It's over.
Harry's breaths grew increasingly rapid, and with the help of Sirius, he slowly stood up. His fingertips brushed over the scar, and the piercing pain from before seemed to vanish with the black tide in the sky, as if what had just happened was only a dream.
In the still and dark forest, a buzzing sound like that of bees flying began to gradually resound. Foreign wizards who had come to watch the World Cup looked at the remaining quarter of the Quidditch pitch. Each person's face was etched with shock, fear, and curiosity.
"What was that last thing just now? I mean, your scar, Harry--"
Ron's face was pale, and he stammered to express his guess, but the warning look from Sirius made him shut his mouth.
Bang!
After the crisp boom, Amorta materialized and landed steadily in front of Sirius.
He swept his gaze over the group: Sirius, Mr. Weasley, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George. When he saw Bill and Charlie, Amorta raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile to the two who seemed at a loss for what expression to adopt. Finally, his gaze settled on Viktor Krum at Hermione's side.
"Who are you?" Amorta asked curiously.
The calm tone of the question sent Viktor Krum's sun-blackened face paler than snow, and he shivered violently, nearly toppling over due to his weakness.
"Viktor Krum, sir, I am a seeker from Bulgaria! I study at Durmstrang!"
Krum stammered, speaking broken English.
"In the box, we were blocked by three dark wizards in black cloaks, and it was this child who brought Arthur to come to our aid."
Sirius added.
"You are a student of Karkaroff?"
"Yes, that's right, sir!" Krum's body was tense, as if he had been targeted by a giant dragon.
Amorta nodded slightly, shifting his gaze away from the thin, black, and wizened young man. His eyes swept over the others, except for Sirius, who seemed to be slightly injured, Harry's pale face was somewhat abnormal, and the others were in relatively good condition.
"Where is the black wizard I imprisoned?"
"He was taken away by Fudge. He escaped from the box with us just now and has gone to find Rufus, I suppose. He must be intending to interrogate her."
Amorta nodded thoughtfully, "The wizard I captured is from the underground world. According to their traditions, they usually adopt some measures to prevent mission information from being exposed before going on a mission, so the interrogation by the Ministry of Magic may not yield good results."
After a few seconds of reflection, Amorta returned to his senses. He noticed that everyone's gaze on him was filled with awe, making them too nervous to speak to him. At the same time, people around them also gradually noticed Amorta Brayne's presence here. They slowly approached, getting close enough until they stopped in fear. A small boy about ten or eleven years old raised his camera and aimed it at him, but before he could press the shutter button, his father terrifiedly snatched the camera away and dragged him back into the crowd without looking back.
The wizards around him, each wizard who made contact with him immediately dropped his head, daring not to meet Amorta's gaze directly.
Seeing this situation, Amorta remained calm on the surface, but sighed silently in his heart.
No wonder Dumbledore had spent most of his time at Hogwarts for years, rarely leaving his headmaster's office unless necessary.
People respect Albus Dumbledore, but in a way, it can also be said that Albus Dumbledore is imprisoned at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by the fear people have of his power.
From tonight on, many things will be different.
But to everyone's relief, there were also some whose gaze remained unchanged. Sirius spoke eagerly,
"What's going on, Amorta? How did you suddenly appear here, and what about that woman and that shadow just now--"
When Harry was about to say something about the powerful witch and the shadow, Amorta raised his hand to stop him. Looking around, Amorta calmly said,
"This is not the place for a conversation. Let's find another spot."
"Let's go to our tent, just outside the forest--" Sirius nodded.
"I have to go find some people from the Ministry, Sirius--"
Although he was eagerly curious about the topic to be discussed, Mr. Weasley hesitated for a moment before suggesting he leave. For the Ministry of Magic, tonight's disaster had just begun - rescue, investigation, compensation, and other matters to mitigate its impact would keep them busy until Christmas.
"Come on, I figure the Ministry won't be far behind me either."
Amorta walked forward, and as he passed, the crowd automatically parted for him. People huddled to one side, looking at him with awe-struck eyes, but no one dared to approach him to speak.
"Thank you for your help just now, Krum!"
Hermione nodded her thanks to Krum and then quickly sprinted to catch up with the group, leaving Krum alone standing there, feeling lost and watching the backs of the departing group silently for a long time.
The camp of the spectators looked like the apocalypse.
Although the commotion at the field had died down, that did not mean safety, as people everywhere were hurrying to pack up and flee. Some Ministry of Magic employees scattered in various places tried to maintain order, but it was useless.
One unfortunate individual, due to panic, failed to perform a Patronus charm properly and found his body splitting into two; one leg landed dozens of feet away from the rest of his body, leaving him unable to move either part. He lay on the ground in agony, howling pitifully until a Ministry employee hurried over and helped reunite his body.
Witnessing this scene, the faces of Sirius' group became grave. No one knew how many people had been injured or even lost their lives in the chaos of tonight.
A group of people entered the tent, and Sirius led them to the back garden. Only after Amorta had sat down did everyone take their seats in turn. The atmosphere was heavy, and although they had just witnessed a duel that could be inscribed in history, no one was ecstatic.
Thump--
Amorta placed the grapevine wand before him, and the bizarre-looking wand immediately attracted everyone's respectful gaze. Although the mysterious witch had been defeated by Amorta tonight, her sense of oppression was still unparalleled.
"Where's Remus? He didn't stay with you guys?"
Amorta tiredly massaged his temples, acknowledging that he had also exerted his full strength in the face-to-face confrontation with Vitia Krioena.
"Arthur saw Remus defeat a wizard in a cloak just before coming to our aid. He was injured, so Arthur had a colleague take Remus to St. Mungo's."
Thinking of Remus being admitted to the hospital again after just being discharged from St. Mungo's, Sirius' eyes flickered with a hint of shadow.
Amorta nodded, and his hand moved away from his forehead. He noticed that Harry was eagerly looking at him, so he nodded and smiled at him,
"What do you want to tell me, Harry?"
"Professor Brayne!"
"When Professor Brayne began to speak, the tense atmosphere finally began to ease. Harry clanged his chair and stood up with both hands on the table, eagerly saying,"
"The witch who wanted to take me, who is she? Do you know her?"
Needless to say, this was the most intriguing question at the moment. From the conversation between Professor Brayne and the witch during the confrontation, it was clear that they knew each other; there was no doubt about that.
"This question is quite complicated, actually..." Amorta laughed mockingly.
"It is of no importance to you to know the identity of the witch, and what I can tell you is that she and I have a grudge. I have been tracking her down, and I didn't expect her to appear here today."
"In my dreams, I saw her, Professor. The witch, she was with Voldemort!"
Harry's words immediately caused a gasp in the garden, aside from Sirius and Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, the Weasley children were all shocked when they heard Harry mention the name of the mysterious person.
"Dreams?"
Amorta furrowed his brow.
"Remember the letter Harry wrote me before, Amorta? We were still on our adventure then."
Sirius' face was serious, and he tried to explain the situation in simple terms to Amorta. After that, he stared at Harry's eyes tightly,
"Are you sure you haven't made a mistake, Harry?"
"I swear!"
"Eagerly, Harry said, 'The witch and Voldemort appeared in an old house, and they were discussing a conspiracy. No, they wanted to capture me--'”
It was not until tonight that Harry remembered some of the details from his dream.
Hermione covered her mouth, her eyes filled with worry, while Ron, including his siblings, had expressions of incomprehension.
Amorta's calm expression also calmed down his anxiety. After swallowing and taking a deep breath, he said,
"There was an old man in the old house, a Muggle, I think. He must have been killed by Voldemort. Oh, Bertha Jorkins; Voldemort must have killed her too!"
(Chapter ends)
