as arrogant and conceited as ever. The timing of the Inferi's activation was different from what he had expected. He asked himself why it happened earlier than he thought he had guessed wrong.

"There was a little mishap; two dogs with a keen sense of smell got entangled with my servant, and she had to release our dogs to deal with them."

Voldemort said casually, "Those two dogs reminded me of something, something from a long time ago..."

It was a Prophecy from over a decade ago, about the end of July, about someone who had escaped his pursuit three times.

Coincidentally, Lomberton had also escaped his pursuit before.

Voldemort turned his head and stared straight at Dumbledore, his intense gaze, almost tangible, closing in on Dumbledore like a venomous snake twisting its body, trying to burrow into his brain through his eye sockets.

Dumbledore chuckled, his venomous gaze vanishing instantly. He said softly, "I've also been thinking of some distant memories, about many things, like Diary, like the Golden Cup ... Sometimes I think, Hufflepuff has her Golden Cup, Ravenclaw has her Diadem, and perhaps Slytherin has left something for posterity as well. What do you think, Professor Gunt?"

Voldemort's eyes flashed with a chilling light. He was somewhat surprised and uncertain. Just how many Horcrux did this old guy know about? And how many Horcrux had he found?

If Loren were here, his Magic Sight would have seen the Legilimency Magic Power surging between their eyes.

As highly experienced and Legendary Wizard, they used the same techniques: using words to evoke memories of Prophecy and Horcrux, and then using Legilimency to probe those memories.

However, their Occlumency was equally advanced, and for a time neither of them gained anything.

Voldemort grinned maliciously, then turned to continue his discussion of the Werewolf Inferi: "Although those foolish Aurors acted faster than I expected, I don't think they can stop the Inferi. These cute little things are more capable than you think! They will spread fear..."

"There is nothing to fear about corpses, just as there is nothing to fear about darkness, Tom, or rather, I should call you Voldemort, you lack true wisdom. When we face death and darkness, we fear only the unknown, nothing else."

Dumbledore gazed at Brooklyn, paused, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, said, "You fear death and darkness, yet you seem to have a particular fondness for the Inferi. Let me guess, Voldemort, would you use the Inferi to guard your... Horcrux?"

Voldemort was startled and instinctively turned to look at him, only to meet a pair of raptor-like, sharp eyes—

High above, it was as if a soaring falcon had spotted a venomous snake hiding in the mud and was about to lift it into the air and drop it to its death!

The soul seemed to freeze for a moment.

Voldemort quickly realized what was happening, and his Occlumency activated at lightning speed, while simultaneously fabricating numerous false memories in his mind. He wasn't sure if there had been a flaw in his Occlumency, nor was he sure if the old man had seen anything, so he could only try various remedial methods to reassure himself.

After the initial shock, a feeling of anger at being tricked welled up inside me.

Looking at Dumbledore's gentle smile, at that moment, he felt an unprecedented urge to kill Dumbledore.

In one of Brooklyn's cheapest apartment buildings, a group of Werewolf huddled in a corner, silently breathing in the thick fog.

A slight scraping sound was heard, and a figure appeared on the wall. Based on the scent and the vague figure, they confirmed that it was Jimmy who had nimbly climbed over the outer wall.

The Werewolf swarmed around them.

"How is the situation?"

Is it serious?

After Jimmy briefly explained the situation on the street, an elderly Werewolf hesitated and said, "It sounds a bit serious. There will likely be casualties... Maybe we should run now, or we won't be able to leave once they block off the area."

"Yes, Chief, let's go..." the crowd echoed.

Lupin checked Jimmy's condition, and after confirming that he was not injured, he kicked him aside.

He stepped forward and advised, "Taylor, think it through. If you leave, things will really get complicated, and it will only be more difficult to come back later."

"..."

Taylor Lautner remained silent for a long time before saying, "Go and get some people. We're going out to help!"