Chapter 96 - The War Intensifies (2)

At 9:15 in the morning, when Diagon Alley was bustling with witches and wizards going about their daily shopping, a massive explosion sounded.

*Boom*

After the attack on Gringotts, Diagon Alley was once again attacked. The blast shattered all the windows and storefronts along the street, sending sharp shards of glass raining down. Terrified screams echoed through the commercial hub, followed by people running without regard for one another. In a moment of fear and desperation, humans and wizards were not so different; both ran for their lives.

One of the Death Eaters pointed his wand to the sky and incanted a spell.

"Morsmordre!"

In the sky, a gigantic green skull with a serpent emerging from its mouth appeared, making some older individuals feel as if they had returned to the hell of the war thirteen years ago.

Bellatrix, now healed, pointed her wand at the street filled with witches and wizards with a cruel smile. She flicked her wrist and silently cast a spell.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

An invisible spell shot from the tip of her wand, and in the next moment:

*Boom!*

Bellatrix's black hair was blown back by the forceful winds of the explosion. She narrowed her eyes, a sadistic smile on her lips.

A scene worthy of being mistaken for hell unfolded before her.

Faced with such destructive power, hundreds of people turned into a cloud of blood, painting the walls and ground. It all happened in an instant; no one had time to react or counterattack.

The other three grade 1 wizards showed no mercy either and began to bombard all of Diagon Alley.

A greater pandemonium had erupted in the magical commercial center of England.

When the Aurors arrived moments after the attack, they were met with a horrific scene. Even the veterans, who had seen it all, averted their eyes from the gruesome and cruel display. The younger Aurors couldn't bear it and vomited everything they had eaten that morning.

It took a while for everyone to compose themselves and start protecting people and counter attacking the Death Eaters.

Rufus, head of the Aurors, even after the dissolution of the Ministry of Magic, pointed his wand at one of the Death Eaters, and a life-and-death battle ensued.

The veteran Auror seemed like a deadly machine, unleashing spell after spell without giving his opponent room to breathe. Everything around them was torn apart by the magic, brutally ripping through houses and entire buildings.

Other Aurors who were not as strong as Rufus, gathered into a formation and attacked the other Death Eaters. Even though they could not truly kill the opponent, they could fight for hours like this, delaying the enemies until reinforcements arrived.

Bellatrix was trapped by ten aurors, she dodged a spell and used Protego the next moment to protect herself from the enemies' spells. She did not use her cursed spirits, not because she felt sorry for the aurors, but on orders from Voldemort.

She was ordered not to destroy Diagon Alley, only cause death and chaos. This greatly limited her means of attacks.

Blocking the more than twenty golden Expelliarmus thrown, Bellatrix knew she couldn't go on like this. Even though she was a grade 1 witch, she did not have infinite magical energy. At the same time, the worry of reinforcements arriving at any moment made her quicken her steps.

Dodging a Confundus, Bellatrix turned her wrist and launched an Expelliarmus at the Auror, catching him by surprise and throwing him back with force, but she didn't stop there. Reinforcing her body with 20% of her magical energy, she stomped heavily onto the ground.

The ground sank one meter into the ground and strong tremors occurred every twenty meters, throwing the aurors off balance. Bellatrix took her chance and Apparated to one of the houses above and ran across the roofs of the houses.

The Aurors followed her, still maintaining a strict military training, always casting spells to get in Bellatrix's way.

While running across the rooftops, Bellatrix stopped and spun in the air dodging the spells, when she was about to fall back onto the rooftops, she spun upside down in the air and used the hand that touched the roof to gain momentum again. Using her other hand, she aimed her wand at one of the Aurors and made a half-moon movement, as if cutting something invisible.

Across the street, on top of the roof of a house, the Auror didn't even have time to react before being cut in half by a Diffindo spell. His body split into two, with his upper body slipping and falling, leaving only his lower body still standing. Blood, viscera and organs stained the entire roof.

Seeing the death of their comrade in arms, the aurors attacked even more strongly, full of anger and hatred appearing on their faces.

As Bellatrix once again continued to stall for time, the battle between Rufus and the Death Eater came into full swing.

The entire street was completely unrecognizable, with charred walls and houses in complete ruin. Meanwhile, both wizards continued to exchange spells for five consecutive minutes.

Spell after spell, blow after blow, both faced each other putting their lives at risk, whoever made the first mistake would die.

*Snap!*

A sound resembling a car's exhaust echoed not far away. Gregory Goyle, Patriarch of the Goyle House, almost instantly cast a spell towards the origin of the sudden noise. The spell pierced through the air and hit the location of the sound, but it didn't hit anyone. Without hesitation, Gregory retreated while skillfully blocking every spell cast by Rufus. Meanwhile, his eyes scanned the surroundings for any wizard.

The patriarch of the Goyle House was absolutely certain he had heard someone apparating, and he trusted his instincts. There was someone present besides him and Rufus Scrimgeour! Suddenly, every hair on Gregory's body stood on end as he sensed imminent danger. The feeling that death was looming over him caused a significant change in the patriarch's expression.

What frightened Gregory the most was that no matter how much he distanced himself, the sense of danger didn't diminish; on the contrary, it grew stronger with each passing moment. He wanted to apparate away, but apparating wasn't instantaneous. Though there was only a small window of time until the spell was successfully executed, 0.5 seconds was enough for an experienced wizard like Rufus to kill.

Then, a drastic change in the situation occurred. Gregory watched in slow motion, unbelieving, as his chest was pierced by a spell, and his heart exploded. With widened eyes, the small figure of Filius was revealed before Gregory, who looked at the half-blood he considered filthy with a mix of rage and fear. 

"Filthy—" Before he could finish speaking, his head was blown off by a Bombarda used by the Hogwarts professor. Filius might have lost to Voldemort, but to any other grade 1 wizard or witch, he was a deadly nightmare.

"Mr. Scrimgeour, I will continue hunting down the Death Eaters. Take the time to assist those in need," Filius turned to Rufus, who looked at him with respect, and spoke with a serious and courteous tone.

"Have they sent reinforcements?" Rufus asked, looking at the small man before him.

"No. With the gap in Voldemort's defenses, all grade 1 wizards and above have attacked with full force," Filius shook his head, informing Rufus about the ongoing situation in the main battlefield at that moment.

Rufus didn't ask anything further. Once Filius finished killing all the grade 1 wizards, he would use his Aurors to initiate rescues and aid. Seeing that Rufus had no more questions, Filius disappeared before Rufus's eyes.

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Next Chapter: Chapter 97 - The Death of Voldemort (1), Chapter 98 - The Death of Voldemort (2) And end of the first volume.

Next Chapter Second Volume: Chapter 99 – Decision (1), Chapter 100 – Decision (2), Chapter 101 – Decision (3), Chapter 102 - The Black Sisters (1), Chapter 103 - The Black Sisters (2), Chapter 104 - Rose's Past (1), Chapter 105 - Arrival of Country Representatives (1), Chapter 106 - Arrival of Country Representatives (2), Chapter 107 - Arrival of Country Representatives (3), Chapter 108 – Party (1), Chapter 109 – Party (2), Chapter 110 - Back To Hogwarts (1), Chapter 111 - Back To Hogwarts (2), Chapter 112 – New Students (1), Chapter 113 – New Students (2), Chapter 114 – Ophelia (1), Chapter 115 – Ophelia (2), Chapter 116 – Doubts (1), Chapter 117 – Humbug (1).