The Black Bloodline of Hogwarts

The carriage slammed on its brakes, causing chaos inside. Julien and Elizabeth were thrown to the side, while the man with the severed finger sprang up like a cheetah, his wand instantly sliding into his hand.

The car door was blasted open with tremendous force, and a burly man dressed in black jumped in. He had a grotesque, diagonal scar on his face and a fierce look in his eyes.

"Cassian Thorne!" the scarred man grinned maliciously. "Hand over the stuff! You dare touch Moonshadow Council property?"

So his name is Cassian Thorne. Julien thought to himself.

"The stuff is safe as long as it's in my hands." Cassian's voice was cold and calm. "Get out of here, Wolfgang. This isn't a place for you to run wild."

"Let's see whose wand is faster!" Wolfgang roared, a ghastly green light shooting from the tip of his wand.

A fierce duel erupted inside the small carriage. The light of the spells intertwined and collided, causing the carriage to creak and groan.

Fortunately, there were no other passengers on the carriage.

But the Thestral seemed to be startled, letting out a mournful neigh and pulling the carriage wildly along the invisible road.

Julien and Elizabeth clung tightly to the carriage wall, barely daring to breathe. They knew that this level of combat was far beyond the capabilities of first-year students.

In the chaos, a red light struck something in Cassian's arms, causing the outer cloth to fall away and revealing an ancient bronze pocket watch.

The pocket watch flew out of his hand, arcing through the air before landing right between Julien and Elizabeth.

Almost instinctively, both of their hands reached out at the same time, their fingertips touching the cold metal surface.

In an instant, an irresistible pull came from behind my navel! The world spun around, and colors and sounds were stretched into a thin line.

Julien only managed to grab Elizabeth's wrist before being swept into a violent magical vortex.

When the dizziness subsided and their feet touched solid ground again, they found themselves in a cold, damp, abandoned warehouse. The air was thick with the smell of rust and mildew.

Cassian and Wolfgang were also brought along, and the two immediately started fighting again, clearly indicating that the pocket watch was an unstable door key.

"Damn it!" Cassian roared.

Just then, two people slowly emerged from the shadows of the warehouse. They were both dressed in matching black robes, and one of them had a striking mark on his left arm—a black crescent moon entwined with thorns.

"Oh ho, it seems our 'messenger' has brought us an unexpected gift."

One of the tall men sneered, his voice hoarse, "Two little brats, and a clueless lackey of the Mysterious Affairs Department."

"Kill them," the shorter man licked his lips, "and clean things up. The council doesn't like leaving any traces."

Cassian's expression changed drastically. He stood in front of Julian and Elizabeth, his voice urgent: "Run! Don't look back!"

But it was too late; Wolfgang had already moved behind them, blocking their escape route. The two men in black simultaneously raised their wands, the tips glowing with a deadly green light.

Julien's heart sank to the bottom. He gripped his wand tightly, his mind racing, trying to recall every defensive spell his grandfather had taught him, but facing such a menacing opponent, he knew his chances of winning were slim.

Elizabeth's face turned deathly pale, but her eyes remained unusually stubborn, and her wand trembled slightly in her hand, yet she did not put it down.

Just as the two green beams were about to shoot out,

"Ironclad Protection!" Cassian, Julien, and Elizabeth shouted the Ironclad Spell at the same time, and instantly three beams of light, one large and two small, shone upon the three of them.

Cassian looked at the two children with slight surprise. "They're alright."

"Wow, I didn't expect them to be two little geniuses," the tall man said with some surprise, but then sneered, "Fine, I'd like to see how many times you can hold out."

"Avada Kedavra!!" The two people, one tall and one short, shouted Avada Kedavra! Two beams of green light, even stronger than the ones in front, rushed towards them.

"Ironclad Protection!!!"

This time, the green light not only shattered the protective spells on the group, but also forced the three of them back a large step.

"Alright! Balthazar! Stop playing around," Wolfgang said from behind. "You're not going to make me transform to help you, are you? But I'll be attacking indiscriminately then."

"Hmph! No need!" the tall Balthazar retorted angrily. "Hartwell, this time we're serious."

"Dermis Trahere (Skinning and Bone-Stripping)!"

Two strange pink lights condensed at the tip of the other's staff.

Cassian's face turned solemn. He had never heard of this spell before. Could it be a new evil curse created by the Moonshadow Council?

The incantation "Obscurum Flecto" was about to be uttered by him; it was the Black family's "Shadow Deflection Charm," but he didn't know if it would work.

Just then, the roof of the warehouse was suddenly ripped off by an immense force!

A biting wind swept in, carrying snowflakes, and a beam of white light poured down like mercury.

A woman, so tall she almost touched the broken roof beams, stood at the edge of the ruins. She had olive skin and a cascade of golden hair, and her eyes were as majestic as a lion's.

Beside her stood a girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old, with shimmering silver-white hair and a face as delicate as a lotus root, displaying a calmness and pride beyond her years.

"Scum of the Moonshadow Council," the tall witch's voice boomed, carrying an undeniable authority, "your evil deeds end here."

"Mrs. Maxim!" Cassian exclaimed in surprise.

Upon seeing the woman's figure and hearing Cassian's shout, Julien knew that this was Olympe Maxime, the headmaster of Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The two men in black clearly recognized the newcomers, their faces turning deathly pale. "Retreat!" the taller man screamed, turning to Apparate as if to teleport away.

But Madame Maxim simply waved her hand, and an invisible force field enveloped the entire warehouse. "Trying to escape from me?"

The girl beside Maxim gracefully waved her wand, uttering a string of fluent incantations. A silvery-white light, like a ribbon, wound out and struck the wrists of the two men in black with precision, their wands falling to the ground.

"Principal, they have markings on their arms," ​​Furong said, pointing to the man in black's left arm.

Mrs. Maxim stepped forward, scrutinizing the black moon emblem with piercing eyes, a flash of cold anger in her gaze.

"It really was them. We've been tracking these rats for a long time in order to find a stolen ancient magical artifact."

Seeing that Cassian had also subdued Wolfgang behind him, Maxim turned to the still-shaken Julien and Elizabeth, a hint of gentleness appearing on his stern face: "Children, are you alright?"

Julien and Elizabeth helped each other to their feet and shook their heads. The relief of surviving such a close call left them speechless for a moment.

Cassian stepped forward, picked up the bronze pocket watch from the ground, and solemnly handed it to Madame Maxim: "Madam, this is what they're after. It concerns a very dangerous ancient relic."

Mrs. Maxim took the pocket watch and nodded. "Thank you for your hard work, Cassian. Leave the rest to Beauxbatons."

Just then, with a few "poof" sounds, several more men in gray clothes appeared out of thin air; they seemed to be Cassian's colleagues. After greeting Maxim, they escorted the three men away.

Maxim then looked at the two children. "You're very brave. Now, let me take you home. Elizabeth, your aunt's house isn't far from here, is it?"