Chapter 29: "I Just Wanted to Scare Her"

Maca keenly sensed that something had happened. He immediately raised his head and looked around with a furrowed brow.

He noticed that everyone scattered quickly in different directions, as if they suddenly realized they had to leave for something. The lively scene that had just been there vanished like a dream. Even the shops and stalls along the street closed and tidied up, and soon the place became deserted.

"Obliviate spell?" Maca murmured.

Luna, sitting across from him, also curiously looked around. She noticed that the bustling scene had disappeared as if it had never happened. Even the shops and stalls on the street were closed and deserted.

"Let's go over there and hide for a while," Maca said.

Maca grabbed Luna's hand and without caring about the things on the table, they quickly walked towards a nearby outdoor café—there was an iron fence and a circle of boxwood inside where they could hide without being noticed.

"Using the Obliviate spell on such a large scale means something big has happened," he whispered to Luna. He made her hide in the innermost part while he pushed aside the bushes and secretly looked outside.

Before long, several people dressed like wizards emerged from an inconspicuous alley across the street. They looked around and then immediately drew their wands in an orderly manner, spreading out as if searching for something.

"Could they be Aurors from the Ministry of Magic?" Maca speculated silently, observing their well-trained demeanor.

They searched quickly and efficiently. One of them soon approached the hiding spot where Maca and Luna were. Maca wasn't sure if he should use a vial of the Disillusionment Potion for both of them. After all, he had instinctively hidden himself, and suddenly running out now seemed inappropriate.

Today, he was dressed as a Muggle, and although he had brought some potions due to his preparedness, it wasn't convenient to carry too many. He only had a few vials left in his hand, and he didn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary.

Most importantly, they cost money!

Just as he was about to reach into his pocket, intending to retrieve a vial from his pants, he felt something hard pressing against the back of his head.

In the next instant, the wizard who was searching outside had already entered through the door.

While Maca frowned, contemplating his next move, he wasn't surprised to feel a strong force behind him—he was pushed out.

However, the hard object still pressed against his head, preventing him from making any sudden movements. He knew it must be the tip of a wand.

"Hands up! Both hands!" Maca immediately complied.

The wizard who had just entered also aimed his wand at Maca, wearing a slightly puzzled expression. After all, Maca appeared to be just a teenager.

The wizard took out a magical device resembling spectacles and held it up to examine Maca, seemingly finding nothing unusual.

Just as Maca thought the wizard would ask something, the wizard decisively incanted a spell.

"Obliviate."

Damn it, he forgot that he was still dressed as a Muggle child!

Having no other choice, Maca quickly rolled to the side and pulled out his own wand from his sleeve.

"Disarm!"

Maca aimed not at the wizard who had cast the Memory Charm on him but at the mysterious person still hiding in the holly bushes at that moment.

Bang!

A red light shot out, causing leaves to scatter in all directions, and a figure leaped out at the same time. Obviously, the person reacted quickly and dodged Maca's disarming spell.

However, Maca achieved his goal—he forced that person out.

"He was the one who took me hostage. I think he's the person you're looking for," Maca calmly and quickly explained, waving his wand skillfully. "Impedimenta!"

"Stupefy!" The wizard who had just cast the Memory Charm quickly understood the situation and cast a spell in coordination with Maca.

With the two of them launching a swift joint attack, the opponent couldn't react in time and was caught off guard, promptly knocked unconscious.

"Good reflexes. Are you a student from Hogwarts?" the wizard glanced at Maca and then carefully scanned the surroundings. "Don't let your guard down, there's probably more than one of them."

"Yes, there's another one with me over there—" Maca didn't have a chance to finish his sentence when he saw Luna stepping forward. Behind her was a woman.

The woman pointed her wand at Luna's neck, her face filled with nervousness as she looked in their direction.

"Don't move recklessly! Otherwise, I'll—" The woman tapped Luna's fair neck with her wand, trembling, and threatened.

"A difficult situation," the wizard who had been behind Maca said with a furrowed brow.

"Drop your wand," the woman shouted sharply, "Throw it far away!"

Luna, still in the woman's grasp, remained in a dazed and absent-minded state, seemingly unaware of being held hostage. She just looked quietly at Maca.

While the woman was speaking, three more wizards rushed in from outside. They were the companions of the person behind Maca.

"Don't move!" The woman became even more nervous. Her sharp voice gave a sense of impending rupture. "Drop it! Quickly throw away your wands, far away!"

After a brief standoff, Maca was the first to throw his wand—he had no choice; he couldn't gamble with Luna's life.

With the first one, naturally, the others followed suit. Soon, all five of them from this side threw their wands far away.

After seeing everyone throw away their wands, the woman suddenly shrank behind Luna. Everyone, except Luna, immediately realized what was happening - she was about to Disapparate!

Maca narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing in them.

Behind him, the four wizards quickly ran towards their wands, but the twisting distortion of Apparition had already appeared behind Luna. There was no time!

"Avada Kedavra!" "Bang!"

Maca suddenly pulled out a bottle of potion from his pocket and threw it with all his strength to the ground, shouting loudly.

"Oh no—" A faint scream came from behind Luna.

"What?" "What's happening?" "Killing Curse!"

Maca heard a wave of surprise and suspicion behind him, but he didn't have time to pay attention. Instead, he immediately ran towards Luna.

He glanced behind Luna and saw a foot on the ground, including part of the ankle. He knew that his impromptu action had yielded good results.

"Are you okay, Luna?" Maca examined Luna up and down, observing if she had any injuries.

Luna shook her head slightly and calmly smiled. "I'm fine."

By now, the wizards had gathered around to see the situation and finally understood what had happened.

As it turned out, Maca's sudden shout was a bluff. He used the opponent's nervousness and fear of the Killing Curse to distract them during Disapparition, leading to the unintended consequence of splitting the apparition.

To be honest, even the other wizards were startled. The Killing Curse was the most terrifying of the three Unforgivable Curses. Anyone who had a deep understanding of this curse would feel a genuine fear. After all, even the person whose name could not be mentioned had reveled in the terrifying power of this curse.

"I just wanted to scare her," Maca said casually while carefully checking Luna.

"Search quickly! It seems that the opponent will be incapacitated due to blood loss. It's a good opportunity." One of the wizards looked at the foot on the ground and immediately spoke to the others.

"We should contact the others first. You stay here and handle the scene. Oh, and give these two children a ride as well. They've done a great job today!" Another wizard smiled.

After that, three people, with the unconscious man from earlier, Disapparated, leaving only the wizard who had initially encountered Maca.

"Hello, children." He looked at Maca with interest. "Are you Hogwarts students?"

"Oh, yes, sir," Maca turned around and nodded after confirming Luna's safety. "I suppose you and your companions are Aurors from the Ministry of Magic?"

"Haha, yes, I'm Kevin," the man replied with a smile. "Today's situation was quite unexpected. I didn't expect to come across a young genius."

He paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, and asked, "Could it be that you're the boy who survived against all odds? If that's the case, then today's events are not surprising. Even that person couldn't defeat you back then! Compared to that, today's just a minor incident."

Maca quickly waved his hand. "No, I'm not him, but I'm his friend," he said. "My name is Maca McClain. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Oh! My apologies," Kevin apologized. "You see, that boy is so famous that he immediately came to mind."

"And what about this lovely young lady?" He turned his head to look at Luna, but Luna had been staring elsewhere the whole time, not listening to what he was saying.

Maca glanced at Luna and smiled wryly as he answered on her behalf, "She's Luna Lovegood. If everything goes well, she'll be starting at Hogwarts next year."

"Oh, that's great," Kevin said. "I used to attend Hogwarts too, I was a Ravenclaw."

As he spoke, he walked towards the severed foot and took out a black pouch from his pocket.

"After I tidy up, I'll take you back," he said. "It's getting late, and it's not safe for kids to be outside—"

"Oh! I forgot, you're a young genius. You probably won't have any problems in general," Kevin suddenly made a joke.

"Perhaps, after you graduate, you can come to the Ministry of Magic and sign up for Auror training. I believe you'll become an exceptional Auror... but be sure to watch out for those tricky questions on the N.E.W.T. exams! You see, I almost didn't pass them, and that's always been my greatest relief."

After a while, once they had collected the scene information, Kevin waved his wand to lift the Muggle-repelling charm and left with Maca and Luna.