The silent, dark corridor seemed as quiet as ever, yet it felt as if something had frozen in place.
Sherlock reached out, casually grabbing at the air, and his hand closed around a smooth, soft invisibility cloak. As the cloak fell away, a figure was revealed in the corridor.
Eddie looked helplessly at Sherlock, who hadn't lifted the Disillusionment Charm and remained hidden within the darkness.
"How did you guess?"
Sherlock spread his hands.
"How did I know? Your face at the end of the trial looked like you were about to attend someone's funeral. Did you think I wouldn't guess what you were planning?"
Eddie fell silent and shook his head.
"Are you trying to stop me?"
"Why would I stop you?" Though Eddie couldn't see his expression, Sherlock raised an eyebrow. "You're avenging a friend and punishing evil. If I stopped you, wouldn't that make me a villain?"
Eddie stared fixedly in Sherlock's direction. If he wasn't here to stop him, then there was only one other possibility.
"We're not that close, are we?"
"While we can be considered friends, if we're just ordinary friends, then no, we're not that close."
Sherlock curled his lip.
"But you're an irresponsible father, and I have to think of Amy. Are you just going over there wearing an invisibility cloak? If you get caught later, what happens to Amy? Do you expect me to raise her for the rest of my life?"
Eddie said gloomily,
"I was never a responsible father to begin with. Amy can manage perfectly well without me. Besides, even if I'm discovered, the worst that could happen is a few years in prison. Nothing more severe."
Sherlock kicked him in exasperation.
"I really don't understand how people like you think. Knowing you're irresponsible, yet you go ahead and do irresponsible things. This way, you might be true to your subordinates, but are you being true to Amy?"
"So you do want to stop me?" Eddie's expression was conflicted.
"I just want you not to be so foolish. At least be a bit more flexible when doing these things."
"I have preparations."
"Your preparation is just this one invisibility cloak?" Sherlock said disdainfully. "And you call yourself an Auror. You don't even know how to commit a crime."
Eddie's face darkened.
"Why should an Auror necessarily know how to commit a crime?"
Ignoring his displeasure, Sherlock pulled two bottles of a flesh-coloured, jelly-like substance from his bag.
"If all you have is an invisibility cloak, even if you escape unscathed, the Ministry's investigation will still focus heavily on you. Many people saw your reaction during the trial, so we need to be better prepared."
"This is... my uncle's masterpiece. He's a professional Potions Master. Just apply a small piece of this potion to your face, and you can disguise yourself as anyone. Compared to Polyjuice Potion, its advantage is that you don't need to find a piece of the person you're imitating, and it lasts indefinitely. But the downside is obvious: it only changes your face; everything below the neck remains your own."
Sherlock's current appearance was created using this potion. The formula was essentially Snape's personal creation; he was the only one in the entire Wizarding World who knew how to brew it.
Not long ago, Sherlock shamelessly obtained a few bottles of the finished product from him, and today they would come in handy.
Eddie took the bottle from Sherlock's hand.
"You want to frame someone else for this?"
"Use that little brain of yours, as dense as an elm tree, and think. Besides you, who else would want Algy dead?"
Eddie was no fool.
"You mean... disguise ourselves as Death Eaters?"
"Let's make a hypothesis," Sherlock said. "If we exclude you, who is most likely to kill Algy now?"
Eddie murmured,
"Only the Death Eaters have the strongest reason and motive, but even if they wanted to act, it's unlikely they could get into the Ministry. If the Ministry's defences were that weak, the Death Eaters would have overrun it long ago."
Sherlock patted his shoulder.
"I know it's almost impossible for Death Eaters to actually come to the Ministry to kill Algy. So, we need to steer the Aurors' investigation in that direction ourselves."
Eddie's expression was troubled.
"Wouldn't that just add to the Ministry's burden?"
"You really are an honest man! At a time like this, you're still worried about being a burden to others." As he spoke, Sherlock was already pouring the potion from his bottle onto his face.
"If you're really worried about causing trouble, then you shouldn't have come here in the first place, right?"
Hearing Sherlock's words, Eddie finally gritted his teeth and poured the potion onto his own face.
"Who should we disguise ourselves as?"
"Who do you think is the most vicious among the Death Eaters?"
"Definitely that madwoman Bella! But since our bodies won't change, wouldn't disguising ourselves as women be easily discovered?"
"Eww~ If you want to go the cross-dressing route, do it yourself. I'm becoming Karkaroff; he's about my height."
In the end, Eddie chose Bella's husband, Rodolphus Lestrange.
The two, still keeping their heads down and tails tucked, continued down the corridor.
"Did you find out where Algy is being held today?"
"Holding Cell 3. The guards are Triss and Doyle."
"Good, well prepared. Before we deal with those two, we need to make sure they see our faces 'accidentally.' Remember, look menacing, like real Death Eaters."
However, as they approached Holding Cell 3, they discovered that the door was not closed. At the same time, a shocked voice came from inside.
"Why! You...!"
But before he could finish his sentence, another dull thud of a body hitting the floor sounded.
Sherlock and Eddie both frowned deeply.
Eddie pulled Sherlock, who was still under the Disillusionment Charm, under his invisibility cloak. Then, they stepped into the holding cell with extremely light footsteps.
The lights inside were bright. Two unconscious Aurors lay on the floor.
They were none other than Aurors Triss and Doyle, who were supposed to be guarding Algy!
Soft music played in the holding cell. A long table in the middle was laden with an array of food.
Algy was huddled in a corner, trembling as he watched the two black-robed figures who had suddenly burst in and stunned the Aurors with spells.
"Go shut the door."
One of the Wizards, who wasn't hiding his face under a robe and was openly showing it, said coldly.
At that moment, Sherlock and Eddie, who had infiltrated the cell, were completely stunned.
The Wizard showing his face was none other than another Eddie!
His height, appearance, and every external feature were identical to Eddie's, except for the fierce, venomous look in his eyes, which Eddie lacked.
Under the invisibility cloak, Sherlock and Eddie exchanged a bewildered glance.
Neither of them spoke, continuing to watch events unfold.
Algy was terrified, but he seemed to be under some kind of Silencing Charm, unable to make a sound.
"Eddie" waved his wand, apparently casting a spell to seal the room off from the outside world, then released the charm on Algy.
"Bu-butler..." Algy didn't scream or shout but stammered out Eddie's surname.
He knew "Eddie" had just sealed off all sound from the room; even if he screamed his lungs out, no one would notice.
"Has it only been a few days, and you already don't recognise me, Taft?"
At that moment, the effects of the Polyjuice Potion on "Eddie" wore off perfectly, revealing his true face.
Seeing that familiar face, Algy's eyes widened like saucers!
Sherlock and Eddie, hidden under the invisibility cloak, reacted the same way.
Sherlock turned his head, giving Eddie's disguised face a strange look, then peered through a gap in the cloak at the now-revealed Rodolphus Lestrange. Only one thought crossed his mind.
This was utterly absurd—absurdity opening the door for absurdity, absurdity coming home!
He and Eddie had planned to disguise themselves as Rodolphus to kill Algy, and here Rodolphus had disguised himself as Eddie and come!
Simultaneously, the other Death Eater wearing a hat also revealed his true face.
This time, it wasn't Karkaroff, whom Sherlock was impersonating, but Rodolphus's brother, Rabastan.
The shock on Algy's face quickly turned to delight.
"Rodolphus! Rabastan! How did you get into the Ministry? Are you here to rescue me? Praise the Dark Lord! Thank you for his mercy!"
However, neither of the Lestrange brothers moved. They exchanged a glance, both wearing cold smiles.
"Yes, you should indeed thank the Dark Lord for his mercy, Taft. My brother and I requested this mission from the Dark Lord ourselves. We came here specifically to see you one last time."
Algy sensed something wrong from their tone. His face paled, his emotions like a rollercoaster, experiencing a series of extreme highs and lows in just a few minutes.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Rodolphus stared at him with a cold expression.
"There's a question I've always wanted to ask you, but being colleagues got in the way, so I never had the chance before. Today, I finally have my opportunity, Taft."
His voice was low, like a scorpion hidden in darkness.
"In March of this year, when Bella told me about a task the Dark Lord had assigned and needed to borrow my family vault, was it you eavesdropping nearby?"
Algy's pupils contracted sharply!
But he tried his best to look innocent.
"What are you talking about? What task from the Dark Lord? Why would I be eavesdropping?"
Rabastan, looking thoroughly impatient, drew his wand and pointed it at Algy's terrified, despairing face.
"No! Don't! Please! I'm telling the truth! No...!"
"Imperio!"