NABC Chapter 66 Those Two Damn Dark Wizards
Chapter 66 Those Two Damn Dark Wizards
As the most representative bird of the Americas, and also possessing rare and powerful characteristics, the Thunderbird will cause turmoil in both the legitimate and criminal worlds of the American wizarding community once it enters its egg-laying period.
Many wizards and witches with talents such as fortune teller, prophet, and seer traveled to Arizona, either hired or voluntarily, hoping to try their luck. But compared to the Thunderbirds, which were born with the ability to sense danger, the magic these creatures wielded was merely child's play.
With over a dozen hurricane clouds appearing over the Sonoran Desert, most of the poachers who thought they had struck gold were already eliminated. Ironically, while they were already fantasizing about how to divide the spoils after finding the eggs, the Aurors of the Magical Congress of the United States had already quietly surrounded them like hawks lurking in the shadows.
The scene returns to a bar on an Indian reservation.
With the help of protective magic such as the Disillusionment Charm, Harry and Snape had already soared from the giant tornado above them all the way to the high altitude of the stratosphere.
The thin oxygen and low temperature were not a great threat to the wizards. Harry, who knew the location and time of the egg-laying in advance, only needed to pretend to be deceived for the time being, and he could use the loophole in time travel to fool the Thunderbirds' sense of danger.
"In 20 minutes, about 23 miles west of here in the Gobi Desert, the ptarmigan will choose a cliff to nest and lay its eggs. The egg-laying process will take about 10 minutes, while our flying broomsticks will take 5-15 minutes to arrive. That means, Professor, you must first use your Nimbus 2000 to attract the male ptarmigan's attention from a distance and lead it away from the nest. This way, I can stun the female ptarmigan, steal the eggs, and then head towards Mexico together until we meet up."
Harry's posture as he directed his "battle" from his broom was almost identical to that of a Seeker from a Gryffindor team over a decade ago. This made Snape, who was already somewhat unhappy, look even worse.
"Ten minutes. I'll only help you lure away the male Thunderbird for ten minutes. After that, whether you steal the Thunderbird egg or not, I won't wait for you. Also, if any Aurors from the Magical Congress of the United States come, don't expect me to come to your rescue."
"Don't worry, Professor, 10 minutes will be enough! I have a fire crossbow!"
Harry patted the broom handle between his legs, completely unaware that Snape's eyes were rolling to the sky behind his visor.
……
Thunderbirds possess an astonishing ability to sense danger, but like wizards, these magical creatures are not omniscient or omnipotent. Professor Scamander's theoretical limit for predicting danger is 20 miles, but in reality, they can only sense danger on average about 17-18 miles in advance.
Snape, moving at full speed, and Harry, keeping his speed down, gradually approached the Thunderbird's Nest at stratosphere altitude.
"there."
Harry suddenly pointed to a dark cloud below and said:
"There's a place shrouded in thunderclouds; that's where the thunderbird's nest is!"
Upon hearing this, Snape drew his wand from his waist. According to the previous battle plan, he had to lower his flight altitude so that the male Thunderbird's perception range would not cover Harry at high altitude.
"Protego Horribillis." (Super armor protects you)
"Confundo." (To mislead or confuse)
After taking out two more layers of insurance, he said casually:
"Don't make a mistake."
Whoosh!
Nimbus 2000, piloted by Snape, plunged towards the ground. With the help of gravity, Harry heard birdsong accompanying the thunderous roar just half a minute later.
"So fast!"
Normally, Harry and Moran would have discussed whether the Thunderbird was flying too fast or whether its cry had broken the sound barrier through magic. But the current situation didn't allow them any time to be distracted. The fire bolt unleashed its full thrust the instant the thunderclouds began to move in Snape's direction!
boom……
“Ebubilo!” (Bubble covering)
Harry, caught up in the excitement of battle, reacted incredibly quickly. Without a second thought, he used the Bubble Head Charm to muffle the sonic boom coming from the tail of the Firebolt.
"There were still about 4 miles to go, and in about 20 seconds, the male ptarmigan would have flown completely out of the area!"
Mo Ran, who was also focusing her attention to the limit, reminded Harry in her mind.
Since his last encounter with Tom Riddle, this was the first time he had regained the feeling of needing to be fully focused. The silence that had been dormant for months was gradually stirring within both of them.
"Twenty...nineteen..."
"Three...two...one!"
"It's gone viral!"
In an instant, the firebolt made a perfect 90-degree turn high in the sky. Thanks to the Potter family's inherited Quidditch talent, Harry could judge the distance of the male Thunderbird from its nest with almost no extra effort.
At the same time, a black mist thicker than dark clouds burst forth from around Harry's body under Mo Ran's urging. In this gray sky filled with slanting wind and drizzle, the two of them were like drops of ink falling into clear water, rushing straight down towards the Thunderbird's nest.
"Ow!"
The Thunderbird mother's sharp cry sounded mournful and weak. Having just given birth to her offspring, she could sense at a glance that she was no match for the powerful enemy above her.
The thin thunderclouds gathered slowly and stubbornly, and the scattered lightning bolts seemed to Mo Ran so powerful that they didn't even need to condense into black mist to be blocked.
Click!Click!
hum!hum!
After a few exchanges, the black "tornado" shattered the thunderstorm cloud; the silent creature that had been charging down like a drill suddenly opened up in all directions at the same time, forming a net that covered the possible escape routes of the female ptarmigan.
The overwhelming sense of despair crushed the Thunderbird mother's will to resist. With her last ounce of strength, she attached her cry for help to a bolt of lightning and sent it toward the direction her mate had gone.
"Stupefy!" (Faints and collapses)
A red glow enveloped half of the cliff. Harry, who had been concealed by Mo Ran's black mist, cast a Stunning Charm at the perfect moment, a power comparable to the combined might of the Aurors.
"Protego!" (Protego armor)
"Feather Lightium!"
"Trail Evanesco!" (vanished without a trace)
"Obliviate!"
A barrage of spells, meant to protect the Thunderbird eggs and leave a trail, poured from Harry's mouth like machine gun fire.
Whoosh!Whoosh!
In just about two seconds, the fire bolts and the Silent One once again whistled through the air. The two, who had been attacking with great momentum, had now merged back into one and were flying south without stopping.
"Ow!"
Lightning ripped through the air!
About 20 miles from its nest, a male ptarmigan, about to bite the broomstick tail of the Radiant 2000, suddenly stopped in mid-air.
The rage that had been building up in its eyes just a second ago vanished without a trace. Before Snape could figure out what was going on, the huge creature that had made him break out in a cold sweat turned around and flew away.
Finally getting a chance to catch his breath, Snape shook his rain-soaked hair. Realizing that Harry had succeeded, he immediately changed direction and headed east towards New Mexico.
......
"Move faster! There are 17 hurricane clouds in total! The Accidental Events Reversal Department must act simultaneously with the Aurors! Control the damage caused by the extreme weather first before considering altering the Muggle memories!"
"Report! Director! The Department of Magical Creatures Protection, responsible for calming the Thunderbirds, has sent word that two dark wizards have attacked the Thunderbirds' nest. They urgently request that you send more personnel to rescue them!"
"What?"
Samuel G. Koohauer, then Director of the Enforcement Division of Magical Law at the Magical Congress of the United States, was unaware that similar warnings and distress calls were ringing out across Arizona. At the moment, almost all the Aurors in the Magical Congress of the United States were busy apprehending poachers; the idea of suddenly having manpower to deal with a dark wizard whom even the Thunderbirds couldn't defeat seemed like a pipe dream.
"Where are the Aurors? Hasn't the Director of Magical Safety sent anyone?"
"No...no news yet."
Samuel felt like he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and he immediately cursed:
"These idiots! They were thinking of catching a few more poachers to boost their credits! They ended up letting in the most troublesome problem! Damn it... Fine! Twelve people who have been with the company for more than three years, come after me!"
"Yes!"
Snape, now less than a hundred miles from the US border, was in a dilemma. Although he said he wouldn't help or rescue Harry, he was worried about Lily's son's safety when he realized there wasn't a single American wizard pursuing them on his flight path.
According to DB Cooper's account, the Thunderbird bandits successfully escaped capture by splitting into two groups, entering Mexico from Arizona and New Mexico respectively. This explains why, after carrying out his feint to lure the male Thunderbirds away from their nest, Snape headed east, only continuing south after entering New Mexico.
The western sky was filled with a torrential downpour reminiscent of the creation myth. Realizing he had been somewhat "out of line," Snape gripped the Nimbus 2000's handle even tighter. Indeed, his priority now was to reach the agreed-upon location as quickly as possible, lest Potter's efforts, still dozens of miles away, be in vain.
Whoosh!
Whizzing!
The intertwined spells weren't particularly dangerous for Harry, who had Moran's help. If he hadn't needed to escape the area with the Thunderbird egg, the wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement wouldn't have posed much of a threat to him at his current level.
What truly posed a threat to him was an adult male ptarmigan in a state of anger.
"Ow!"
Click!
Speak of the devil and he appears!
After the eagle's cry, a bolt of lightning struck!
The blue arc of light, as thick as a bucket, caught up with Harry in less than a ten-thousandth of a second. Moran, who was already on guard, naturally mobilized the power of the Obscurial to fight back.
boom!
The air vibrated, and the violent impact pushed the torrential rain nearly a hundred meters away. From a distance, it looked as if a huge glass sphere had appeared in the sky.
"Damn it! When did such a powerful dark wizard appear in America?! Besides, this should have been the Auror's job, right?"
A wizard from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement angrily vented his frustrations, and his complaints were echoed by his colleagues.
"If you ask me, don't bother chasing. Not only can our brooms not catch up, but getting too close will make us vulnerable to Thunderbird attacks. Even with overtime pay, we only get three Galleons a month. Why risk our lives?"
"Yeah! That Thunderbird doesn't distinguish between good and bad, it almost struck me several times! Let's go, let's go, anyway there are still a few groups of people lying in ambush to the south, when we run into Kouhauge we can just say we can't keep up and have been left behind."
A suggestion that is blunt but reasonable is most likely to resonate with people. Seeing that the dark wizard was now almost a mile away, the group of young American wizards, who had been urgently dispatched to reinforce and intercept them, turned their brooms around and began to descend towards the ground. Little did they know that this was not the first time such a situation had occurred in their large group.
"Next, fly towards Tucson. The Thunderbirds will be returning to their nests soon to protect their mates. After we escape the last two groups of wizards lying in ambush, we can then enter Mexico via Sierra Vista!"
"it is good!"
Hearing Moran's reminder, Harry looked down at the ground and, amidst the rain-blurred landscape, quickly found Tucson, Arizona's second-largest city, which stood out prominently in the wilderness.
By the 1990s, the United States was a highly developed country. Due to extreme weather, almost all the lights in Tucson were on during the day. This large area of artificial light not only guided Harry but also reminded the male ptarmigan behind him—you've flown too far from your nest.
Click!Click!
The anger mixed with resentment transformed into two final bolts of lightning that struck Harry, but how could an attack that had been proven ineffective so many times possibly bring about a miracle at the last moment? After two loud bangs, the male thunderbird cried out to the sky, then turned and flew back towards the direction of its mate.
"call!"
Mo Ran subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief after blocking the last two lightning bolts. Although he and Harry, as time travelers, had a natural advantage in intelligence, they still faced many risks and challenges in the actual operation.
Faced with the powerful male Thunderbird, whether to maintain historical consistency or out of guilt for stealing someone else's child, Harry and Moran could only adopt a defensive, non-offensive evasive strategy, which greatly reduced their margin for error during their escape.
"Your robe is scorched in several places by the electric shock; you'll have to find some time to buy a new one."
With one hand holding the Thunderbird egg and the other piloting the Firebolt, Harry didn't have time to check it. He turned to Moran and asked:
"What should we do after we get to Mexico? DB Cooper didn't mention this before."
“If it hasn’t been mentioned, it means nobody knows. If nobody knows, then whatever we want to do is perfectly reasonable. But now that you’ve reminded me, I remember we talked to Borgin-Bock about the Thunderbirds back in Diagon Alley. We can put the eggs in the Forbidden Forest first, and then go to Diagon Alley for a while. That way, we can take a closer look at who the people who stole our Invisibility Cloak really are.”
Although Mo Ran responded calmly, he was not entirely at ease with his plans.
The reason he had previously persuaded Professor Snape to return to the past with Harry was primarily because the latter seemed to have no recollection of their conversation at the end of Spider's Alley. It was also because of the need to correct the history of the Lily Health Corporation obtaining the improved formula that Snape had a compelling reason to go back.
Otherwise, if it were just about finding someone who fits the identity of the Thunderbird Thief, given Moran and Harry's current abilities, they could easily bring along Ginny, a second-year student.
The sky gradually cleared up, and after dodging the remaining two groups of American wizards who came to intercept him, Harry finally arrived at the Mexican border as planned.
The last recorded sighting of the Thunderbirds was in Greater Casas, Chiva. This city, which Muggle archaeologists called a prehistoric human settlement in Mesoamerica, became a resting place for the Hogwarts master and student duo.
"You look a bit disheveled, but I'm assuming you've shaken off all your pursuers... You wouldn't have wasted all that energy without getting the Thunderbird Egg, would you?"
Snape's first words after meeting Harry were still in his usual sarcastic style.
"I got it, it's right here."
Harry weighed the snow-white Thunderbird egg with fine golden streaks in his arms and replied:
“I need some time to test it. Professor Scamander once told me that not all magical creatures can use Apparition. If the Thunderbird egg isn’t suitable, I’ll have to trouble you to take it back to Hogwarts for me.”
Snape's lips twitched slightly, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he replied:
"You're not thinking of using my position as a Potions professor at Hogwarts to smuggle Thunderbird eggs back to England as medicinal ingredients, are you? Let me tell you, Potter, it's arrogant and foolish to get used to special treatment. Even if Dumbledore and Fudge give you extra leeway, Thunderbird eggs have already exceeded the limits defined for medicinal ingredients; not even the eggshell is acceptable."
eggshell?
Mo Ran, who had watched the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" movie series, suddenly had an inspiration after hearing the word "eggshell".
The last European wizard to bring a harpy egg to America was none other than his own private tutor in the Magical Creatures Protection class, wasn't he? Considering his magical briefcase, if a seamless stretching charm could be made to create a suitable incubation environment for the thunderbird egg, then he and Harry wouldn't have needed to rush to send the thunderbird egg into the Forbidden Forest!