Encounter

Nebulus hung over the village streets.

Within the limited visibility, there was not the slightest trace of life.

Yet rustling sounds drifted from the grass on both sides of the road from time to time.

Beneath the tranquility, deadly danger lurked.

Whenever the rustling reached her ears, Luna could not help clutching Cypher's sleeve tightly.

Cypher, meanwhile, remained completely on guard.

Although they had cast the Disillusionment Charm, capable wizards could see through it at a glance.

Not to mention the sources of those rustling sounds.

They were constantly moving sources of magic.

Some were rodents, others snakes.

Each gave off invisible magical fluctuations, like servers in a machine room uploading data to a central computer.

There was no need to think about it. These were the enemy's informants.

Suddenly, Cypher felt Luna's hand tremble.

He quickly turned around.

A black-furred, red-eyed rat with sharp teeth stood by Luna's feet.

Cypher patted Luna's hand, signaling her not to act rashly.

The rat hesitated in front of Luna.

It kept sniffing the air with its nose.

Just now, it had sensed a current of air passing by its side.

It was psychological torment. Cypher and Luna knew they had applied the Scent-Changing Potion.

But what if it could distinguish them anyway?

Fortunately, this creature was not very intelligent.

Using Mage Hand, Cypher silently picked up a small stone and threw it into the distance.

The sound of the pebble landing easily drew the red-eyed black rat away.

Taking the chance, Cypher pulled the nearly limp Luna away from there.

After circling around several times,

Cypher found a dilapidated little warehouse and led Luna inside.

"Luna, we can't go to the Hog's Head Pub. There are at least three dark wizards stationed there."

Luna fell silent. After thinking for a moment, Cypher gritted his teeth and voiced another idea.

"We can't summon Fawkes here. If—I'm saying if—Fawkes gets intercepted, it will have to break through the barrier. Then the enemy will definitely discover it. Once they realize Dumbledore is involved, Aberforth, who knows nothing of the truth, will be in danger."

"I'll listen to you," Luna replied softly.

"We can only choose the more distant passage through Honeydukes."

After saying that, Cypher looked toward Honeydukes.

Bang—

The sound of something heavy slamming against a wall came from ahead.

Luna nervously squeezed Cypher's hand.

While resting in the ruined house, Cypher had noticed that Luna was not in good spirits.

To keep her from making a mistake, Cypher had no choice but to sacrifice one hand to hold Luna's, sensing her condition.

Feeling Luna's nervousness, Cypher shook her hand, urging her to pull herself together.

Then Cypher lifted the Disillusionment Charm and quietly crept forward.

At the corner, Cypher quickly stuck his head out and glanced into the alley.

A short, round middle-aged man with a rat-like face was standing blankly against the wall.

Cypher remembered him. At the Hog's Head Pub, he had sat on the right side of the entrance and ogled Luna with a lecherous gaze.

"I hope you can give me something useful."

A man in gray stood before the middle-aged man.

He was Bell, though Cypher did not know that.

Bell raised his wand and pressed its tip against the man's forehead.

As Bell muttered an incantation, the lecherous man convulsed painfully against the wall.

Before long, he stopped moving.

At the same time, silvery-white threads flowed from the man's seven orifices.

Cypher, who had been repeatedly stealing quick glances, suddenly had his pupils contract.

Memory threads? The black-robed man was plundering the lecherous man's memories!

Then the black-robed man would see the figures of him and Luna.

He was about to finish searching.

They could not stay here any longer!

While the black-robed man closed his eyes and reviewed the memories,

Cypher hurriedly pulled Luna past the intersection without a sound.

After taking another long detour, the two finally arrived before the candy shop.

Before their delighted expressions could even appear,

they discovered a wizard in a luxurious black trench coat and a ghost-faced mask sitting atop Honeydukes' candy shop.

He had his back partly turned toward them, so they could see him tossing jelly beans into his mouth one after another.

"Sir, there are still two figures resembling young wizards we haven't caught!"

It was the gray-clothed wizard who had just searched the memories. When Cypher and Luna saw him appear, they quickly crouched behind a garbage bin.

"Hm? You're saying that two young wizards stole our things, and you still haven't caught them?"

The officer, Charles, sounded more surprised than displeased.

After all, they had caught everyone they needed to catch and searched everyone they needed to search. Only two fish had slipped through the net, and unexpectedly, they were young wizards.

If that was the case, he would have to test his strength against Aberforth.

He could not kill him, but teaching him a lesson was still possible.

"Reporting, sir, I don't think Aberforth was involved in this. He allowed me to search the place, and I found nothing!"

Charles was speechless for a moment.

"Are you so sure what you saw was correct? Could the memory you just obtained have been deliberately altered by Aberforth? Made you think it was him, so you would search him and buy time for the young wizards to escape? Forget it. If you could think that much, you wouldn't merely be my subordinates. What about the others in the tavern?"

Bell lowered his head in shame.

"Other than those two, everyone has been interrogated. It should have been those two who traded Felix Felicis for the Norman Dragon Blood Grass."

"I don't want to hear your guesses! I want evidence and leads!"

Charles's furious voice suddenly rang out.

Then his tone softened as he ordered Bell,

"Who set up the barrier? Send him to see me. Did any House-elves or the like force their way through the barrier?"

Bell spoke in a flattering yet proud tone.

"Reporting, sir, I specifically checked on my way here. There were no abnormalities at the barrier. I really made sure before coming."

Something suddenly seemed off in Charles's eyes, and Bell hurriedly repeated himself.

"It has nothing to do with you. I'm just surprised enough not to believe it..."

At the same time, Cypher's heartbeat suddenly missed a beat.

Looking up, he saw a Swooping Evil in the air, staring directly at him with blood-red eyes.

Damn it. Afraid they would discover them, he had lifted the Disillusionment Charm.

Besides, with their officer here, he and Luna had only one last option.

Break through the barrier, teleport somewhere far away first, then summon Fawkes and leave.

They absolutely could not suddenly vanish here and expose the warehouse passage.

Fortunately, Cypher had already drawn his wand.

He still did not want to use his unique magic, because it was too conspicuous.

"Pulverizing Curse!"

A red spell shot from his wand.

The Swooping Evil nimbly dodged Cypher's spell, but Luna's spell immediately arrived before it could evade again, blasting it into a bloom of blood.

"Bell, stand down. It's been a long time since I stretched my muscles. I'll finish this hunt myself."

Charles slowly rose to his feet. With the barrier in place, he believed the two little rats before him could not escape.

Besides, if his subordinates suffered casualties, he would not have any useful tools to hunt Magical Creatures in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts for some time.

Although Cypher stared at him without fear, the person behind him could not fake those frightened movements.

Charles said, "Are you Hogwarts students? I have no intention of becoming enemies with you at the moment. Hand over the Dragon Root Herb in your hand. I'll leave immediately and spare your lives."

Luna said, "You won't even tell me your identity. Why should I believe you?"

Hearing that, Cypher felt helpless. He hurriedly stepped sideways, blocking Luna from view.

"Tsk... so you really are."

Charles lifted his mask himself, revealing his true face.

He was a somewhat handsome young man with blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.

"My name is Austin Charles, a lieutenant of the Shadow Empire."

"The Shadow Empire?"

Cypher remained unmoved and stayed on guard. Luna also realized she had said the wrong thing and stood silently to the side.

"I've never heard of any Shadow Empire."

"Of course not. Right now, we're fighting alongside Grindelwald in secret on the eastern battlefield. We haven't publicly announced our declaration of nationhood yet."

"Grindelwald?"

Hearing that the wizard opposite them was not a local force but belonged to Grindelwald's faction,

Cypher felt that he had become entangled in enormous trouble.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Britain had the ancient Hogwarts, and no local force could rival it. Yet someone was carrying out terrorist attacks in Hogsmeade right beside it...

"Report!"

Bell, who had been thinking to the side, suddenly had a gleam in his eyes.

"Speak!"

Charles said expressionlessly.

"This witch's voice is exactly the same as the witch known as the Galleon Princess in the black market!"

"Oh?"

Charles's expression shifted.

"So the two of them might not be Hogwarts students? They nearly fooled me."

Hearing the killing intent in Charles's tone, Luna ignored Cypher's attempts to stop her and took out the Norman Dragon Tendril Grass, holding it in her hand.

"Let us leave, or this herb will be destroyed here."

"Ha ha ha..."

Unexpectedly, Luna's action made Charles laugh.

"I don't know which of you two is the truly capable one. But as long as I capture both of you and have you brew potions for us, I think I can easily explain away a mere Norman Dragon Blood Grass when I return. Put down the Norman Dragon Blood Grass and join us. Then you won't be our slaves, but our companions."

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Luna should not have been so impulsive.

Cypher grew anxious inside.

Poison? But they had taken antidotes!

Or some unknown Confundus Charm?

That did not seem likely either. His Occlumency was only a little stronger than Luna's, yet he had not sensed any traces of intrusion.

Seeing Luna about to step out from behind him,

Cypher finally could not hold back any longer.

He raised his hand to stop Luna and pulled her into his arms.

Cypher stared into Charles's eyes and answered word by word.

"I choose the third option!"