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"Hmm, I see." After hearing Fleur's answer, Nick nodded, an analytical and thoughtful look appearing on his face.
He then turned to the other adult witches and wizards in the group, "I think Fleur is telling the truth. She probably escaped from the graveyard 2 minutes after getting there."
And seeing their confused and skeptical looks he began to explain.
"The only reason Fleur only got here now after escaping the graveyard was probably because of the runes she said were suppressing her and the boys' magic."
"These runes were most likely part of a suppressive ward activation set, and when they were activated, they must have interfered with the portkey activation, causing a slight glitch that diverted the travel, making it take longer for the teleportation to complete and Fleur to get here."
"Yes, but a suppression ward alone wouldn't do that," Penny said, adding to the explanation with her vast knowledge, "Those runes probably activated a double ward, and the other part of the set must have been an anti-apparition ward."
"And since the cup was a portkey that was already connected and authorized in the ward to allow them to be taken to the graveyard, it probably still had permission to be used there again, which explains how Fleur was able to activate it and escape from there," Nick continued.
"Yeah, but the suppression ward messed with the portkey's magic, which caused the interference, making the travel take longer than it should," and with that Penny finished the joint explanation of the two alchemists.
Seeing how the two immortals dissected the situation, analyzing everything that happened in the graveyard without even being there, using only Fleur's words as a basis, everyone on the Quidditch field couldn't help but be impressed.
'They really are the most intelligent and experienced wizards in existence, and they live up to their title of master of runes and wards' was what everyone, even Headmaster Dumbledore, thought.
"Huh... Well, that's interesting and all, but what exactly does that mean then?" Sirius asked, unsure if this information was relevant or useful to his current situation.
At this question from the Lord of the Black House, Nick turned to him with a complicated look, hesitating for a moment before answering, "Well, that means that even if we locate Ethan and Harry, or find the graveyard, we won't be able to get there quickly via apparition or portkey."
"So what you're saying is that rescuing them just got even harder?" Joshua grimaced.
"Unfortunately yes," Nick let out a helpless sigh.
"Damn it!" and with that response from Nick, even the usually calm and polite Joshua cursed, and no one could blame him for that.
In fact, almost everyone was cursing this situation in their minds, with some like Sirius feeling a sudden urge to destroy something to relieve their frustrations.
Realizing that saving the two boys quickly - before something bad or tragic happened - was becoming an almost impossible mission, a new wave of desperation filled the atmosphere.
'Sigh... I just hope Ethan and Harry can resist the dangers in this graveyard until we find them' Headmaster Dumbledore thought, feeling the weight of the situation on his shoulders.
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-Back to the Graveyard – A few minutes earlier-
[POV – Ethan]
After Fleur was sent back to the safety of Hogwarts, and Pettigrew and Voldemort revealed themselves, Harry and I continued to stare at the two dark wizards cautiously.
We were both fully alert and anxious, our wands in hand even though they were still unusable because of the suppression ward.
And besides the problem of us not being able to use our wands, we still felt the slight feeling of weakening caused by the ward, which left us even more defenseless.
"Ethan, you can still use wandless magic, right? Can you defeat Pettigrew or get us out of here?" Harry asked me in a whisper, approaching me while looking hatefully and intently at the traitor of his family.
"Unfortunately I can't," I replied with a grim expression, "These runes are suppressing and weakening almost all of my magic, and because of that I can only use a little wandless magic, which won't be enough to get us out of this situation."
"So in that case the only way for us to get out of here is if these runes are destroyed?" the green-eyed boy continued asking.
"Yes," I nodded, "However, these runes were not inscribed normally, being carved or drawn on something. They were written using magic, which means that only magic can destroy them."
Hearing this answer of mine, Harry frowned gravely, "So in the end we are trapped without magic, and only magic can help us get out of here? How wonderful" he said frustrated.
And realizing that our situation was worse than he expected, Harry began to despair, feeling completely cornered.
Knowing that there was now nothing left for us to do but wait for Pettigrew to make his move, Harry felt a strong urge to swear, wanting to curse something or someone... And that's exactly what he did.
Hearing the vulgar curses and insults that would shame a truck driver coming out of the Boy-Who-Lived's mouth, and feeling his anguished and angry emotions, I remained silent, letting him release some of his frustrations and anger.
Of course, I wasn't telling the truth when I said that my magic was being suppressed and that my wandless magic was weak, but so that my plans wouldn't be interrupted and Harry wouldn't suspect me, I had to lie to him about it.
"Hurry up Wormtail," Voldemort's cold, hissing voice rang out, snapping me out of my thoughts and interrupting Harry's barrage of insults.
Realizing that the hard situation we were in was about to get hectic and dangerous, Harry beside me tensed up, with me calmly waiting to see what the two evil wizards in front of me would do.
"Arrest the two boys immediately, and begin the ritual," Voldemort ordered irritably, hurrying his cowardly servant.
'If we delay any longer in starting the ritual, that old fool Dumbledore might end up finding us with one of his stupid trinkets,' the weakened dark lord thought, frowning.
He knew that the Headmaster of Hogwarts knew of his Muggle origins, which meant that he probably knew about this graveyard as well. And knowing this, Voldemort was sure that it wouldn't be long before the old wizard tracked them down.
And that was why he wanted to finish the ritual as quickly as possible, not to mention the fact that he was anxious and excited to have his perfect body back, free from the curse that prevented him from hurting the Potter boy.
Pettigrew, after being coldly ordered by his master, squeaked in fright, before nodding.
"Y-yes master!" he said with a shaky voice.
And still holding the vile fetus in his arms he took his wand from the pocket of his cloak, before pointing it threateningly at Harry and I.
"{Expelliarmus}! {Incarcerous}!" the short, fat little man with a rat-like face said, casting this sequence of spells at the two of us.
Harry, faced with this attack, prepared to dodge. However, before he could move, I used wandless magic to paralyze his body for an instant, without him noticing my 'sabotage'.
That short time he was stuck to the ground was enough for the spells to reach him, and then, in the next second, the two spells hit him, disarming him and entangling him in thick ropes.
Knowing that for my plan to continue I could not resist, I also let myself be hit by Pettigrew's spells, losing my wand and also being restrained like the other Hogwarts champion.
And now, both Harry and I were completely at the mercy of the two evil wizards, defenseless and without any way of escape.
'Even though it's uncomfortable and a little annoying, I have to continue with the hostage act until the resurrection is complete' I thought, scowling at Pettigrew who was approaching the two of us.
End.
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