Chapter 465 - 465: 465: The Part About Running Away

One of the Death Eaters was muttering something about everyone being fucking brothers, while the other was going on about courage and bonds before sending a wave of magical power straight at Ron, who was having the time of his life fighting.

When Sirius and the other two saw that the newcomers were only using a simple magical disturbance with barely any killing power, they became even more certain that these were extras Dumbledore had sent over.

The three of them, who had nearly managed to lose a three-on-two fight, immediately avoided the brunt of the attack and withdrew from the front line for the moment, planning to catch their breath.

Ron, seeing two more Death Eaters arrive, still assumed this was all part of Dumbledore's little performance. So he casually sent a Sectumsempra slashing toward them.

Professor Kasenhis was hiding nearby anyway. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Except something did.

The Death Eater's wave of magic wasn't torn apart by Sectumsempra at all.

Instead, it smashed straight through the spell like a truck hitting someone head-on, instantly pulverising it before continuing toward Ron without losing any momentum.

"...Isn't this script getting a little weird?" Kasenhis stared at the scene in confusion.

Using raw magical power alone to smash through Sectumsempra, then still having enough force left to turn Ron into a beef ball?

Did Dumbledore fucking drag Grindelwald over here to work as an extra?

In the end, Kasenhis decided he had better ask.

Still under the effects of an Invisibility Potion, he quickly appeared beside the two of them and whispered, "I'm Kasenhis. Who are you two?"

The two Death Eaters didn't react outwardly at all.

But after hearing the voice and the name, they both discreetly swallowed.

One of them even pretended nothing was wrong, crouched down to tie his shoelace, then casually patted the other Death Eater's trouser leg as though he were brushing off some dust.

To the other Death Eater, however, that gesture meant something entirely different.

Same voice.

Appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

A hand on his shoulder.

And calling himself Kasenhis...

Meanwhile, Kasenhis, standing between them, hadn't even gotten an answer from these two "extras" when Hermione finished checking Ron's injuries.

In short, he was completely fine.

He had probably just attacked a roadside rock with his head a moment ago, which was why he was now lying there fast asleep.

Deep sleep, indeed.

Just as Hermione straightened up again and looked toward the two newly arrived Death Eaters...

"Where did the Death Eaters go?"

Hermione scratched her head in surprise, completely baffled.

Kasenhis, still invisible, was equally confused.

Those two extras had been standing right beside him a second ago.

How had they suddenly disappeared?

At this moment, the lonely forest contained only Hermione and Ron.

At least, visibly.

Unable to find anyone, Hermione helplessly nudged Ron's backside with her foot.

He rolled over, reached back to scratch himself, then promptly passed out again.

Hermione looked as though she'd just swallowed a fly and cast another Cooling Charm on him.

That finally woke Ron up.

"They..."

"Shh."

Hermione hurriedly motioned for Ron to keep quiet.

Ron scratched his head and nodded. "What do we do next?"

Hermione didn't answer. Instead, she turned over the "Tonks" tied behind the broomstick and cast Finite Incantatem, turning her back into a rock.

"You still aren't coming out?" Hermione shouted.

Sirius was just about to step out of the trees with an awkward smile when Lupin grabbed him and pulled him back.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked, bewildered.

"Nothing. I just thought I'd shout and see what happened. What if someone really was there?" Hermione shrugged.

Hidden in the shadows, Sirius let out a breath of relief and instinctively gave Lupin a thumbs-up.

"Nice one, Remus!"

Then, just as they were starting to relax, Hermione spoke again.

"Alright, I was only messing with Ron just now. You didn't actually believe me, did you? Hurry up and come out already," Hermione said, still sounding thoroughly annoyed.

This time, Sirius and the others held their nerve remarkably well.

They stayed hidden even as Hermione started walking straight toward Sirius, reached out, and in one swift motion...

Yanked off his invisibility cloak.

"Take off the disguise," Hermione said with her hands on her hips.

Sirius shrugged helplessly, then tapped his face with his wand and revealed his real appearance.

"Where are the others?" Hermione continued.

Sirius patted Lupin and Tonks, then dragged them out as well.

"There are more," Hermione said.

"Ahem. Hello there."

Kasenhis suddenly appeared behind Hermione.

"What about those other two?" Ron asked.

Clearly, he was still extremely curious about the Death Eater who had nearly turned him into a beef ball with a single wave of magic.

Had that been Dumbledore?

Or Grindelwald?

"No idea. I don't know where Dumbledore found those extras either." Kasenhis spread his hands helplessly.

Dumbledore's habit of adding scenes at the last minute without telling anyone was truly infuriating.

"We need an explanation, Professor Kasenhis. Why did you do this?" Hermione asked, her small face pulled into an extremely serious expression.

Kasenhis looked past her toward Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks for help.

After all, anyone who knew Kasenhis knew that he was terrible at making things up.

Well...

Not exactly good at making things up.

Sirius, on the other hand, was extremely good at this sort of thing.

"An exercise, of course. It was an exercise. Dumbledore's plan. He wanted to test whether the two of you could shoulder the responsibilities of the Order of the Phoenix when all of us adults weren't around."

As Sirius spoke, he looked at Ron, who seemed to be starting to understand, and Hermione, whose face clearly said she didn't believe a word of it.

"By the way, how did you figure it out?"

"We can ask the amazing Hagrid when we get back," Ron explained.

"Uh... I knew letting Hagrid in on it was bound to cause trouble." Sirius scratched his hair helplessly.

For the moment, Sirius managed to bluff his way through the misunderstanding, and the brilliant idea they had come up with on a whim was officially declared a failure.

Still, it wasn't all bad.

At the very least, the Order of the Phoenix got to enjoy a hot lunch in the middle of a winter forest.

Fortunately, they were having hot pot.

In the end, though, Ron still couldn't resist asking the question.

"Professor Dumbledore, who were those two terrifyingly strong Death Eaters supposed to be?"

Dumbledore stared at the two of them in complete confusion.

"What terrifyingly strong Death Eaters? There were only Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks."

...

Meanwhile, in Zambia, Africa...

"Are we going back?" one of the Death Eaters asked as he pulled a cigarette from a hidden compartment beneath his boot and handed it to his good brother beside him.

"Let's run. We didn't even finish the mission, and I really don't want to go back and look at Master's sour face."

"Great minds think alike. I don't want to look at that socket-nosed face either," the other said with a disdainful expression.

"Exactly. Nothing with nostrils like electrical sockets is ever any good!"

As for how the two of them had been in England that morning and ended up in Africa by lunchtime...

When it came to running away, they were professionals.

...

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