บท 246: Chapter 246: Death and Betrayal
"The Dark Mark?"
Harry was startled. "You're not planning to cast the Dark Mark to lure them over, are you?"
Casting the Dark Mark was indeed much more eye-catching than sending up sparks.
But Harry didn't think it was a good idea at all. He pointed cautiously at the Golden Snitches hidden in the sky above them. "Those Snitches are monitoring us. If you cast the Dark Mark, everyone will see it!"
Casting the Dark Mark in front of a thousand British wizards was as blatant as revealing their hand. The impact would be almost as severe as casting an Unforgivable Curse in public.
"Of course not! Even if I did cast the Dark Mark, they'd still need to want to come over," Cassandra rolled her eyes.
With only two Death Eaters in the Forbidden Forest, they couldn't possibly use the Dark Mark to contact them. In this situation, anyone seeing the Dark Mark would immediately realize it was a trap.
Especially considering that besides Cassandra, only Cyrus might pull such a stunt. They certainly wouldn't run over and willingly walk into it.
"The Dark Mark doesn't have a tracking function, but Professor Cyrus created a sensing charm. If we get close enough, we'll be able to detect them," Cassandra explained.
Their conversation was also displayed on the screen.
"Looks like Harry and this beautiful girl have decided to team up," Fred chuckled softly.
Fred and George exchanged a glance at Ginny, but unlike a few years ago, they didn't tease her about Harry. By now, they knew Ginny had no interest in Harry.
Oddly enough, it was Ron who looked a bit envious of Harry.
"Don't get any ideas, little Ronnie Kins. You couldn't handle that girl—she's a snake!"
"Alright, stop bickering!"
"Look, they're on the move! Harry's heading toward those two Beauxbatons students!" Hagrid exclaimed in surprise, being more concerned about Harry than anyone else there.
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest, Rodolphus and Rabastan had already regrouped. The two brothers from the Lestrange family, trusted lieutenants of Voldemort, had more tricks up their sleeves than others.
"I really want to find a chance to kill that imposter!" the younger Rabastan muttered furiously.
"And how would you do that?" Rodolphus hated Cyrus even more, especially since Cyrus had stolen his wife.
Although Bellatrix had never shown much interest in him and had been entirely focused on Voldemort, at least back then, they were still husband and wife in name.
But now?
His wife had run off with another man, and he was the laughingstock of the Death Eaters!
Rodolphus wanted Cyrus dead even more than Rabastan did, but he still retained enough reason to say, "Even our master couldn't kill that monster with the Killing Curse. You think we can?"
He looked coldly ahead, recalling the map they had studied earlier.
"We just need to focus on our tasks. The location for the second event has been arranged, and when the time comes, the Dark Lord will rise again. Cyrus and Dumbledore—both of them will die!"
Rodolphus and Rabastan had two missions: first, to gather intelligence; and second, to attempt contact with Grindelwald to try and form an alliance.
Although Voldemort had lost the previous battle, they weren't in a terrible position now. France had become their stronghold. When Voldemort returned, he would still have a chance to stand against both Cyrus and Dumbledore.
However, if those two managed to form an alliance, it would be a massive problem.
They couldn't afford to wait passively; they needed to proactively seek out allies.
And conveniently, Grindelwald had surfaced.
"But surely, we can collect some interest in the meantime, can't we?" Rabastan was unwilling to let go of his grudge.
Cyrus had shamed his family, and Rabastan would find no peace until he avenged that disgrace. "Those two students who came with that imposter—one of them is the traitor Vole's daughter! She is partly veela. Killing her would have an impact on that Cyrus!"
His eyes glinted with a feral intensity.
At this, Rodolphus made no effort to dissuade him.
The two students were nothing to them; killing them was never the hard part. The challenge was to ensure their deaths appeared accidental.
"Then handle it however you want. I'll try to contact Grindelwald," Rodolphus said, assigning tasks. Seeking out Grindelwald was clearly far more dangerous than dealing with a couple of young wizards, and as the older brother, he still looked out for Rabastan.
However, Rodolphus wasn't expecting an alliance with Grindelwald right away; this was simply a test of the waters. Even if it succeeded, he certainly wouldn't be able to openly discuss their dark plans under the gaze of over a thousand people.
It was good that the cameras only showed the image and did not give sound.
Everything needed a proper setup.
After splitting from Rabastan, Rodolphus retraced his steps with purpose.
His movements were precise, not a random wandering, yet no one suspected him. Beauxbatons was already in a weaker position, and from the outside, Rodolphus's behavior appeared as if he were simply searching for isolated champions to eliminate, thereby increasing his own chances of victory.
After all, the Champion's Tournament wasn't just a duel between champions; the points before the third event could influence a lot.
Meanwhile, Harry and Cassandra were drawing closer to Rabastan.
The Dark Mark's signal was gradually strengthening.
Cassandra and Harry had both cast the Disillusionment Charm, though Harry's spellwork was somewhat lacking. He usually relied on his cloak for invisibility, and he'd only learned this spell as a last-minute addition to his repertoire before the tournament began.
"Keep it down!" Cassandra whispered, crouching low. On the screen, they were no longer visible.
Before long, they spotted Rabastan.
The young French wizard disguised as a student wore an expression of pure malice as he moved swiftly through the forest.
"He's definitely looking for us too," Harry whispered.
He kept his movements minimal to avoid casting any shadows against his surroundings and quietly, but efficiently, loaded his magical firearm.
As for using his wand? That wasn't even a consideration.
What a cumbersome tool.
The truth was, Harry hadn't yet mastered silent casting, and loudly voicing spells would be about as discreet as announcing a "surprise inspection" hours in advance.
He knew he was planning a sneak attack, after all.
"He probably has a Shield Charm up. Don't you have anything more powerful loaded in those magic bullets?"
"I have one with an explosion charm," Harry whispered tensely.
"Good. I'll count to three, and you'll break his Shield Charm," Cassandra hissed, her eyes cold and predatory as she fixed on Rabastan, as though he were already dead.
Her lips, painted a faint green, parted slightly.
"One, two—"
Harry crouched low with the gun raised, feeling as though his legs were two springs, ready to launch him forward. Cassandra's countdown felt like a drumbeat against his chest.
His palms were slick with sweat, but he didn't have time to question whether this would work—he just had to go through with it.
"Fire!"
Cassandra didn't speak but jabbed Harry with her wand, signaling him to shoot.
Harry sprang out like a startled cat. The sudden noise drew Rabastan's attention, and he tensed, though he saw no one.
At that moment, the air cracked with a deafening sound.
Bang!
Rabastan barely had time to locate the source of the noise before the spell slammed into the Shield Charm before him!
The next moment, there was an intense explosion and blinding fire!
Boom!
Even the magical drone capturing the scene seemed to tremble.
The sudden assault shocked everyone watching.
Rabastan felt as if a unicorn had rammed straight into his chest, sending him stumbling backward. Although he wasn't hurt, his Shield Charm had shattered!
For a brief moment, his mind went blank, but he quickly realized he was under attack. Cassandra seized the moment, rolling on the ground, her elbow raised as she fired off a spell!
"Stupefy!"
But Rabastan reacted faster than she'd anticipated. The instant his Shield Charm broke, he was already bracing for the next spell.
He didn't have time to cast another Shield Charm, but deflecting a spell was still within his power.
While people could become invisible, spells couldn't!
Rabastan slashed through Cassandra's spell like he was wielding a blade, then calculated the direction it came from and raised his wand high.
"Revelio!"
It was as if a gust of wind blew over them, stripping away the Disillusionment Charm on Cassandra and Harry like dust, revealing them in plain sight.
Rabastan's cold lips curved into a smirk, his face displaying a mix of surprise and thrill.
"I was just looking for you both!" he snarled, launching an immediate attack.
For someone like him, every move was ruthless. Though he refrained from openly using Dark Magic, deadly spells weren't limited to the Dark Arts alone.
"Avis Oppugno!"
The spell shot out, summoning a swarm of white birds that launched like piercing arrows!
Harry rolled, scrambling behind the thick trunk of a fir tree. Cassandra, lacking immediate cover, quickly used a spell to raise the earth in front of her.
"Protego!"
Under her spell, the soil hardened into an iron-like barrier! The arrow-like birds struck against it, producing a clanging sound and sparking on impact!
Harry could hardly imagine the effect that spell would have on a person if it hit; he figured the body left behind would look more like a broken watering can than anything else.
Cassandra was pinned down, unable to lift her head. Harry quickly loaded his next bullet, and with his free hand, he raised his wand, muttering softly, "Lumos."
His wand emitted a green glow.
Then, he yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" as he charged out.
"What!?" Hearing the Killing Curse name sent a jolt of panic through Rabastan, and when he saw Harry's wand tip glowing green, his face paled further.
In reality, the Killing Curse wasn't something just anyone could cast. Even if Harry attempted it, at most it might give Rabastan a nosebleed.
But Rabastan wasn't about to take any chances.
Without hesitation, he abandoned his assault on Cassandra, diving to the side to escape. At the same moment, Harry flung the green-glowing "Lumos" spell from his wand!
Rabastan's focus was entirely on the green "Lumos" spell. But then he realized something was wrong.
"That's not the Killing Curse?"
Tricked!
Though the light looked identical, the green Lumos charm Harry used was noticeably different from the Killing Curse.
In his panic, Rabastan failed to recognize it immediately, but now he realized the deception at once.
Furious, he turned his head to glare at the one who had fooled him—Harry Potter.
But what he faced was the barrel of a gun.
Behind his glasses, Harry's green eyes gleamed with wild intensity.
"You've lost!"
He shouted, voice full of conviction.
"Confringo!—Bang!"
Harry pulled the trigger, and the gun immediately fired off a spell.
"Protego Maxima!" Rabastan didn't plan to end up shattered; Harry dared to attack him, so he'd make sure the spell rebounded!
A perfectly cast Shield Charm could deflect a spell right back at its caster. He'd kill Harry Potter here as a gift to his master.
The spell shot out from the gun's barrel so fast that not even a shadow was visible.
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