Hogsmeade Village during the Christmas holidays looked just like a Christmas card.
The little thatched cottages and shops were covered in a layer of crisp snow, holly wreaths hung on the doors of every household, and strings of enchanted candles flickered from the trees.
Unlike the cold, deserted Hogwarts Castle, business at the Three Broomsticks pub was not affected at all during the Christmas season; instead, it was more bustling than ever.
Leading Hermione, Kyle pushed open the doors to the Three Broomsticks.
The pub was crowded and noisy, warm and smoky.
Seeing new customers arrive, the patrons inside quieted down for a moment, turning their heads to glance at the entrance.
Discovering that it was just two Hogwarts students staying at school for the holidays, they turned back around and continued to converse loudly.
With his sharp sense of hearing, Kyle inadvertently caught the topic that this group of people was discussing.
During the Christmas holidays of the year Kyle entered Hogwarts, that red empire that once made the world tremble had collapsed.
At that time, fascinated by the wonders of the wizarding world, Kyle had not paid too much attention to the news.
After the collapse of the old Soviet Union, their wizarding world split into two separate Ministries of Magic—Russia and Ukraine—which was followed by endless friction.
Listening to the conversation of these patrons, it seemed that the Russian and Ukrainian Ministries of Magic were getting into a fierce clash?
Kyle didn't pay too much attention to their topic. In any case, it was impossible for the war to reach Old Dumbledore's territory.
On an important holiday like Christmas, Madam Rosmerta had also rarely relaxed the alcohol ban that Dumbledore had imposed on the Dark Lordling.
Of course, this was partly due to Grindelwald backing Kyle up.
However, it was still impossible for Kyle to chug down vodka like he used to.
No matter how indulgent Grindelwald was with his son, he only allowed him to have a single small glass of Firewhisky.
After all, alcohol was harmful to the body and shouldn't be consumed lightly.
The old Dark Lord didn't want to see his son become a raging alcoholic.
Threading through the noisy crowd, Kyle and Hermione walked toward the relatively quieter back section of the pub, sitting down at the very table where they had previously shared a kiss.
"I'll go get the drinks. What do you want to have?" Kyle stood up again just after sitting down.
However, Hermione was quick of eye and deft of hand, pushing him right back down into his chair. "I'd better go get them."
The owner of the Three Broomsticks, Madam Rosmerta, was a shapely woman with a beautiful face... a true lovely lady.
In the past, Hermione hadn't thought much of it, but now that the two of them had established a relationship, how could she feel at ease letting an old playboy like Kyle have a chance to talk to another woman alone?
Not even to buy drinks!
Seeing right through the little scheme in the young witch's mind, a smile played at the corners of Kyle's lips.
He didn't expose her either, just letting her have her way.
Although Madam Rosmerta was very charming, she wasn't his type.
On the contrary, it was Ron who, despite his young age, always thought about hitting on older women.
Waiting quietly by the table for a few minutes, Kyle suddenly furrowed his brows.
Something felt wrong with his surroundings.
Scanning the patrons in the pub, they were still rowdily drinking and chatting about meaningless topics.
But for some reason, Kyle just felt like something was amiss.
His gaze lingered on the other patrons in the pub. After observing for a dozen seconds, Kyle finally discovered what was wrong.
These people acted as if they had been programmed with a few different routines, doing nothing but randomly repeating the preset actions over and over again.
Black tomoe spun rapidly within Kyle's eyes, and his pupils transformed into a blood-like, crimson scarlet.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent, and all the noisy clamor within the pub vanished into thin air at this very moment.
The scenery before him blurred for an instant, and then snapped back into clear focus.
The front section of the Three Broomsticks had already been destroyed beyond recognition.
Where were there any patrons left in the pub?
Madam Rosmerta lay in the middle of the ruins, the blood flowing from a wound in her abdomen already gathering into a crimson pool beneath her.
Only the slight rise and fall of her chest proved that she was still alive.
Seeing her condition, Kyle's heart instantly sank to rock bottom.
Where was Hermione?
"Summoning Jutsu!"
As Kyle slammed his hand onto the ground, black, tadpole-like runes extended outward, forming a profound arcane array.
A burst of white smoke exploded in the air, and six figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds abruptly materialized within the ruined pub.
The Naraka Path, who mastered medical magic, stepped forward quickly. His palms lit up with the glow of the Mystical Palm Technique as he pressed them against Madam Rosmerta's abdomen.
At the same time, the Human Path pressed his palm against her forehead.
The situation was critical, and Kyle could no longer care about whether the Human Path's brutal reading of Madam Rosmerta's memory would cause some degree of damage to her brain.
"Legilimens."
Kyle turned to the Preta Path and the Animal Path. "You two head back to Hogwarts to deliver the news."
On the other side, over a dozen figures completely enveloped in black mist whistled through the sky.
Clutched in the hands of one of the figures was none other than Hermione Granger, who had vanished from the Three Broomsticks.
The captured Hermione was filled with helplessness. Not only had her wand been confiscated, but her magic had also been bound, leaving her completely unable to use wandless magic to save herself.
Just moments ago in the pub, right as she walked up to Madam Rosmerta, this group of dark wizards disguised as patrons launched an attack on her.
Although she reacted the instant she was ambushed, successfully blocking the first wave of attacks with a Shield Charm and managing to counterattack and knock out four of the dark wizards, the enemy simply had too many numbers. Aside from her and Kyle, almost everyone in the pub belonged to them.
Furthermore, the enemy had used some unknown method to cut off Kyle's perception.
Even though they were separated by only half the pub, Kyle had sat at that table completely unaware, waiting for her to bring the drinks back.
Relying on Hermione alone, it was fundamentally impossible to defeat so many enemies.
A single pair of fists could not match four hands. Facing spells flying from all directions, no matter how strong Hermione was, it was impossible to defend against everything.
After holding out for only a dozen seconds, Hermione was hit by a Disarming Charm and lost the wand in her hand.
If it were only this, it wouldn't have been enough to make Hermione feel terrified.
What terrified Hermione the most was her horrifying discovery that these people were clearly targeting Kyle.
They had captured her solely to lure Kyle to a sufficiently remote location. After all, Hogsmeade Village was far too close to Hogwarts Castle.
With this short distance, if there was even the slightest commotion in Hogsmeade, it could be heard loud and clear from Hogwarts.
From hearing the commotion to riding brooms over, it would only take the professors two or three minutes.
This was the exact reason why they didn't make a direct move against Kyle inside the pub.
Moreover, with Kyle's neural reaction speed and his sharp perception of danger, their sneak attack wouldn't have been very effective anyway.
If a preemptive sneak attack failed to yield results, the plan would be half-ruined.
After that, it would be all too simple for Kyle to stall them for two or three minutes.
Kyle, you absolutely must not come to save me! Hermione could only pray silently in her heart.
After flying at maximum speed for several tens of minutes, the group of dark wizards holding Hermione hostage slowly touched down inside a forest.
A biting, freezing wind blew through the snow-white woods, causing the accumulated snow on the branches to patter down.
Hermione was casually tossed onto the ground by them, her face pressed against the freezing snow.
More silhouettes walked out from behind the trees, all of them shrouded beneath black robes, wearing ferocious bronze ghost masks over their faces.
Glancing roughly around, there were at least thirty people within her field of vision alone.
Aside from them, there might be even more people hiding in the shadows who hadn't stepped out.
Hermione's heart tightened violently. There were actually so many people lying in ambush here. If Kyle really came to save her...
She only hoped now that after Kyle discovered she was missing, he would remain rational enough to return to Hogwarts Castle first to seek help from Dumbledore and Grindelwald, rather than recklessly rushing over alone to rescue her.
A raspy voice echoed through the woods. "Are you certain that once we capture her, Kyle Dumbledore will walk right into our trap?"
"Without a doubt," another slow, completely monotone voice replied, answering his doubt.
For some reason, Hermione felt that this voice sounded somewhat familiar.
As the two spoke, a rather stocky dark wizard removed the mask from his face, revealing a mouthful of sharp, yellow teeth.
"She looks so tender and fair, let me take a bite first."
Hearing his words, Hermione raised her head in panic.
She discovered in despair that this person was a notorious werewolf on the Ministry of Magic's wanted list—Fenrir Greyback.
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