[Note: Read up to Chapter - 145 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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As several black-robed wizards appeared, Xenophilius instinctively stepped in front of Luna, shielding her with his body.
The two sides seemed to exchange a few words—but it didn't last long.
One of the black-robed figures suddenly raised his wand. A flash of light burst from the tip, striking Xenophilius square in the chest before he could even react.
Luna stared in shock as her father crumpled to the floor. She stumbled backwards, eyes wide, clearly saying something—but the tracking spell Aris had cast was only visual. No sound came through.
Moments later, one of the masked wizards stepped forward, grabbed Luna by the arm, and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
Another waved his wand, levitating Xenophilius's limp body. Together, the black-robed intruders left the tower—one after another, swift and efficient.
"No resistance at all?" Aris muttered, brow furrowing. But after a moment's thought, he exhaled slowly.
It was probably for the best.
If they'd fought back, it could've turned into a right bloodbath—and their safety wouldn't have been guaranteed.
The way the attackers moved—quick, precise, and without hesitation—made it clear this was no random assault. It was carefully planned, and expertly executed.
The whole thing had taken barely a few minutes.
Xenophilius must've known he didn't stand a chance. That's why he chose not to fight.
After watching the entire scene unfold, Aris narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
In his mind, the vision played again—frame by frame—like a slideshow etched in shadow and light.
The boy didn't miss a single detail—every tiny twitch of the black-robed wizards was etched into his memory.
After a moment of stillness, he suddenly opened his eyes and flicked his wand with purpose.
At once, the misty magic—just about to fade—gathered again, swirling back into shape. The scene reformed like a film playing in reverse, rewinding frame by frame.
But this time, Aris's eyes were fixed on one particular figure—an easily overlooked black-robed wizard standing near the edge of the room.
"There it is," he muttered.
His voice cut through the silence as the reverse playback came to an abrupt stop.
Striding over to the misty figure by the door, Aris leaned in, examining the hem of the wizard's cloak.
There—just barely visible—was a faint, unusual marking.
The tracking spell worked by detecting lingering magical resonance, reconstructing the events that had taken place as accurately as possible. But the finer details—like faces—were often lost. All Aris could really make out was the magical imprint of someone being there; no more than a rough magical silhouette.
However, spells themselves were clearly captured—and so were enchanted objects that retained magical traces.
That symbol… it hadn't been formed by chance. It was most likely carved into a badge or stitched into enchanted fabric, something imbued with magic. And that meant it left behind enough of a trace to be seen.
Right now, that odd little symbol was Aris's only lead.
He squinted at it.
"Looks like some sort of crest or emblem... carved onto a badge, maybe."
Aris flicked his wand, enlarging the mysterious symbol before him. He examined it closely.
He'd read stacks of books—ancient and obscure—but this particular mark didn't appear in any of them. It was unfamiliar, strange… and frustrating.
Time ticked on, and with every passing second, Aris grew more anxious.
The longer he stayed here, the greater the risk to Luna and the others. This wasn't something he could afford to drag out.
"No time to muck about," he muttered under his breath.
If he couldn't find any more leads, he'd have to get in touch with Henry—see what was happening on his end.
With a frustrated flick of his wand, a surge of invisible magic pulsed through the tower.
The misty illusions shattered, bursting into tiny pinpricks of light before vanishing entirely.
Only the magnified symbol remained, casting a faint, eerie glow in the dim room.
Then—crack!—a sharp sound echoed from outside the tower.
"Who's there?" Aris's eyes narrowed, wand raised.
"Master? Is that you?" came a familiar voice from beyond the door.
"Henry?"
With a small wave of his wand, the tower door swung open silently.
Henry stepped inside, his face lighting up with relief.
"It's really you, Master!"
But his joy didn't last long. Almost immediately, his expression fell, and he dropped to one knee in front of Aris, face filled with guilt.
"I failed to protect Miss Luna… I deserve punishment. Please, Master…"
Aris studied him closely.
Henry's robes were torn and singed in places—clear signs of a recent fight.
He'd clearly been through the wringer. The question now was—had he fought those black-robed wizards?
With that thought, Aris stepped forward and helped Henry to his feet.
"Now's not the time for blaming anyone," he said firmly. "Tell me everything you know about the Lovegoods. Do you know where they are now? And… how did you know I was here?"
Henry stood tall, his expression shifting into something more focused.
"I figured, if the young master found out Miss Luna was in danger, you'd come straight back here—no hesitation. So I left a beacon in the tower. Soon as you showed up, I got the signal."
"As for Miss Luna and Mr Lovegood's whereabouts… we've not pinned them down yet, but—"
He trailed off, his face growing even more serious.
"What we do know is this has pure-blood politics written all over it. The exact family behind it, though… that'll take more digging."
Aris's eyes narrowed slightly.
With a flick of his wand, he summoned the glowing symbol again—the same one he'd discovered at the scene—and magnified it in the air before Henry.
"Recognise this mark?"
Henry leaned in, brow furrowed, fingers absently brushing the edge of his goatee.
"It's a bit faded… but the shape—aye, it does look a bit like the Malfoy family crest…"
He paused, eyes suddenly sharp.
"Wait—why are you asking about this, Master? You don't mean—Miss Luna's kidnapping… is it tied to the Malfoys?"
Aris's gaze turned steely. A flicker of cold anger danced in his eyes as he gave a slight nod.
"Looks that way," he said quietly. "And if I'm right… they've made a very foolish mistake."
"I cast a tracking spell here and picked up this symbol from the lingering magic. It's subtle—barely noticeable—but they clearly underestimated my eye for detail. If I'm not mistaken, one of the intruders was from the Malfoy family."
Henry nodded thoughtfully. "It's said the Malfoy family crests are crafted from rare alchemical materials—they give off faint magical signatures. Looks like that rumour's bang on."
But then his brow furrowed, and his voice dipped into disbelief.
"Still… why would that smug git Lucius make such a rookie mistake?"
"No matter what scheme he's cooking up," Aris said coldly, "it'll all come undone the moment we follow the trail."
His expression darkened, and the magic radiating from him grew sharper—more dangerous.
"We're going straight to Malfoy Manor."
Before Henry could even respond, Aris was already striding out of the tower.
Conspiracy, trickery, long-winded pure-blood games—it meant nothing in the face of raw power. And Aris had plenty of that.
With Iris at his side, he didn't give two knuts about the so-called noble families.
He wasn't the least bit inferior to those pure-blood Death Eaters, who strutted about like they owned the world.
They relied too heavily on the Killing Curse, like it was the be-all and end-all of duelling. That arrogance had made their spellwork lazy—sloppy, even.
"Right behind you, Master!" Henry called, falling in step.
Henry stepped out of the tower without a moment's hesitation.
Ooo~!
Just as the two were about to Apparate, the cry of an owl pierced the night air.
Henry paused, sensing something. He glanced up.
A letter fluttered down from the sky, landing neatly in front of him. The owl that delivered it didn't linger—it turned mid-air and vanished back into the night.
"A letter?" Henry muttered, brow tightening.
At a glance, he could tell—the envelope's style was unfamiliar. He'd never seen anything quite like it.
Which meant one thing: the sender was unknown.
"Open it," Aris said quietly, clearly deep in thought. "Let's see what they're playing at."
"Yes, Master."
Henry ran several detection charms over the envelope—standard anti-curse, dark magic, and tracking sweeps.
Nothing. No malicious magic, at least.
Satisfied, he picked up the letter and carefully opened it.
Aris gave him a nod of approval. In times like these, you needed that level of caution. A single slip-up, and one of those slimy pure-blood schemers could kill you without leaving a trace.
This old goat of a servant knew his stuff—clearly had a fair bit of experience with dodgy dealings like this.
"Master…" Henry said after a moment, eyes scanning the contents. "It's an invitation… from Malfoy Manor."
He turned the envelope over, showing the sender's seal.
His expression had shifted—there was something strange in his voice now. Something uncertain.
They were just about to storm Malfoy Manor—and now the smug bastard had the cheek to send an invitation ahead of time?
Was it confidence? Or did he think they were dawdling?
"Lucius Malfoy's invited us to a dinner at his manor—tomorrow night," Henry said, frowning as he read. "And he's not just invited us, mind you. Says there'll be plenty of other pure-blood families attending. Claims it's some grand 'exchange gathering' for the pure-blood elite."
He lowered the letter, his tone growing grim.
"Master… this isn't going to be just dinner and polite conversation."
"Too right it's not," Aris scoffed. "It's a Bloody Banquet, literally!"
"A what now?" Henry blinked at him, puzzled. Clearly, he'd never heard the term.
"It means a trap in the guise of hospitality," Aris explained offhandedly. "A dangerous sort of banquet."
"Oh!" Henry's eyes lit up with understanding. "Young master's always full of clever stuff, eh?"
"Back to the point," Aris said, now fully composed. "If they're inviting us in so openly, it means they want to negotiate. That suggests Luna and Uncle Xeno are being used as bargaining chips, not harmed—for now."
"That's what I was thinking too," Henry nodded in agreement.
"In that case, we'll return to the castle first," Aris decided after a brief pause.
"What?" Henry looked at the boy, clearly confused.
"Master, shouldn't we scout out Malfoy Manor first?"
"If we could find where Miss Luna and Mr Lovegood are being held and rescue them ahead of time, we might be able to flip the tables at tomorrow's dinner!"
"Of course I know that," Aris replied with a small smile.
"But think about it—put yourself in Malfoy's shoes. What would you think if you saw me return to the castle, plain as day?"
Henry paused to consider it, then frowned slightly.
"If it were me… I'd probably be a bit more at ease."
"Exactly," Aris nodded. "From their perspective, everything went off without a hitch. Their plan was meticulous, and the operation itself—flawlessly executed."
"But during the retreat," he continued, "they ran into us, didn't they? And instead of standing their ground, they panicked. They didn't dare face us properly. Otherwise, I doubt I'd be walking away with just a rip in my robe."
"It's clear their goal wasn't to seriously hurt Luna," Aris said, voice dropping slightly. "This whole thing feels more like a probe—a test of our strength."
"They don't want an all-out war," he added, running his fingers along the length of his wand. "Which is exactly why we need to go back to the castle."
Feeling the familiar buzz of excitement from his wand, a faint smile returned to Aris's face.
"They'll only drop their guard if they think we're sitting tight at the castle, yeah? That's when we strike."
"I see what you're getting at now…" Henry's eyes lit up with understanding, and he chuckled.
"If Miss Luna is being held at Malfoy Manor, they've likely got the place crawling with guards. But if they're convinced we're holed up at the castle, they'll ease off a bit—and that's when we move in quietly, right?"
"Spot on," Aris nodded.
"But…" Henry frowned. "Even if we don't leave the castle ourselves, how are we meant to scout out Malfoy Manor? Their spies are bound to be watching Shafiq Castle and the old Barton estate like hawks by now…"
"I'll figure something out," Aris said calmly, sliding his wand back into his robes.
Then, he held out a hand. "Come on. Time to head back."
Seeing that confident glint in the boy's eyes, Henry gave a small smile of his own.
"Yes, Master."
He reached out and clasped Aris's arm firmly.
Crack!
With a burst of magic and a sharp crackling sound, the two of them vanished from the spot.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 145 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]