Feathery snowflakes drifted silently from the sky, only to be swept up by a gust of wild wind. The figure speeding through the air had long vanished beyond the endless white snow.
Abruptly, the person pulled up on his Flying Broom and hovered in midair, looking down at the village below, completely shrouded in thick freezing mist.
"Was this... caused by Dementors?"
After observing it carefully, Albert drew his wand from his robe pocket and pointed it at the vast expanse of freezing mist ahead.
A fierce storm surged forth with a sweep of his wand, ready to disperse the mist blanketing the village in one go.
Yet the strange fog merely rippled slightly, showing no sign of being blown away.
"Oh, that's surprising."
Albert froze for a moment, his eyelids twitching slightly as he looked at the newly triggered panel quest called "Liberation." He then raised his head to look at the village cloaked in wind and snow, falling briefly silent. He had probably guessed what was going on with this village covered in freezing mist.
"Looks like it's a trap specially prepared by the Death Eaters... Forget it, I'll handle it myself," he murmured.
Partly because he wanted to complete the fairly rewarding quest, and partly because he did not want anyone else to take the risk.
If they could not disperse the mist, the Association members would have to deal with attacks from Inferi within it, and casualties were highly likely.
He had come to scout ahead precisely because he did not want the Association members to suffer casualties. Maintaining high morale when facing Voldemort was important.
Otherwise, with the holiday so close, Albert could not be bothered to run around everywhere.
After tapping himself lightly with his wand, Albert tilted his broom and plunged headfirst into