Looking at the figure standing near the cage door, Harry silently prayed the guard wouldn't notice anything unusual.
He was beginning to regret his earlier carelessness. Because of the invisibility cloak's concealment, he hadn't paid proper attention to whether he'd left footprints or stray hairs behind. If this person proved to be an observant dark wizard, he might very well notice these telltale traces.
Fortunately, the guard didn't focus on the ground markings, which allowed Harry to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
But the man's next muttered observation made Harry's heart, which had just begun to settle, leap straight back into his throat.
"Why do I smell cats around here?"
They hadn't captured any feline magical creatures during this operation. Where could this cat scent be coming from?
Hearing those words, Harry's pulse hammered against his ribs. Although both he and the little black cat remained invisible, their scents couldn't be magically hidden.
How could this person possess such an unnaturally sensitive nose!
However, perhaps because he wasn't familiar with Kneazles as magical creatures, after the guard suspiciously searched around the cages once more, he slowly departed from the area.
After the man walked away, Harry finally exhaled a long-held breath and urgently whispered to the little black cat inside the cage:
"Quickly! Splash the potion on that shackle!"
"I'm working on it, meow!"
Moments later, accompanied by a violent hissing sound, Harry observed smoke rising from the restraint bound between the massive beast's front legs. Perhaps realising this method was actually working, the originally despairing creature's eyes showed renewed hope as it gazed expectantly at the corroding shackle.
However, after half a minute had passed, the little black cat's voice emerged from within the cage like ice water poured over Harry's optimism.
"It's not working completely. This thing doesn't seem to be made entirely of metal, meow!"
But her next words made Harry's spirits soar once again:
"However, the potion has definitely weakened the magical enchantments on it. I might be able to try transfiguring it now, meow!"
Since Professor McGonagall had been visiting their cat castle every other day recently, the spectral feline had learnt quite a few transfiguration techniques from the distinguished master of that magical discipline.
Although her magical reserves weren't particularly abundant, in terms of transfiguration proficiency, she had already surpassed most first and second-year students at Hogwarts.
With this confidence, the little black cat drew her miniature wand and pressed it firmly against the potion-splashed shackle.
Time crawled forward with agonising slowness. The characteristic glow of transfiguration magic continued shining at the little black cat's wand tip, but the shackle's exotic material proved genuinely resistant to change. It possessed strong inherent protection against magical manipulation and could only be worn down gradually through persistent effort.
Unfortunately, the time available for this delicate process seemed to be running dangerously short.
"Walk faster! I think that Demiguise looks somewhat unusual."
A voice suddenly reached Harry's ears from the distance, growing steadily closer.
"And there were definitely other scents lingering around that cage earlier. Could someone have successfully infiltrated our perimeter?"
"Infiltrated? Don't be ridiculous!" A gruff voice responded from near one of the larger tents. "Who would venture into this remote mountain wilderness for no logical reason?"
"Since we're already heading in that direction anyway, let's take a closer look just to be certain."
Hearing the alarming information contained in their conversation, Harry turned to see two figures approaching from the distance. His heart filled with desperate anxiety.
That suspicious guard who'd left earlier had actually gone to fetch reinforcements?
He peered into the cage where that short wand continued floating in mid-air within his blind spot and asked in the quietest whisper possible: "How is the progress? Can you manage it?"
"I'm trying my absolute best, meow!" The little black cat's voice came from beside the giant beast with obvious strain. Her wand tip continued glowing with faint magical energy, and under her persistent efforts, the restraining shackle appeared to have undergone some promising deformation.
Faster, faster! The approaching footsteps grew increasingly audible, and Harry's heart raced with mounting desperation. When those two dark wizards finally reached the cage entrance, Harry's spirits completely plummeted.
"I'm definitely sensing transfiguration fluctuations somewhere around here."
"Very weak magical traces, but they're absolutely present!"
The two dark wizards exchanged meaningful looks and simultaneously drew their wands, approaching the cage area with obvious caution.
But just then, the massive beast that had been collapsed helplessly on the cage floor suddenly released a tremendous roar and instantly vanished from sight.
The next second, the sturdy iron enclosure exploded outward as if struck by a runaway freight train. Before either dark wizard could properly react, they were struck in the midsection by an invisible battering force and sent flying through the air.
"Harry succeeded! Move out immediately!" Percy lowered his binoculars with obvious excitement coursing through his voice.
The camp below had already erupted into complete chaos. An invisible force was systematically destroying those stacked cages, releasing the magical creatures trapped inside. Among the newly freed animals, some of the more intelligent specimens seemed to understand the current situation and began helping to open additional enclosures.
Harry had undertaken the most crucial responsibility in their entire plan. As long as he could succeed in this phase, everything that followed would become manageable!
"I've been waiting ages for you to give that order!" Fred and George mounted their broomsticks with practised efficiency. Their flying implements had strings of crudely constructed but effective firecracker-like devices hanging behind them in carefully arranged clusters. With powerful kicks of their legs, both broomsticks accelerated to maximum velocity and charged directly toward the enemy camp.
The compound possessed various protective enchantments overhead, but no such defensive magic had been established at the entrance gates. Although charging through those openings would present some tactical difficulties, they didn't need to force their way through the magical barriers above.
"Confringo!"
A devastating series of Blasting Curses exploded around the two gate sentries. Originally distracted by the escalating chaos erupting behind them, both guards frantically attempted to raise Shield Charms, but in the next instant, two figures on broomsticks swept past their positions and charged straight into the heart of the camp.
After remaining stunned for several precious seconds, the sentries suddenly comprehended what had occurred and began shouting at the top of their lungs: "Enemy attack! We're under assault!"
But the Weasley brothers had already penetrated deep into the compound and disappeared in a spectacular flash of magical pyrotechnics.
On the rocky observation point behind them, Ron and Cedric, who had been busy assisting with earlier preparations, sat resting on the stone outcroppings. Hermione remained with several other students nearby, focused intently on implementing the next phase of their coordinated plan.
Looking toward the increasingly chaotic camp, Ron's expression carried genuine confusion:
"I still don't entirely understand what purpose those contraptions we just finished making will serve. And why specifically release Fire Salamanders?"
"You're only in second year, so it's perfectly normal not to know these advanced magical principles," Cedric explained with patient instruction. "Fire Salamanders are creatures that live within flames, with perpetual fire burning at their tail tips. They feed exclusively on various types of flames, and as long as the flames at their tail tips haven't been completely extinguished, they simply cannot die."
"Fire Salamander blood possesses remarkably strong healing and regenerative properties, which makes them extremely valuable targets for unscrupulous poachers. Beyond this medicinal application, Fire Salamanders also undergo fascinating physical changes when they consume different varieties of magical flames."
"For example, if they consume certain cold magical flames, their entire bodies turn brilliant blue. If they consume flames possessing other special magical effects, their bodies will temporarily manifest those same special properties."
At this point, Cedric's expression seemed to shift toward something approaching bemused disbelief. He vividly remembered the hypothesis George and Fred had proposed several weeks ago when Professor Kahn had been discussing Fire Salamander biology, and the absolutely remarkable experimental results that had followed.
Shaking his head with obvious amazement, he spoke with quiet anticipation:
"And according to Fred and George's recent experiments, they discovered that fireworks qualify as a legitimate type of flame."
The next second, accompanied by triumphant cheering from within the camp, violent explosions erupted throughout the entire compound in a spectacular display of magical chaos.