As it turned out, Albert had guessed correctly. Their infiltration had not been flawless.
The moment they entered the village, the powerful Shield Charms on them prevented them from directly triggering the Intruder Charm alarm, but they were still spotted by the Dementors floating amid the thick fog above the village.
Most spells had little effect on those evil Dark Creatures, which was the main reason wizards feared Dementors.
Yet after noticing the intruders, the Dementors did not immediately swoop down on Albert and the others. Instead, they informed the Dark wizards in the village.
Their enemies had clearly been waiting for the four of them to take the bait.
They had all been spoiled by the Ministry of Magic. Under normal circumstances, those Dark wizards would have long since used their superior numbers to capture them.
Of course, it was also possible that they had nearly suffered a setback when they captured Cedric last time. This time, they were much more cautious.
That caution seemed utterly meaningless, because they were facing someone even more wary and cunning than Cedric.
Once he sensed that something was wrong, Albert had no intention of changing the original plan, because it had been designed from the start to handle most unexpected situations.
"Put in your earplugs."
Albert gestured to Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. After plugging his own ears, he took a cylindrical metal object from his pocket. It had been a long time since he had used the Banshee's Howl.
The main reason was that simply throwing Mandrakes roots made it too easy for Dark wizards to copy the trick. One day, they might use it against him, and he could end up suffering for it.
Albert had no desire to encounter that sort of thing.
Only after the three had put