Chapter 162: Ancient Magical Contraband

CORRECTION: The evil sorcerer troubling Amy isn't Mad-eye but rather Moddox, an OC I think. Enjoy reading~

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"Moddox, I'm going to kill him!"

Amy trembled at the mention of the name "Moddox." It wasn't from fear but from fury.

This dark wizard was the reason her promising career as the potential Head of the Auror Office had been ruined, leaving her in this current state.

It wasn't just about the honor or the position—it was the helplessness and crushing failure she felt as an Auror. She had watched fifty Muggles being slaughtered by this dark wizard, powerless to stop it.

After being dismissed from her post, Amy became obsessed with tracking down Moddox. But this internationally wanted dark wizard was far beyond her ability to find alone.

When her search yielded nothing, she turned to alcohol to numb herself. Soon, drinking became her sole activity. Her pockets emptied, forcing her to sell her house and move into the dingy Leaky Cauldron.

"Amy, don't be impulsive. Moddox is powerful, and he has plenty of dark wizard followers. He's not easy to deal with.

Stay at home and let me handle this. Tonight, I promise I'll personally capture him.

For his crimes, he's destined to face the death penalty during his final trial!"

Lena hugged Amy, trying to comfort her.

France's Ministry of Magic differed from Britain's. In Britain, no matter how severe a wizard's crime, they would only be sent to Azkaban—never sentenced to death.

However, like the United States, France's Ministry of Magic executed wizards for particularly heinous crimes.

For example, Voldemort's Death Eaters would have long been executed if they had been in France.

If Moddox was caught by the French Aurors, he would be tried in the French Ministry of Magic. If sentenced to death, the execution would happen the same day.

"Ancient magical contraband—now that's intriguing," George remarked.

Unlike Amy and Lena, George wasn't fixated on Moddox. His attention was on the "ancient magical contraband" Lena had mentioned.

Magical contraband typically referred to items infused with dark magic through alchemy.

Such objects were extremely dangerous and were banned from trade by the Ministry of Magic. Anyone caught trading them illegally would be immediately arrested and tried, often serving years in prison.

Ancient magical contraband, however, referred to magical items crafted with ancient magic, often unearthed from ancient wizards' tombs.

While the danger of these items was unknown, their archeological significance and the insights they offered into ancient magic made them incredibly valuable. Many wizards were willing to pay a fortune to acquire them.

However, per Ministry regulations, excavating wizard tombs was illegal. After all, no one wanted their own grave to be disturbed and subjected to unknown spells.

Moreover, ancient magical items often carried powerful curses, which could have disastrous consequences if mishandled.

A hundred years ago, an American wizard purchased an ancient magical item looted from beneath a pyramid at a high price. Improper handling led to the deaths of 300 Muggles in the area.

Thus, smuggling and trading ancient magical contraband was considered a serious crime worldwide.

Under Lena's persuasion, Amy's emotions finally stabilized.

However, later that night, when Lena set out to join her team, George noticed Amy casting a Disillusionment Charm to invisibly follow her.

How did he know? Because he had also used a Disillusionment Charm to follow her.

The difference was that Amy was walking behind Lena, tailing her, while George soared above, using his wings to track them from the air.

If Moddox was smuggling ancient magical contraband, there might be clues about ancient magic to uncover.

The two of them, one above and one below, followed Lena to the western edge of the magical street. There, they found Lena and a group of French Aurors gathering in front of a magical creature performance troupe's tent.

It was clear that Moddox had chosen this tent as the location for his smuggling operation.

The magical creature performance troupe resembled a Muggle circus, but with wizards as trainers and magical creatures as performers.

Unlike decades ago, when dangerous creatures like Runespoor, Chimaeras, Nundu, and Zouwu were showcased, modern troupes featured rare but harmless creatures like Mooncalves, Snidgets, and Diricawls.

Magical creature troupes were among the few private entities allowed to legally use Undetectable Extension Charms on their tents. This was mainly to prevent accidental escapes that could cause chaos.

During the summer, different magical creature troupes performed weekly on the magical street. George had attended twice but lost interest after not seeing impressive creatures like Zouwu.

When Lena and the Aurors disguised themselves as regular visitors and bought tickets to enter, Amy canceled her Disillusionment Charm and followed suit. George landed, removed his invisibility, and also bought a ticket to enter.

Inside the tent, anti-magic measures were in place, rendering spells like Disillusionment and Apparition ineffective.

This was likely to prevent wizards from sneaking in without paying.

"So many people... This will be tricky," George muttered as he stepped into the tent.

It was packed with wizards of all ages, numbering in the hundreds. Being a Saturday, adult wizards were off work and had brought their children to see the show.

From the outside, the tent seemed about 100 square meters. But inside, it expanded to the size of one or two football fields.

Scattered throughout were platforms featuring various magical creature performances. Vendors sold snacks, and there were unique magical experiences available for a fee.

Cotton candy that made your body feel soft as fluff, fireworks that formed magical creatures like dragons and phoenixes, and floating bubbles that carried people into the air—all for just a silver sickle.

Amid the crowd and the distractions of magical fireworks and floating bubbles, George couldn't immediately locate Lena or Amy. Instead, he found a higher vantage point to observe.

He wasn't worried about losing track of them; once the Aurors clashed with the dark wizards, it would be hard to miss.

Sure enough, within half an hour, a massive explosion occurred near a platform six stages away.

Shortly after, a voice amplified by the Sonorus Charm announced:

"Aurors from the Ministry of Magic are arresting dark wizards. Uninvolved wizards, please leave the tent immediately!"

This was followed by screams as wizards fled the tent. As the crowd thinned, George could make out the scene at the distant stage.

Two groups faced off: one was Lena's French Auror team, and the other was Moddox's gang of dark wizards.

The confrontation hadn't erupted into full combat yet, likely because Moddox's gang was holding several ordinary wizards hostage.