Hogwarts: Oh no, I've become Voldemort!

Cyrus waved his wand with the elegance of a conductor, and the magic caused the scene to flash back, bringing to mind images from several hours earlier:

Two figures in black robes, one tall and one short, walked to this place. The tall, thin wizard tossed down a tattered wand as if it were a handout—it looked crudely made—and the goblin was also very dissatisfied with it, but said nothing.

"Go to the ruins," the tall, thin wizard said softly, then his body stretched out like rubber and quickly spun into a black dot.

"Snapped"

A green light pierced through the black dot!

“avada kedavra!”

Chapter 116 Lukwood

The Killing Curse, like a green lightning bolt, pierced through the illusory phantom in an instant, heading straight for Cyrus's chest!

A green light instantly filled Cyrus's entire pupils! He was startled and froze, as if he couldn't distinguish between illusion and reality, until the spell struck his chest.

He flew out like a huge, dilapidated doll and rolled silently to the ground.

About seven or eight black-robed wizards slowly walked out. They were probably surprised that it went so smoothly, and their faces were full of astonishment.

"I thought this Auror would be a big problem, but I didn't expect it to be solved so easily."

"Hmph, even Albus Dumbledore would die if struck by the Killing Curse, what's an Auror?" one of the wizards sneered. "These idiots in the Ministry of Magic, do they think we don't know they're watching us?"

"What a pity, if we didn't only need one sacrifice, you could have lived a little longer."

"What to do with the body?"

“Of course we’ll leave it here and let the Ministry of Magic deal with it.” Another dark wizard laughed cruelly.

Anyway, they didn't reveal anything, which is equivalent to giving the Ministry of Magic a hard slap in the face. The people in the Ministry of Magic still think that it is the goblins causing trouble!

"Let's go."

The wizards simultaneously Apparated, and the air crackled as if a string of firecrackers had suddenly been set off!

The forest fell silent, except for the silent cries of life and—the cry of a soaring eagle!

A large golden bird circled and landed on the ground, transforming into the figure of Cyrus. Suddenly, Cyrus's skin, which had been lying on the ground lifeless, tore open and turned brown, blending into the damp soil.

From beginning to end, the wizards only killed clay dolls conjured by Cyrus. He had already discovered he was being followed, and the moment he entered the jungle, he used the enemy's blind spot to transform into an eagle, simultaneously creating another version of himself.

He didn't take the seven or eight dark wizards seriously, but too much time had passed since Tonks disappeared. Cyrus couldn't accurately determine their Apparition destination, and if there was even the slightest error, he might not be able to save Tonks in time.

That's why Cyrus put on this show.

Now he knew where the so-called ruins were located—

The apparition magic in the air hadn't dissipated yet; he only needed to follow the traces to find the location. He closed his eyes and felt as if a hook was forcefully pulling him out of his navel, making him feel dizzy as if he'd been stuffed into a washing machine.

The next moment, the humid air slapped against Cyrus's face.

"Wow—"

The sound of the waves rising and falling was incessant and echoed continuously.

"Is this the beach?"

Cyrus gently shook his slightly dizzy head and found himself in a somewhat damp cave, which was very shallow, only about two or three meters deep.

He slowly walked out of the cave, greeted by intense light and the howling of a salty sea breeze. Once he reached the cave entrance, Cyrus knew exactly where he was.

In the distance, the ruins of a tower perched on a wave-eroded cliff suddenly appeared before his eyes. The surging seawater had eroded the steep cliff face, leaving behind numerous sea caves. The cave behind him was one such sea cave, and along the cliff face was a winding corridor.

Like the tower, this winding path is also marked by the passage of time, with tangled withered grass growing wildly and everything broken down, as if a fierce battle had once taken place here.

"This is... the ruins in 'The Legacy' that lead to Gringotts?" Cyrus recognized the place at a glance, which excited him. Perhaps he really could obtain clues related to ancient magic from these people and goblins.

There was almost no cover in the long corridor leading to the tower, and he saw that the dark wizards who had attacked him were already far away.

Not wanting to alert the enemy, Cyrus transformed into a golden eagle and soared over the coast, landing on a broken stone pillar in the tower ruins.

He looked down and saw an unconscious man bound hand and foot and thrown on the ground.

man?

Cyrus was stunned for a moment before realizing that this was a transformation of Tonks. He was still alive; it seemed Cyrus wouldn't need to use the Time-Turner anymore.

'They're quite vigilant; they know to change their appearance before tracking anyone down.'

Seeing that Tonks was alright for the time being, Cyrus was in no hurry to show himself. While observing whether there were any traces of ancient magic left behind, he eavesdropped on the conversation between the dark wizards and fairies.

Almost nothing remains of the tower, except for a few murals on the remaining stone walls, depicting the miracles left behind by ancient wizards. The only intact structure is the wizard statue on the eastern platform, but in reality, the statue holds no particular mystery.

“According to Lanlock’s records, the gate to ancient magic is hidden inside this ruin. I believe that as long as we complete the ritual, we will be able to open the gate.” The fairy gripped the broken wand tightly—if it weren’t for the magical creature’s hair sticking out from its damaged interior, it would have looked more like a tattered tree branch.

"Ancient magic—"

The man standing in the center of the tower appeared to be the leader of this group of dark wizards. He was also dressed in a black wizard's robe, but with a metal mask on his face. When he heard the words "ancient magic," it was as if he heard some kind of beautiful melody.

He took a deep breath, his expression behind the mask still seemingly lost in reverie, but quickly his expression changed, and he asked sharply, "But, Doklo, how do I know if you Fairy Brotherhood members have deceived us?"

“Deception? Only wizards deceive each other!” Doklo scoffed, then, realizing something, roared, “Radwan Lukwood, are you trying to break the agreement?”

Lukwood?

Cyrus, who was standing on the ruins, turned his head and, after confirming that the surname he heard was "Lukewood," he looked at the masked man again.

Previously, in order to find out the key to Vault 12 or other information about ancient magic, he had specifically sought out August Lukewood, who was imprisoned in Azkaban. Unexpectedly, Lukewood knew nothing about ancient magic, while this guy who suddenly appeared in front of him knew the secret.

His gaze lingered on the part of the other man's mask that wasn't fully concealed; his lips and jawline seemed to overlap with those of the pathetic Death Eater in Azkaban.

Clearly, they are related by blood.

The man before him was most likely from another branch of the Lukwood family, the one that did not follow Voldemort's path to destruction.

“Don’t worry, there’s no need to think of us as so despicable,” Radwan Lukwood said. “You goblins want wands, I want ancient magic. Our goals aren’t conflicting; in fact, they’re completely aligned, aren’t they?”

He took a step forward, walked to the center of the tower, and forcefully spread his arms.

Under the setting sun, the sea seems to be sinking into a certain power, yet something is about to surge forth, like the rising silver moon.

Thank you, Jiang Xuerou, for the 100-point reward! Thank you so much!

I thought that with the weekend and three more updates, more people would read it, but surprisingly, there weren't any. Waaaaah! Three updates today, only two tomorrow!

Chapter 117 Blood Will Guide the Way

As the sun slowly set, the ocean on the horizon resembled a vast golden field of hope, or ears of rice bowing low in the surging waves.

Meanwhile, the sky on the other side gradually darkened, as if painted with the color of wisteria. As time passed, this color deepened until the sky was completely gloomy, and a pale yellow moon hung in the sky.

After August ended, the temperature kept dropping, and now it's almost October. The temperature by the sea is not high, and the sea breeze is cool.

“It’s time to begin the ceremony.” Lukewood looked up at the moonlight. There were nine black-robed wizards, including him, forming a circle, with the unconscious Tonks lying in the center.

The goblin stood a little further away. Only now had he removed his hood, revealing his ugly face. Most goblins looked much the same to Cyrus, with very similar appearances and personalities.

“Wake him up,” Lukewood said coldly, glancing down at Tonks.

One of the dark wizards immediately shot a red flame from his wand, which struck Tonks, causing the unconscious Tonks to instinctively groan in pain.

She slowly awoke, the pain still lingering in her body, a flicker of fear crossing her eyes. But quickly, Tonks forced herself to calm down. Although she wasn't a formal Auror yet, she had at least trained with Moody before.

Tonks strained her eyes upwards, but from that angle she couldn't see much, especially now that it was night. The silvery moonlight, though bright, shrouded everything in a veil.

She could hear the sound of the waves and guessed that she was probably at the seaside. But Britain is an island nation, with coastlines stretching from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

"This is where?"

She struggled, but to no avail.

She was bound tightly by ropes conjured by magic, and when she tried to break free, she looked like a giant maggot.

Although it was a bit inappropriate, Cyrus still found it somewhat amusing.

Cyrus stood on the broken stone pillar for a long time, so he flapped his wings a few times to stretch them out, also preparing for a possible battle. Several hours passed, and no one noticed his presence.

He was already quite conspicuous, but on this desolate beach, the rugged sea cliffs and dilapidated ruins provided cover. It's not unusual for an eagle to appear here.

None of the nine dark wizards answered Tonks' question; they simply lowered their heads and began chanting incantations.

Cyrus didn't know how to describe it; the incantations were more like some kind of evil ritual, and the magical power hidden within the massive tower seemed to be awakened under the spell's influence.

He saw a faint blue light emanating from the source—a crystal stone—under the cover of night, spreading like water along some engraving until it covered the plane of the towering tower, enveloping the nine dark wizards and Tonks.

A semi-transparent wall slowly emerged, its other side indistinct, as if obscured by a thick bubble. Besides this, there was a twisted emblem on it, resembling a wisp of silver smoke.

Cyrus took in all the magical changes, though not everyone could see traces of ancient magic. Even though Cyrus didn't know if Voldemort possessed this talent, he could certainly see the power of ancient magic now.

Clearly, none of those dark wizards possessed this talent; they couldn't see these changes.

"Doklow, you've deceived me!" Lukewood immediately unleashed a spell at Doklow in a fit of rage.

The goblin named Doklo was standing far enough away, and with his wand in hand, he had plenty of time and ability to deal with the sudden attack. He forcefully deflected the spell and then said sharply, "I've told you, only you wizards enjoy deception."

"Then you'd better explain to me why there's no reaction at all!" Lukwood roared angrily, "or I'll let you and this Auror die here together!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other eight dark wizards all raised their wands and pointed them at Doklo.

Lying on the ground, Tonks didn't dare utter a word, hoping that these people would start fighting like dogs so she could find a chance to escape. But she soon realized that this was unrealistic.

Nine against one, the fairy posed no threat to these dark wizards, and now that she had lost her wand, she was equally powerless to resist.