Like a collapsing dam, a vast torrent of water shimmering with a dark, eerie luster gushed out from the breach in the metal wall. On the surging waves, several bodies of uniformed wizards were swept along by the current and slammed heavily against the opposite wall.
The sudden turn of events left Sirius stunned. Before he could say anything, Amelia at his side grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the fireplace they had come from.
Amid the thunderous roar, Sirius shouted, "What's happening, Amelia? Isn't this where you hold prisoners? Why is there so much water?"
"That's not water!"
Amelia's face had turned pale. She glanced back at the waves surging into the complex passages. The silver-white metal walls on both sides of the corridor lost their luster after being swept by the water, turning visibly black at an alarming rate.
"That's a potion, a deadly poisonous potion!"
Amelia's voice was extremely shrill. "The Department of Magical Security uses it to carry out executions. They make convicted wizards fall into hallucinations, then submerge them in the water prison. You saw those bodies, that poison can take a wizard's life in just seconds!"
"Your Department of Magical Security is truly twisted!"
With a whoosh, Sirius broke out in a cold sweat. Pulled by Amelia, he suddenly leaped forward, transforming mid-air into his Animagus form, then whimpered a few times at Amelia.
Amelia immediately understood. She bit her lip, jumped onto Sirius's back, and flattened herself while clutching the mane around his neck.
The potion flooding from the execution chamber seemed inexhaustible, and like Fiendfyre, it appeared to possess consciousness, instinctively seeking to extinguish all life. Sensing Sirius and Amelia, the potion raised wave after wave of roaring surges, pursuing them madly.
Who had broken the execution chamber's barrier was no longer a question requiring much thought, but what puzzled Amelia was: wouldn't that vampire impersonating Graves be seeking his own death by doing this?
Roar!
A roar suddenly emerged from amid the thundering waves. Hearing this cry, Amelia's face immediately showed terror as she twisted around to look at the waves crashing behind them.
The roar grew from distant to near, rapidly becoming clearer. Within seconds, a dark shadow leaped across the waves, swiftly approaching them.
The moment they recognized each other's identities, both Amelia and the person riding the Nundu were equally astonished.
It was Morgans—the vampire that Bryan had arrested in the Muggle restaurant!
The Nundu, whose eyes had turned crimson and seemed to be controlled by some force, didn't surprise Amelia much. She had guessed that the vampire who had poisoned them had broken into the underground prison to reclaim it from the MACUSA. What she hadn't expected was that this vampire was the very one Bryan had arrested in the Muggle coffee shop.
How had this vampire escaped from custody, and how did he have the audacity to return to the MACUSA and attempt to steal the Nundu?
Before Amelia could voice her questions, Morgans asked in a sinister voice, "It's you two... How did you wake up? And where's Watson? Is he still under Auror surveillance?"
"If you're willing to surrender, I'll tell you the answer!"
Amelia raised her wand and fired several spell lights at Morgans riding on the Nundu, but he dodged them with the extremely agile beast he controlled.
"Surrender?"
Morgans smiled grimly. He looked at the large black dog and Amelia running ahead of him, narrowed his eyes, then shook his head and said, "No matter how you woke up or how you knew I was here, it no longer matters. You're destined to die here, while we will accomplish our plan."
"Your plan?"
A gleam flashed in Amelia's eyes. "How many accomplices do you have? What exactly are you plotting? My colleagues couldn't extract those secrets from you?"
Morgans didn't answer the question, merely smiled coldly again.
He gently patted the Nundu beneath him. The dangerous beast's powerful limbs suddenly exerted force, vanishing like a wisp of smoke from the wave crest. When it reappeared, it was already dozens of feet ahead of Sirius. Moreover, like teleportation, it blinked continuously and soon disappeared around the corner of the silver corridor.
"Faster, Sirius!"
Amelia knew that Sirius was just an Animagus, not a true magical beast, and couldn't match the speed of a 5X-rated dangerous magical creature. Yet she couldn't help but shout, "That guy must be planning to—"
Boom, boom, boom!
A series of heavy explosions interrupted what Amelia was about to say. Of course, Sirius had also guessed what the vampire would do. A frenzy flashed in his gray eyes as he ran forward with all his might, charging into the corridor they had initially entered, and saw the vampire called Morgans!
Most of the wall lined with several fireplaces had been destroyed in the recent explosions, leaving only one intact. Seeing Amelia riding Sirius appear at the corner of the passage, he smiled grimly, then rode the Nundu and stepped into the fireplace. After his figure disappeared—
Bang!
The last fireplace exploded into pieces in flames, and the entire wall collapsed!
After a sharp sound of claws scraping against the floor, Sirius stopped in his tracks. Returning to human form, he stared at the destroyed fireplace, his face terribly grim.
"What do we do now, Sirius!"
The deadly potion surged from within the passage like out-of-control Fiendfyre. Amelia's pupils contracted to their limit. Lacking experience, she could only turn to Sirius for help.
"If Apparition were allowed here—"
Sirius also stared intently at the rapidly approaching potion, saying through gritted teeth.
"It's not!"
Amelia gasped urgently. "This place is bound by Anti-Apparition charms. We can't leave by Apparition!"
"Then—"
Beads of sweat the size of beans seeped from Sirius's graying temples. His breathing grew heavy as he racked his brain for an escape plan.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Sirius's mind. He immediately looked up and shouted into the air, "Fawkes!"
Pop!
Amid the roaring waves, the slight crack of air was as pleasant as divine melody!
Watching the phoenix emit clear, melodious cries, Amelia exclaimed in delight, "Oh, brilliant! This bird can bypass Anti-Apparition charms?!"
"Fawkes is Dumbledore's phoenix—he's quite capable!"
Sirius grinned, then looked up at Fawkes circling overhead. "Take us upstairs, Fawkes—the ninety-eighth floor!"
Screech!
After a high-pitched cry, the red flames bursting from Fawkes enveloped Sirius and Amelia. A moment of brilliance flashed before their eyes, and when they regained their body, they had appeared before the fireplace in Graves's office—
The flames pouring from the fireplace had just receded back into the hearth, clearly indicating that someone had just left this office through the fireplace.
"Damn it, we're just one step behind!"
Sirius stamped his foot in anger and cried out.
"Who's there?!"
Just as Sirius finished speaking, a shout suddenly came from the outer office area.
Immediately after, rapid footsteps sounded. Before either of them could react, Selena Hilde from the Department of Magical Security appeared in their line of sight with a cold, hard expression, followed by many Aurors who had just changed shifts.
"Amelia, what are you doing in Mr. Graves's office!"
Kicking open the half-closed office door, Selena's brow sharpened instantly at the sight of Amelia's panicked face.
She and the Aurors behind her immediately drew their wands but not aimed at Amelia, but at the handsome middle-aged wizard beside her. Quite a few also pointed their wands at the beautiful large bird perched on the lamp stand.
"Don't be rash, Selena!"
Amelia cried out. She rushed in front of Sirius and spread her arms to shield him. "We can explain!"
"I'm waiting for your explanation!"
Selena's eyes remained cold, her wand unwavering. "You don't look like you're here to report issues to Mr. Graves, do you? And you, sir—who are you? What did that statement you just shouted mean!"
"If I remember correctly—"
An Auror behind Selena stared intently at Sirius's face, his eyes bulging with surprise. He said in a tone of uncertain astonishment,
"He's Sirius Black, descendant of the ancient and noble Black family in British magical society, the only wizard to ever escape from Azkaban, from the Dementors. I've seen his face in the Daily Prophet. I remember the paper said Black later became an Auror too, serving in the Auror Office at the British Ministry of Magic!"
Sirius Black, Black family descendant, Auror, these phrases made Selena's wand tip droop slightly, but her voice remained harsh. "Then, Mr. Black, are you in New York on orders from the British Ministry of Magic? When did you enter the country? If possible, I'd like to see your entry application receipt and your wand permit."
Sirius's expression was terribly gloomy, as if he saw another prison beckoning to him. After several seconds of silence, he shrugged, his voice dull. "Sorry, I don't have those—"
"Which means—"
Selena's wand tip rose again. She and her team members showed not a hint of surprise at Sirius's answer, as if they had expected it.
"You smuggled yourself into New York, didn't you, Mr. Black."
Selena said coldly, "Then I'm very sorry. According to the regulations on foreign wizard entry and exit promulgated by the Magical Congress of the United States of America, my colleagues and I will place you under arrest. If you have—"
"Wait!"
Amelia bit her lip, her expression firm. "You can't arrest Sirius!"
"I'm afraid that's not for you to decide, Amelia."
Selena's gaze fell on Amelia's face. "Besides, you're in quite a bit of trouble yourself. I'm guessing you're the one who helped Sirius Black smuggle into New York, aren't you? Who ordered you to do this—Bryan Watson?"
The air filled with tension. All the Aurors had entered a combat-ready state and would strike without hesitation at the first sign of resistance from Amelia and Sirius.
"I can explain everything, Selena!"
Glancing at the gradually dying fire in the fireplace, Amelia said urgently, "But not now. We have more important matters at hand. If you could allow—"
"I'm afraid not, Amelia."
Selena remained indifferent. "Your only option is to surrender your wands and explain everything voluntarily. Then wait for Mr. Graves to determine your guilt."
'What a troublesome situation—'
The silent Sirius frowned slightly. He covertly glanced at Fawkes on the lamp stand, who seemed to be watching the show, and gave him a look, hoping he would go find Bryan. But Fawkes watched the group of Aurors with great interest, completely failing to understand his hint.
"Oh, Mr. Graves!"
Reminded, Amelia snapped to attention. She gasped and spoke rapidly, "Listen, Selena, Sirius and I are tracking a vampire—in fact, the very one Bryan arrested in the Muggle coffee shop. I don't know how he escaped, but tonight, he snuck into the hotel where Bryan was staying and drugged us.
This guy came back to the tower using Mr. Graves's face. The Probity Probe and Secrecy Sensors didn't detect him. He used this office's fireplace to go down to the detention cells, destroyed the place, controlled the Nundu, and left again through this office's fireplace.
I have reason to believe he was able to evade all alarm measures because he's already controlled Mr. Graves, learned the Security Department's defense plans from him, and disguised himself using Polyjuice Potion!"
This string of revelations left everyone dazed. From their expressions, everything Amelia said seemed like a bizarre story.
"Your imagination is quite impressive, Amelia—" Selena was the first to recover from her shock. She hesitated, "I must admit, this is very—"
"I'm not making up stories, Selena!"
Amelia's voice rose sharply. "If you send someone to the detention cells, you'll understand I'm not lying at all. All the Strikers on duty there tonight and the dark wizards temporarily held there are dead. You need to be aware that the vampire broke the execution chamber's barrier.
The place is now flooded with that deadly poisonous potion used for executions. Also, you need to send someone to the Department of Magical Transportation. They can find out exactly where that vampire just went using the Floo Network!"
The office fell silent for a moment. Sirius, sensing a possible breakthrough, finally stopped making faces at Fawkes and waited quietly.
Selena's cheeks twitched slightly. She wanted to rebuke Amelia—this girl who had only gotten an internship in the Security Department through luck was completely talking nonsense. But when her gaze met the seriousness and solemnity in Amelia's brown eyes, she couldn't say anything.
"Go check the situation, Kobe—"
Finally, Selena compromised. She hesitantly turned to look at a tall, middle-aged wizard behind her.
When she turned back to see Amelia's relieved and pleased expression, her own expression became serious again, her wand not moving an inch.
Those five minutes were agonizing. The atmosphere in the office seemed frozen, making it feel unbearably suffocating. Finally—
Clang!
The tall wizard practically tumbled out of the elevator car. Compared to when he left, he looked much more wretched, his shoes were gone, the hem of his robes was corroded by something, his face and arms bore splatter-pattern burn marks, and he was even missing several strands of hair!
As he rushed toward the office, panic made him knock over several desks. Seeing his appearance, the Aurors blocking the office doorway couldn't help but pale.
"What happened, Kobe!"
Selena's eyes flashed with shock and anger over her colleagues' shoulders. "What did you encounter?"
"Huff—I just used a Portkey to go underground and nearly—nearly didn't escape!"
The tall wizard wore an expression of relief at having survived a disaster, gasping as he spoke, "Huff—the situation is basically as Amelia described. Huff, huff, quite a few people died!"
Like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, the atmosphere exploded. Amid the panicked buzzing of the group of Aurors, the pale-faced Selena roared, "Aiden, send an alert to Uriel and the others—we need their support! Also, Alex, go to the Department of Magical Transportation immediately—we need to know exactly where that vampire just went!"
The two wizards who were called burst into motion, disappearing like whirlwinds from everyone's sight. Then Selena called out a few more names, having them make thorough preparations before making another trip to the underground detention cells. Regardless, they had to try and see if they could rescue anything from there.
The floor housing the Security Department fell into chaos. Without their leader, Selena and several senior Aurors could only shoulder organizational responsibilities. Aurors were dispatched one by one under their orders to carry out rescue, alert, lockdown, and personnel-gathering tasks.
Meanwhile, Amelia and Sirius were left to the side, ignored by everyone.
Seeing this disorderly scene, Sirius frowned slightly. He stepped forward and grabbed Selena's arm.
"Hey, listen!"
Sirius's stern voice made Selena, who was about to pull away, quiet down. She looked at him in bewilderment.
"I'm also an Auror, ma'am. If you want to go save your Director—this Graves, then in my experience, this kind of mission is completely unsuited to gathering large numbers of personnel.
Have your people stand ready. Select a few to accompany Amelia and me for preliminary tracking and investigation. If we encounter resistance, then have them provide support at any time!"
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