Six Black Prison Wizards. A prepared ambush. The battle was over in seconds.
The blinding flash of Lumos Solem hadn't been loud, but the sudden flare of white light had drawn the attention of most of the battlefield.
After the flash, the darkness returned, bringing with it a momentary, heavy silence.
Seizing this brief window of confusion, Rey and Terence Barrow each grabbed a captive and vanished into the shadows.
Their position was exposed. Staying there would be a death sentence. None of the five team members were stupid enough to linger.
The five "elves" dropped their Transfigurations, reverting to their human forms as they ran.
Speed was paramount now. House Elves might be magical, but in a footrace, long human legs had the advantage.
Rey gripped his captive by the collar, casting a non-verbal Levitation Charm to drag the body along as he sprinted. His control over magic had become second nature; casting a sustained charm while running was well within his capabilities.
Terence Barrow wasn't lagging behind, either. However, his method was distinctly darker. Thick black mist seeped from the tip of his wand, binding his captive like ropes. The prisoner floated behind him, tethered by the dark magic.
He didn't utter a spell, nor did he look strained. In fact, he looked even more effortless than Rey, who had to keep his wand trained on his petrified captive while running.
The five wizards sprinted for nearly three hundred meters before stopping, gasping for air, in a secluded hollow.
The spot was well-hidden. In the few seconds of silence following the flash, no one had seen which direction they fled.
It was like diving into a lake; once you're under the surface, tracking your position becomes difficult. By the time they resurfaced, they were far away.
When the battlefield lit up again with flashes of spellfire, the five infiltrators were gone, leaving only four dead Black Prison Wizards near the site of the explosion.
---
Killing with magic felt strangely detached—like a sniper using a rifle from a distance. There was no visceral sense of blood or struggle.
This wasn't Rey's first time killing with magic, and this time, he felt no hesitation. The man from a peaceful era had fully adapted to this brutal age where life was cheap.
Thud!
He tossed his captive carelessly onto the ground.
The prisoner was still under the Body-Bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus). He couldn't move or speak, but his eyes darted around in pain from the impact.
Rey didn't care. He was exhausted. The comfort of his prisoner was the last thing on his mind.
By sheer coincidence—or perhaps instinct—the two captives Rey and Terence had grabbed were the two earless squad leaders.
Rey and Terence shared a silent understanding on this. Back at the Black Lake, they had both been attacked by these squads. They knew exactly how the three-man cells operated and who the leaders were.
"Mr. Rosier, I'll leave the interrogation to you. We're a bit lacking in that department..."
Rey turned to Andre Rosier with a polite, faint smile.
Andre was the oldest among them and a pure-blood aristocrat. Even if he wasn't an expert torturer, he likely knew more about extracting information than Rey did. More importantly, Rey wanted to see him in action—to gauge his methods and threat level.
However, before Andre could respond, Terence Barrow cut in.
"There's no need for torture. I have Veritaserum."
Terence pulled a small crystal vial from his robes, holding it between his thumb and forefinger with a smug, self-satisfied smile.
"Two drops of this, and they'll tell you what color their underwear is. Torture is a waste of time."
Rey nodded. If Terence was willing to use Veritaserum, the answers would be faster and more accurate. He was just disappointed he lost the chance to observe Andre Rosier.
Andre didn't seem bothered by Terence's interruption. Instead, he gave Rey a thoughtful, knowing look, as if he had seen right through Rey's attempt to test him.
Terence wasted no time. He lifted the Body-Bind Curse on one captive and, before the man could fully react, forced his jaw open and dripped two drops of the clear liquid into his mouth.
The prisoner, just waking up, likely thought it was water. His lips moved instinctively, and he swallowed the potion.
A few seconds later, the man's eyes glazed over. His expression became slack and wooden, his gaze unfocused as he stared blankly at the group, waiting for a command.
---
Veritaserum is a highly advanced potion. It is notoriously difficult to brew, and the ingredients are rare.
But for a noble wizard like Terence Barrow, acquiring it was trivial. His master, Salazar Slytherin, was practically the Prince of Potions.
Slytherin could brew anything, known or unknown, with potent effects. The Felix Felicis he had given Rey was proof enough of his genius.
"Who are you?"
"What are you doing here?"
Terence started with baseline questions. Once he confirmed the prisoner was compliant, he went straight to the point.
"Where did these House Elves come from?"
"Summoned from another world... through magic circles," the wizard replied in a monotone, his voice devoid of emotion.
This confirmed the Founders' theory. The sudden appearance of a massive population of unknown creatures could only be explained by a mass summoning.
"Where are the summoning circles?"
"How are the defenses?"
Even with Veritaserum, interrogation requires skill. You have to ask the right questions.
"Where are the circles?" is a factual question. "How are the defenses?" is subjective. A prisoner might think the defense is strong, but to a Founder, it might be weak.
"Who is guarding the circles? How many of them?"
Seeing the prisoner hesitate on the subjective question, Terence quickly rephrased it to be specific and factual.
A person under Veritaserum is essentially a puppet. Watching this, Rey felt a chill. In the movies, the potion was just a plot device. Seeing it in reality—stripping a man of his free will and secrets—was terrifying.
I must never let anyone use that on me, Rey thought. It really would make you confess the color of your underwear.
---
After interrogating the first prisoner, the group fell silent.
In the silence, Terence administered two drops to the second prisoner to verify the information.
The answers were identical.
This meant the information was true.
But the truth was a heavy blow. It caught Rey completely off guard.
There wasn't just one summoning circle.
There were three.
And they were located in three different directions.
Three targets. Three directions. And their squad only had five people.
Rey stared into the darkness, deep in thought.
---