In the park, Ron wore his hood, following behind Ciel and Hermione the entire way. The sky was no longer so bright, but Ron could still see them suddenly picking up their pace, their movements becoming somewhat panicked and hurried. Ciel even began actively pulling Hermione's arm, walking quickly forward.
Seeing this scene, Ron's lips curled into a cold smile. Discovered? Starting to panic? I thought Ciel Sprout always maintained that composed, unruffled appearance. Turns out he can feel fear, can panic too.
Though he couldn't see Ciel's expression, he'd already imagined his currently pale, terrified face. This brought Ron a sense of satisfaction, like a cat toying with a mouse, unhurriedly following them.
Nagini's voice also echoed in his mind, "That's right. Exactly like this. Ron, you can already smell their fear, can't you? Look—the brilliant Ciel Sprout and Hermione Granger from school are nothing special after all. No comparison to you whatsoever. This is your uniqueness—you have one-of-a-kind talent, destined to trample everyone underfoot. See, they're already panicking—they've gone to an even more deserted corner. Now you can more freely do anything you want."
Nagini's voice dripped with temptation. But in his excitement, Ron didn't notice anything wrong—he only felt his heartbeat continuously accelerating, his blood seemingly boiling. The chase—watching the weak gradually panic before him—filled Ron with an intoxicating sense of power and control.
He chased farther and farther, already pursuing them out of the park. This street area was even more desolate—streetlights dim and flickering, without a single car or person in sight. He saw Ciel's and Hermione's figures quickly disappear into an alley entrance.
At the sight of this, Ron nearly laughed out loud, because at that alley entrance stood a clear sign saying construction work ahead—the road was blocked. Yet Ciel still led Hermione into this alley—showing how desperately panicked they'd become.
Ron didn't hesitate, quickening his pace to follow. As he neared the alley entrance, Ron's footsteps paused briefly. Nagini's voice sounded in his mind, like a venomous snake watching a cornered mouse, "Careful, Ron. Here, they might struggle desperately."
Ron's cold smile intensified, "I already knew. But that suits me perfectly. Right here, whatever tricks Ciel Sprout has, I'll strike him down. I'm not the same person I was at Hogwarts—I've been completely transformed."
Then Ron stepped into the alley. Just then, a black, round object came flying at him. Ron felt momentary surprise, then nearly laughed. I thought Ciel Sprout's desperate struggle would at least involve a spell. What is this? A rock? Or something else? Too frightened to even cast spells? Truly—pathetically weak.
Ron casually waved his wand. A dazzling red light shot out, precisely hitting the flying round object, "Reducto! The farce ends now!"
But the next second, from the round object shattered by Reducto, a large cloud of white powder scattered everywhere. Even wearing a hood, Ron was completely covered with this white powder. Immediately, his vision went blurry, and intense burning pain overwhelmed him.
"This is—lime?!" Ron kept painfully rubbing his eyes, nearly stumbling and falling, frantically cursing, "Why doesn't he use magic to fight me? Lime—he actually used lime! Damn it, despicable coward! Once my eyes recover, I'll make him regret it!
But just then, Nagini's voice suddenly became urgent, "Wait. Ron. Go, leave quickly! There are Aurors nearby—they're coming!"
Ron, who had been unwilling to leave when Nagini urged him to, completely panicked hearing Aurors were nearby. How could this be? How could there coincidentally be Aurors in this area?
Only then did he suddenly remember—this morning before leaving home, the Daily Prophet said they were offering rewards for dark wizard leads. Aurors had set up many reporting points. Generally, alleys with "construction ahead, road blocked" signs indicated Auror reporting and contact points inside.
Before Ron left home, Mrs Weasley had specifically told him to read the paper carefully, memorising these locations. If he really encountered dark wizards, he could go to these places seeking Auror help. Ron hadn't taken it to heart then, only now realising Ciel hadn't desperately led Hermione into a dead end but precisely came here to find Aurors!
He'd completely forgotten this, stupidly followed them in, walking straight into a trap. If caught by Aurors, he was finished—possibly expelled, even thrown into Azkaban! At this moment, Ron's blood ran cold.
"Nagini" was also extremely frustrated—even he hadn't anticipated this move. That Sprout boy clearly possessed considerable magical abilities. Theoretically, never mind young wizards this age—even adult wizards, even Order of the Phoenix members, weren't they all accustomed to using wands to solve problems?
"Nagini" was certain any Order member encountering this situation would deliberately lure pursuing dark wizards to quiet places, then solve things with magic. How could there be such a young wizard who, despite possessing powerful abilities, sought Aurors when encountering danger? Ciel Sprout—you have no honour!
But just then, a Stunning Spell shot toward them. "Nagini's" heart grew alarmed—Ron thought himself so strong, but how could "Nagini" not know Ron's true worth? This red-haired Weasley fool in actual combat couldn't possibly match even the weakest Auror.
Getting caught here meant all his painstaking arrangements would be completely wasted. At this thought, "Nagini" gritted his teeth—no choice but to expend the little power he'd barely recovered recently.
"Ron, don't resist me! Let me take control!"
Then Ron felt an invisible force moving his arms and wand. Though his vision remained blurry, the magical energy around him became crystal clear—as if he possessed another sense. With one wand wave, the attacking Stunning Spell shot back even faster, directly stunning the spell-casting Auror.
But stunning the Auror apparently triggered some alarm magic. Instantly, a series of Apparition cracks sounded from the nearby area. "Nagini" felt a chill of alarm. If still at full strength, this situation naturally wouldn't concern him. Even when previously controlling Quirrell, no matter how many Aurors came—even if so-called Mad-Eye Moody came—they'd all become food for the transformed Quirrell.
But now, he could handle a handful of Aurors. Any more and he'd really be thrown into Azkaban!
Caring about nothing else, he fled with Ron via Apparition without looking back. Even during Apparition, he could feel these Aurors wouldn't be shaken off so easily. What a complete disaster!
'Ciel Sprout—just you wait. When school starts, when the Chamber opens again, the first target to eliminate—that's you!'
Meanwhile, in that alley just now, Ciel watched that departing figure, sensing a sharp wave of killing intent. His heart grew wary—his instincts screamed at him, telling him that figure just now harboured some powerful threat. This feeling was quite familiar.
"Voldemort—and if I saw correctly just now, when that figure fled, a corner of his hood slipped, exposing—red hair? Ron Weasley. He's now mixed up with Voldemort?"
Just then, another Apparition crack sounded in the alley. A clear voice called out, "Are you alright?!"
But moments later, the voice became uncertain with surprise, "Ciel?!"
Hearing this, he looked up, discovering the new arrival was his old acquaintance Tonks. Tonks looked at him, her gaze first showing delight, but moments later she noticed Hermione still tightly gripping his arm. Her expression suddenly became somewhat subtle:
"You two are—on a date?"
Hermione, originally still somewhat shaken, suddenly seemed to sense something. Her gaze swept between Tonks and Ciel—her instinct telling her something seemed wrong.
"You two—know each other?"