Everyone who had already packed their belongings rushed out of the tent upon hearing Mr. Weasley's announcement.
The parade celebrating victory had vanished, replaced by panicked screams echoing everywhere, and the entire camp was in chaos.
The sky was completely dark, as if a gigantic black mist had engulfed all the stars, creating an oppressive and terrifying atmosphere.
In the distance, a crowd was racing towards the forest, while another group of hooded figures followed unhurriedly.
Each person wore a hood, and their faces were concealed by masks, making it impossible to recognize anyone. All that was certain was that none of them were good people.
Who would venture out masked in the middle of the night, burning tents… anything blocking their path would be directly destroyed.
"Quick, get into the forest!" Mr. Weasley shouted, "Bill, keep an eye on them, and don't get separated..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he turned to see Bill, Charlie, and Percy already racing towards the approaching parade.
Mr. Weasley hastily followed them, calling over his shoulder,
"You guys hurry into the woods, it's already been searched by the Aurors, very safe... Remember, don't get separated!"
The group nodded and immediately ran towards the forest.
Once inside, they turned back to see the parade had grown even larger.
Now, not only the mysterious wizards wearing hoods but also many spectators from the match had joined them.
These people were foreign wizards, totally ignoring the warnings from the Ministry of Magic officers, openly and brazenly displaying malice.
Furthermore, there were so many of them that even the reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic fell far short.
Soon, the parade turned into a full-blown riot, with many seizing the opportunity to sneak into empty tents, either looting them or moving them altogether.
"No, we need to help Dad!" Fred and George were anxious upon seeing the growing number in the riot, and were about to head over.
"No!" Ginny grabbed them, "They're all adult wizards; you won't be of any help and might even cause more chaos!"
"Who says that!" Fred struggled to break free, "Even if we're not strong enough, we still have Dungbombs and itching powder."
George tried to pry Ginny's hand away, "Trust us, sometimes those things work better than magic!"
"Oh, there you are!"
Amid their argument, someone suddenly staggered over from the distance.
Kael and Cedric immediately drew their wands, aiming at him.
"It's me, Arthur asked me to take care of you."
The man emerged from the woods, dressed in a tweed suit and high rubber boots.
"Aren't you the Ministry of Magic staff responsible for registration?" Cedric frowned, "Seems like you're called Basil?"
He recognized the outfit.
They had seen him when they first arrived here via Portkey.
"That's right, it's me," said the man. "I met Arthur, who told me the target of those people is Harry Potter, and he asked me to take care of you."
"What, their target is me?" Harry said in disbelief.
This was absurd; he had just watched a Quidditch match and done nothing else. Why would these people be after him? It was utterly unreasonable.
"They are Death Eaters, here to avenge the Dark Lord," the man walked briskly over, reaching out his hand. "Right now, the Aurors are looking for you. Come quickly, I'll take you to find Scrimgeour."
At the mention of the Dark Lord, Harry immediately thought back to the face that had grown on the back of Quirrell's head in his first year, and instinctively took two steps forward.
However, the next moment…
"Stupefy!"
"Avada…"
With a bang, the man was hit by a ray of light and sent flying more than ten feet, landing motionless on the ground. The green light shining from the tip of his wand faded away.
The entire event happened too swiftly; no one had yet fully realized what had transpired.
"What just happened?" Harry, still shaken, stepped back two paces.
"Clearly, someone wants you dead," Kael said, putting away his wand and cautiously surveying the surroundings.
"But wasn't he a Ministry of Magic employee?" Harry asked, confused.
"He was, but not anymore," Kael replied. "Polyjuice Potion, Imperio... just borrowing his identity, it's all too simple."
"How did you know he was suspicious?" Cedric stepped forward, picking up the wand that lay on the ground.
To be honest, until the man cast the Killing Curse, he hadn't noticed anything amiss.
"It's straightforward," Kael explained. "If Harry was really their target, Mr. Weasley would have come himself, rather than entrust us to a Ministry employee we'd only met once.
He's not even an Auror... asking a regular staff member to protect the most dangerous target? It makes no sense."
Cedric opened his mouth but said nothing, and the others were similarly silent... It was clear that none of them had thought of that.
"Thank you..." Harry said, grateful yet uneasy, "You saved my life."
"No need for that," Kael shook his head. "The priority now is to leave here as soon as possible..."
Before he could finish, a dazzling green light flashed abruptly, illuminating half the camp.
That green light was all too familiar—it was the Killing Curse that had almost killed Harry just now...
However, this time it was directed not at them, but towards the camp.
Everyone immediately turned to look.
The riotous crowd paused for a moment... then the whole camp exploded like a lit powder keg.
The cries and screams were several times louder than before, various spells flew uncontrollably in all directions...
Even within the forest, they could vaguely hear shouts of rage and fear.
"...Damn the Ministry of Magic, how dare they use the Killing Curse!"
The riotous crowd descended into complete chaos; some tried to flee, others lost their sanity and began attacking indiscriminately, spells of all colors lit up the entire camp!
Fred and George again attempted to rush over, but this time not just Ginny, but Cedric and Cho also stepped in, grabbing their arms.
Kael watched the multicolored chaos of the camp, surmising something was off.
First, a Ministry employee tried to assassinate Harry, then the Killing Curse was used against the riotous crowd... something was thoroughly wrong.
It's certain that Ministry employees wouldn't try to kill Harry, nor would they actively use the Killing Curse; no doubt about that.
Yet they did so, and twice in a row.
"It's intentional, framing the Ministry!" Kael immediately thought of a possibility.
Clearly, someone is trying to escalate tensions… whoever they are, they succeeded based on the current situation!
"Boom!"
A spell flew over from the camp's direction, blasting a large pit in the ground nearby.
Debris and soil splattered over everyone.
"Are the Death Eaters planning to attack the Ministry of Magic?" Kael's heart raced.
If it were just causing trouble, the Ministry might let it go due to the large number of participants, but the Killing Curse has been involved—Fudge won't let it pass.
Ten thousand wizards witnessing the Killing Curse—it demands accountability, or his position as Minister is over.
"Boom!" Yet another spell.
No time to think further, Kael immediately drew his wand and took out a box from the Transfiguration Lizard Skin Bag, his fingers pressing the clasp, opening it.
"Everyone, get inside!"
"What?" Ron stared at the small box opening, "Kael, you must be kidding, there's no way we can fit into such a small box..."
"Don't waste time!"
Kael didn't have the leisure to explain much; he directly grabbed Ron's shoulder and exerted force...
Ron stumbled and fell forward uncontrollably, exactly onto the open box.
"You..."
The next moment, Ron completely vanished.
Inside the box was a clatter and Ron's groans; he seemed to have collided with something.
"Quick, next one!" Kael shouted.
Hermione was the first to react.
She remembered, before the break, Kael had taken out the Devil's Snare from this very box, entrapping Professor Lupin when he transformed into a werewolf... He had mentioned that the space inside was slightly larger than it appeared.
But Hermione hadn't imagined the so-called slightly larger space was enough to fit a person inside.