Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 740 Speculation, The Hidden Death Eaters

In Wiltshire, the sound of shattering glass suddenly echoed from a respectable mansion. A plume of black smoke crashed through a diamond-shaped window on the ground floor and shot out at incredible speed.

But the next second, the black mist stopped and slowly descended before the two imposing wrought-iron doors. The mist dissipated, revealing Voldemort's pale face.

Then, several more clouds of the same black mist rushed out of the mansion.

"Master—" Bella and Barty Crouch Jr. knelt at Voldemort's feet in fear and trepidation, not understanding why their master, who was speaking perfectly well, suddenly flew outside and then inexplicably stopped at the front door.

But they dared not ask, and could only wait in fear for Voldemort's orders.

Voldemort, however, acted as if he hadn't seen them, and said softly, "You run really fast—but are you really willing to stay in Diagon Alley forever?"

Voldemort's voice wasn't quiet; at least the Death Eaters around him heard his words, but none of them understood what he meant.

Voldemort was clearly not prepared to explain to them, and Barty Crouch Jr. was about to ask when he returned to the mansion.

"Tell the Dementors they can eat as much as they want!"

Meanwhile, back in Diagon Alley, Siron didn't stop for a moment until he ran back to the wand shop, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and ease the sense of urgency in his heart.

Soon, Fred and George followed, panting.

"What on earth happened?" Fred asked impatiently as soon as he walked in. "I feel like you're hiding from something. Are they Dementors? But I didn't see them at all!"

"I don't know how to explain it either." Xilun glanced out the window, and after confirming that there were no dark clouds in the sky, he took a big gulp of water.

"I just feel that if I stay on Privet Drive any longer, something terrible will happen, not just to me, but also to Sirius, Ron, and..."

Hermione, and you too, will be implicated.

"The scary thing is—it can't be that the mysterious person has arrived, can it?"

"Impossible!" George shook his head. "Those who have been active outside lately are mostly Death Eaters. The Mysterio hasn't taken any action himself, and no one has seen him."

"That's it," Fred said. "Some speculate that he was injured when he killed Dumbledore and is unable to use magic."

"The person who said that must be a Death Eater," Siron shrugged.

"Was the mysterious man not injured?" Fred asked curiously.

Xilun shook his head.

Voldemort was indeed injured; Dumbledore's final fire spell struck him, but that was all.

This might cause Voldemort some minor trouble, but to say that he can no longer use magic because of it would be a gross exaggeration.

After all, Dumbledore ultimately used an area-of-effect spell, primarily to stop Voldemort and most of the Death Eaters, creating an opportunity for the people of Shiron and the Order of the Phoenix to escape.

"If that's the case, then it seems possible that the mysterious man really might go to Privet Road in person—" Fred's expression gradually became serious.

He knew that Xilun possessed a special talent for prophecy, and such a wizard would almost never have so-called illusions.

So, Xilun's earlier feeling of danger might actually be genuine. And the only thing that could make him so nervous was the mysterious man.

"Oh no, then Ron and the others are in danger!" George suddenly realized something.

"No!" He immediately pulled out a piece of parchment. "I have to warn them to run away quickly, and make sure the mysterious man doesn't see them—"

But just as he was about to write something on it, a hand reached out.

"No need, they're fine," Siren said.

"But didn't you just say—"

"That's because I was there then," Siren shrugged. "Now that I'm gone, the mysterious man naturally won't make the trip again."

Well, that's hard to refute.

"But how did the mysterious man know you went to Privet Drive?" George asked suspiciously. "After all, this wasn't something planned in advance; it was a decision you made on the spur of the moment."

"That's right." Fred understood what George meant and glanced thoughtfully at the street outside.

"Could there be Death Eaters hiding nearby, alerting him?"

"Or perhaps the mysterious figure has been observing Diagon Alley through some method—like, something like the Marauder's Map."

"The Marauder's Map is unlikely." Sirius and his friends were able to create the Marauder's Map mainly because of Hogwarts Castle.

The castle itself was filled with magic, capable of infinitely amplifying the spell of the names they cast on the parchment.

But Diagon Alley didn't have such conditions, and he had never heard that Voldemort was proficient in alchemy.

Given Voldemort's magically superior personality, he should have disdained learning a practical skill like alchemy.

As for whether there are Death Eaters watching the area—it's hard to say, since Diagon Alley is now full of closed shops, making it too easy for Death Eaters to hide.

Upon learning of Celen's idea, Fred and George immediately patted their chests, indicating that they would leave the matter to them.

"If there really are Death Eaters hiding in Diagon Alley—"

"We will definitely find a way to locate him!"

The two made a solemn promise, but Xilun did not seem to care much about it.

"Actually, there's no need for that. I can handle it. Besides, it's just a guess; there might not actually be Death Eaters hiding here."

"No, we're not just here to help you," Fred said seriously.

"Don't forget we live in Diagon Alley too." George glanced warily at the closed shops around them. "Finding the Death Eaters hiding here is also for our own safety."

After they finished speaking, the two of them ran off to their shop with great enthusiasm, leaving the task of dealing with the Dementors to Siron alone.

Since they can't be of much help here anyway, they might as well do something else more important.

Xilun had no objection to this at all.

For the next two days, however, not a single Dementor appeared around Diagon Alley.

According to the newspaper reports, these drifting monsters have inexplicably scattered and are no longer moving in groups as before.

This has resulted in Dementors being found almost everywhere in the UK, from the Scottish Highlands to Cornwall.

However, this is good news for the Aurors and the Order of the Phoenix.

A group of Dementors is difficult to deal with, but one is much easier. As long as the two Patrons work together, they can be dealt with in a few minutes.

It's just a bit troublesome.

There were so many Dementors, probably several hundred, scattered throughout almost every part of Britain. And they weren't stationary; sometimes the Aurors would arrive just as the Dementors had already vanished.