Crack, crack, crack.
A series of sharp cracks split the air, and five figures appeared in an alley.
After leaving the Magic Congress, Hermione immediately took the four of them through several consecutive Apparitions without another word, preventing the Magic Congress from tracking them.
Once she had rescued them, it was time to run.
Despite her impressive display earlier, driving the Aurors of the Magic Congress back and temporarily intimidating everyone, the situation had actually been tricky.
This was, after all, an entire country's Ministry of Magic—and not some tiny backwater like Britain. The American Magic Congress had far more powerful wizards than she had expected.
Hermione herself had nothing to fear. Even if Grindelwald had unleashed his full power and joined the Aurors in surrounding her, they could not have done much to her.
But if an all-out melee broke out, she could not guarantee the safety of Newt and the other three, especially with a Muggle like Jacob among them.
The chubby fellow had made an excellent impression on Hermione. He was one of the few genuinely good people around, and since she had dragged him into this mess, she had to keep him safe.
Besides, Newt was Dumbledore's favorite student. If she got him killed like this, Dumbledore-who barely knew her in this era-might well start a magical war with her.
She had swaggered in, then scrambled out.
"Urgh..."
Jacob was still leaning against the wall, his face cycling through an impressive range of colors as he vomited violently.
Newt, Thena, and Queenie did not look much better.
Even as wizards, they had never experienced consecutive Apparitions at this intensity, and for a while, they felt utterly miserable.
After a little while, Thena recovered first. She looked at Hermione with a complicated expression.
"Thank you..."
Hermione raised