"By the way, Tonks, Gawain, what do you think of Harry Potter?" Amelia asked after Saul left her office through the Floo. She could kill for a drink right now, but she knew that the night wasn't over and she needed to be completely sober if she wanted to walk through the night… She slowly took off her monocle and rubbed her eyes.
Tonks shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she didn't want to snitch on Harry. He was like her cousin and she didn't want to snitch on her cousin… While Tonks was busy having an internal dilemma, Gawain had already started to speak. "He is a normal 14 year old… Well, not normal since he beat Avery and he did it without sustaining any injuries" Gawain mumbled thoughtfully.
"Um… I think I know why he is that good" Tonks mumbled meekly while feeling really uncomfortable. She felt like she was betraying the trust of her family, but she still decided to push through… "I think Jacklyn Harper has been training him. She easily whooped my ass in a friendly duel" Tonks added with a blush marring on her face.
"Is she really that good?" Connie asked, looking somewhat skeptical. She knew Tonks was good, really good… After all, she was being trained by the legendary Alastor Mad-eye Moody. Yes, it was a friendly duel, but she still found it somewhat hard to believe that someone as old as Tonks was able to easily beat the girl.
"Yeah, she is really good… I don't think she would have won if she was facing multiple opponents, but even Alastor might lose against her in a duel… She is extremely terrifying with a Wand in her hand" Tonks explained, earning incredulous and disbelieving looks from everyone present in the room. "Yeah, I know how it sounds, but that is how I felt. She is just that good" Tonks added confidently when she noticed the weird looks she was getting from everyone.
"...She is a duelist, a pretty good one too, so it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that she could beat Tonks, but I still find it hard to believe that she could beat Alastor" Amelia mused aloud, making Tonks shrug unsurely. She said what she believed, it was up to them if they believed her or not…
"Tonks might be right though… Fighting and dueling are pretty different things and I am no duelist" Alastor admitted unhappily with a huff. It was somewhat painful for him to admit that, but he knew what he could do and what he couldn't… "Avery wasn't the best the Death Eaters had during the War, so I think the boy could have beaten him with proper training" Alastor explained with a thoughtful look on his face.
Alastor was right… Avery was an experienced combatant, but he wasn't anywhere as good as the Lestranges, Dolohov, or Crouch Jr and Harry Potter faced him in single combat… Yes, it wasn't a formal duel, but the boy did face Avery in single combat, so it wasn't impossible for him to win the fight.
"Alright! I think we should leave it at that for the time being" Amelia declared as she tapped the table with her hand. "Let's see what Saul finds out and we will have another meeting after that" Amelia added and everyone started to stand up.
"Well then, we will be heading back to Dartmoor" Connie declared as she gave Amelia a last look before making her way toward the Floo with the others following her. The others also had things to take care of back in Dartmoor. Gawain and Tonks will be dealing with the aftermath of the attack while Alastor and Connie will be investigating the bodies they found inside the forest.
As soon as the four of them were gone, Amelia released a massive sigh and smacked her head on the table… It was a clusterfuck of massive proportions, which painted her Department in a really bad light even though it wasn't her Department's fault in the first place… At least, her saving grace was that nobody was killed… Well, nobody of importance was killed. Even the Muggles harassed by the Death Eaters were alive, even though they were a bit traumatized…
Saul Croaker walked down the hall like he owned the place… The halls were mostly empty, but nobody noticed his walk by as he was hiding under an Invisibility Cloak and his footsteps were also silenced along with his robes. Unlike any other day, St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries was quite busy, thanks to the stunt the Death Eaters pulled… Nobody was directly hurt by the Death Eaters except for the Muggles, but a lot of Wizards and Witches have received some minor injuries while trying to get away from the campsite.
Saul found that truly pathetic… Some people just decided to don some dark capes along with skull masks before throwing around a few Spells, and their country was plunged into panic… The Minister was already panicking and Saul feared that the man would probably have a stroke if someone told him that Voldemort was back… Maybe, they could use that to get rid of the bumbling fool before it was too late and get someone like Amelia to hold the helm of their country…
It wasn't a bad idea at all, Saul decided… Maybe, he should pitch the idea when it becomes obviously relevant…
Saul finally arrived on the fourth floor. Avery was kept on this floor under Auror guards, but he wasn't planning to reveal himself to the Aurors in the first place. He needed to carry out his task very subtly and Saul knew how to be subtle. He arrived in front of the room where Avery was being kept, but instead of entering the room, he walked past the room while keeping an eye on the two Auror guards standing by the door. He entered the next room and started to tap the wall with his Wand.
He kept walking by the wall and continued to tap it at regular intervals, and then all of a sudden, he stopped and a massive grin formed on his face… This part of the wall was the thinnest and perfect for what he was planning… He grabbed the pouch which was hanging on his hip and started to draw Runes on the wall with the power inside the pouch. It wasn't just any powder, it was ground dragon bones… He nodded his head in satisfaction when he was done and closed the pouch. After that, he placed the tip of his Wand on the wall and mumbled something under his breath. The wall shimmered for a moment and the Runes disappeared. Moments later, he stepped right through the wall like it wasn't even there.
Saul found himself inside Avery's room and started to look around. Thankfully, no Auror guards were posted inside the room, which made his job a lot easier. Avery was sleeping peacefully, but he won't be for long… Saul grinned viciously and walked up to Avery's bed. Once again Saul grabbed a bit of ground dragon powder and sprinkled it on the floor before he started to mumble something… The powder glowed for a second and the air around Saul's surroundings shimmered for a second before the powder sprinkled on the floor disappeared. Saul took off his invisibility cloak and pointed his Wand at the sleeping form of Avery and cast Petrifying Charm, but decided to leave his head free.
Now that everything else was taken care of, Saul cast the Reviving Charm. Avery's eyes snapped open and he looked around, only for eyes to focus on the hooded figure looming over him.
"Who?!!" Avery screamed in fright, but before he could scream anymore, Saul petrified his head too.
"You don't need to know" Saul stated flatly. After that, Saul pulled out a syringe from his robes and flicked it with his finger a couple of times… He squeezed the syringe until a tiny droplet trickled out of the tip of the needle. He placed the tip of the needle in the IV bottle and squeezed it until the syringe was completely empty. Saul noticed the fear in Avery's eyes and smirked in joy. "It's not lethal if you don't overdose. It was Ecstasy, a Muggle drug. Very useful and very potent" Saul explained cheerfully.
"In a matter of a couple of minutes, you will be hallucinating and your mind will become vulnerable to intrusions" Saul tapped Avery's head. "Now, don't fight it… It will only make it harder for you and I promise, you will lose" Saul promised with a vicious grin on his face not that Avery was able to see it, as his face was still obscured by his hood, but his eyes did grow wide when he heard the words. At first, he wanted to sneer when he heard the word Muggle purely on instinct, but he was petrified, but he was left horrified by the time Saul finished his explanation.
Avery knew what was going to happen to him. Whoever this person was, he was planning to use Legilimency on him. He was quite familiar with the Spell as he had seen the Dark Lord had used it quite a few times, and that was exactly why he knew that he needed to fight. So he fought, not that it helped… He started to hallucinate all the same and Saul easily slipped into his mind…
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