Chapter 78: A String of Six

Walking along the cold, damp stones of Knockturn Alley, Harold let out a helpless sigh.Honestly, their trap wasn't even particularly clever — there were huge flaws, starting with the timing. Only Dark wizards would wander into Knockturn Alley at night.Yet somehow, Harold had still fallen for it — stepping straight into their clumsy snare.Or maybe... for some reason, he had instinctively ignored the danger of venturing in after dark. "Just from that, you figured out we were after the wand shop?"The cold, raspy voice came from behind him. "You went through all this trouble. Obviously you weren't after just any random Hogwarts student. It must have been because of who I am," Harold said, taking a deep breath and giving a small, almost mocking smile."If there's anything special about me... it's the fact that I'm an Ollivander." "Maybe you could add 'sharp mind' to the list, too," the man drawled lazily.It sounded like praise — but his tone was filled with mocking cruelty, like a predator complimenting the strength of its prey. "Mind telling me what you want?" Harold asked, clenching his fists slightly, ready to fight if necessary. "Of course — wands."A towering figure on his right suddenly burst out, sounding oddly emotional:"If our wolf cubs had had wands back then, we would've finished off that damn Potter already! The Dark Lord—" "Silence, fool!"A sharp rebuke cut him off.Then the leader's voice returned to its previous emotionless coldness."You're clever. But I can also make that clever little brain of yours very empty. Want to try?" Harold knew that was aimed at him. "Come on, I'm trying to help you," he said quickly."You know wands choose the wizard, right? You can't just steal them and expect them to work." The leader said nothing — just quickened his pace. That was clearly a signal — the others began closing in around Harold, their wands tightening in their grips. Seeing this, Harold stopped walking. "Finally ready to resist?"Someone jabbed a wand against his head. "Right ahead is Borgin and Burkes," Harold said."I'm not going any further." "You don't have a choice," the leader sneered. "That's not fair," Harold said, glancing back at them."Six fully grown adult wizards, ganging up on a first-year student? Some Death Eaters you are." "That's right. We're Death Eaters," the man said without hesitation. Harold's words stalled in his throat — he hadn't expected them to admit it so shamelessly.Weren't they supposed to offer him a 'fair duel' or something? "If you won't walk, we'll help you along," the leader said."Is the Polyjuice ready?" "All set," cackled the hag who had been selling the lizard.She was staring hungrily at Harold's head and hands. "Then let's get started," she said, flashing a jagged, broken smile."The smell of fear... how sweet..." "Soul...!" "Avada Kedavra!" A scream — sharp, piercing, coming from nowhere yet everywhere — echoed through the alley, drowning out every other sound. A sinister green light burst from Harold's hand. No one knew better than the Death Eaters what that spell was:The Killing Curse.Except... this wasn't like any Killing Curse they remembered. This one was woven from countless chains of green lightning, writhing and splitting through the air like starving serpents. The first to be hit was the wizard trying to cast the Imperius Curse on Harold.He didn't even manage to finish his spell — the green lightning pierced straight through his chest.His pupils dilated, life evaporating in an instant. Before his body even hit the ground, the green lightning had already split off toward its second target. The hag staring at Harold's head didn't even have time to react.The curse struck her throat, and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The others tried to raise their wands in defense.But they underestimated the curse's speed — and overestimated their own skills. Terror was frozen in their wide eyes — but their fingers slackened, wands clattering uselessly to the wet stones below. Thud... Thud... CRASH! All six bodies hit the ground almost simultaneously.A heavy, eerie silence swallowed Knockturn Alley whole. Harold stood frozen, his face draining white.His fingers tingled numb, his ears rang, and his vision stretched out endlessly. So this is the Killing Curse?Even easier than squashing a bug. But before Harold could recover, something even more bizarre happened. The green lightning — after skewering the sixth Death Eater — didn't dissipate.Instead, it sensed something.It twisted in the air, tracing a bizarre arc... The green light dimmed slightly, but still crackled with deadly energy.It lashed across the damp alley wall — and punched clean through a rotten wooden door nearby. A muffled thud sounded from behind the door — something heavy falling. Harold's gaze followed the sound.Faintly, he could see the faded sign above the door: Borgin and Burkes. His legs locked up.It was like his feet were cemented to the spot. Only when he reached into his pocket and touched his wand — Silvermane — did he start to feel human again. Warmth flooded through him.Harold managed to take a shaky step forward. He hadn't expected the backlash of using the Killing Curse to be so horrifying.For an instant, it was like every shred of hatred, rage, and killing intent in the world had crashed down on him like a tidal wave — grabbing at him with countless pale, clutching hands. Harold gripped Silvermane tightly. "Lumos!" A silver-white glow flared to life, banishing the lingering chill from his body. Of course, it wasn't just the Lumos spell — it was the wand itself. Purify – Doubled effectiveness against curses and dark creatures. That crushing feeling... it had to count as a curse.Probably. Either way, after using Silvermane to cast Lumos, Harold's body finally felt normal again. Though every time his eyes flickered to the six bodies lying in the alley, his stomach twisted violently.No amount of unicorn magic could erase that. So the moment he could move properly, Harold shifted position — quietly moving toward the glow of his spell. He didn't flee Knockturn Alley.Instead, he followed the light to the door the Killing Curse had punched through: Borgin and Burkes. Where the last green flash had vanished. ... (End of Chapter)