Chapter 78: A String of Six

Walking on the cold, damp ground of Knockturn Alley, Silven let out a helpless sigh.

To be honest, the method they used wasn't particularly clever—at the very least, the timing was a glaring problem.

No one but Dark wizards would enter Knockturn Alley at night.

Unfortunately, Silven still fell for it, stepping right into this clumsy trap… or rather, for some reason, he had subconsciously ignored the danger of walking into Knockturn Alley at night.

"Just from this, you could guess our target is the wand shop?" A cold, hoarse voice came from behind him.

"You went through all this trouble—you can't just be after some random Hogwarts student, it must be because of who I am."

Silven took a deep breath and smiled. "If there's anything special about me, it's probably just that my surname is Ollivander."

"Perhaps we should also add that clever brain of yours." The man spoke unhurriedly, sounding like praise, but his tone was pure mockery… as if a beast of prey were complimenting its quarry for being lively.

"Can you tell me what you want?" Silven asked, subconsciously clenching his fists, looking ready to fight to the death at any moment.

"Of course it's for the wands." A tall figure on the right suddenly grew agitated. "Last time it was because those wolf cubs didn't have enough wands that we couldn't kill that damned Potter for so long! The Dark Lord…"

"Shut your mouth, you fool!" A sharp shout cut him off, then the voice returned to its previous, utterly emotionless state.

"You're clever, but I have ways of emptying that brain of yours too. Would you like to try?"

Silven knew perfectly well those words were meant for him.

"Don't be like that, I just want to help you." He quickly explained: "The wand chooses the wizard—taking it doesn't mean you can use it. You should know that, right?"

The other side said nothing more, clearly determined not to answer any of Silven's questions.

But he also quickened his pace.

That seemed to be a signal; the few people around him also began closing in on Silven, subconsciously tightening their grip on their wands.

Noticing this, Silven immediately stopped where he was and refused to move.

"Finally decided to resist?" A wand pressed against his head.

"Borgin & Burkes is just ahead," Silven said. "I can't pass that shop."

"That's not up to you."

"That's not fair." Silven turned to look at him. "There are six of you, all adult wizards, and you still tricked and ambushed a first-year student like me. Is this what Death Eaters do?"

"Yes, this is what Death Eaters do." The man answered without hesitation.

Silven's words caught in his throat; he hadn't expected the other to shamelessly admit it so readily.

No—wait, why isn't this guy playing by the rules? Isn't he supposed to give me a chance for a one-on-one fight?

"Since you don't want to walk, then we'll do it for you… Is the Polyjuice Potion ready?"

"It's been ready for a long time." The old witch Silven had seen at the very beginning said in a shrill voice, greedily eyeing Silven's head and fingers.

"Hurry up and start." She bared her lips, revealing uneven teeth, her laughter growing more wanton. "The taste of fear… how sweet…"

"Imperio—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

From the void, one could faintly hear a piercing shriek, as if it rose from within people's hearts—blurred and indistinct, yet drowning out every other sound in the alley.

Then, a bizarre green light materialized from nothing in Silven's hand.

No one knew better than Death Eaters what this was—Avada Kedavra, yet different from the one in their memories. It seemed woven from countless chains, like a famished venomous serpent, splitting and coiling madly in the air.

The first to be struck was the Dark wizard who had tried to use the Imperius Curse on Silven; he didn't even have time to finish his incantation before Avada Kedavra pierced through his chest.

His pupils dilated abruptly, life drained from him in an instant. Before his body even fell, the green lightning had already bent toward its second target.

The old witch who had been staring at Silven's head didn't even have time to react before she was struck in the throat, her body collapsing like a puppet with cut strings.

The remaining wizards saw this and tried to fight back, but they had underestimated the speed of Avada Kedavra and overestimated their own abilities.

Terror was still frozen in their eyes, but the wands they had been gripping tightly had already slipped loose, sliding from their fingers and clattering hollowly against the damp stone pavement.

"Thud… thud… bang!"

Six corpses hit the ground almost simultaneously, and Knockturn Alley instantly fell into dead silence.

Silven's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Standing there, he only felt his fingertips go numb, his ears ringing, his vision stretching out to infinity.

So this is Avada Kedavra? Even simpler than crushing a bug underfoot.

But before Silven could collect himself, something new happened.

After piercing the sixth Death Eater's chest, the green light of that curse had not faded. Instead, as if sensing something, it changed direction again, tracing a bizarre arc through the air.

The green light had dimmed somewhat, but still carried a deadly chill, grazing the damp alley wall and piercing with a soft thud through a rotting wooden door beside it.

A muffled thud came from behind the door, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

Silven followed the sound with his eyes and could faintly make out the faded sign of Borgin & Burkes on the door.

His legs were stiff, as if pinned to the ground by two blocks; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take a single step forward.

Until he slipped his hand into his pocket and touched Silver Mane.

A warm current spread rapidly from his fingertips through his whole body. Only then did Silven feel his body again, and he took one trembling step forward.

He hadn't expected the consequences of using Avada Kedavra to be so terrifying. In that instant, it felt as if every hatred, every rage, every killing intent in the world had come crashing down on him, drowning him like waves—and those waves then condensed into pale hands, trying to drag him down into the depths.

Silven gripped Silver Mane tightly.

"Lumos."

A silver-white halo of light flared up, completely driving the cold from Silven's body.

Of course, what worked wasn't Lumos, but the wand itself.

【Purification】: When using magic against curses and dark creatures, suppression effect increased by 100%.

That feeling just now should probably count as some kind of curse…

Probably.

Anyway, no matter how you put it, after casting a Lumos with Silver Mane, Silven's body had fully recovered.

Only, every time he looked at the six Death Eaters on the ground, his stomach would still churn violently—a feeling that even unicorn tail hair seemed unable to dispel.

So as soon as he could move freely, Silven's first move was to change his position. He didn't rush to leave Knockturn Alley; instead, following the glow of Lumos, he pushed open the door of Borgin & Burkes.

The very place where Avada Kedavra had last vanished.

……

(End of chapter)