The spells were blocked or repelled, though maintaining the barrier under so many attacks demanded a lot from us. Even so, we managed to remain unscathed before dispersing it, as keeping it active for too long would drain too much energy.
"I don't think you want to keep this up. It won't benefit anyone," I said loudly so everyone could hear me.
"Stop that lunatic! He's attacked Ministry personnel!" yelled the irritating man at the Aurors, accompanied by others who, judging by their attire, weren't Aurors themselves.
I recognized a few familiar faces among them, some of whom seemed hesitant at his orders. However, orders were orders. The Aurors glanced at their injured colleagues on the ground and, without questioning whether we were guilty or innocent, raised their wands against us.
"It seems this won't end peacefully. Ready for a big move, my love?" I grinned at Tonks.
"This is going to be too easy," Tonks replied confidently. While their numbers made it challenging, she showed no fear.
"Alright, ladies, stay inside. If you want to help, attack from the windows. And I don't want any deaths—neither theirs nor ours," I said to the werewolf women as I stretched my shoulders and wrists.
"Surrender!" demanded one of the Aurors, who seemed to be an actual leader, unlike the others.
"Sorry, but I have to defend myself when attacked," I replied, bowing slightly in a theatrical gesture before softly whispering, "Nebulus."
The fog spread rapidly from my position, covering the area. The Aurors reacted immediately, casting spells into the mist, while some tried to dispel it. The beams of their spells pierced the smoke without finding a target, increasing their anxiety. While I couldn't show one of my greatest strengths—blood magic—through Tenebrius to keep my identity concealed, that didn't stop me from enhancing my spells with it, ensuring the fog remained resilient.
The Aurors paused their attack, waiting for some signal, ready to defend or resume the fight. They all focused on the entrance of my shop, still shrouded in fog, trusting their assault had been effective. Then, they heard a faint voice uttering words. Though it sounded soft, it carried a terrifying aura.
"Sfyrí mou hē mageía ákmon dè hē gē: seismós."
The faint yet resonant voice made them react; they began attacking again in a preemptive attempt. However, as I completed the incantation and pointed my wand at the ground, they lost sight of their target. A shockwave spread through the earth, causing it to quake and throwing them several inches into the air, making many collapse to the ground.
At that moment, the Aurors' cohesion broke, and several spells emerged from the fog, targeting them.
"Incarcerous."
"Petrificus Totalus."
"Stupefy."
"Depulso."
Several of the Aurors, vulnerable due to the surprise and confusion, were incapacitated before most could recover and resume the battle.
Two figures moved through the fog, now almost dissipated, advancing among the Aurors.
"Show me if you're worthy of facing me," I shouted, drawing their attention and making myself an obvious target.
A barrage of spells was directed at me, but I swiftly dodged while raising a protective barrier, smiling. I wasn't the one they should be worried about. I was merely a distraction.
Tonks, having taken the appearance of one of the fallen Aurors inside the shop, infiltrated a central position among several of them and then raised her wand.
"Metéora sídera bréchei," she cast. Dust on the ground began to rise around the tip of her wand, transforming into shards of metal that exploded with force in all directions.
The explosion of shards was devastating for the nearby Aurors, who were struck and thrown backward into their comrades. This was an excellent spell against large groups, though also dangerous for allies, as it didn't distinguish between friend and foe. Casting it without alerting your teammates was a major mistake.
Taking advantage of the distraction Tonks created, I resumed the attack, sending a wave of fire toward them before moving to another position to continue the assault. Tonks and I had excellent unspoken coordination and easily regrouped as we retreated toward the shop. There, we continued defending and attacking, with her covering me as I prepared another of our large-scale war spells, ready to keep fighting as a team.
Those spells we had learned in the war were proving quite useful now against large numbers. However, their weaknesses were evident, as were the reasons they hadn't endured to the present day. They were lengthy and tedious, both in wand movements and incantation, and required a high energy consumption. If it weren't for my use of blood magic as a substitute for regular magic, along with a much greater reserve than most wizards, I wouldn't be able to keep this up. That's why I primarily used them while Tonks focused on modern spells most of the time.
The intensity of our fight drew too much attention, and soon more Aurors and other individuals arrived. The pressure on us grew, but instead of stopping us, it drove us to use increasingly powerful—though dangerous—magic. Tonks and I became wilder, with visible wounds on our bodies but still fighting. I think seeing Tonks' injuries made me lose my reason more and more, involuntarily triggering [Wrath].
"Let the mantle of Aten cover me; his flames will purify the impure; the divine fire will scorch this land," I chanted, invoking an Egyptian spell—one of the few I had learned. It was like an archaic version of Protego Diabolica, though the flames had a more natural, yellowish hue. The fire surrounded me like a cloak, making it seem as though I were engulfed in flames. In fact, I believe this spell likely derived from an even older version focused on Ra's fire.
Engulfed in fire, with a terrifying and almost sacred figure forming above me, I became an even more visible target. With wand movements, I unleashed tongues of flame that spread out, burning several enemies. The fight grew increasingly brutal; although my mobility was reduced, the damage I inflicted was significantly greater.
In the midst of all this, I failed to notice that several familiar faces had arrived, drawn by the commotion. Chief among them was Fudge, who appeared with reinforcements and immediately ordered my capture. However, Moody also showed up, his face full of rage.
"Boy! Have you lost your mind? What are you doing?" the paranoid old man shouted from the distance.
"Hi, Moody!" I replied, not stopping the fiery onslaught against the Aurors. "Just putting down an insurrection."
"What insurrection?!" he asked, caught between anger and confusion.
"This one. Can't you see? They're attacking us!" I replied, slightly out of breath as I dodged and burned the spells being hurled my way.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Moody roared, raising his wand.
"Tenebrius, stop!" Amelia's voice echoed as she arrived at the scene.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. There are too many people here trying to kill me, and if I give them the chance, they'll succeed. I can't stop until they do," I answered firmly.
"Everyone stand down!" Moody ordered, attempting to calm the situation, believing I might relent if the others did, hoping to get to the bottom of things.
"Keep attacking! Don't let him escape!" Fudge barked from his position, urging the Aurors to continue.
"Minister!" Moody turned to him, furious. "What do you think you're doing?"
"This criminal cannot be allowed to get away with this; he must be stopped!" Fudge insisted, continuing to shout commands from behind the protective shield of his forces.
"Stop this madness!" Moody demanded angrily, particularly as he surveyed the number of injured among his men.
"Minister, you need to end this," Amelia joined in, her tone equally firm.
"I can't. This person is an extremely dangerous criminal—look at the chaos he's caused. He must be detained immediately, with no chance of escape!" Fudge insisted, his voice rising with desperation.
"FINITE INCANTATEM!" boomed a powerful voice, and a wave of magic swept through the area, halting all spells, including my Mantle of Aton, though it took noticeable effort.
Everyone froze, recognizing that voice, turning toward its source. Dumbledore, with the Elder Wand in hand, had just cast a large-scale counterspell and now walked slowly toward the center of the scene. No one raised their wands—not even me. The sudden stillness allowed me to check on Tonks' condition.
I embraced her, noticing her pale skin and the blood flowing from a wound on her side. Quickly, I began casting healing spells and applying potions, using my blood magic to seal the wounds, which were resistant to ordinary methods due to lingering magical influence.
"Dumbledore!" Fudge exclaimed in surprise. "Thank Merlin you're here; we can finally resolve this! Stop that madman! He must be sent to Azkaban for what he's done," he declared arrogantly, pointing at me.
But Dumbledore didn't respond; he only surveyed the aftermath of the battle.
"What in Merlin's name is going on here, boy?" Moody barked, stomping closer with his unmistakable wooden leg clunking on the ground.
"As I said, I stopped an insurrection within the Ministry. There are rebels," I answered confidently.
"Nonsense! There's no insurrection—only you attacking Ministry personnel," Umbridge retorted as she stepped out from behind Fudge, glaring at me with contempt. "Clearly, he's gone mad and must be stopped."
"Explain yourself, boy. And it better be good," Moody demanded, his wand aimed at me—not to attack, but as a warning.
"It's exactly as I said. The Ministry harbors dangerous rebels causing chaos," I repeated loudly, ensuring nearby civilians could hear. "They came to my shop, attempting to arrest me without cause."
"Arrest you?" Amelia asked, stepping closer with a look of both concern and suspicion, glancing at the injured. She seemed to want the truth, reluctant to believe I was a psychopath or worse; she wanted to trust me, as always.
"He absolutely deserves to be arrested!" Fudge shouted, his anxiety mounting. "Look at the damage he's caused. Whatever crime he's accused of pales in comparison to this resistance and destruction. Arrest him!"
"STOP!" Moody ordered his men, ignoring Fudge's growing anger. "Why were they arresting you?"
"Because they wanted to, and they could," I replied. "They came with the excuse of illegal Portkey use and tried to arrest me. But I'm no fool. I worked as a temporary Auror at the Ministry long enough to know the procedure. Such accusations, without evidence, would require a summons and an investigation. They can't arrest me outright without approval from either the Head of Aurors—you—or the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Amelia. I knew this wasn't legitimate, which is why I call it an insurrection: Ministry personnel breaking their own laws."
"Lies!" Umbridge screeched, her glare intensifying. "You're clearly trying to escape accountability for your crimes. You have no proof of your claims. You attacked our personnel and now seek excuses to justify your actions. How else do you explain all these injuries?"
The onlookers turned their accusatory gazes toward me, surveying the destruction. But then, I pulled out a parchment and handed it to Moody—the same one the fool who confronted me earlier had shown and dropped when Tonks caused the explosion.
"Here's your proof," I said as I handed it over.
Moody grabbed the parchment and began reading it, his expression growing darker with every line.
"WHO AUTHORIZED THIS?!" he roared, furious. "THIS ARREST WARRANT DIDN'T COME THROUGH ME! WHO APPROVED IT?! WHO GAVE THIS ORDER?!" he demanded, searching for the culprit who dared defy his authority.
"The one who brought it was... that guy over there," I pointed to a man lying on the ground, breathing heavily, with half his face burned.
Moody approached him and recognized him, confusion mixing with anger on his face.
"Valiz? He doesn't even belong to the Portkey department… not even the Aurors or Magical Law Enforcement," he muttered, looking at me with newfound doubts.
"He's the one who came to me. If you want, I can point out his accomplices for interrogation. I also have several eyewitnesses who saw him leading the Aurors and initiating the attack. I was only defending myself. That's why I call it an insurrection: rebels infiltrated in the Ministry, using their power to target honest small businesses like mine for who-knows-what reason. It's even possible the mastermind holds a high-ranking position in the Ministry," I said calmly as Fudge began sweating nervously.
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1st Additional Chapter
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