The Dark Mark

Not far from where Isia fell stood a black-robed wizard with a wand in his hand. Ivan's killing intent rose to the extreme, and his black eyes automatically turned orange and yellow!

Perhaps noticing Ivan's entrance, the wizard turned his head, but before he could do anything, he met the snake's eyes!

The moment they looked at each other, the black-robed wizard felt as if his body had been sucked into those eyes. His soul drifted out of his body, and all his thoughts vanished.

Bang!

The black-robed wizard fell to the ground, lifeless.

Ivan covered his eyes as half of his magic was sucked out of him, but he managed to hold back his discomfort as he rushed over to Alicia.

Noticing that blood was slowly flowing out of Alicia's back, Ivan frantically helped her up and placed his wand against the bloody wound.

"Wounds healed!" Ivan shouted.

Green fluorescence glowed on the tip of the wand, and the magic worked, healing the wound.

Ivan, however, was not happy, as there was too much blood on the ground. He tested Alicia's breathing with his trembling fingers and felt her heartbeat.

As a result, she felt nothing, not even cold from the loss of too much blood.

No, no! Maybe there's still hope. This is the wizarding world, not a Muggle hospital! Ivan tried to reassure himself that there was still time. He could get Dobby to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

With that in mind, Ivan shouted down the dusty, ruined hall.

"Dobby!"

The slightly hoarse cries echoed for a long time without a reply…

Ivan slammed his fist into the ground, remembering that Dobby would not be following him because he was responsible for the sale of the last of the magical ingredients.

"Damn it, where's St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?" Ivan asked, trying to move his memory.

He had a vague recollection that the entrance was to a Muggle department store, and that it was too far away to get there by normal means.

Doggart!

Yvonne suddenly thought of him. He was the deputy head of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and his house was close by. Maybe he could save Alicia!

With that in mind, Ivan rose to his feet, waved his wand, and levitated Alicia into the air.

The street outside was deserted, all the doors and windows tightly shut, and Ivan passed through a deserted alley, within sight of Doggett's mansion.

It did not seem to have been attacked. It was as it usually was, the trees and weeds around it apparently untended.

Ivan banged on the door, then decided it was too slow and tried the Unlocking Charm.

At that moment, the front door flew open,

Doggett was standing behind the door looking at him with his usual unkempt expression.

"Headmaster Dougett, can my mother be saved?" Ivan asked as he stepped aside, revealing a pale and quiet Alicia hovering behind him.

Doggett's eyes moved to Alicia, and he looked at her for a moment, his expression calmer than Ivan had expected.

"She's dead!"

"I'm asking you if she can be saved," Yvonne said, rather than disagreeing with Dougatt.

"No one can save a dead man!" said Doggett, looking hard at him.

Ivan was silent for a moment, sensing that something was very wrong with Doggett's reaction. His hand was already on his wand.

Bang!

As the two sides confronted each other, a slight noise came from upstairs…

"What's that?" Ivan asked, not looking up, his gaze still fixed on Doggett. The glow of magic flickered on top of his wand, and the Shield Charm had been cast on him.

"Maybe it's a cat, who knows?" said Doggett casually.

"I don't recall you having one of those…" Ivan's guard was up, and he suspected that this was not Dougett.

At this point, however, Ivan's sharp eyes caught sight of Doggett's left hand, which was holding the door handle, and the mark of a skull on his wrist.

A serpentine snake slithered out of the skull's maw and formed an inner ring around its wrist.

Ivan shuddered and enunciated every word.

"The Dark Mark, you're a Death Eater?!"

He suddenly understood why Dougett, as the Deputy Director, had been expelled from St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries more than ten years ago, and why he had nearly been arrested in Azkaban…

Because this was the time when Voldemort fell…

Ivan found himself looking down on the former Head of House, or perhaps he had never really known him…

"Does she know you're a Death Eater?" Ivan asked coldly, his eyes fixed on Doggett.

"Perhaps he doesn't know…" Doggett looked at his wrist with an ominous expression. He was not wearing the strange wizard's robe with the long, short sleeves, which naturally could not hide the Dark Mark on his wrist.

Doggett's attitude was like a powder keg being lit. Ivan's anger had risen to a boiling point, and his eyes had turned faintly orange and yellow.

Noticing Ivan's sudden change of mood, Dougatt's lips curled into a sardonic smile. "I advise you not to waste your time with me. If you have the time, you might as well think about what you've done…"

"It's the same as getting it from you!" Ivan's tone was becoming increasingly hostile, and he was more certain that Dougett knew something about this.

However, the white mist dissipated instantly…

The Presenceguardian was a rare emotional spell that required the caster's happy emotions as a catalyst, but Ivan found that he could not bring himself to be happy no matter how hard he tried.

Bang!

During this time, Dougett's left hand, which was marked with the Dark Mark, closed the door.

The next moment, the door burst open!

Yvonne stepped inside. The hall was cluttered with bottles.

There were no signs of a struggle.

"Phantom Apparition?!" Ivan's face was grim. Only a Phantom Apparition could vanish from sight in such a short time.

Even so, Ivan was able to hold on to Doggett for dear life, and was able to blast the mansion with a thunderbolt.

In a matter of minutes, the Daugat mansion collapsed…

After venting, Ivan looked at Alicia, who was floating beside him with her eyes closed as if she had fallen asleep.

Vaguely, Ivan felt something slide down his cheek.

Is it raining again?

Ivan looked up. The sky was dark with clouds, and there was a flash of lightning.

The rain falls in torrents …

Ivan gently tapped his wand, creating a magical barrier to shield Alicia from the rain, and then silently retraced his steps.

Large drops of rain fell on Ivan, soaking his clothes, but he didn't care. The cold rain kept him awake.

Numerous thoughts entered Ivan's mind as he entered the Dark Arts shop.

Ivan waved his wand to restore the damaged hole, his mind calmer now, muttering to himself.

"There must be another chance, if I can get my hands on that… Time-Turner!"