Chapter 412

Chapter 412: Chapter 412

"You have three days!"

As the third announcement faded, the entirety of Hogsmeade seemed to freeze.

The voice echoed once more beneath the night sky before disappearing completely.

Those who had been shouting only moments earlier now stood motionless in the street.

Their reactions varied. Some frowned, others gritted their teeth, and a few stared blankly ahead. Many quietly glanced toward Lynn and Elias as if trying to confirm something.

Whispers soon rose from every direction.

"The one with dark-brown hair is Elias, isn’t he?"

The voice came from the left, where a witch stood with dust covering her face and one corner of her robes badly scorched.

"That’s him," replied the wizard beside her.

One of his arms had been injured and hastily wrapped in a strip of cloth so saturated with blood that its original color was impossible to determine.

His eyes remained fixed on Elias, filled with complicated emotions.

"If we hand him over to Ranrok..." a third person tentatively suggested from farther away, "we can get our families back."

The suggestion was like a stone thrown into a still lake.

More people began nodding.

"That’s right. The goblins want him, not us."

"If we surrender him, they’ll release our families."

"We aren’t the ones demanding his life. The goblins are."

"He caused this trouble. Why should the rest of us suffer for it?"

The whispers multiplied and gradually grew into open discussion.

Lynn immediately reached for his wand.

He could understand their desire to rescue their families.

But if they intended to trade someone standing beside him for their relatives, they had crossed a line.

Lynn had already stepped forward when a hand suddenly pressed down on his.

"Calm down!"

Elias didn’t speak loudly, but his voice carried clearly above the surrounding whispers.

Lynn turned toward him with a slight frown.

His expression plainly asked whether Elias was an idiot.

These people were considering handing him over to his enemies, yet Elias intended to let them go?

He was far too forgiving.

Seeing Lynn’s expression, Elias’s lip twitched.

He released Lynn’s hand and leaned closer, lowering his voice until only the two of them could hear.

"It would be unwise to attack them in public."

He paused.

"Wait until no one is watching."

Lynn stared at him.

Then he silently removed the word kind from his assessment of Elias.

He had seriously underestimated the boy’s lack of compassion.

How could someone who smiled while casting Killing Curses possibly be merciful?

Lynn looked back at the crowd.

None of them realized how close they had come to being struck by lightning.

Crack!

A sharp pop sounded outside the Three Broomsticks, and a figure appeared from thin air.

The newcomer had gray-white hair, a high hairline, and a broad forehead. His face was long, with prominent cheekbones and a square jaw. His skin possessed the pallor of someone who rarely saw sunlight, while his deep-set eyes rested beneath a pronounced brow.

"Professor Fig," Elias said.

Professor Fig’s gaze swept across the crowd and their whispering faces before settling on Elias.

His furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted as though a heavy burden had finally eased.

"Thank goodness you’re unharmed."

He hurried toward Elias.

"Come back to Hogwarts with me. Quickly."

Professor Fig seized Elias by the arm.

"It’s far too dangerous here."

Without another word, he pulled a beer bottle from his pocket.

The two vanished instantly.

Silence returned to the street.

"Damn it."

The curse came from within the crowd, quiet but perfectly audible.

"We should have acted sooner."

The speaker was a wizard in his forties. A deep scar ran from the corner of his left eye to his chin.

Beside him stood a younger wizard who appeared to be in his early thirties.

Both stared at the place where Elias had disappeared, frustration twisting their faces.

"What do we do now?" the younger man asked.

The older wizard remained silent for a moment.

"We go back—"

A bolt of blue-white lightning descended from the sky.

Boom!

It struck so quickly that the two men barely had time to widen their eyes.

Thunder shook Hogsmeade, rattling the windows lining both sides of the street.

The two wizards went rigid.

Then they collapsed with a pair of heavy thuds, sending a small cloud of dust into the air.

Their bodies continued twitching, their fingers curling involuntarily. Their eyes remained open and unfocused, while their tongues hung from their slack mouths.

The street fell silent once again.

...

Hogwarts Castle grew clearer beneath the moonlight.

Lynn descended from the night sky and landed gently on the stone steps outside the Entrance Hall.

As he approached the castle’s western tower, he spotted a familiar figure emerging from the opposite end of the corridor.

It was Elias.

His steps were heavy, and his complexion looked terrible, as though someone had painted a thin layer of gray beneath his skin.

Lynn slowed.

"What happened?"

Elias raised his head, his voice cold.

"Ranrok took Sebastian."

"Sebastian?"

Elias nodded.

"He’s my best friend. He’s the one who taught me the Killing Curse."

Lynn’s eyebrows rose slightly.

A student teaching another student the Killing Curse?

It seemed Sebastian wasn’t exactly a model citizen either.

Then Lynn reconsidered.

If Lord Voldemort had captured Edgar, William, or Ollie, his own expression would have been even worse than Elias’s.

He set those thoughts aside and focused on the matter at hand.

"Do you know where they’re holding him?"

Elias nodded again.

"If everything has gone as I expect, he’ll be at Rookwood Castle. Rookwood was the one who captured him."

"I’ll go with you."

"Good," Elias replied.

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