Chapter 618: Stalking Mission

Ron looked shocked as he whispered nervously, "Who are you? A Death Eater? A dark wizard?"

There was no sound behind him. Swallowing hard, Ron tilted his head, but a wand poked him so hard against his back that he dared not move any further.

He mumbled, "I mean - you may not have realized one thing, if I die, you'll never get away with it, I am a second class Order of Merlin recipient - soon to be first class, and a full member of the Dark Force Defence League. I am Dumbledore and Professor Hap's favourite student, do you know the great Harry Potter? We're best buddies, he and I. ..."

An impish soft laugh sounded from behind him.

"Of course, I know who you are." A pinched voice said.

Ron was relieved, then felt a hot pain on the back of his right hand, "Don't make small moves." The voice said and Ron's hand that was reaching into his pocket froze.

"Come with me!"

Ron's body was yanked to the side and out of the corner of his eye, Tonks' clumsy figure disappeared. His eyes darkened as he found them entering a narrow, poorly lit alley. He was pushed roughly against the wall.

"Ron Weasley?"

"That's right." Ron said, his voice already calming down.

"Oh, count yourself unlucky to have seen something you shouldn't have-" the voice said frivolously.

Ron suddenly looked confident.

"Ahem, I don't think the same."

"Be honest! You-"

A twisting magic suddenly emerged from the surface of Ron's body and the wand behind him was forced to push away, the twisting magic flared and spread, and swelled out like an inflated plastic bag, bulging into a ball as the alleyway swept by it.

With his wand in hand, Ron turned around slowly (and smoothed his hair in the middle of it) and looked playfully at the person whose face was half exposed as the spell slammed her against the wall on the other side.

"Looking like a mess, Collins." His tone was full of gloating.

"Think you're cool?" Collins said, noncommittally, " Let me free now!" Her face was squeezed out of shape by Ron's magic, and her speech sounded muffled at the moment.

Ron held back his laugh and withdrew his magic.

"The humanoid shield charm?" Collins asked as she braced herself on the wall and straightened up, rubbing her face vigorously.

"Ha, the first non-verbal spell I've mastered, you're in luck."

Ron tapped his wand against his palm, a few sparks erupting from its tip, and he had a smug look on his face.

Collins huffed and walked out of the alley.

"Hey, don't go, what's going on?" Ron chased after her, "I saw Tonks ... that was her right, I judged from her movements."

"That's her," Collins answered positively, looking around for a moment as the two walked out of the alley, "Never mind, let's find a place to rest for a while, it's been freezing for the past two days and with that old lady running around... ...I really suspect she's doing it on purpose."

They walked towards the three broomsticks inn.

"Who are you talking about?" Ron asked curiously.

"Carlotta Pinkstone," Collins said, "She just recently got out of Azkaban, and Tonks and I are in charge of tailing her."

"That old lady's a criminal?" Ron asked, in surprise, "She wouldn't be -"

"No, not like you think. She had nothing to do with the recent dark wizard trials." Collins explained as they picked a window seat at the Three Broomsticks Inn, and Mrs. Rosmerta approached them, "Can I get you anything, dear? Oh, Mr. Weasley?"

"Um," Ron said slowly in a low voice, " I need a hot Firewhisky and for this young lady-"

"Are you old enough?" Collins looked at him suspiciously.

Ron coughed dramatically, his face flushed red, and he gave her a hard stare, "Just short of five months if you insist on getting nosy!" Mrs. Rosmerta covered her mouth and laughed softly, oozing with mature charm. "A glass of hot Firewhisky, right." She said calmly, "And you, fair lady?"

"I don't need anything." Collins answered stiffly.

"She can't drink, she's performing- hiss!" Ron drew in his breath with a pained expression as he withdrew his stomped toe and said to Mrs. Rosmerta with a grimace, "Please, get her a soda or something."

"I recommend a soda with sorbet." The lady owner said.

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"That'll do." Ron saw that Collins didn't object and made the call. When Mrs. Rosmerta left, he couldn't help but lower his voice and ask, "That Carole-"

"Carlotta!"

"Well, Carlotta," Ron shrugged, "what's her crime? Why do you two have her on your radar? Frankly, I don't think Tonks is cut out for anything that involves close-up stalking, unless ..."

"Unless we're not even trying to hide it." Collins gave an approving look.

Ron stared, he was just about to say unless whoever issued the order was out of his mind, but he wasn't going to admit that to Collins unless he was out of his mind too. So he chimed in, "Yeah, right, that's what I thought. Tell me more about it!"

"She's an activist. ..."

Collins spoke slowly as she relaxed in the warm, aromatic atmosphere of the lounge, and as time passed the glasses in front of both of them emptied. Collins stood up and put on her scarf, "I'm going to go and replace Tonks. Oh, by the way, if you see Cedric, say hello for me, I saw him with his little girlfriend earlier."

"Can't you say it yourself?" Ron muttered disgruntledly.

"On a mission." Collins grinned, hiding her face up to reveal just her eyes, "Well, I must say, you've reacted quite impressively today, and I am looking forward to having you as my new colleague."

"Got it, got it." Ron said slowly as his ears reddened a little, and he showed his self-proclaimed noble and cultured demeanour again.

As dusk approached, the young wizards of Hogwarts emerged from all directions and set out on their way back to school. The door to the Three Broomsticks Inn was pushed open and a woman in a dark green double-breasted trench coat walked in; she is not young, but one could still see the brightness and grace of her youth in her face.

Madam Rosmerta stepped forward to welcome her.

"Come in, esteemed guest, what would you like to order?"

The woman was in no hurry to answer. She removed her hard peaked cap, revealing her short grey hair underneath, and looked around the room before saying, "A more isolated room would be appreciated. I'm prepared to stay tonight."

"Very well, Madam." Mrs. Rosmerta replied, "Anything else?"

"I may be receiving a guest tonight, so don't bother me, I don't need any services other than accommodation. Is that clear?"

"Oh, uh, sure," Mrs. Rosmerta said hesitantly, "according to the Ministry of Magic, lodging requires a registered name ..."

"Of course," said the woman, "you can call me ... Nicole Noel."

The time approached late at night and the stars twinkled outside the window. The woman sat in a chair in her room and waited with great patience. She had maintained this posture for some time now, her hands twisted together, her eyes twinkling with memories.

Had that girl from Hogwarts delivered the letter yet? Would he show up for the appointment? Why hadn't he contacted any of them after getting out of the predicament? Did he get discouraged that no one acknowledged his unshakable dominance after that event ...

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The woman stood up excitedly, but fortunately, she hadn't lost her head, "Is that you?" She asked in a trembling voice.

There was no response from outside.

Her heart sank, and she quickly drew her wand and pointed it at the door of the room. "Who's out there?" The woman barked, this time her voice filled with coldness and a sense of seriousness.

"Felix Hap," a young voice stated from the door, "a certain lady who calls herself 'Nicole Noel' has taken the liberty of visiting, can we talk downstairs?" As the words were spoken, the air around them seemed to freeze and link together to form an integral and indivisible unity.

The woman raised her wand decisively and a bolt of fire fired out, followed by an attempt to cast an Apparition.

"Bang!"

The door of the room split into pieces and the fire blasted another large hole straight through the wall. The woman's figure disappeared at the last second, but she was immediately tossed elsewhere. The surrounding area was a wasteland, black stone shadows fell in silence, trees rustled, and the chill of the night reached the woman through cold, biting earth. She shivered and rose from the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nicole Noel saw a trail of light where the village of Hogsmeade remained.

She exhaled the coldness that had clotted in her chest and roughly determined her location - the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Then she focused her attention on the man who had appeared silently before her; The moonlight shone on his somewhat overly young face, drawing out the sharp lines of his handsome features.

"Felix Hap?"

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