Tracking a wizard using magic is child's play. Shielding themselves with magic, however, complicates things. Factor in immense power and high magical skill? Formidable. Yet Cassandra and her companions faced no such challenge. Tom sought the Voldemort (remnant soul), and no matter its magical prowess, resistance was futile.
But Tom never embraced the straightforward path. Directly confronting the boss? Far too dull. So, with Cassandra and the others casting resentful glances his way, Tom merely pinpointed the Voldemort (remnant soul)'s general location and a few magical items to negate its Disillusionment Charm and Apparition. "Find it yourselves," he commanded.
What could they do? Tom offered no further aid.
"Split up?" Harry suggested.
"No," Cassandra replied, "Hermione and I will go together."
Watching Cassandra and Hermione depart, Harry shrugged, his shoulders slumping with resignation. "Let's go, Malfoy."
Hearing his name, Malfoy hastily crammed two more sweets into his mouth before hurrying after Harry, narrowly colliding with a lavishly dressed woman.
"Now that they've all left…" Nagini slithered closer to Tom as their lips drew nearer, her warm breath grazing his earlobe. "You were awake all night. Shall we return to sleep?"
Tom raised an eyebrow. What is this little snake plotting? Is she attempting to erode my enjoyment? Ha! Tom glanced at the ticking clock. It appears there's ample time remaining.
...
On Birmingham's streets, both well-dressed and ragged individuals walked past Harry and Malfoy, leaving a mixed trail of perfume and foul odors. Cars roared as a tall double-decker bus pulled up to the stop. Harry paused at the roadside, Malfoy beside him.
"Blast it! Who's so inconsiderate as to spit chewing gum on the street?!" Harry ground his teeth, scraping his shoe against the cobblestones. Malfoy chuckled.
"Hmm?"
Harry glared, earning a gesture of silence from Malfoy, before deciding on his next move. Let me reminisce about what the Master just said…Go Harry! The murderer of your mother is right there! I abandoned the Voldemort (remnant soul) somewhere here! Go find him, go kill him!
Even if his master had not commanded it, he would have sought to destroy the Voldemort (remnant soul), regardless.
At last, he managed to wipe the gum away. "Let's go, Malfoy. It's just ahead." With a magical device similar to a compass, he checked for the source of the Voldemort (remnant soul)'s magical aura.
...
As time trickled by, they encountered fewer and fewer people the deeper they ventured, just as they had the night before, until they were entirely alone. It resembled a scene from a horror film.
"A Muggle-Repelling Charm?"
Caressing his chin, his hand tucked into his pocket holding the treasure box, Malfoy added, "That's quite a feat, covering such a vast area."
"Malfoy, be cautious." Harry instinctively warned him. Based on countless hours watching horror films with Dudley, this usually indicated that something strange was about to occur.
"Ugh~ Harry, you're just unnecessarily worried. We've been here for so long. Why are you still—"
As Malfoy spoke, he was cut short.
Boom—
A deafening explosion reverberated from the distant high-rise. More explosions followed! The multi-story building's windows shattered, layer by layer. Smoke mixed with reflective debris and metal fragments poured outwards as the tower collapsed instantly.
"…"
Malfoy's mouth hung open, his eyes wide, now gripping the treasure box tighter.
"Hurry, Malfoy!"
"Okay!"
Harry sprinted towards the collapsed building, convinced that their target was within. Malfoy followed closely, extracting his magic box and wand, prepared for a fight.
...
Rewind to five minutes earlier.
Inside the building, chaos reigned as two groups clashed. Armed with formidable machine guns, Gatling guns, and even rocket launchers, the Hunter family and their allies unleashed a witch hunt against the wizards trapped inside.
The wizards, who had come to hunt down the Voldemort (remnant soul), found themselves pinned down. They erected Protego (Shield Charm) to deflect bullets or desperately sought cover to retaliate.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The sound of bullets tore through the air. Tables, chairs, and potted plants were riddled with holes, the glass panels shattering one by one. Fortunately, the street below was deserted. A chaotic rain of bullets could have resulted in serious injury or death.
A flurry of colorful spells descended upon the Muggle gangsters, leaving them paralyzed, severely wounded, or frozen with Petrificus Totalus. The fallen Muggles soon littered the entire floor.
The wizards, however, couldn't afford to relax. They had repelled wave after wave of enemies, but these damned Muggle gangsters appeared endless, with more machine guns always seeming to arrive.
Despite a clear numerical advantage in kills, the wizards had suffered heavy losses in such a short time. This confrontation revealed the vulnerabilities of wizards to overwhelming firepower before achieving a certain level of strength. Insufficiently strong Protego (Shield Charm) could not withstand heavy artillery. Only Auror-level wizards could confidently survive a dense hail of bullets.
"Damn it! These Muggles, haven't we endured enough of a witch hunt?!"
"Blast it! What were those exploding things?!"
The remaining ten or so wizards sought refuge behind pillars and other objects, constantly countering to drive back the Muggle gang. However, they were clearly outmatched as the other side had far too many men. They were completely cornered. After all, experienced wizards all possessed some form of survival magic or desperate spells.
Just as the wizards prepared for a suicidal all-out attack using dark magic, the Muggle gangsters abruptly ceased their assault and retreated.
The confused wizards were completely unsure if they were being tricked, until they cautiously peered out to investigate… and saw the strange devices flashing red, beeping…
Regrettably, they lacked the life-saving ability of Apparition.
Boom—
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