Chapter 180: Moreno
Captain Moreno had never faced such terrifying creatures.
He called them monsters because, to him, they weren’t human at all.
He had thought a few barrels of gasoline would be enough to wipe them out completely, yet after only a brief moment of panic, they had conjured streams of water out of thin air and doused the forest fire within minutes.
How was that possible? The thought left Moreno deeply unsettled.
Even the subsequent bombing runs had failed to achieve the expected results.
Yes, he was certain several of the creatures had been obliterated along with the village of Little Hangleton.
But the rest had somehow shielded themselves with a mysterious power that deflected the blasts.
Moreno had never imagined mere mortals, waving little wooden sticks, could resist such explosions.
After firing off every rocket he carried, he made the decisive choice to retreat.
The contract with his employer had been fulfilled, after all.
...
During his escape, Captain Moreno was attacked by another monster.
The creature became a cloud of black mist, closing in on him.
It looked like a plump Englishman, babbling words like “Muggle,” which Moreno couldn’t even begin to understand.
A yellow beam shot from the wooden stick in its hand, striking Moreno’s right leg.
Instantly, he lost all feeling in it.
The creature shouted another strange word, and Moreno was wracked with pain so intense it felt like his very nerves were being shredded...
But while the creature laughed wildly, Moreno seized the chance. He pulled the trigger of his rifle.
Thirty bullets, fired point-blank. With a roar, Moreno riddled the fat monster with bullets.
To be sure, he drew his pistol and blew the man’s skull apart like a melon.
No matter how bizarre these monsters were, they still bled and died. Nothing to fear.
...
With his leg crippled, Moreno could no longer escape. Dragging his broken body, he found a cave and crawled inside, listening warily for any sound outside.
His thoughts began to drift.
First, he thought of his comrades. How many of them had made it out alive?
He hoped they’d all make it back to France—especially the young man in his twenties, who hadn’t even married yet.
But Moreno knew, realistically, very few would return.
They had come here to sell their lives. The employer had made that clear from the start.
His mind turned to his parents, his wife, his son. He would probably never see them again. Life had been unbearably hard for poor families like theirs in France... until a year ago, when Mr. Sal’s job had finally brought some relief.
Then he thought of himself. Even if the monsters didn’t find him, how long could he last in this cave, crippled and alone?
He gave a bitter smile as he reloaded his rifle.
But it was worth it.
By the end of this job, he would have earned $70,000 from Mr. Sal—enough to change his family’s life for good.
Enough to ease the burden on his parents, wife, and son for a long while.
A few years ago, he never would have imagined his life could be worth so much.
Just then, a faint rustling reached him from outside the cave.
...
That strange sound...
At once, Moreno thought of the eerie serpent Mr. Sal had warned them about.
He frowned and tightened his grip on the white phosphorus grenade at his belt.
Dragging his ruined leg, his whole body tensed.
And then—yes, it was a snake.
At the cave’s mouth, he saw it: a serpent as thick as a man’s arm, slithering slowly toward him.
Its eyes gleamed with intelligence. It flicked its tongue at him, baring its fangs.
Moreno remained perfectly still.
Mr. Sal had warned him: this snake was no ordinary beast. Killing it would not be easy.
The serpent crept closer, as though savoring its prey.
Then it opened its massive jaws—
At that instant, Moreno pulled the pin on his white phosphorus grenade and hurled it into the serpent’s mouth.
A muffled explosion rang out, and the faintest smile tugged at the captain’s lips.
Then he closed his eyes.
...
“Ahhh—” Voldemort, newly resurrected, let out a piercing scream. “Nagini... Nagini... Nagini...”
“Master!” Lucius Malfoy, disheveled and pale, rushed to support him.
Voldemort cried out his pet’s name in vain.
Only a few months earlier, after killing that Muggle Frank, he had casually made Nagini his sixth Horcrux.
But now... he felt it—the tearing of his soul.
“Wormtail! Find Nagini!” Voldemort shrieked.
Ten minutes later, they found Nagini’s corpse inside a cave.
A Muggle corpse lay beside it.
Nagini’s body was unscathed on the outside, as expected. Even before Voldemort regained his body, he had cast countless enchantments to fortify the serpent.
But faint white smoke was rising from Nagini’s mouth.
“Filth!” Voldemort screamed, slashing his wand as he cut open the snake’s insides bit by bit.
Her organs were burnt to ash, blackened bones exposed.
Malfoy looked as though he might be sick.
“Damn Muggle!” Voldemort howled in rage.
He flung spells aimlessly, blasting the ground in fury.
Malfoy and Wormtail fled in terror.
...
“Harry... Harry...”
A chorus of voices dragged Harry Potter back to consciousness.
Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey had brought him to the hospital wing. The moment he lay down, he had collapsed into a coma.
He had only just been awakened.
“What happened?” Albus Dumbledore asked gently.
“Professor Dumbledore...” Harry said, clutching his scar. “I saw Voldemort—he was furious because someone killed his snake... and he was in pain!”
For the briefest moment, Harry thought he saw joy flicker across Dumbledore’s face.
But it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“Rest now,” Dumbledore said kindly.
“Professor, should I tell you the details of Voldemort’s resurrection?” Harry asked quickly.
“No need.” Dumbledore waved his hand. “Rest first.”
He gave Madam Pomfrey a few quiet instructions, then left the hospital wing.
On his way out, he passed Filch, who was cleaning.
“Argus,” Dumbledore asked casually, “did you happen to see Alastor just now?”
“You mean Professor Moody?” Filch asked after a moment’s thought.
“Yes, Headmaster,” Filch replied respectfully. “Just now, on the eighth floor near your office—I ran into him.”
Author's Note
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.