Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 283 Death Eaters on the Icefield
Eric prepared Jon very well. Not only did he get an invisibility cloak that could cover the entire sled, he also cast some small spells on the sled's runners to prevent them from leaving any marks on the ice.
At the same time, Jon was given a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from being hurt by the sunlight reflected from the ice and snow.
After expressing his most sincere gratitude, Jon waved to Eric for the last time, and then the two polar bears in front who were responsible for pulling the cart stretched out their limbs and ran towards the North Pole.
In front of the ice castle, after watching the back of the sled gradually disappear in the wind and snow, Eric returned to the fortress that had been isolated in the Arctic for five whole years.
He did not stay in the room, but came to the utility room, then opened a movable floor, walked down along the stairs chiseled in the ice, and finally came to a secret room in the ice.
He put on gloves and changed into the white coat that he was most familiar with. The gentle smile on his face disappeared completely, and as he looked at the ice wall in front of him that froze those strange creatures, his smile turned into a crazy and obsessed one.
"Ahaha... all the strangers have left. I'm back, my darlings..."
…
A sled led by a polar bear races across the ice field.
Gabrielle was very happy. Along the way, she proposed to adopt a beluga whale three times, asked to capture a polar bear twice, and asked to ride a walrus once, but was rejected by John every time.
Now she finally had two legitimate pets. She was sitting on the back of one of the polar bears with great enthusiasm, letting the cold wind lift her long silver-gray hair and make it fly backwards like a flag.
Jon did not interrupt Gabrielle's happiness at this moment. According to the map Eric marked for him, they were still some distance away from the area where the Death Eaters began to scout, so there was no need to be so cautious for the time being.
"There's something wrong with his research in the Arctic."
After staring at the map for a while, Jon turned his gaze to the bear under Gabrielle, and at the same time, deliberately lowered his voice and spoke to Nick beside him.
Nick frowned slightly.
"I took Gabrielle around the place after lunch, and nothing unusual happened. However, this is indeed the biggest problem."
Jon thought for a moment, then he asked softly.
"You have been in Hogwarts Castle for so long. Have you ever heard of any bear-like magical creatures?"
Nick thought about what Jon said, but soon he shook his head.
"No, I got along pretty well with the wizard who taught the Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts for a while. He talked to me about many things related to magical creatures, but I have never heard of bear-like magical creatures... The only recorded one seems to be a creature called a panda in the East. Among these animals, there are species with magical properties."
But he soon patched up his judgment.
"But this world is huge, and there are many kinds of magical animals. No one can be sure that they can recognize all of them, not even a certain Hufflepuff student who was expelled. Moreover, this is in the remote Arctic, where there are very few wizards. There may be some magical polar bear species that no one knows about. Do you suspect that the young wizard's secret lies in these two bears?"
Jon's eyes were deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"It's just some unfounded suspicions, and it's definitely not just the secret of the wizard named Eric..."
He didn't say anything else, but focused his attention on studying the map.
The purpose of Grindelwald's trip to the Arctic was very clear, which was to go to the place where Hogwarts was originally scheduled to end its voyage.
Jon had already memorized the location of this point when he was on the boat. It was just twenty or thirty miles northeast of the North Pole.
This area was also marked with a prominent red dot on the map Eric gave him. Not far from this red dot was the place he had deliberately emphasized: there were not many Death Eaters gathered there at the beginning, but two months ago, most of the Death Eaters in the Arctic gathered there.
The two points were very close to each other, and according to the scale on the map, they were probably less than two miles apart.
Jon's location is about four hundred miles away from the pole. Two polar bears can maintain a speed of 35 miles per hour when running at full speed. That is to say, if he does not rest in the middle, it will take about thirteen or fourteen hours to reach the set goal.
But Jon certainly wouldn't be so inhumane, and it was already past three in the afternoon when he set out. Even though the daytime hours would get longer as they got closer to the pole, it would definitely be dark in ten hours.
So his target for today was a place not far from the pole, which was far away from several Death Eaters' garrisons and was a good place to hide.
After moving forward for about two or three hours, Jon called Gabriel over and stopped her from wandering around the sled, but hid her under the invisibility cloak.
The invisibility cloak Eric prepared for them was obviously not comparable to the one Lily lent him.
There are only two manufacturing methods for invisibility cloaks in the wizarding world . One is to directly peel off the fur of invisible beasts and then weave it into clothes. The other is to use the Disillusionment Charm on special fabrics.
Invisibility cloaks made from invisible animal fur are more expensive and can achieve better stealth effects, but as time goes by, the stealth effects will weaken until they become completely ineffective.
The invisibility cloak made by the Disillusionment Spell is relatively cheap, but the specific invisibility effect depends on the individual level of the caster, and the shelf life is shorter, basically no more than three months. Such an invisibility cloak will completely turn into an ordinary cloak.
The cloak Eric had given them was clearly an invisibility cloak made with the Disillusionment Charm, which was why he had been able to choose a large enough piece of cloth to cover the entire sleigh.
Just as they continued driving forward for an hour, Jon and his friends finally saw the first Death Eater they encountered in the Arctic.
…
Mike is an old man who started working with Voldemort in the 1970s. It is precisely because of his long experience and loyalty that he has his current prominent identity and status.
In return, one gets a more important and dangerous job.
Just like this trip to the Arctic , before he was transferred here, he had heard that dozens of his colleagues had died at the hands of the wizard who had become world-famous fifty years ago. Even Rabastan, who had made great contributions in France and had just returned to his country to receive his master's reward, died at the hands of a boy.
Yes, in the hands of a boy.
This news could not be suppressed at all. At least among the Death Eaters, it had become a secret known to everyone.
After all, many Death Eaters who saw the scene fled with Rodolphus, and before the gag order was issued, they had already passed the matter on to other colleagues.
A boy who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old cast a killing curse on the sea and killed Rabastan Lestrange, a big man with a very high status even among pure-bloods.
Most of the Death Eaters who did not see the scene with their own eyes reacted with disbelief after hearing the news.
It's not a big deal that Rabastan died under the Killing Curse. After all, no one has ever survived this curse from ancient times to the present. But what is really unbelievable is that the person who used the Killing Curse was a child who was still studying in a magic school!
It was not until the order came from above that all those who knew about the incident kept their mouths shut and the news was blocked that those who had originally been skeptical began to believe it was true.
This made some people wonder in their hearts, is this boy who killed Rabastan a student of Dumbledore?
Being able to use the Killing Curse at this age, even if it is said to come from Hogwarts Castle, where Voldemort himself is the headmaster, it seems like an attempt to put the blame on Voldemort.
However, this incident also made the Death Eaters transferred to the Arctic extremely vigilant. It has been so long since the death of Rabastan, and they still did not let down their guard. They were always loyal to their duties and patrolled the designated area. At most, they would secretly complain in their hearts, wondering why the people above didn't let them withdraw from here after waiting for so long and there was no movement.
Mike thought about this question again in his mind that afternoon.
In fact, many people suspected that it was their leader. Rodolphus was unwilling to accept the death of his brother, but he did not have the courage to go to the territory of the wizard who rescued the boy to kill people. He could only try his luck here and bet that they would come again.
But Mike thought it was just Rodolphus's fantasy.
No one is a fool. They have already caught them red-handed at sea. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would guess that they would have an ambush in the Arctic and would not come here in a short time. Even if they really come, they will definitely be followed by wizards of the same level as their master. There is no point in just sitting there and waiting.
As he was thinking this, Mike, who had curled up in his robe, was suddenly attracted by two polar bears running side by side.
The two bears seemed to be chasing and playing with each other, running wildly on the ice field, one in front and one behind.
Mike didn't feel anything special about this. Polar bears were of course the most common animals here. These stupid bears seemed to have never seen humans before. There were basically several such bears squatting nearby where they gathered.
The Death Eaters didn't care about them at all, and some even wanted to practice with them. Unfortunately, although these bears looked clumsy, they were actually very agile. They dodged left and right on the ice field and easily avoided the flying spells. Those Death Eaters who were interested in hunting could only catch a few Arctic foxes and seals at most.
Watching the two stupid bears running away, Mike put his hands into his sleeves and continued hiking on the ice field, silently wondering when such days would end.
He didn't know it, but six eyes were staring at him as they passed by him.
The protection of the invisibility cloak is indeed very useful. Although the invisibility cloak made by the Disillusionment Spell is generally very ineffective, this is the North Pole, where everything is white, so even if the effect is less effective, it will not have much impact.
During the day, sunlight shining on the ice field will cause a great impact on people's eyes. When the Death Eaters first arrived, they were not familiar with the conditions here, and many of their eyes became swollen, and they have not recovered yet.
Not to mention at night, darkness is the best protection.
“This guy looks a bit dull.”
Gabrielle spoke in a low voice after the Death Eater was no longer visible.
Jon patted her head.
"As dumb as Gabrielle."
"Ah~ No! Gabrielle is the smartest!"
Unlike Jon who was playing with Gabrielle, Nick's expression became serious.
"Having encountered the Death Eaters means we have entered their reconnaissance area. We must be more careful from now on."
Jon held Gabrielle's head so that she couldn't hit herself, and nodded seriously.
"Slow down, we are not in a hurry anyway."
His words attracted Gabrielle's attention. The little girl finally stopped thinking about getting back the spot she had just lost, and instead volunteered to ask the two "coachmen" pulling the cart in front to slow down.
Of course, Jon did not refuse her for this little thing. The two polar bears were indeed very special. Not only did they have enough endurance, but they could also really understand human language. After receiving Gabrielle's message, they automatically slowed down.
This continued until dark, and Jon and his companions were less than a hundred miles away from their destination.
Instead of traveling all night, they arrived at the previously booked location, set up tents, and let the bear, which had been running for nearly seven or eight hours, stop to rest.
Without doing anything else, Jon covered the sleigh with the invisibility cloak and went into the white tent to rest.
They will arrive at their final destination tomorrow, so it would be best for them to get a good night's sleep tonight and recharge their batteries.
However, things often do not go as planned. About four or five hours after falling asleep, Jon was woken up by Nick who was keeping watch outside.
"Someone's coming, Jon! We better find a place to hide quickly!"
Jon sat up very quickly. He had only taken off his coat when he went to sleep, so now he just had to put it back on and walk out of the tent.
After leaving the tent, he tapped the roof with his wand, and it broke apart by itself and fell neatly onto the snow.
"They're coming!"
Gabrielle, who was lying next to a raised snow pile, whispered to them.
John and Nick immediately bent down and walked quickly in the direction of Gabrielle. As they walked, Jon took out the invisibility cloak that Lily lent him from his pocket. After arriving next to Gabrielle, he covered the three of them together.
