Tom had warned Lei not to be late coming back.
However, for someone accustomed to a peaceful life in 21st-century China, it wasn't so easy to quickly develop a heightened sense of security in this sudden new environment.
Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Lei struggled, and all three of them fell to the ground. Breaking free from the attacker's control, Lei ignored the pain and quickly scrambled to his feet.
He was just a child, facing two adults. Physically, he had no chance of winning. Unless Lei could quickly take one of them down, he might still have a chance to escape.
The entrance to Knockturn Alley wasn't just guarded by these two robbers. Several others stood deeper within, like addicts hoping for handouts from passersby.
The contents of the cart were now scattered everywhere, and these people naturally wanted a share. Moreover, there were also people in the depths of Knockturn Alley who were interested in young wizards.
Knockturn Alley was a black market for Dark Magic items. Who knew if someone would use a young wizard for Dark Magic research or something similar?
When Harry Potter used Floo Powder to travel, he accidentally ended up in Knockturn Alley. If he hadn't met Hagrid passing by, he might have been in danger.
If this were in his previous life, eleven-year-old Lei would have been at the mercy of others. But now, things were different. Lei had magic, and he was also holding a wand, which was equivalent to holding a ready-made gun.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Lei, who had just stood up, cast the killing curse at the vagrant lunging at him.
This wasn't the time to be soft-hearted. Judging by the other person's intentions, it was clear they weren't just after a few things. If Lei didn't go for the kill, he would definitely be the one who died.
Moreover, he had watched the Harry Potter movies for many years. If he had to say which spell left the deepest impression, it would be this one: Avada Kedavra. He believed that over eighty percent of people who had watched Harry Potter knew this curse.
As for other attack spells, in his panic, Lei truly couldn't remember any.
The single word "Avada Kedavra" directly terrified the person in front of him, causing them to lose their soul. As for those who had come to rob him from the depths of the alley behind Lei, their raised footsteps immediately stopped.
'Avada Kedavra' is one of the three Unforgivable Curses.
Who knew that a young wizard, seemingly just eleven years old, would be such a ruthless character, immediately casting the most potent of the three Unforgivable Curses right after getting up?
Avada Kedavra, the killing curse, leaves no room for survival.
The two vagrants in front of Lei's eyes were green with fear. With two thuds, one of them, thinking he was hit, reflexively sat on the ground. As for the one pushing the cart, he directly knelt on the ground, because he was prepared to beg for mercy.
However, after everyone paused for a second, they realized that the 'Avada Kedavra' curse hadn't worked as intended; there wasn't even a ripple in the air.
"Heh heh…"
A sinister laughter rang out, and the vagrant who had been ashen-faced, thinking he was hit, suddenly started laughing again.
It wasn't just him; even the few junkies behind Lei, looking like they were sick, were laughing too.
"Stupefy."
"Avada Kedavra."
Lei cast the spells twice more, and the results were obvious. Even Voldemort, when first obtaining a wand, couldn't immediately unleash the Unforgivable Curses.
Things were a bit presumptuous, but the flustered Lei didn't give up. Amidst the laughter of the bandits, the wand in his hand pointed at another stone on the ground.
The Unforgivable Curses couldn't be cast, but magic was undeniably present.
Without a wand, Lei could still use telekinesis. Now that he had a wand, controlling a small piece of rubble to hit someone shouldn't be a problem.
The stone on the ground indeed quickly floated up at Lei's gaze, and his right hand waved the wand. The bandit, who had just been terrified by 'Avada Kedavra', was hit squarely by the flying stone amidst the laughter.
Bang!
A sound of flesh, and blood splattered. Then, a scream like a slaughtering pig: "Ah! My eyes..."
The rock was much bigger than a fist, and it flew forward, smashing directly into the man's face. The impact instantly knocked the homeless man out of the fight.
However, the rock fell to the ground after the hit because Lei couldn't yet maintain continuous control. He could only prepare to make the rock fly again, using it to smash the people rushing towards him from behind.
But things couldn't always go as planned. Making the rock fly still took a little bit of time.
The people rushing from behind naturally wouldn't give him any more chances. Just as he controlled the rock to hit the first person, the others had already rushed up. Someone knocked the wand out of his hand, grabbed his shoulder, and gave him a yank.
The streetwalkers in Knockturn Alley, though sickly and appearing to be on their last legs, were still adults with considerable strength. Lei's small frame was tossed, thrown deeper into Knockturn Alley.
He slammed into the wall, then fell to the ground. The pain and the impact made Lei's head spin, and he saw stars.
Even so, Lei ignored the pain and tried to get up. But there were five people in total, and they wouldn't give this child a chance. Before he could fully get up, he was stomped on his back.
"Ugh..."
With a roar, Lei struggled desperately. He didn't want to die here; he still had so much magic to learn. His life in this world had only just begun.
However, there was a crack.
Lei's head, which he had just lifted, was slammed back down to the ground by someone's hand. His mouth, which was open in a shout, was not only battered and bloody but also had several teeth knocked out.
The most critical thing was that the impact was incredibly violent, leaving him with no strength to struggle.
"This kid has decent magical power; he should fetch a good price."
"Indeed, only one person is here to buy school supplies. He's probably an orphan, with nothing to worry about."
Lei's eyes glazed over, and his body was completely limp. He knew what awaited him next.
However, just as these people were about to collect their spoils, a low, drawn-out whisper suddenly echoed through the alley.
"Unforgivable Curse Incantation."
The voice that emerged was obscure and difficult to understand, not like a spell, but definitely not human language either.
The vagrants, who had been happily chattering, suddenly shivered. This dangerous whisper sounded as if it had been spoken right beside their ears. The perilous feeling was like the sound of a death curse.
The sense of impending death quickly filled their bodies, and even the temperature in the air seemed to drop rapidly. Everyone looked around suspiciously, wanting to know where this deadly whisper had come from.
After searching left and right, everyone finally looked at Lei, who was being controlled. However, Lei hadn't spoken, or at least no one had seen him make that sound, not even the person controlling him.
At some point, a thin layer of black mist had seeped out of the dark ground of Knockturn Alley.
The black mist was like ink, quickly wrapping around everyone's feet.
"Ahhh…" Terrified screams immediately erupted. The vagrants' feet, caught in the black mist, were held fast by something, and they couldn't move no matter how they struggled.
Such events happened very suddenly. During the struggle, some lost their balance and fell to the ground.
For those who fell, the black mist immediately transformed into black hands, swiftly wrapping around them and pulling them down with force.
Beneath this black mist seemed to be an endless swamp, and those who were ensnared soon had only their hands reaching desperately towards the sky.
Screams echoed continuously throughout the alley. Regardless of who heard these chilling screams, no one showed any intention of coming to investigate.
Because this was Knockturn Alley, not Diagon Alley. Screams were a common occurrence in Knockturn Alley, especially at night.
Lei hadn't completely passed out. He also heard a long, drawn-out, and difficult-to-understand sound.
But by the time he reacted, everyone was lying on the narrow passage of Knockturn Alley. They were like people who had drowned, their eyes wide open, their hands reaching for the sky.
Lei was naturally frightened by the long sound he had just heard.
After getting up, Lei first retrieved his wand, then quickly gathered the scattered items on the ground, and pulled his trolley as he rushed out of Knockturn Alley.
The brick wall at the entrance to Diagon Alley was moving aside. When Lei burst out of Knockturn Alley, Tom was standing at the doorway.
"Oh, Merlin's beard, what happened to you…."
An orphan, with no acquaintances, Tom naturally didn't think he had anywhere else to go. It was getting late, so he'd come to Diagon Alley to look for Lei, who hadn't returned, and he found him covered in blood.
It was obvious what had happened. Tom looked towards Knockturn Alley on the right.
However, what he didn't expect at all was that there were several people inside Knockturn Alley, lying silently on the ground. And by the looks of them…
"These damned trash. This is… Dark Magic."
Tom's curse turned into a gasp of horror halfway through, because he also saw how those people had died.
"How did you escape, child?"
Lei shook his head, not knowing. He recounted what had happened. He hadn't seen the inky black fog, only heard the obscure, drawn-out sounds. This made Tom think that perhaps someone had secretly helped Lei, but that person had used Dark Magic.
Tom didn't dwell on the issue outwardly, and then he led Lei back to the Leaky Cauldron. As for the Dark Magic, he didn't bring it up again. Perhaps he already had a plan in mind; he would tell Dumbledore at Hogwarts.
Back at the pub, Tom used magic to fix Lei's missing teeth.
The hunchbacked waiter, dressed in a black robe, quickly brought Lei's belongings to the room on the second floor.
The hunchbacked waiter had pointed ears and a warm smile. Lei seriously suspected he might have some Goblin blood in him. Under the waiter's enthusiastic service, Lei finally settled into a room with a window on the second floor.
With a loud boom, a train roared past on the tracks. The height of the room was perfectly aligned with the railway bridge.
Lei looked around the room. Although it was old and noisy, it was absolutely clean.
The dingy appearance of the Leaky Cauldron was just a facade; aside from the noise, it was actually a decent place to stay.
Lei was very grateful to be alive and back here. He replayed the obscure and difficult-to-understand whispers in his mind, and found it almost unbelievable that he seemed to have heard them somewhere before.
....
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