Night Attack
The night was very calm after the exciting World Cup. Even so, there were still some people drinking and celebrating, causing small disturbances that were quickly stopped by the Aurors standing guard.
As the hours passed and the drunkest people began returning to their tents to rest, aware that they would have even more time to celebrate the next day, the silence started to become more noticeable.
So much so that it felt strange.
Almost fake.
Meanwhile, dozens of shadows moved in a coordinated manner between the tents, advancing with surgical precision, as if they already knew exactly where to go. They searched for what seemed to be specific targets among the sea of canvas. If someone with good instincts had been nearby, they would have noticed how those shadows entered certain tents directly. Seconds later, a green flash briefly illuminated the fabric before the figures slipped out again just as quickly as they had entered.
Then they regrouped at a distance, away from the rest of the camp.
"Sir, we have taken care of five of the eight targets. The others are in more secure areas," one of the shadows reported as he appeared before the group. He wore a mask that completely covered his face and was dressed in black from head to toe.
"And who will be freed by their deaths?" asked the one who seemed to be the leader, while checking a list in his hand.
"Carrow, Travers, Crabbe, Goyle, Dolohov, and Parkinson," the man replied quickly.
"Mmm… good. That was the entire request. It is time to leave," the leader said before turning around to withdraw with his companions.
But before he could even take a single step, dozens of spells of all kinds suddenly surrounded them, giving them no time to react or defend themselves. Only the leader managed to evade them by pure reflex, throwing himself to the ground and rolling quickly before trying to counterattack.
However, before he could do anything else, several magical whips surged from different directions and wrapped around his body, immobilizing him completely.
Meanwhile, his men lay dead on the ground.
"What…?" the man said, confused. He should not have noticed anyone before lifting his gaze and seeing a figure approaching from the darkness.
"You did a good job. But it would be far too suspicious if the very people who were investigating us died and their killers simply disappeared," said a familiar voice, still hidden among the shadows.
"You…? So this was a trap, wasn't it?" the man said, already resigned, realizing he had been deceived into completing a job that was never meant to end well for him.
"I do not need to tell you anything," the figure replied from the darkness before turning away and casting a spell into the sky. "But I will tell you that you did a good job. Now we just need to create a proper excuse for the deaths," he added coldly.
As soon as the signal pierced the sky, different explosions began to echo throughout the camp, one after another. At the same time, a spell pierced the man's stomach, and he collapsed to the ground, bleeding out, hatred burning in his eyes before they finally closed.
The silence and joy that had ruled only moments ago shattered instantly as fire began to devour the surroundings, spreading like a living entity that sought nothing but destruction.
The people who heard the chaos immediately began to pour out of their tents. Upon seeing the fire, panic took hold, and they fled in all directions, fearing they would be consumed by the flames.
The Aurors reacted quickly, pushing into the fire, though it had already grown far beyond any attempt at containment. All they could do was guide people away as fast as possible.
"What the hell…?" Tonks shouted as soon as she reached the area, watching as the fire began to take the shape of what looked like a massive dragon, growing larger with every tent it devoured. "Which idiot decided to play with Fiendfyre?" she added while waving her wand, trying to cast water onto the flames. However, as it got closer, the spell simply evaporated without having any real effect.
"Do not waste your energy, Nymphadora. It has grown too much. Just help get the people out and make sure they are not trampled by the others," said another Auror with a serious demeanor as he destroyed nearby tents to prevent the dragon from continuing to grow by using them as fuel. His robe was a striking color, and he was one of the most well known Aurors. Kingsley Shacklebolt.
"Do not call me Nymphadora," she replied immediately, annoyed, as if she were about to hex him from behind.
"Just go," Kingsley said, rubbing his temple with an obvious headache.
She made a gesture behind his back and began helping those who, in their desperation to escape, fell to the ground and were trampled by others.
"Come on, do not be idiots, watch where you are going," she shouted while moving her wand to help people get back on their feet. It would have been very helpful if she herself had not tripped and fallen, nearly getting trampled as well.
The other Aurors did the same, while some split off to destroy nearby tents in order to prevent the dragon from continuing to grow.
But then…
"Boom. Boom. Boom."
Three more explosions of fire erupted in different corners of the camp. Not only that, the flames from the four points began to merge, forming a closed circle around everyone who still remained among the tents, connecting as if to block every possible escape route. Only those who managed to reach the forest were able to survive.
"This is a damn planned attack!" someone screamed in panic. That only made things worse. People began wildly waving their wands, casting whatever spells they could think of to extinguish the flames. However, their desperation did more harm than good, as the fire seemed to feed on the magic they hurled at it.
"Idiots, stop it!" Shacklebolt shouted, but in the middle of the chaos his voice carried almost no weight.
The panic only grew worse. The people trying to escape now found themselves surrounded from different directions, with the flames growing at an alarming pace, closing in on them, ready to consume everything.
Even the Aurors began to feel a faint sense of panic. The number of people was far too large for them to handle. After all, there were simply not enough Aurors for such an immense crowd.
It did not help that the place itself was poorly structured. The tents were practically stabbed together, set side by side without order or space, causing the fire to spread even faster.
"Oh no… we're dead," Tonks said, watching the flames continue to rise around them, glowing with a blood red hue that looked ready to devour them all.
But that, suddenly, did not seem to happen.
The fire that was moving directly toward the high class tents, in the VIP section so to speak, vanished instantly.
And as if an invisible wave had passed through the area, the flames throughout the rest of the camp were extinguished just as abruptly.
But not only that.
The spells people were desperately casting faded away in midair, and nothing at all came out of their wands anymore.
All the magic in the area seemed to have disappeared at once, no matter what they tried to do.
"What… what happened?" Kingsley said as he looked around. The tents were still burned, still smoking, leaving everyone with expressions of confusion and disbelief.
Even so, he still had a job to do. He attempted to cast an Expecto Patronum to use it as a messenger, but when he moved his wand, nothing happened. That made him stare at the object in his hand in disbelief.
Other witches and wizards around him tried the same thing. None of them succeeded.
"By Merlin, what is happening?" Kingsley murmured as he watched everyone shaking their wands without any result. A new, subtle panic began to settle in their chests, as if they felt naked without the ability to use magic.
At the same time, every magical object in the surroundings stopped working. Every protective spell, every enchantment, and anything that relied on magic shut down completely. Even the tents reverted to being nothing more than ordinary tents.
Except one.
Inside a specific tent, Wanda was lying down with a slightly annoyed expression, looking at the two small babies sleeping peacefully on her chest. Their soft, synchronized breathing created a surprisingly tender scene. They were Billy and Tommy, punished after getting into a fight.
Harry had been spared by escaping just in time, knowing he could end up caught in the crossfire. After all, Wanda truly enjoyed turning them into babies whenever they misbehaved, as a form of punishment. She had not had much time to enjoy them as infants, since Billy and Tommy had grown far too fast.
Meanwhile, Harry, who was sleeping in the nearby room, slowly opened his eyes and looked around for a moment.
"Who was the idiot?" he said simply, in a playful, mocking tone. His mother was present, and some idiot had caused a massive disturbance.
He could also hear Daphne complaining for a moment, because her tent had suddenly become smaller and Astoria had ended up sleeping on top of her. That would be something interesting to hear about the next day.
Then Harry closed his eyes again, as if none of it mattered to him at all.
…
Meanwhile, inside Corvin Carrow's tent, the man stared around with a genuinely surprised and confused expression, noticing just how small it had become. At that moment, a man dressed in black approached him from behind.
"Sir, we have completed the mission. This will also serve as a message. I do not believe the next investigator will want to get involved with you," he reported quickly.
"Mmm… good work. Did you clean everything up?" Carrow asked as he looked around, still shaking his wand.
"Yes, sir. The culprits of the attack are criminals with personal vendettas against several officials, just as you requested. Even so, the evidence that continues to circulate against you…"
"Do not worry, I will take care of that," Carrow interrupted him. "I need you to do another job immediately. Find out what alchemical tool was used. Use every man we have, no matter the cost. We cannot allow this tool to exist without knowing the details," he ordered with a serious look.
"A tool? Do you think this was done with a tool?" the man asked, confused.
"And what else could do something like this? A wizard? Do not make me laugh. Not even that woman could pull off something like this. But just in case, be careful around her," Carrow added, averting his gaze.
"Yes, sir," the man replied before leaving quickly.
Carrow turned his gaze back toward the tents lined up side by side. He knew exactly who each one belonged to.
"Mmm… what a shame. If my men had gotten a little closer, I could have gotten rid of so many of you. But that woman really…" he muttered before walking back into his tent, visibly irritated by how small it was inside.
Meanwhile, not far away, in the forest where many people had taken refuge, some began to return slowly once they saw that the fire had stopped.
Among them, a man ran away from the area, breathing heavily, with a genuinely excited smile on his face. He held a wand in his hand, shaking it repeatedly, but it did not react.
"Hey, you," someone suddenly said, stopping him along the path while looking at him with confusion. "The fire stopped. Why are you running? Do you need help?" he asked as he stepped closer.
"Ah, yes… my wand," the stopped man said, shaking it again without success.
"Yeah, I do not know what is happening. I tried to Apparate to get out of this place, but…" before he could finish the sentence, the other man stepped too close and suddenly drove the wand straight through his neck.
The man could only let out choking gurgles as he fell to the ground, clutching his throat.
"Let me see it," the attacker said, taking the wand from his hand before shaking it himself. The body writhed on the ground in front of him. "Mmm… you're right. It does not work either," he commented indifferently.
Then he turned around and walked away quickly.