In the darkness, Will's figure rippled like water. The Disillusionment Charm grew unstable when he moved or cast spells at high speed.
But most of the Aurors still couldn't pinpoint him. He flitted across the battlefield like a ghost, appearing only to land another precisely aimed prank spell. He rarely used anything truly offensive.
That Auror had been right. This was humiliation.
"Tarantallegra!" An Auror trying to flank him suddenly collapsed, his legs jerking and kicking as though he'd been electrocuted.
"Volamucus!" Another Auror, diving from above, whimpered in pain as a swarm of giant bats covered his face—the Bat-Bogey Hex.
"Petrificus Totalus!" A third Auror hit the ground and rolled several times.
In less than ten minutes, another seven or eight Aurors were out of the fight. None was injured, but each had been sidelined in some ridiculous, humiliating way. They lay on the ground laughing, twitching, or struggling, their Wands scattered everywhere.
"Enough!"
The roar cracked through the night like thunder. Rufus Scrimgeour pushed past the two Aurors in front of him and strode toward the center of the battlefield. Fury burned in the eyes of the man with hair as shaggy as a lion's mane, but his steps were steady, and his grip on his Wand never wavered.
"Fall back, all of you!" Scrimgeour barked. "Regroup and seal every exit! Leave this one to me!"
The remaining Aurors retreated as if granted a reprieve, quickly reestablishing their cordon on the ground and in the air. They had seen Will's uncanny methods. They knew this "Dark Wizard" was beyond them.
Scrimgeour stopped thirty feet from Will. He did not attack at once. Instead, his sharp gaze swept over Will—or rather, the space where Will stood.
The Disillusionment Charm was nearly perfect while Will remained still, but Scrimgeour was