"There is a small town called Enfield near London, where a friend from my student days lives. We had a falling out due to some unfortunate events, but she should still be able to trust me."
Eddie explained everything to Sherlock quickly.
"Her name is Sophie Feldman, and her current address should be a red-roofed house on the far eastern side of Enfield. Just tell her the truth. As long as she doesn't see me, she should be able to stay calm and believe what you say."
"Then ask her to take you to the Ministry of Magic. She works in the Department of Magical Transportation and has the authority to enter the Ministry at any time."
"Madam Selwyn has been staying in the Department of Mysteries on the ninth underground level. The Unspeakables working there do not leave unless there are exceptional circumstances."
Sherlock understood the entire situation and then asked,
"What about you? What are you planning to do next?"
Eddie looked at the fierce battle raging outside.
"I have to leave immediately. There are two layers of tracking magic that the Death Eaters placed on me. I already broke the outer layer while I was in Cambridge. They think I don't know about it, but there's another tracking spell on me beneath it, and that's how I managed to outsmart them today."
"That spell is troublesome. I can only mask it temporarily; I can't remove it outright. The Death Eaters will definitely be able to locate me again later. Their fighting in the city will inevitably kill many innocent Muggles. I have to leave this city at once and draw them away!"
His voice was resolute. He showed no concern for what would happen if the Death Eaters caught him.
Sherlock did not argue further. He summoned the wand that had fallen to the floor back into his pocket. Time was running out. The sooner he could deliver the message to the Ministry of Magic and expose the traitor, the sooner Eddie could escape the danger and return safely.
"After the traitor is caught, how can I contact you?"
"Connect to the fireplace at the Ministry of Magic on the Isle of Man. I should be there at this time tomorrow."
Eddie and Sherlock exchanged one final glance.
Neither of them said anything else. Together, they raised their wands and Apparated.
By the time they disappeared, the battle in the streets had reached its fiercest stage.
Aurors and Death Eaters flew through the skies above the city on broomsticks, brandishing their wands. Countless green and red spells streaked across the night sky like meteors, while the sharp cracks of Apparition echoed constantly around them.
Reinforcements had arrived from the surrounding cities—both Aurors and Death Eaters.
"Should we request more reinforcements from the Ministry?"
Triss, another Auror commander who had rushed over from York to join the battle, barely dodged a sickly green spell.
He roared at Moody while firing a counter-curse.
Moody leaned low over his broomstick, aiming his wand at a Death Eater swooping down to bombard Muggle houses with the Blasting Curse. The next second, a precise red spell shot from the tip of his wand, striking the rapidly moving Death Eater directly.
The Death Eater tumbled helplessly from his broomstick. Even if the fall didn't kill him, it would leave him permanently disabled.
"No more reinforcements!" the strong wind rushed into Moody's mouth as he shouted. "The Ministry only has Kingsley and his two teams left! If we send anyone else, the Ministry of Magic will be left completely undefended!"
"But if this keeps up, every Muggle in this city will know what happened!" Triss shouted anxiously.
A conflicted look crossed Moody's face. He looked at the Death Eaters circling overhead, barely engaging the Aurors and instead concentrating on bombarding the Muggle city below.
"Take your people to the west and north! I'll cover the east and south! Force them towards the centre! And don't put up an Anti-Apparition Ward!"
After Apparating, Sherlock arrived on the street where the Leaky Cauldron stood in London.
He had no intention of entering the pub. Instead, he immediately used Alohomora to unlock a car parked by the roadside, then used Control Magic to start the engine and drove towards the town of Enfield.
He had never been there before, so he couldn't Apparate directly. Calling the Knight Bus wouldn't necessarily take him there either, because its next stop was determined by the order in which passengers boarded rather than the shortest distance.
At this moment, a Muggle car was the fastest means of transport.
Sherlock kept his foot pressed firmly on the accelerator the entire journey. Fortunately, Enfield was not far from London. About twenty minutes later, he entered the town and quickly found the red-roofed house on its far eastern side.
After getting out, he lightly tapped the bonnet with his wand.
The car started on its own and drove back along the same route.
It automatically avoided other vehicles and pedestrians before returning to the spot where Sherlock had first taken it. Apart from a little less fuel in the tank, the owner would notice nothing unusual.
Sherlock knocked firmly on the front door.
A light came on in an upstairs bedroom. Soon, a young, attractive woman in her pyjamas opened the window and looked down at him with obvious irritation.
"It's this late. Don't tell me you're some door-to-door salesman."
Sherlock met her gaze.
"Eddie Butler sent me."
The woman froze.
About ten seconds later, she stamped her foot in frustration, seemingly more annoyed with herself than with him.
"Just use Alohomora to unlock the door and come in! I'm coming downstairs!"
Hearing this, Sherlock wasted no time with formalities. He unlocked the door with Alohomora and stepped into the home of the witch named Sophie.
As he entered, Sophie was coming downstairs with her wand already drawn.
"You'd better be here to tell me he was framed! That you've come to ask for my help clearing his name! If you've come to persuade me to join the Dark Lord on his behalf, then you can wait for your trial before the Wizengamot!"
Sherlock met her eyes.
Her wand remained pointed directly at him. There was obvious nervousness in her expression, as though she feared he was about to confirm that Eddie had truly become one of the Dark Lord's followers.
"You guessed correctly," Sherlock said with a shrug. "Eddie was framed. He didn't betray the Ministry of Magic, and he never joined the Death Eaters."
Hope flickered in Sophie's eyes, but she still did not lower her wand. She forced herself to remain calm and asked urgently,
"Then what happened to him? Why didn't he come to me himself?"
Sherlock did his best to explain everything Eddie had told him in the briefest possible way.
Three minutes later, the wand slipped from Sophie's hand.