During the hour Kyle and his friends spent wandering Knockturn Alley, they were targeted by no less than seventeen Dark Wizards attempting to bait and ambush them.
This alone showed just how bad the security was in Knockturn Alley.
Of course, this also had a lot to do with Kyle and the others intentionally flashing their money around.
They hooked five waves of "fish" in total. Aside from the lone unlucky bastard in the first wave, the rest were all gang operations.
Although the vast majority of Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley had laughably weak combat skills, there was one wave in the middle that was actually quite dangerous.
The opposition had a full five people, and two of them possessed a rather high level of magical proficiency—at the very least, on par with a Ministry of Magic Junior Auror.
If the opponents hadn't been unaware of Kyle's terrifying close-quarters combat prowess, there's a high chance Kyle and the boys would have met their end right there.
The attackers could never have imagined that a young wizard like Kyle, who looked barely in his teens, had actually mastered Apparition—and could even utilize it seamlessly in the middle of a battle.
Apparition is a spell that isn't exactly hard, but isn't quite easy, either.
It's easy in the sense that the vast majority of adult wizards in the magical world can master it.
It's hard in the sense of figuring out how to integrate it into combat.
Generally, when a wizard uses Apparition, there is a casting delay, because they have to concentrate intensely on visualizing their destination in their minds.
Using Apparition in a rush can very easily lead to Splinching.
Only wizards with an extremely profound mastery of Apparition would ever dare use it in a duel to dodge an opponent's spells.
There was absolutely no way this should be possible for a teenage wizard.
But what they didn't anticipate was that after Kyle developed the Flying Thunder God mark, his Apparition had zero cast delay.
With a mere thought, Kyle could instantly teleport to the Flying Thunder God mark.
The Flying Thunder God mark that Kyle left at the entrance of the alley became the key to turning the tables.
A highly burst-heavy, fully-geared assassin successfully diving into a backline of entirely squishy targets—the rest was as easy as slicing melons and chopping vegetables.
Because it was a life-or-death battle, Kyle no longer held back.
Wherever The Phoenix's Vow flashed with lightning, severed arms and legs flew through the air.
This bloody scene made the twin brothers' eyebrows twitch wildly.
Someone else who felt a bit startled was an Acolyte, who had concealed his tracks with a Disillusionment Charm and was silently observing his Young Master from the sidelines.
He had been just about to step in and save them, but to his surprise, the situation completely reversed.
Seeing the decisive manner in which Kyle swung his sword, that Acolyte felt immensely gratified.
Lord Grindelwald has a worthy successor!
The three young wizards emerged from Knockturn Alley, covered in dust and grime.
By the time they arrived at Flourish and Blotts, a massive crowd had already gathered outside the shop.
A large banner was stretched across the upper floor of Flourish and Blotts, reading:
Gilderoy Lockhart, signing copies of his autobiography, Magical Me, today from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM.
It was still a full hour away from twelve-thirty, yet a long line had already formed outside Flourish and Blotts.
The winding queue stretched all the way from the front door to the back of the bookshop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing books.
The sheer scale of it rivaled certain notorious queuing scenes Kyle had seen online in his past life.
"Let's just go to The Leaky Cauldron and get some food first. I'm starving to death," Kyle said, tugging on the twin brothers' robes.
Given this situation, it would be impossible for them to buy their new textbooks without waiting until at least one or two o'clock in the afternoon.
Looking at the surging crowd ahead, the twin brothers nodded in agreement.
"Bid for Landlord!"
"Pass."
At a little past noon, at a table in the center of The Leaky Cauldron, Kyle and the twin brothers were playing Fight the Landlord.
After eating, they had strolled back over to Flourish and Blotts, only to find it was still packed shoulder-to-shoulder, so the three of them came right back.
The twins originally wanted to play Wizard's Chess, but Wizard's Chess only allows for two players.
So, Kyle spent ten minutes teaching them how to play Fight the Landlord.
"Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Any takers?" George, playing as the Landlord, opened by playing a straight.
"Pass," Fred replied casually. "By the way, what song should we play at the Start-of-Term Feast this year?"
Kyle threw down a Bomb. "Katyusha?"
"Apple and pear trees were blooming, River mist rising and flowing..."
Kyle hummed the tune of Katyusha. Seeing that neither twin could beat his hand, he casually threw down a three-of-a-kind with a single card attached.
"That tune isn't upbeat enough. How about the Leek Spinning Song?" George answered. "Your turn, Fred."
"I think the Leek Spinning Song is good too." Fred tossed out four cards.
After Kyle played his hand, George, as the Landlord, was pondering how on earth he could win with the trash hand he was holding.
Right at that moment, a massive commotion erupted outside The Leaky Cauldron.
"A fight! Someone's fighting!"
"Come look, quick!"
The shouts rang down the entire street. The patrons drinking inside The Leaky Cauldron grabbed their bottles and rushed outside.
The large pub emptied out in an instant; even the owner, Tom, ran out to watch the spectacle.
"Let's go, we should take a look too." George instantly ditched his garbage hand.
Humans share a common trait: no matter where they are in the world, as long as there's drama to watch, they can run faster than Western journalists.
Relying on their strong and agile bodies, the three young wizards easily squeezed through the gaps in the crowd to the very front row.
To their shock, the twins discovered that the people fighting were actually their father and Lucius Malfoy.
The two let out bizarre shrieks and immediately charged in.
Originally, Arthur and Lucius had been grappling like dueling bulls, practically evenly matched and at a stalemate.
Mr. Weasley was standing behind Lucius, locking him in a tight wrestler's chokehold.
Lucius desperately jabbed his hands backward, attempting to land a "Monkey Steals the Peach" low blow on Mr. Weasley.
However, Mr. Weasley was pressing against him so tightly that Lucius's hands couldn't squeeze into the gap between their bodies.
Left with no other option, he gripped a thick copy of Lockhart's book and blindly battered the back of Mr. Weasley's head.
Infuriated by being smacked in the face with a book, Mr. Weasley viciously drove his knee upward.
Given the positioning between him and Lucius, the spot Mr. Weasley's knee connected with was likely...
Lucius's face instantly swelled to the color of pork liver.
The stalemate between Arthur and Lucius was instantly broken the moment the twin brothers joined the fray.
Whatever else you could say about them, they had learned a few Taijutsu moves from Kyle.
"Shoryuken!"
Every onlooker heard the crisp crack of Lucius's upper and lower jawbones colliding.
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"
Right after Lucius was knocked airborne by the uppercut, Fred delivered a spinning cyclone kick directly to his face.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
Lucius flew backward, crashing heavily into a bookshelf.
Dozens of heavy spellbooks plummeted down onto his head.
Lying sprawled among the pile of books, Lucius stared blankly into space, looking exactly as if he had given up on the mortal world entirely.
Mrs. Weasley was screaming, "Stop it! George! Fred!"
She and Mr. Weasley grabbed one twin each, barely managing to hold back the two brothers who were entirely consumed by the thrill of the beatdown.
A booming voice overpowered the cacophony: "Break it up, gents, break it up!"
Hagrid came taking great strides through the sea of fallen books. Seeing the scene inside Flourish and Blotts, he looked utterly bewildered.
He had originally intended to come over and break up a fight, but looking at it now... did it seem like the fight was already over?
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