Alan looked at the surrounding students, whose gazes resembled a pack of hungry wolves, and spoke with a cold indifference. "I simply don't want too much trouble. Solving the entire problem in one go saves me quite a bit of time."
He paused, a thin smile touching his lips. "Besides, it's been a long time since I left the castle, and I've been a bit short on gold lately."
As the last word left his mouth, he gave a sharp, chilling smile and instantly vanished into thin air.
"Quick, move!" Wilkes shouted, his voice cracking with sudden panic.
"It's a Disillusionment Charm! Lapifors!"
Yaxley reacted with impressive speed. With a sharp wave of his wand, he detonated a mixture of dust and stones where Alan had been standing. The resulting explosion sent debris splattering in all directions, and for a flickering second, a distorted silhouette was visible through the haze. But everyone noticed the figure was moving with predatory speed, already closing the distance to Wilkes.
Seeing Alan rushing him, Wilkes raised his wand to strike. The surrounding pure-bloods followed suit, unleashing a barrage of hexes and curses toward the shimmering air.
"Densaugeo!" "Stupefy!" "Petrificus Totalus!" "Expulso!"
Wilkes watched as the silhouette moved like a nimble fox. With a casual tilt of his head, Alan dodged a jinx aimed directly at his brow; the Body-Bind Curse passed only a centimeter from his face, yet he remained perfectly calm as he evaded it.
The figure surged forward. Wilkes didn't know what expression Alan wore behind the charm, but his own heart was hammered by terror.
Wilkes felt a heavy, sickening blow to his abdomen that doubled him over. Before he could gasp, he was seized by the collar and hurled backward. The malicious spells fired by his own companions arrived a second later, slamming into Wilkes instead of their target. The few stray curses that managed to bypass the human shield were easily deflected by a casual flick of Alan's wand.
Struck by multiple friendly spells, Wilkes's front teeth began to grow into hideous fangs. His body went rigid, and his face turned a ghastly ashen grey as he collapsed within the circle of his own friends.
"Nebulus."
It was the first time they heard Alan speak an incantation, and immediately a thick, unnatural mist swallowed the area, obscuring everyone's vision.
The ambushers had never faced a tactical fog before. Several grew hysterical, blindly firing spells in the direction they thought Alan was standing. In the zero visibility, their aim was worse than useless. Most of the curses went wide, and those that hit anything at all landed on their own allies.
"Damn it! Who hit me?" "The mudblood is right there—he just cursed me!"
Chaos erupted. Wizards began counter-attacking the directions from which they had been hit, while those accidentally injured cursed their friends in a fury. Various jinxes flew wildly through the mist, most of them fueled by friendly fire.
Through the white-out, a silhouette flickered in and out of sight. Every time it drew near a student, a scream followed, and another wizard was knocked cold.
In just a few seconds, several more members of the ambush fell. Some were taken out by the lurking Alan, while others were victims of their companions' panic.
Yaxley, realizing the disaster, roared over the din, "Everyone, calm down! Stop casting!"
He immediately channeled his magic and unleashed a powerful Hurricane Curse, forcing the thick mist to disperse. As the air cleared, the survivors finally saw the carnage. Of the seventeen pure-bloods who had started the fight, only eleven were still standing. A blurry figure was visible behind one of the fifth-years, one hand gripping the boy's shoulder while a wand was pressed firmly against his neck. A silent Paralysis Spell took hold, and the wizard went limp.
Alan's Disillusionment Charm finally wore off. He held the paralyzed student with one arm and pointed his wand at the remaining ten.
"With such meager abilities, you actually thought you could pull off an ambush? No tactical coordination, slow reactions... I was truly naive to think you could cause me any real trouble." Alan looked at the survivors, his voice dripping with mockery.
Infuriated by the insult, they attacked again. A volley of hexes shot toward him.
Alan merely flicked his wand. Several of the students he had already stunned flew into the air under his control, acting as meat shields for the incoming spells. At the same time, he used the senior wizard he was holding to absorb any stray fire.
One wizard saw a curse he'd fired get blocked by a floating body, which continued to fly toward him with undiminished force. He quickly used a Levitation Charm to shove the body aside. As a fifth-year, he was strong enough to use non-verbal spells with ease, but the moment he cleared his line of sight, he found a Stunning Spell already inches from his chest.
Alan had used the floating bodies to mask his own movements, casting a spell hidden behind the human wall. By the time the fifth-year cleared the obstacle, it was too late to dodge. Two more wizards were knocked backward, unconscious before they hit the ground.
"Gather up! Don't let him pick us off!" Yaxley shouted. The arrogance was gone from his face, replaced by a grim, focused calm.
Alan watched the eight survivors move into two teams, nodding inwardly. This was better; team formations increased their efficiency. However, doing so in front of him was an invitation to a different kind of disaster.
He sneered as they clustered together. He shoved his human shield aside, reached up to pluck a metal button from his waistcoat, and threw it forcefully toward the first team. Simultaneously, the eyes of the silver snake brooch on his chest glowed, and a pulse of protective light enveloped him.
The button didn't explode with fire; instead, as it neared the group, it erupted with a powerful, silent wave of infrasound. The four students who had just gathered were instantly hit with debilitating vertigo. Seizing the opening, Alan unleashed two Blasting Curses. The immense force struck the front two wizards, carrying them into the two behind them. All four were sent tumbling across the frozen ground, knocked cold by the impact.
The second team, consisting of Yaxley and Travers, was further away but was still staggered by the sonic pulse. Their minds reeled as they struggled to maintain their footing.