Harry panted heavily, gasping for air!
He knew very well that shaking off that goblin was only temporary. No matter how fast he ran, his two legs could never outpace someone flying.
Relying solely on running while waiting for reinforcements was simply impossible.
Just as he passed a fork in the corridor, Harry spotted the hallway leading to the Auror Office.
His first thought was that he absolutely could not run in that direction!
Draco and Marie were still in the room. Neither of them could use magic. Leading the goblin there in this situation would only put them in danger.
But another idea quickly flashed through his mind.
Harry looked back toward the Auror Office.
The Aurors had all already poured out, but there was still one room there-
Bitho had expended great effort to temporarily scatter the group of Matagot cats once again.
"Damn little beasts! A bunch of domesticated worthless kittens!!"
He cursed incessantly, lowering his skateboard until his long, pointed ears almost brushed against the corridor ceiling as he flew forward.
Harry had disappeared from his sight, but Bitho continued chasing in the direction where he had last seen him vanish.
He realized this was the Aurors' territory but showed no hesitation.
The entire Ministry was already echoing with the piercing shriek of alarm charms, but the French Aurors who had been drawn away by the Inferi couldn't possibly return so quickly.
Bitho knew very well they had enough time to catch the person they were supposed to catch.
But when he charged into the corridor of the Auror Office, he found the child who had run in here was gone!
The goblin began to grow wary. He couldn't be sure what kind of people might still be in the Ministry.
Controlling the flying skateboard, he began skimming forward close to the ground. Behind him, the Matagot cats, which he couldn't shake off no matter what, caught up again.
Just as Bitho suddenly detected movement coming from a certain room in the corridor and was about to turn his head...
From the broom closet of the Auror Office, Harry, riding a broomstick, slammed into him at full speed!
The broom flew extremely fast.
The Aurors had unlocked the broomsticks in the broom closet before setting out.
After realizing he could use a tool from the broom closet, Harry's eyes were instantly captivated by the broom engraved with [Nimbus 1700] on its handle!
Compared to the Silver Arrow and Moonshine he and Draco had played with before, this Nimbus broom was so exquisite and utterly mesmerizing.
Without any hesitation or second thought, Harry immediately mounted the broom.
He pushed off vigorously with both legs. The Nimbus 1700 shot forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow!
The whistling wind roared in Harry's ears. The extreme acceleration was both terrifying and incredibly exhilarating.
His hands gripped the broom handle with exceptional steadiness. Almost the moment he flew out of the broom closet, this Quidditch-grade broom, under his control, deftly changed direction and charged toward Bitho on the flying skateboard.
Bitho had no time to react to Harry's sudden charge.
He felt as if he had been head-butted by a rapidly flying dragon, sent flying backward off his skateboard!
Fortunately, his combat instincts were extremely sharp. Before his body crashed heavily to the ground, the goblin's wand was already in motion.
The flying skateboard, which had been sent tumbling several times, was pulled back by the wand's influence. It swiftly turned around in mid-air and flew back above Bitho, allowing him to stretch out a hand and grab the edge of the board!
Clutching the skateboard tightly with both hands, Bitho kicked away a Matagot cat that tried to leap and pounce on him, then struggled with great effort to climb back onto the skateboard.
His face was now pale, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, Harry's full-speed collision had hit him hard.
After getting back on the skateboard, Bitho saw the little brat on the broomstick, like a professional Quidditch player, execute a beautiful emergency brake and spin in the air above the Auror Office's corridor. He faced Bitho again and provocatively stuck out his tongue.
"You've succeeded in angering me! You've successfully provoked the wrath of Bitho the Great!!"
The goblin shouted, waving his wand continuously. A series of spells shot from its tip.
However, once on the broomstick, Harry was as agile as a fish in water.
He instinctively, and with natural talent, put the exceptional performance of the broom beneath him to full use. While constantly dodging Bitho's spells, he still found openings to counterattack.
This undoubtedly infuriated the goblin even more. He activated his skateboard, accelerating toward Harry's position.
Harry, of course, didn't give him a chance to get close. The Nimbus 1700's incredibly powerful acceleration was demonstrated to the fullest at this moment. Riding it, Harry swiftly shot back out of the Auror Office and into the Ministry's vast atrium.
Under the dome engraved with various magical creatures, Bitho engaged Harry in a chase!
The most advanced Nimbus series broomstick gave Harry unparalleled speed and maneuverability, far surpassing the flying skateboards crafted by these goblins themselves.
But Bitho's spells were nothing to scoff at either. After realizing single-target spells were ineffective against Harry, he immediately changed tactics.
Just as Harry was flying around the huge crystal chandelier under the atrium dome, a surge of flames suddenly erupted in front of him!
The intense heat made Harry instinctively slow down. Bitho had already achieved his goal. His wand had somehow transformed into a club, which he swung straight toward the back of Harry's head.
At that moment, Harry instinctively leaned forward, pressing down on the broomstick and sharply accelerating it.
The scorching flames illuminated his eyes. He widened them, bravely charging through the fire before the club could smash into his head!
The corner of his robe was ignited by the high temperature. Harry reacted immediately, swiftly patting it out.
After missing his strike, Bitho didn't show much disappointment. He believed he had found a way to catch this little fly!
Having risked charging out of the flames, Harry didn't dare continue flying so close to the ceiling. Flying high, while helpful for better controlling the broom and dodging Bitho's spells, also made him lose the countless helpers on the ground below.
He lowered the broom handle, flying less than half a meter above the ground. At the same time, he stretched out an arm toward the black cats that couldn't jump that high.
"I'll take you to him!"
The Matagot cats displayed surprising intelligence. They retracted their claws, shrank back in size, and scrambled up Harry's arm. Some wrapped their limbs around his neck, others clung tightly to his arms, and some even held onto his legs.
Just as Bitho was about to cast another spell, intending to use other charms to further restrict Harry's movements, Harry had already turned the broom around and was charging straight toward him!
Bitho saw the Matagot cats clinging to Harry, their glowing eyes fixed intently on him.
He panicked and tried to cast a spell, but before he could complete the incantation, the black cat perched on Harry's head leaped out!
It transformed mid-air, growing from small to large, from slender to robust.
In its full form as a predator, it pounced toward Bitho!
It accurately slammed its front paws onto Bitho's face, leaving three extremely obvious bloody gashes on the goblin's ugly, rotten-orange-like visage!
"Ahhh!!!"
Bitho screamed in pain and terror. The tip of his wand emitted a series of explosions, barely managing to blast the Matagot cat off him!
After that, two more cats tried to jump from Harry's body, but by then Bitho had already put distance between himself and Harry, causing them to miss.
But there were still three black cats on Harry's back, crouched and eager, waiting for him to find the right moment to close in again.
Harry's breathing was heavy, but his eyes were unusually bright.
Just as the Ministry guards were waiting for him to get closer, he too was searching for a new opportunity!
Bitho had learned his lesson and maintained a safe distance from Harry. His new spells were clearly starting to take effect.
The statues around the atrium began to stretch and expand under the influence of Transfiguration.
They were like rapidly growing trees, extending their branches.
But the entire atrium was simply too vast. Bitho obviously didn't have the ability to use Transfiguration to completely blockade and fill this entire space.
If he could do that, he would be qualified enough to lead the goblins in launching another rebellion.
However, he didn't need to fill the entire atrium. Because Harry was flying low, there was actually a lot of upward space to reduce his range of movement in advance!
Harry could clearly feel that, having not reacted immediately, he was already trapped within this net of branches.
Loaded with black cats clinging to him again, he dashed left and right among the branches that were constantly compressing his movement space, but he couldn't find a suitable angle to break through.
Until Harry looked up again and saw a gap that hadn't yet fully closed!
"Hahaha!!"
Bitho let out a gleeful laugh, continuously waving his wand to perform Transfiguration.
As a goblin, he possessed unique spellcasting techniques belonging to his race, but he still had to exert great effort to maintain such a large-scale Transfiguration.
Just as he thought the little brat flying around on the broomstick had no way to escape this blockade and was about to be caught...
A figure covered in black cats suddenly shot out from within the mass of branches!
It was a gap so narrow it was almost impossible for a person to pass through.
Bitho had overlooked the fact that Harry was only nine years old, much smaller than an adult. He had also overlooked his lion-like courage!
In the goblin's eyes, the dark shadow breaking through the air was constantly growing larger. He wanted to stop the Transfiguration in progress and cast a spell to block it, but...
Four or five Matagot cats had already leaped high from the boy's body, pouncing toward him!
This time, the black cats firmly sank their claws into Bitho's flesh, as if trying to drown him.
The goblin shrieked. He struggled frantically, trying to shake off the Matagot cats covering him, but he completely failed to notice the boy crashing toward him!
"Bang!!"
Bitho was sent flying off his skateboard. The Matagot cats still clung to him, tumbling with him into the black tide formed by countless of their companions!