Chapter 122: Investigation and Pursuit

The elderly witch reacted quickly despite her age. She immediately patted herself, and in an instant, a large cloud of thick, black smoke billowed out, obscuring everything from view. The older boy and his brother squinted their eyes, straining to see through the smoke. All they could hear were sharp popping sounds and spells whizzing through the cloud. It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but eventually, the smoke cleared. A shabby, poor-looking wizard, holding a wand, approached them slowly. As the black mist lifted, two figures came into view—or rather, one and a half. The dark wizard was tightly bound to the ground with ropes, his face was swollen, and his legs stuck together, unable to move. His chest was soaked in blood, having been hit by a Blasting Curse. His body was covered in sores, blisters, and burn marks. He couldn't speak, but his eyes darted around in fear. The Full Body-Bind Curse on the older boy and his brother had been lifted. The boy quickly covered his younger brother's eyes to shield him from the gruesome sight. The witch, who looked like a creepy hag, had mostly disappeared—everything below her stomach was left behind on the ground. "What happened to her?" the boy asked in horror. "She got Splinched," the gray-robed wizard who had saved them said slowly. "When you aren't focused enough during Apparition, accidents like that happen." "Will she die?" the boy asked with a frown. "Who knows?" the gray-robed wizard replied indifferently. "I've never been Splinched myself." The boy noticed the wand in the wizard's hand, and his eyes widened in shock. The gray-robed wizard then pulled out a vial of potion and poured the entire contents into the dark wizard's mouth. "Umm... killing people is illegal, right?" the boy stammered, trying to warn him. "Killing people?" The gray-robed wizard rolled his eyes. "What are you thinking? This is the Draught of Living Death." "Oh..." The boy scratched his head awkwardly and finally relaxed. The Draught of Living Death, despite its ominous name, was a powerful sleeping potion, not something that would kill or cause actual torment. "Let's go, I'll take you out of here," said the gray-robed wizard as he picked up the crumpled piece of paper from the ground and handed it back to the older boy. "By the way, that letter wasn't cursed. You were tricked." "Thank you for saving us," the younger boy suddenly pulled his brother's hand away and looked up at the man and said, "I'm Wright from the Mancini family, and my brother's name is Theo... What's your name?" "You can call me Werner," the gray-robed wizard replied in a calm tone. Theo stood by silently, watching him. "Is something wrong?" Werner asked. Theo glanced back and asked, "Are we just going to leave those two behind?" "Of course not," Werner said. "Who are they? Why were they targeting you two brothers? And do they have any accomplices?" "All of that needs to be investigated... but this is where my help ends." As they reached the entrance of the alley, Werner stopped and looked at Theo, saying, "Go find your parents or guardians and tell them about this. Whether they report it to the Aurors or investigate it themselves, that's up to them." Theo was silent for a moment before nodding. "I understand... What about you?" Werner waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Given the state of those two, do you think I can just leave them here? You should hurry. I'll stay here and keep an eye on them until the people you're looking for arrive." "Alright," Theo nodded and then glanced at Werner before quickly pulling his brother along as they ran back toward the drink shop. Their father, John Mancini, had already returned and was standing at the shop entrance, looking out anxiously. When he saw his two children running toward him, he immediately scolded them, "Didn't I tell you both to stay in the shop? Why are you running around with your brother?" Theo quickly explained what had happened. John Mancini's expression grew darker as he listened, even though both of his children were standing right in front of him. He still felt a wave of fear wash over him. It wasn't until he heard how they had been saved that his tension eased a little. But when he learned that one of the suspected dark wizards had been captured, his expression shifted again. After hearing the whole story, he shot his son a fierce glare. "Go home and stay inside! Don't even think about stepping out! I'll deal with both of you later!" Theo's face stiffened. John then pointed his wand at the notepad beside the counter, and a few pieces of paper flew out. They folded themselves into simple paper airplanes and zoomed off. Not long after, six or seven witches and wizards emerged from nearby shops. As a pure-blood family, the Mancinis, though not as large as the Weasleys, still had their fair share of relatives and friends. Besides his father John, Theo's uncle Jason owned a magical supplies shop in Diagon Alley, and his aunt, cousins, and other relatives also worked in the area. John Mancini quickly explained the situation to them, and the group was furious. They hurried toward the alley where the incident had occurred. Only Theo's cousin stayed behind to watch over the two boys, ensuring they wouldn't encounter any more danger. Pretending to be obedient, Theo led his younger brother back inside and whispered, "Wright, I need to sneak out. Can you distract our cousin?" "Leave it to me!" Wright said confidently. "I'll get the job done!" With that, he let out an ear-piercing wail. "Waaah!" "What's wrong?" Their cousin was startled and rushed over to comfort him. "It was so scary!" Wright wailed, clutching his sleeve. "We almost got taken by the bad guys... sob sob..." "Weren't you just fine a moment ago?" their cousin asked, exasperated. "Alright, stop crying. How about I show you some magic tricks?" While their cousin was frantically trying to calm him down, Theo quietly slipped out of the shop. He quickly ran to the alley but didn't see Werner. Instead, he saw the dark wizard, who had already been given the antidote to the Draught of Living Death by his father and was now conscious. "Three drops of Veritaserum, that's all it takes," Uncle Jason said as he pulled out a small vial. "This stuff wasn't easy to get, so don't waste it." John pried open the dark wizard's mouth and dripped three drops of the clear liquid inside. The dark wizard immediately stopped struggling and his eyes grew vacant as he stared up at the sky, ready to answer whatever questions were asked. "Who are you?" John asked. "I'm Chad Brick, and I'm a..." His eyelids fluttered, and he whispered, "werewolf." The expressions of the Mancini family members changed instantly. During the war, it was common for children to be kidnapped by werewolves and then infected, becoming werewolves themselves. They would be raised with a deep-seated fear and hatred of wizards, and when they grew up, they would become part of the werewolf army, following Fenrir Greyback to attack wizards. Some children were bitten and left with their parents, only to transform into werewolves every month and indiscriminately attack everyone around them. This was undoubtedly a devastating disaster for any family. If the Mancini brothers were taken away by this werewolf, the outcome was almost too obvious to contemplate. However, in recent years, such incidents have clearly become rare. John took a deep breath and suppressed his anger as he asked, "Then why did you go after those two kids? Do you have a grudge against the Mancini family?" "No," Chad Brick said in a flat tone. "I was in a bad mood, and they just happened to bump into me. Their parents weren't around..." "You bastard!" John swung a punch at him, but his brother held him back. "Who was that old witch? Do you have any accomplices?" Jason asked calmly. "She called herself Ursula, and I met her in Knockturn Alley," Chad Brick replied. "I have no accomplices. She liked the children's eyes and nails, and when she saw me take those two, she wanted to get a piece of the action..." "Filthy beast!" John Mancini couldn't help but curse. Theo didn't want to listen any longer. He recalled the direction Werner had initially taken and his attire, and suddenly thought of something. There was a street in Diagon Alley that sold second-hand goods. Broke wizards often rummaged through that area, occasionally finding items that were worth far more than their price, but mostly picking out things that were not completely worthless from the trash. Theo ran over quickly and indeed spotted the silhouette of the gray-robed wizard in the distance. He was bent over, examining a pile of odds and ends that the shopkeeper had set out. Theo approached but suddenly didn't know how to address him. "Um... Mr. Werner..." "After going through that ordeal, you're still running around everywhere," Werner turned and scolded. "Don't you care about your safety?" Theo suddenly felt tired of pretending. He looked at him blankly and said, "So, are you going to kidnap me too, esteemed Mr. Werner? Or...?" His lips moved silently, saying: [Wade.] Wade raised an eyebrow but didn't deny it. He looked down at his own attire and asked, "Where's the flaw?" Theo pointed to his sleeve and whispered, "I recognize your wand." Wade sighed and said, "Well, there's nothing to be done about that, as my second wand hasn't been acquired yet." Theo realized that Wade had been looking at a few old wands in a wooden barrel that the shopkeeper had displayed, some of which had their cores exposed. "There's no good merchandise here," Theo said. "Follow me; I know where you can buy reliable second-hand wands." -------------------------------- ????????Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member!!! 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