The two pure-blood representatives looked at the faintly glowing Portkey in the Ministry of Magic official's hand and knew the deal could not be settled today. The one with the eagle crest took a step back, opened his lips twice, and only managed to speak on the third try. "Today's handover... is postponed. We need to confirm a few things first." His voice dropped at the end, like a door being blown shut by the wind—not fully closed, but with no one willing to push it open again.
"This is the original reward of twenty thousand Galleons. Consider the mission complete. Keep the goods with you for now. We'll discuss the rest after we finish verifying everything..." One of them hurriedly stamped the bounty notice with his family seal and flung it to the hunter wizard leader, then tossed an Undetectable Extension Bag at his feet. It landed with a heavy thud.
Without sparing the hunter wizard leader's feelings, he raised his wand and tore open an unstable portal in the alley. On the other side, the vague outline of a manor courtyard could be seen.
"If there are any problems, contact us by owl. We have matters to attend to..."
After tossing out that perfunctory line, the man with the eagle crest gripped the Portkey in his palm, his fingertips just catching its edge—
Suddenly, a scarlet curtain of energy swept in from afar, closing from the inner sides of the alley entrance walls like two intangible doors shutting toward the center. It sealed the entire alley.
The pure-blood representative's hand froze half an inch above the Portkey.
The hunter wizard leader's right hand had already reached the wand pouch at his waist. His fingertips touched the wand, but he did not draw it. The gray snakes that had