Although the cloak hid his face, Harry seemed to see a face adorned with mocking smiles.
"Keep away from Harry!"
What had just happened happened within a blink of an eye. Sirius was not collapsed after the violent shock, he had blood at the corner of his mouth, his face was full of fury. The spell lights bursting from his wand, even drove back the other two Dark Wizards. However, he still could not get away from being trapped in the corner, he could not reach Harry's side on the front of the box!
"What to do, think of a solution quickly--"
Hermione, kneeling on the ground, had tears in her eyes and her body was slightly trembling, but she still tried her best to maintain composure and analyze the situation.
Charlie and Bill rushed forward to defend Harry from the Dark Wizard who attacked him, but even with the perspective of a young witch, Hermione could see that if Melanov did not want to kill again, Charlie and Bill might have been in big trouble. And Harry, he was indeed braver than anyone could imagine, but he had no time to use magic; he was just desperately running around, using the reflexes he had trained in gym class in response to the mysterious rope attacks.
Sirius' situation is much more dangerous!
Unlike Melanov, who was attempting to capture Harry, the other two Dark Wizards were using every spell as a last resort. They seemed to be truly prepared to kill Sirius, with silver flashes and loud bangs appearing continuously. Sirius retreated continuously, and the battlefield had already spread to the neighboring compartment.
What should we do?
The Ministry of Magic's reinforcements have not arrived yet, and Melanov is still blocking the exit, sealing off everyone's path. They cannot escape through the corridor, and if they jump over the railing, as Hermione had previously glanced down, they would definitely break their necks!
Suddenly, Hermione stood up from the ground, her wand pointing to the sky. A cluster of brilliant light shot out from the tip of her wand, soaring into the sky above the Quidditch pitch where it suddenly exploded with a brilliant flash of color, lighting up the dark night sky in an instant.
The sudden chaos also threw the Bulgarian players into confusion. Some of them were spinning in mid-air, while others were hovering, attracted by the fireworks blooming above their heads. However, Viktor Krum was evidently more alert. He immediately turned his gaze towards the direction from which the fireworks erupted and then spotted Hermione, who was clinging onto the edge of a box and frantically waving her hands.
After just a few seconds of hesitation, Krum made up his mind.
Clinging to the broomstick, Krum seemed to teleport like magic. He slightly raised the handle and was instantly in front of this room full of celebrities. As he scanned the compartment, his eyes immediately revealed an expression of shock. He spoke in a broken English,
"What's going on here?"
Ron watched Krum, who was so close, with a dreamy look on his face. Hermione, too, was unprepared for Krum's appearance. She was about to call for help, but her pale face suddenly showed shock. Her upper body twisted back sharply, narrowly dodging the Ironman spell that pierced Bill and the dark chain that had locked onto her neck.
A few strands of brown hair were floating in the air, visibly agitated and turning into ashes.
With this, it was clear what Krum should do next. He extended his hand towards Hermione, his otherwise handsome face now smeared with blood and showing signs of anger, his complexion reddening.
"Hurry, I... you get out, the broom--"
However, Hermione hadn't finished her sentence when Melanov suddenly whipped his black whip around towards Krum's broomstick. In a panic, Krum flipped over in mid-air while riding his broomstick and narrowly escaped the whip. He quickly retreated by several tens of feet and stared suspiciously at Melanov with a bewildered expression.
"Go to our Ministry of Magic, we need support!" Hermione jumped onto the steps, waving her hands continuously and calling out urgently.
"Ministry of Magic, support!"
Looking at the girl covered in dust and debris, Krum was slightly surprised but then nodded decisively, dropped a "wait" and left in a dramatic angle, more exaggerated than Langsky's fake dive.
"Are all the students in Hogwarts taught to ride rats?"
At first, Harry desperately wanted to get away from Melanov to help Sirius, but now he calmed down. Sirius is currently holding off two attackers with just one man, and if Harry gets closer, it will definitely bring a third person to Sirius, which is just adding more trouble for him.
The most wise way is to use themselves as bait to trap the black witch Melanov, with the protection of Charlie and Bill. As long as they can hold out until the Ministry of Magic's reinforcements arrive, that will be their victory.
The cunning Harry and Hermione, who had narrowly avoided her attack, inflamed Melanov's temper. She roared angrily, and the long whip in her hand suddenly dispersed into the raw black smoke, but it immediately floated up to form a large net in the air that trapped Harry as well as Bill and Charlie who were injured and exhausted!
At this moment, more than one spell was being hurled towards Melanov.
Divide and Conquer!
Expelliarmus!
Explosion!
Canarydetto!
Everyone was well aware of the power of that black grid, and seeing that Harry had nowhere to escape, Fred and George, Ginny and Ron, and even Fudge hiding by the wall all came to his aid. The power of several spells forced Melanov to defend herself. She managed to block most of the spells, but--
Swoosh!
A broken iron bar pierced her magical barrier and went straight towards her chest. With her life hanging by a thread, Melanov lunged to the side abruptly. However, Hermione's magical protective charm still pierced through her body, creating a thumb-sized hole in her shoulder!
Whoosh!
The dark green light, carrying the aura of death, rushed into the unsteady black net and easily broke it apart. Melanov was stunned and looked over to see Sirius, amidst the encirclement by his two companions, shoot a deadly spell towards Harry Potter's rescue.
"Very well done, Hermione!"
Bill panted and leaned on his knees, turning to give Hermione a confirming glance.
"Professor Brain's curse, how did you come up with that, Hermione—" Ron's dry lips trembled, his forehead drenched in sweat.
In the meantime, Harry and Hermione gathered together, pointing their wands at the collapsed Melanov on the ground, not daring to be complacent for a moment.
"What's going on, Severus, Cantwell!"
The wound on her shoulder did not distract Melanov much. She glared at Sirius and the others who had escaped to another compartment,
"Why is he still alive!"
"A bit more difficult than we expected!"
The sinister voice came from the other side.
"Hmph, a stick like that is worthy of being called a wand--"
Melanov slowly stood up from the ground, staring coldly at the wizards who had united against her, and then, in front of everyone's eyes, she actually threw away her wand!
What's going on? This black wizard is preparing to surrender?
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
Then, the next second, a three-foot-long wand with a gem at the top suddenly appeared in Melanov's palm.
Melanov, whose ordinary stature had suddenly loomed large in Harry's eyes and those of the others, brought an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
The black smoke, suspended freely in the air, suddenly became excited. Melanov's eyes flashed with a fierce glint, and her palm pointed forward. The black smoke re-coalesced into a whip again—the Whip of Thunder!
Countless streaks of jumping black thunder started from where Melanov stood and quickly jumped towards the compartment's surroundings. Wherever the thunder passed, the floor left behind a shocking scar, and even the air seemed to carry a scent of burning.
"Hurry and get away!"
Harry roared, and then dashed to the side in an attempt to hide under a raised plank, but the black thunder swept over his wrist, leaving a terrible burn scar on Harry's forearm. In pain, Harry's wand slipped out of his palm and rolled on the floor after hitting the wall at the back of the compartment.
The thunderstorm raged, the steel supports of the building creaked unpleasantly, and the walls around erupted in explosions. The ground cracked open into large holes, and it seemed that the compartment was about to collapse completely.
"Harry!"
Sirius watched helplessly as Harry was pinned down by the raft he was trying to hide under, while Hermione and the Weasleys were each in grave danger.
Under the dark night sky, a roar of rage echoed from Sirius. He pointed his wand straight at a thick steel beam supporting the nearby building. Amidst the horror-stricken eyes of the survivors, the beam was snapped in half, triggering a chain reaction that caused one support after another to twist and collapse. It seemed that several tons of weight were about to come crashing down on everyone's heads!
"What are you doing!"
Such a wild move even made the attackers Sis and Cantwell's faces pale. They looked at the roof overhead, which was about to collapse, exchanged a glance, and in the next second, they rushed towards the Quidditch pitch together.
The world in front of him was twisting and collapsing, but Sirius ignored it, his eyes red with fury as he ran towards Harry, still casting spells at Melanov even though his magic was almost exhausted.
"Hmph, suicidal!"
The thunderstorm suddenly converged in mid-air, and the next second, it shot out like a laser beam, targeting Sirius's forehead.
Crack!
As if the world had shattered, Sirius came to a halt and his expression froze.
(The end of this chapter)
