Chapter 4: Mystery of the Man in Black
In a trance, Ivan seemed to see gorgeous fireworks.
Red, white, green. All kinds of lights intertwine in the "crackling" explosion, colouring the clear night sky.
The two blurred figures walked briskly and danced gracefully in the stunning scene woven with fireworks and the night sky. They whispered tender words to each other while gazing affectionately, especially at the moment when their paths crossed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Stupefy!"
"Confringo!"
Wait, where is he?
Ivan was shocked, and the subtle sense of happiness that had been lingering in his heart disappeared in an instant. He suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked towards the illuminated place.
It wasn't the Vesemirs' house that came into view, but a hawthorn tree burning in the flames. Not far from it, Ivan saw the black-robed wizard and Alger Rozier waving their wands and casting vicious spells on each other.
So, it turned out that it wasn't people dancing just now. Awkward.
Ivan suppressed the strange thoughts that flashed through his mind, looked away from the two people engaged in fierce battle, and calmly observed the surrounding environment.
This place seems to be somewhere far away from London. There are no houses as far as he can see, only a few scattered trees, all of which have been ignited at this time, and the fire has even begun to spread to the grass.
The strange thing is that the thick smoke caused by the fire did not dissipate around but was bound in place and rose towards the sky under the blowing of the night wind, which seemed to be the effect of some magic spell.
Ivan noticed that it was utterly dark, and it had been at least an hour since Alger came to the door, but why hadn't the Auror arrived yet? Or did these two guys move the battlefield to a place that the Aurors couldn't find for a while?
But why bring him? Ivan couldn't understand what good his being a Squib, who knew nothing about magic, would be to these two dangerous wizards, who would use the Unforgivable Curse, unless they wanted to use him to get some ransom or something.
"You'll regret it!" At that moment, the two in the distance already seemed to have settled on a winner. Argel roared and cast a curse at the black-robed wizard, but he easily blocked it.
"Don't Voldemort's followers like to talk harshly when they can't beat someone?" The black-robed wizard sneered, "It's a pity that your master can't help you out now."
Alger let out a beast-like roar in his fury, and just when Ivan thought he was going to fight to the death, he suddenly waved his wand and cast a spell, blocking the black-robed wizard's attack, and then, "With a loud bang, he turned into a plume of black smoke and vanished on the spot.
What kind of Apparating was that? Ivan was stunned.
"He ran away fast enough." The black-robed wizard stared at the place where Alger disappeared, snorted coldly, and then swung his wand, and the raging fire was quickly extinguished.
Then he turned and looked at Ivan, who had lain back down where he was, pretending to be dead again.
"Get up, I won't hurt you." The wizard in black robes strolled in front of Ivan and nudged him with his foot. "If I had wanted you dead, you would have been gone a long time ago."
Ivan didn't expect his facade to work, but he had to give it a go anyway. When he realised he'd been uncovered, he reopened his eyes and got to his feet.
The black-robed wizard didn't waste any time and bluntly said, "When you get home, go to the basement, find a book called Household Appliance Maintenance Diagrams."
Ivan was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Household Appliance Maintenance Diagrams?"
Although the black-robed wizard's face was covered entirely, Ivan felt the frown through it.
"Yes, you heard right, Household Appliance Maintenance Diagrams is a book you find in many Muggle families' households." The wizard in black robes sounded a bit impatient. "It's a large book, printed with pictures of common electrical appliances. It also includes instructions for fixing them. In short, can you look for it and find it?"
Ivan nodded hesitantly.
The black-robed wizard seemed very satisfied with his obedient response, and even his tone became much lighter.
After you find it, turn to page 16, use your wand to point at the number marked on the page, and say a spell—" the black-robed wizard slowed down his speech and said word by word, 'for the greater good'."
Page 16? Why page 16? And what does it mean 'for the greater good'? This line sounds familiar. Had he heard it somewhere before? Realising that he had been asked to do something impossible. Ivan's thoughts turned, but he still nodded on the surface.
The black-robed wizard also nodded, put away his wand, turned around, and seemed to be about to leave.
Ivan hesitated.
"Uh, sorry, sir, I have a question." He stopped the black-robed wizard.
"What is the problem?"
You may not know, but I'm a squib. Ivan wrung his hands, his expression helpless.
"It's just you mentioned that I need to cast magic. I won't be able to do what you requested."
The black-robed wizard was slightly taken aback.
"Ah, that's right! You're still a Squib." He slapped his forehead violently and muttered to himself, looking suddenly enlightened.
Then, he reached into his sleeve, groped for a moment under Ivan's watchful eyes, and took out a small dark bottle.
"Drink it," the black-robed wizard said without hesitation.
"What's this?" Ivan asked. Looking at the black liquid trembling in the bottle, he couldn't help but frown.
"It's a baby." The black-robed wizard replied sarcastically.
For some reason, Ivan suddenly felt that the black-robed wizard's tone had become strange, which gave him a faint sense of foreboding.
It's like this, sir, I think, can you first—" Ivan carefully considered his words, but before he could finish speaking, the black-robed wizard uncorked the bottle and forced the black liquid into his mouth.
Ivan, clutching his throat, let out a pained cry. "Arghhh!"
The moment the black liquid was poured into his mouth, a severe pain combined with a rushing heat surged through his entire body.
Ivan opened his mouth and breathed in unconsciously. The intense suffocation made him want to take another breath of air to ease the unbearable pain. Still, the black liquid took the opportunity to flow into his stomach.
In an instant, a series of strange and unspeakable images flickered before his eyes: snapshots of him gazing at his parents and siblings in front of the hospital bed before he died in his previous life, images of his birth at Vesemir's house, and scenes of him getting lost. The scene at the end seemed cloaked in a thin layer of fog, with only faint outlines visible, yet its details remained unclear.
Ivan stared at the black-robed wizard standing in front of him with wide eyes, pointed at him with trembling fingers, rolled his eyes, fell to the ground, and passed out.
His last thought before he passed out.
I know who you are.
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