A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“Of course not, but since Gaius is here, these people cannot be killed for the time being,” Lucius said very seriously. “Don’t forget that the Dark Lord put me in charge of this operation.”

Upon hearing this, the Death Eaters immediately abandoned their plans to attack.

Aaron frowned slightly, as if he had grasped something important, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

"What did Voldemort tell you to do?"

"I can only tell you that the Dark Lord understands people's hearts, and your attitude was naturally within his expectations."

"To be honest, it's easy to lure Potter out of Hogwarts, but it's much more difficult to drag Gaius into this mess," Lucius said meaningfully, while subtly winking at Aaron and lingering his gaze on the door for a moment, clearly conveying a message: Run!

Aaron realized this and suddenly understood something, which made him feel a great shock.

It turns out he wasn't the only one stalling for time, but he was waiting for reinforcements from the Order of the Phoenix, while Lucius was likely waiting for Voldemort himself.

"Heh! He really went to great lengths!" Aaron said speechlessly. "Was it really necessary?"

"Who knows?" Lucius chuckled easily. "After the Dark Lord was resurrected, in addition to reclaiming his former power, he also devoted some of his energy to investigation and analysis."

Originally, the Dark Lord did not want to act so quickly, but when Potter entered the Forbidden Forest, the Dark Lord happened to read his mind and realized that this might be an opportunity.

It's okay if we fail; at least we'll get the prophecy ball. But if we succeed, that's a different story.

"We have to thank Potter for this. If he hadn't insisted on coming, and hadn't brought Granger along, the Dark Lord's plan might not have progressed this far."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Aaron rolled his eyes, and just as he was about to say something, the prophecy book suddenly spoke up: "The Dark Lord will arrive at the Department of Mysteries in ten minutes. Please be prepared, Master."

"Do you even need to tell me that?"

"For so long, apart from trivial news, you haven't given me a single good prediction."

"What is this?" Lucius asked, staring intently at the book in Aaron's hand, a guess forming in his mind.

"It's a book of prophecy, but it's not very reliable," Aaron explained generously. "The prophecy that someone will die at the hands of Death Eaters tonight was made by it. Without this prophecy, I might not have come."

The prophecy that the Dark Lord would arrive at the Department of Mysteries was a little late; if I had known, I wouldn't have come. And these idiots also caused me to be stopped.

"But... he came all this way just for a prophecy orb?" Harry frowned. "Wasn't he planning to stay out of the public eye for the time being?"

"How much is the prophecy ball worth? He's after me."

"You?" Harry was stunned for a moment, his eyes twitching in surprise. "He really can't forget you!"

"Shut up if you can't speak properly," Aaron yelled, then helped Hermione up. "I don't want to see Voldemort again, I have to go."

“Do you think that’s possible?” Bella laughed wildly. “This room is protected by an anti-apparition spell. With your magic, you can’t apparition.”

“Gaius, I advise you not to act rashly,” Lucius said meaningfully. “You might be able to break out by yourself, or even with one person, but there are six people holding you back, and three of them are hostages.”

The Dark Lord only wants to confirm a few things with you. As long as you're sensible, he won't do anything to you.

This can be seen as a hint to Aaron: either run away alone, or run away with Granger, but don't even think about taking everyone with you.

Furthermore, the Dark Lord won't do anything to you, but only if you cooperate properly.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Aaron said dismissively. "I originally planned to stall for time until the Order of the Phoenix arrived, but now that I know he's coming, I dare not take any more risks."

“If you dare leave, I’ll kill them right now,” Bella warned.

"Tsk! I've said I don't accept threats. They asked for it by coming here."

Besides, I've already stalled for enough time. I can't risk my own life for them; I'm not that selfless.

“Potter, my darling, Longbottom, what do you think?” Bella looked at them with a half-smile. “If Gaius leaves, you three friends will have to say goodbye forever.”

"Aaron," Harry said hesitantly, "can you save...?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I can only take one person with me when I leave."

It's not that I'm heartless; I've already done my duty by coming here.

“But you just saved me,” Neville said seriously. “You wouldn’t just stand by and watch, would you?”

Aaron paused for a moment, then nodded seriously. "Actually, I really can."

Neville: ......

“I’ve seen plenty of life and death separations. If I caused the trouble, I would do my best to resolve it. But you are in your current situation entirely of your own making.”

“Yes, it’s all my fault.” Harry lowered his head bitterly. “I’m the one who led everyone into danger.”

"Why didn't you do this sooner?" Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "But it's not too late to repent now."

"Huh?" Harry was a little confused by this sudden turn of events and asked, not understanding, "What do you mean?"

"Will you help us?" Neville asked in surprise.

"I made my choice when I was forced to get involved. It would be too frustrating to just slink away like this."

"Then why did you just say we couldn't take the risk?" Hermione said with a hint of resentment.

"Perhaps you didn't understand clearly. What I meant was that we can't risk delaying things."

Ten minutes, no, now there are less than eight minutes left.

You must leave the Department of Mysteries within seven minutes, or you'll have to face the Dark Lord.

“You really don’t know what’s good for you,” Bella said angrily. “I really don’t know why the Dark Lord would appreciate you. You have no sense of the situation at all. Barty Crouch Jr. is much smarter.”

"I suggest both sides exercise restraint. We have three hostages on our side. You don't want them to get hurt, and we don't want the Dark Lord's plan to go wrong."

"Don't make a move; waiting patiently will benefit both sides."

"Uncle Lucius, how could you say such shameless things?" Aaron scoffed. "He's already plotting against me, and you're just telling me to sit here and wait to die?"

"What do we do?" Harry asked seriously, gripping his wand tightly in his right hand.

Neville stood beside him, ready for anything.

Hermione wanted to join in, but before she could even draw her wand, Aaron glared at her fiercely. "What are you doing getting involved? You probably don't even have the strength to cast the simplest levitation charm right now. You'll be lucky if you don't drag us down."

“Stand next to me, otherwise I might not be able to protect you later.” Aaron said, taking a black key out of his pocket and placing it in her hand. “You absolutely cannot lose it. If the worst happens, you can only rely on it to save your life.”

"I understand." Hermione nodded seriously, though she was full of doubts.

“You two, and you three.” Aaron glanced at Harry and Neville beside him, then at Ron, Ginny, and Luna, the three prisoners. “I’ll buy you some time. You have to use every ounce of your strength to escape at full speed, get out of this execution chamber, get out of the Department of Mysteries, get out of the Ministry of Magic, and get out of London.”

“Hahaha…” Bella laughed wildly. “This joke is really funny. We have six elites, and each of them has magic power no less than yours.”

"And you have six burdens. If you can all escape, how are we Death Eaters supposed to survive?"

The other Death Eaters also revealed mocking smiles. Do you think you're Dumbledore? What nonsense is a sixteen-year-old student spouting?

They had the advantage in terms of timing, location, and people; they held an absolute advantage and it would be difficult for them to lose this game.

"I hope you'll still think that way later," Aaron said with a hint of helplessness, then extended his right hand.

A black shadow formed a vortex in mid-air, and a strange red demon mask appeared in his hand.

Everyone present widened their eyes involuntarily when they saw the mask appear. They were all wizards and could sense the terrifying dark magic contained within the mask.

Harry and the others avoided it like the plague, fearing they might get caught up in it.

The Death Eaters, however, were fascinated. Familiar with dark magic, they clearly sensed the mask's immense attraction to them; it was undoubtedly a top-tier dark magic artifact.

However, in reality, the power within the Nija mask had long been completely absorbed by Aaron, and the mask they saw was merely a dark magic artifact he created using a small portion of his power.

Anyone who wears this mask can summon fifty ninja soldiers to command, with a maximum of one hundred. Any more than that will consume magic power, stamina, or even life.

However, he can withdraw the power from the mask at any time, and he also has absolute control over the ninja soldiers.

"Originally, I didn't want to use it, after all, there would be some price to pay, but who can blame me for needing manpower to break the deadlock!" Aaron's face showed three parts helplessness, six parts bitterness, and one part determination, and then he put the mask on his face fiercely.

Snapped!

The mask's outline emitted a faint blue light, clinging tightly to his face as if embedded in his skin, becoming one with his flesh.

"Aaron, are you alright?" Hermione asked anxiously.

“Okay, I’m perfectly fine, incredibly fine,” Aaron said casually, but it sent chills down their spines.

His voice had deepened, and his entire face was covered by the mask, making it seem as if a demon had possessed his body.

"Malfoy, do you know what that is?" Luke Wood, one of the escaped prisoners, asked with interest. Before being imprisoned in Azkaban, he had worked for the Department of Mysteries and knew a thing or two about all sorts of strange and wonderful gadgets in the magical world, but he had never heard of this kind of mask before.

Chapter 500 The Ghost Legion, the Interrupted Portal Key Teleportation

"How would I know?" Lucius said speechlessly. It's not appropriate for a former member of the Bureau of Mysteries to ask me about something that you don't even know.

“We’ll figure these things out once we catch him,” Antonin said in a deep voice. “We’ll offer that mask to the Black King. Its value will be beyond our imagination. The Black King will reward us.”

“Indeed,” Bella smiled in agreement. “It would be a waste to leave such a dangerous black magic item in the care of a child.”

“How confident you are!” Aaron mocked, then slowly raised his arms. “I remember it was… to call upon the darkness deep within.”

Come forth, my faithful servant.

As soon as the words were spoken, pairs of red eyes appeared in the shadows of the execution chamber.

Fifty ninja soldiers dressed in black emerged from the shadows, kneeling before Aaron with exceptional loyalty.

"Gulu!"

Everyone present swallowed hard as they watched this scene unfold.

They wouldn't be surprised if these creatures were summoned by a powerful dark wizard; at least they could accept it. But if it were a sixteen-year-old student, the scene would feel somewhat incongruous.

"Is this the power of that mask?" Bella laughed with delight after a brief moment of shock. "I think I understand why Master was interested in it."

"Is this the time to talk about this?" Lucius rolled his eyes in annoyance. "They have more people now."

“Kill them.” Aaron’s voice was devoid of any warmth, as if killing was as simple and ordinary to him as eating and drinking.

The fifty shadow ninjas received the order and immediately looked at the six Death Eaters.

Some of them took out darts, some took out sticks, and some took out samurai swords and charged straight at the enemy.

The Death Eaters naturally wouldn't sit idly by and wait to be killed. They all picked up their wands and fought back. The three Death Eaters who were holding Ron, Luna, and Ginny hostage even pushed their hostages away, since holding them hostage would restrict their movements in the fight.

The curse instantly crushed all kinds of hidden weapons, and some ninjas were even turned into gray mist and dissipated in mid-air before they even got close.

However, this advantage did not last long. Although the shadow ninja could not withstand magical attacks, he possessed combat strength far exceeding that of ordinary people and was exceptionally agile.

Using their speed advantage to evade the curse, and combined with ranged attacks, they managed to hold off six Death Eaters.