บท 22: Chapter 22
For a moment, I was engulfed in darkness, and at the same time, all over my body... No, somewhere on a deeper level, pain went through the body.
"Who is this guy?" The one who used the Avada on me asked. "And how could he take down so many?"
The one I somehow missed was talking to himself.
"The kid is 14 years old at most," the magician spoke further, holding my face in his hands.
There is unlikely to be a more ideal moment...
"Can hare touch me?"
A skull mask was staring at me, and the look behind the mask exuded surprise in tons.
"What?!" The man wanted to say something, but DE didn't let him do it anymore.
After that, the crimson ball of destruction literally destroyed the magician, leaving only his feet. And once again, I felt the growth of my own reserve and the addition of a new spark.
"It was dangerous..." I said, looking up at the sky and seeing some kind of barrier crumbling.
Apparently, the one I just killed was the creator of this very barrier. This was the reason that I was in a hurry to cover up any remaining traces.
After a couple of dozen minutes, I was able to say with confidence that I had left nothing of myself. Yes, however, and from presumably Death Eaters too, the reason why I think it was Tom's followers was because they killed Muggles and wore a very specific disguise.
The same Gellert's Army wore nothing but the distinctive insignia of Gellert himself. But the Death Eaters hide their identities, at least because the main part of his fanatics, as I remembered, were aristocrats. Apparently, having detractors in such large numbers from the bulk of society... It wasn't a good thing to say.
Under such thoughts, I returned to the shelter where I was finally able to rest. Leaving things for tomorrow. After all, the experience of being close to death is tiring.
At the same time, a meeting was taking place in the Magical Part of Britain, organized by Lord Malfoy for a close circle of people.
"Where's Bertram Rowley?"
"You mean Lord Rowley's eldest son?"
"Doesn't he understand what can happen to him if the Dark Lord notices his absence?"
There were similar conversations among the so-called "elite" of magical Britain. They had a lot of influence in various spheres of wizards' life in Britain. And one could be content with having so much power, but human greed knows no bounds... That's why they followed Tom Marvolo Riddle. After all, Tom promised his followers a world in which the influence of such personalities would be absolute or, more precisely, close to it.
Meanwhile, Bertram Rowley's father, Richard Rowley, was not exactly in a good mood. After all, his son's mistake could cost his entire family dearly.
"Lenard, where is your idiot brother?" He asked his youngest son.
"Bertram had to return from the Muggle raid for the recruits to let off steam, so to speak."
Richard clicked his tongue and said:
"Where do they get off to now? Was he really that carried away?"
"Father, I'm sure Bertram will make it in time... He hardly wants to face the Dark Lord's displeasure," Lenard finished rather gloomily.
Richard was about to say something when suddenly the mark given to them by the Dark Lord began to darken, this process was not quite pleasant. Usually, if the Dark Mark burned the skin so much, it only meant that the Dark Lord was unhappy with something.
Because of this, the entire hall full of Death Eaters was under incredible pressure on their psyche. Quite often, when the Dark Lord was not in a rosy mood, he could use the Cruciatus spell.
Cruciatus is one of the three "Unforgivable Curses." Applying it to a person is punishable by life imprisonment in Azkaban. Cruciatus is a spell of pain, terrible, unbearable pain. But in order for the spell to work in full force, it is not enough just to point a magic wand at the victim and pronounce a verbal formula.
If it is necessary to show the full power of this spell, then it is necessary that the user wants to inflict pain. It is possible to choose the place where the pain should occur by pointing a magic wand at this place.
Sincere desire is one of the main requirements when using the Three Unforgivable Curses. And the Dark Lord had plenty of this desire... The Rowleys and the other Death Eaters have been able to verify this for a very long time.
A few moments later, footsteps sounded from the main entrance. Everyone immediately paid attention to the source of these steps.
"Good evening," said the man who came in. He was Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort.
Richard and his son realized that they would definitely feel the full extent of their Lord's displeasure. After all, Bertram never showed up on time.
All evening, while their Lord was talking about future plans, the Rowleys were experiencing unprecedented stress. However, apparently, fate was kind to them, because towards the end of the meeting, the Dark Lord said:
"Something terrible has happened... Our brother was murdered."
Everyone present was shocked, because how could one of them have been killed?
"It was young Bertram Rowley and the recruits who went with him to show the Muggles their place."
The Rowley family was shocked by what was said the most, because no matter what kind of wizard Bertram was... But he was a member of their family. The eyes of all the Rowley representatives who were at this meeting were filled with anger and rage.
"I promise you that we will find those who did this... And their fate will be such that death will be a mercy for them," The Dark Lord spoke, after which the whole hall was filled with joyful anticipation.
Meanwhile, something completely different was happening in the Ministry, in the office of the Minister, in addition to the owner of the office, there was the one who led the Aurors of Britain, Theseus Scamander.
"How is the search for Grindelwald progressing?"
"It's not that good," Theseus clicked his tongue in displeasure. "It's like he disappeared. All his former associates were taken into custody, fortunately, there were not many of them on our lands."
"At least something good..."
At the same moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Mr. Scamander!" The man's voice sounded rather anxious.
Theseus, seeing the permission in the minister's gaze, immediately left the office.
"What's wrong, Barty?"
Bartemius "Barty" Crouch was the son of Casper Crouch and Charis Crouch nee Black. This family had a deep connection with the British Ministry, for generations this family produced individuals who reached leadership positions from time to time.
So, Casper Crouch was once the one who led the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes until he left two years ago. It was he who got his son into the Department under Theseus, and the opinion about Barty Crouch was that he was a very strong wizard. For his age, he had almost no equal in magic... And in a thirst for power.
An educated, intelligent, strong-willed person. Impeccably responsible, meticulous to the point of pedantry. Barty is clearly one of those people who cannot imagine their life without their favorite job. Moreover, his work is successful, his dedication is not without claims to success.
The dedication with which Barty worked was one of the reasons why Theseus was thinking about making the guy his successor. Since Bartemius literally spent days and nights in the department to finish his work.
Another important aspect of Barty's character was that he wanted to make society a better place. At least that's what Theseus wanted to think.
"What's wrong, Barty?"
"Our people have detected an abnormal outburst of magic in London."
Theseus instantly concentrated and continued:
"Have you already explored the surroundings of this very splash?"
"Yes, and we were able to identify that terrifying spells were used there... We also found the corpse of a woman..."
"A magician?"
"No, it's a Muggle woman."
Theseus felt that there was someone else besides Gellert and that someone needed to be found.
"What is known about the corpse?"
"There are no connections with the other victims. But we were able to find out that her family members were missing... Most likely they were killed too."
"It's disgusting. Call Alastor and head there... Find out everything you can."
"That's right," Barty said and walked off in another direction.
At the same time, Theseus was heading in a different direction... To the Department of Mysteries.
The Department of Mysteries is a highly secret department of the Ministry of Magic, located in the basement of the Ministry building. In this department, there are artifacts of increased magical power and danger: time-turners, prophecies, and much more.
The employees of this department are called Unspeakables. Most of them do not know either their powers or the scope of their duties... Nothing at all. At the same time, it was a fairly independent department, they were not obliged to answer even to the Minister of Magic.
Theseus, on the other hand, had connections with this department due to his long-standing connections that he was able to gain during the wars. The current head of this department was a friend of Theseus. The name of the man who ran this department was Saul Crocker.
Theseus had been around as long as he could remember... Saul was still a researcher who devoted all his free time to studying the mysteries of magic. Later, when he found out that Saul got into the Department of Mysteries... Theseus wasn't even surprised, and even said "Expected."
Having descended to the 9th level, Theseus was once again convinced of how big the difference is between what is here... And those departments that are located above. The architecture of the department showed that the department was created much earlier.
"If I remember correctly... The department was established at least in the 1600s," Theseus said, moving towards Saul's office.
The office of the head of the department was in a very strange place... It was impossible to get into this very office without the permission of the head. Fortunately, Theseus had this permission and it was not difficult to find the office.
Inside the office, a long-haired brunette with glasses was checking documents. As soon as Theseus went inside:
"Welcome, Theseus. Something happened?" The dark-haired man asked without being distracted.
"Hello, Saul, I need your help." The Head of the Aurors decided not to pull the cat by the tail.
Saul, as if expecting this, did not change his face:
"What exactly do you need help with?"
"You won't even ask me why I came to you?" Theseus asked, unable to contain his surprise.
"Who else can you turn to? To Jenkins?" Seeing how Theseus grimaced. "So let's get right to the point."
After which Theseus began to explain what had happened.
"Hm... Are you saying that there are no magic bursts in a certain area?"
"Yes. And to understand what happened there... I think your people will be able to find out... After all, it's in your line."
Saul, thoughtfully, said:
"I'm intrigued. Saul then snapped his finger. "Get Rookwood here."
After a couple of minutes of waiting, a man in an Unspeakable mask arrived. Because of their duties, often no one except the head of the department knew the names of the employees.
"Theseus, meet my employee, his name is Malcolm."
The Unspeakable man did not change in any way in his face from the fact that his name was revealed. But Saul apparently felt something and said:
"Don't worry, Theseus can be trusted. I went through two wars with this man. Malcolm and his squad will help you understand what happened there."
After that, Saul took out a folder and handed it to Malcolm with the words:
"Here is the data that the Aurors were able to find out."
The Unspeakable man only nodded silently and left.
"However, your employees are taciturn."
In Austria
At the moment, the richly furnished mansion housed a company that was being chased by the entire magical world.
"Andreas, I need you to send the tickets to the Netherlands to one address," Gellert said.
"Very well, my lord," said with a slightly trembling tone, a rather elderly man who had a huge influence in Austrian society.
"This trip will have to make him exactly who we need..." said the Dark Lord, in whose eyes a terrifying picture was unfolding.
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