Chapter 286: Infiltrating the Cemetery
"Are you out of your mind?" Fleur exclaimed at Alaric.
"The opposite side of the door key could be their lair. We could be surrounded by Death Eaters!"
"No, we won't," Alaric shook his head.
"As long as we hide well, no one can find us. Just now, weren't we hiding right under their noses?"
Alaric's words left her speechless for a moment.
He was right.
The three of them had indeed been quite close to the battlefield between Fake Moody and the Giant Spider just now.
Moreover, this maze had been eerily quiet all along.
Logically, any slight movement should have alerted Fake Moody and the Spider.
But no matter how much noise they had made earlier, Fake Moody and the Spider seemed oblivious, as if deaf and blind.
Fleur had to admit, Alaric was indeed skilled at concealment.
Ordinary wizards would use Disillusionment Charms to hide, which changed their appearance like a chameleon but wasn't very effective since human presence still had outlines.
A more advanced method was the Invisibility Charm, but even skilled wizards could detect it due to its magical traces.
However, Alaric's method was different; he didn't change appearance but rather reduced his presence.
Through the study of Concealment Charms and Muggle-Repelling Charm , Alaric discovered methods to control one's presence and created a Potion of Presence Reduction.
Even if seen, people would subconsciously ignore them.
Unlike Disillusionment or Invisibility Charms, the presence reduction worked effectively against even powerful wizards, unless they too had consumed the same potion.
Only those who drank this potion could perceive each other normally.
Of course, reducing one's presence had its drawbacks.
If one performed actions that drew attention, like singing loudly, speaking loudly, or standing out too much, even the potion couldn't suppress the overflowing presence.
However, with some cover and a Soundless Bell to absorb the sound, as long as they stayed more than five meters away from Voldemort or Dumbledore, even they wouldn't notice someone using this potion.
It was because of this method that Alaric dared to say he would track Harry and Fake Moody—not just track, but openly invade.
"So, are you both coming with me?" Alaric casually asked.
"Of course!"
"I'm not staying behind!"
Both girls responded firmly.
So, Alaric took one girl in each hand, and the three of them gathered beside the trophy's location.
With Alaric's understanding of space, he had already deciphered the coordinates of the trophy's door key from the beginning.
Then, with a snap, their figures distorted for a moment and disappeared into the maze.
Space shifted before them, and finally, they felt their feet touch the ground.
The two girls nearly stumbled, but Alaric steadied them firmly.
"Where are we?" Hermione asked.
Alaric shook his head. He helped the two girls steady themselves as they surveyed their surroundings.
They were clearly outside Hogwarts' boundaries now, having moved several miles—perhaps even hundreds, as the surrounding mountain range was nowhere in sight.
They stood in a cemetery overgrown with dark weeds, with the silhouette of a small church.
To the left was a hill, where they could make out a delicate old house.
"No one around," Alaric summed up after scanning their surroundings.
"But it's still quite eerie," Fleur remarked, surveying the gloomy cemetery.
"Is this where the Death Eaters gather?"
"I don't know," Hermione said nervously, drawing her wand.
"Should we?"
"Yes," Fleur agreed, relieved that Hermione had spoken up first.
She didn't want to appear frightened now.
They drew their wands and cautiously moved forward, keeping low.
"I see people," Alaric suddenly whispered.
So, they found cover behind a larger tombstone and observed ahead.
They saw several figures standing in front.
Hermione recognized one of them, a shorter person walking with a limp—Harry, who seemed to be clutching his forehead.
Then, a flash of red light struck Harry, and he fell to the ground.
A cloaked, short man dropped a bag, lit his wand, and dragged Harry towards a large marble tombstone.
Seizing the opportunity, the three of them moved closer, getting a clearer view.
Alaric pointed his wand discreetly at each of them.
"Enhanced Sight and Hearing."
This was a detection spell Alaric had devised himself, temporarily enhancing vision and hearing.
The cloaked man conjured ropes to tightly bind Harry to the tombstone, from neck to ankles, in multiple layers.
They could even hear hurried, faint breathing coming from inside his hood.
Harry struggled, and the man struck him—a finger missing on the hand that hit him.
"It's 'Wormtail,' Peter Pettigrew!" Hermione blurted out, then quickly briefed Fleur on Peter's background.
All of this was what Alaric had told her last year.
Next, they saw a large snake slithering on the grass, circling his tombstone.
Wormtail's panting resumed, and he pushed a large cauldron to the base of the grave.
It was a huge cauldron, big enough for an adult to sit inside, filled with water.
Wormtail busied himself with his wand, making marks and symbols at the cauldron's base.
Suddenly, flames erupted with crackling sounds from underneath the cauldron.
The snake slithered into the darkness.
The liquid inside the cauldron heated rapidly; bubbles started forming on the surface, and sparks flew out as if it were on fire.
The figure of Wormtail watching over the flames became increasingly blurred.
Suddenly, they saw the bag Wormtail had placed on the ground move, accompanied by a sharp, cold voice.
"Hurry!"
Now, the entire surface shimmered with sparks, resembling a bed of diamonds.
"It's done, Master."
"Now..." the cold voice said.
Wormtail untied the bag on the ground, revealing its contents.
Hermione and Fleur immediately let out a gasp, but the Soundless Bell effectively absorbed their sound.
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