What is an Auror?
An Auror is one of the most elite wizards in the magical world.
Each of them must pass the most rigorous examinations to be selected. In the UK, even after graduating from Hogwarts, aspiring Aurors must undergo three full years of additional training, and many don't make it to the end.
In other words, Aurors form the sharpest spearhead of the magical world's defense. They maintain peace and are always the ones fighting on the front lines during times of crisis, especially during the two darkest periods of Voldemort's reign.
Of course, the Aurors in America are no less impressive. Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the founding of the American Magical Congress, Aurors there are held in even higher regard than those in the UK. The very first American magical government was protected by twelve founding Aurors, and most of their descendants went on to hold prominent positions in the government. So naturally, the status of Aurors in America is incredibly high.
This was terrible news for Allen, who was on the run. The stronger the Aurors, the greater the pressure on him.
Apparition can be tracked, especially by trained Aurors. They specialize in it. Death Eaters might be strong in battle, but they are hopelessly inferior when it comes to such technical skills.
Which was why Allen was now sprinting across the wilderness, a very common sight in America.
In truth, much of the U.S. is made up of uninhabited land or sparsely populated farms. Most of the population is concentrated in big cities, small towns, or Native American reservations.
Unlike other countries, America, aside from places like the Great Plains, the Grand Canyon, or the western Andes, is largely flat and livable. And because it was developed by immigrants, there's virtually no concept of rural villages.
Although Allen didn't know exactly where he had Apparated to, he was quick to judge the direction away from the town using the sun. He had no idea where this path would lead him, but it was bound to be more pleasant than a wizarding prison. He had never seen an American prison before, but if Azkaban was anything to go by, then this place couldn't be much better.
Thanks to the many useful everyday spells he'd learned during his training mission, Allen was able to keep up a decent pace. Still unfamiliar with the terrain, he opted to go straight through, unfortunately, the thick grass and bushes in this area reached all the way up to his chest. He used the Trailblazer Charm, a spell made specifically for clearing dense underbrush.
However, while this allowed him to move faster, it also left a glaringly obvious trail behind. Even an ordinary person with no forest experience could follow the chaos he left, let alone a seasoned Auror. As long as they weren't blind, they'd have no trouble tracking him.
This wasn't going to work.
After scrambling up a small hill, Allen paused, frowning as he looked back at the obvious path he'd carved through the landscape. He began weighing his options. His large-scale escape spell was still on cooldown, both mentally and magically, it would take too long to recover. And his Phantom Step had an even longer cooldown.
Which meant he had only two choices.
Option one: Use Recall and return to Britain. That would mean giving up the mission entirely, but also ending the danger. The international-range recall spell wasn't something even an Auror could trace.
Option two: Spend money to escape. Use the system to summon a Hero. While he couldn't fully access a Hero's abilities yet, not even for the most efficient use of resources, a basic level of their power might just be enough to get him out of this mess.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
Half an hour later, Auror Vernon arrived at the small hill where Allen had stopped.
Tracking him had been far easier than Vernon expected. The real problem was the crowd. During peacetime, the Ministry didn't give Aurors the authority to use force in mundane cases, even when people blocked their way.
It took him fifteen whole minutes to clear the crowd with some subtle magic, faster than average, actually. At one point, two greedy bystanders arguing over a single Galleon even asked him to be their judge. He'd almost cast a hex out of sheer frustration!
Backtracking the trace of the Apparition, or whatever similar magic Allen had used, had taken another thirty minutes. Far longer than he'd anticipated. He suspected it was a special encrypted version of Apparition, which only reinforced his mixed feelings. On one hand, it proved that Allen was dangerous, any wizard capable of using such a high-level spell was surely up to no good, just like no decent wizard dabbles in the Dark Arts. On the other hand, the delay had probably ruined his chance of catching the boy.
But just as one door closed, another opened.
The reckless brat clearly had zero experience with counter-surveillance. He wasn't even good at wilderness survival. The amount of obvious clues he'd left behind along the way was laughable!
Vernon was thrilled. This was a big catch! A kid that young with no counter-intel skills, yet capable of using such advanced apparition, could only come from one place, a major illegal organization. Only a prodigy within such a group would be given access to this kind of training. This meant Vernon might be on the verge of unraveling a whole network of dark wizards!
His blood surged with excitement. As an adult, his stride was much longer than Allen's. And since Allen had to keep clearing the brush while running, Vernon knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up.
Unfortunately, his hopes were crushed when he reached the hilltop.
The trail ended completely.
Gone were the childish, obvious marks. Not even a trace of them remained.
"Damn it," Vernon muttered. "Did the brat Apparate again?"
Impossible. Consecutive uses of Apparition were extremely taxing. For a kid that age, even using it once meant he was a magical genius. There was no way he could do it twice in a short period.
Still unwilling to give up, Vernon searched the surrounding area for any remaining clues.
Eventually, persistence paid off. On a grassy slope, he found a patch of wet grass. That sly little brat! He must've slid down from here! Vernon grinned and cursed lightly, Allen had nearly fooled him with that last move. He'd cleverly conjured water to make the grass stand back up and hide his path. But the moisture hadn't fully dried, giving away his trick.
Vernon looked down the slope and saw a small town in the distance. If he wasn't mistaken, that's where Allen had gone. Still, he decided to stick to the path just in case the boy had pulled another fast one.
But just as he slid halfway down the slope, an unfamiliar spell rang out,
"Binding Roots!"
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