Tom had warned Rey not to come back too late.
However, for someone used to the peaceful life of 21st-century China, adapting to a sudden, violent environment took more than a split second. His danger instincts weren't quite sharp enough yet.
Caught off guard by the ambush, Rey struggled, and all three of them—Rey and the two attackers—tumbled to the ground. As soon as he broke free from their grip, Rey scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain.
He was a child facing two adults. Physically, he had zero chance of winning. Unless he could take one out immediately, his chances of escape were slim to none.
And the entrance to Knockturn Alley wasn't empty. There were several other figures lurking deeper in the shadows—junkies and beggars hoping for a handout from passersby.
Seeing the contents of Rey's trolley scattered all over the ground, these vultures naturally wanted a piece of the action. Even worse, deeper in Knockturn Alley, there were people who were interested in young wizards for... darker reasons.
Knockturn Alley was a black market for Dark Arts artifacts. Who knew if someone there needed a young wizard for some twisted experiment?
In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter had accidentally ended up here via Floo Powder. If Hagrid hadn't stumbled upon him, things could have gone very wrong.
If this were his past life, eleven-year-old Rey would have been helpless. But now, things were different. Rey had magic. And he had a wand.
That meant he was armed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The moment Rey got to his feet, he pointed his wand at the homeless man lunging toward him and shouted the Killing Curse.
This wasn't the time for mercy. These people clearly intended to do more than just rob him. If Rey didn't fight to kill, he would be the one dying.
Besides, after watching the Harry Potter movies for years, this was the spell that stuck. It was the most famous incantation in the franchise. Ask anyone who's seen the movies, and 80% of them will know Avada Kedavra.
In the panic of the moment, Rey couldn't think of any other attack spells.
The scream of "Avada Kedavra" scared the living daylights out of the attacker. Behind Rey, deeper in the alley, the vultures who were about to rush in froze in their tracks.
Avada Kedavra. One of the three Unforgivable Curses.
Who the hell expects an eleven-year-old kid to be a ruthless dark wizard? The moment he stood up, he fired off the deadliest curse in existence.
Instant death. No second chances.
The two homeless men in front of Rey were terrified. Thump, thump. One of them, thinking he was hit, collapsed to the ground out of sheer reflex. The other, the one pushing the trolley, dropped to his knees, ready to beg for his life.
But... a second passed.
Nothing happened. No green light. No rushing sound. The air didn't even crackle.
"Heh..."
A sinister chuckle broke the silence. The homeless man, who had been pale with terror a second ago, started laughing.
He wasn't the only one. The junkies behind Rey joined in, cackling at the boy's failure.
"Stupefy!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
Rey tried two more times. The result was obvious. Even Voldemort couldn't cast an Unforgivable Curse the moment he picked up a wand.
It was wishful thinking, but desperation kept Rey going. Ignoring the mocking laughter, he pointed his wand at a loose cobblestone on the ground.
---
He couldn't cast the Unforgivable Curses, but his magic was real.
Before he even had a wand, he could move objects with his mind. Now that he had a wand to focus his power, levitating a jagged rock and smashing someone's face in shouldn't be a problem.
Focusing his gaze, the rock levitated rapidly. With a sharp wave of his wand, Rey sent the projectile flying.
The laughing robber, still recovering from the scare of the fake Killing Curse, took the rock straight to the face.
Thwack!
The sickening sound of stone hitting flesh was followed by a spray of blood.
"Argh! My eyes!"
The rock was bigger than a fist and moving fast. The impact to the face instantly took the man out of the fight.
However, the rock dropped to the ground immediately after impact. Rey didn't have the skill to control it continuously yet. He had to focus again to lift it for a second strike against the people rushing him from behind.
But real fights aren't turn-based. Levitating the rock took time.
The attackers weren't going to give him that time. As soon as the first man went down, the others were on him. One of them slapped the wand out of his hand, grabbed him by the shoulder, and threw him backward.
Even though these Knockturn Alley dwellers looked sick and weak, they were still adults. Rey was light. The throw sent him flying deeper into the alley.
He slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground. The impact left him dazed, stars dancing in his vision.
Still, Rey tried to scramble up. But there were five of them now. They didn't give the kid a chance. Before he could get his knees under him, a heavy boot stomped onto his back.
"Argh!"
Rey roared, struggling desperately. He didn't want to die here. He had so much magic left to learn. His new life had just begun.
Smack.
Someone grabbed his hair and slammed his face into the cobblestones. His mouth filled with blood, and he felt several teeth shatter.
The impact was brutal. Pain exploded in his head, draining the last of his strength. He stopped struggling.
"This kid's got good magic. Should fetch a decent price..."
"Yeah. Buying school supplies alone? Probably an orphan. No one's gonna miss him..."
Rey's vision blurred. His body went limp. He knew exactly what kind of fate awaited him.
But just as the men were about to collect their prize, a low, drawn-out whisper echoed through the alley.
"Akh... khye... ass..."
The voice was guttural and obscure. It didn't sound like a spell, but it certainly wasn't human speech.
The homeless men, moments ago celebrating their victory, suddenly shivered. The dangerous whisper seemed to be right next to their ears. It felt like a death sentence.
A sense of impending doom washed over them. The temperature in the alley plummeted. They looked around in panic, trying to find the source of that terrifying sound.
They looked left, they looked right, and finally, they all looked down at Rey.
But Rey hadn't spoken. Or at least, no one saw his lips move, not even the man pinning him down.
Unnoticed by them, a thin layer of black mist had begun to seep up from the grimy cobblestones of Knockturn Alley.
The mist, thick as ink, swirled around their ankles.
"Ah... AHH!"
Terrified screams erupted. The mist had solidified into something solid, gripping their feet. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't move.
It happened in an instant. In their panic, some of them lost their balance and fell.
For those who hit the ground, the black mist immediately transformed into black hands, swarming over their bodies and dragging them down.
It was as if the ground had turned into a bottomless swamp. The men were pulled under, their screams cut short as only their hands remained, clawing desperately at the air before vanishing completely.
The screams echoed through the alley, but no one came to check.
This was Knockturn Alley, not Diagon Alley. Screams were common here, especially after dark.
---
Rey hadn't completely passed out. He heard the strange, guttural whisper too.
By the time he regained his senses, the attackers were lying motionless on the narrow path of the alley. They looked like drowning victims—eyes wide open, hands reaching toward the sky, frozen in death.
Rey was terrified of that voice.
He scrambled up, grabbed his wand first, then hurriedly threw his scattered supplies back onto the trolley. He dragged it out of Knockturn Alley as fast as he could.
The brick wall at the entrance to Diagon Alley was just opening. As Rey burst out of Knockturn Alley, Tom was standing right there in the archway.
"Merlin's beard! What happened to you...?"
Knowing the boy was an orphan with nowhere else to go, Tom had come to check on him when it got late. He hadn't expected to see Rey covered in blood.
One look at Rey, and Tom knew something bad had happened. He looked past the boy, toward the entrance of Knockturn Alley.
What he saw shocked him. Several bodies were lying on the ground, completely still. And the way they looked...
"Those filthy scum... Wait. That's... Dark Magic."
Tom's anger turned into horror as he recognized the signs of death on the bodies.
"Child, how did you escape?"
Rey shook his head, feigning ignorance as he recounted the attack. He mentioned the struggle but left out the black mist and the strange whisper. Tom assumed someone had secretly intervened to save Rey—someone using very dark magic.
Tom didn't press the issue. He led Rey back to the Leaky Cauldron. He didn't mention the Dark Magic again, but he made a mental note to inform Albus Dumbledore.
Back at the pub, Tom used magic to fix Rey's broken teeth.
A hunchbacked waiter in dark robes quickly carried Rey's things up to a room on the second floor.
The waiter had pointed ears and an overly enthusiastic smile. Rey strongly suspected he had some goblin blood. With the waiter's eager help, Rey finally settled into a room with a window.
Whoosh!
A train roared past on the tracks outside. The room was level with the railway bridge.
Rey looked around. It was old and noisy, but it was spotless.
The grimy appearance of the Leaky Cauldron was just a facade. Aside from the noise, it was a solid place to stay.
Rey was just glad to be alive.
As he sat on the bed, the strange, guttural whisper echoed in his mind. Akh... khye... ass...
It was terrifying, but strangely... it felt familiar. He could swear he had heard it somewhere before.
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