Harry Potter: Magic and Guns

Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:

patreon.com/Draco_

******

Not bothering with what happened behind him, the role-playing game was over. Today's events in New York were bound to cause a lot of trouble, but Harry was confident that the Ministry of Magic would manage to clean up the mess.

After all, they had experience.

Over half a century ago, Grindelwald had caused a huge uproar here. The Silent One, who discovered that Grindelwald had been deceiving and using him all along, had stirred things up in the city. Although this time Newt wasn't around to help, the Ministry's prior experience made cleaning up the aftermath of a blown-up building less difficult. Worst-case scenario, they'd cover it up with a typical gas explosion—after all, the Woolworth Building, completed in 1913, was about due for demolition.

Heading east from New York, after crossing the vast plains, Harry saw the mountain range rise ahead. The Rocky Mountains, stretching over 4,800 kilometers, blocked the east-west expanse of the North American continent. Muggles rarely settled here, but for wizards, the area was dotted with hundreds of trading markets.

The Ministry of Magic and the Mayapan were opposing wizarding factions. Anyone wishing to sell the relics and treasures unearthed from Ministry-controlled lands couldn't simply display them in the open.

The blonde guy who had met Harry earlier was already waiting at a medium-sized trading hub. This market only operated during the day, and it wasn't clear whether the market owner was intentionally keeping things shady or if his connections were strong enough to protect the operation. After all, such markets were essentially black markets.

"Cool, man!"

As soon as they met, the blonde guy draped his arm over Harry's shoulder. Harry had changed his appearance again, donning the face of a generic 27- or 28-year-old white male. Although this guy was one of Grindelwald's followers, Harry remained cautious.

"I didn't do anything. She was the one who initiated it." Harry shrugged nonchalantly at the blonde guy, though his smug expression gave away his mood.

"Quick, tell me what kind of potion let you crawl out of that bed with triplets. The drinks are on me today."

"It's all about talent. No potions involved."

The two young men exchanged sly grins and walked toward a quiet alley. It led directly to the bar in the market—a busy, bustling place.

"Please don't tell me you really crawled out of a triplets' bed?"

Once they reached a secluded spot with no interruptions, the blonde guy set up a silent privacy ward and gave Harry a teasing wink.

"Shouldn't the point be that I didn't need any potions?" Harry chuckled. After causing such a stir, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't give up the chase easily. Even in the marketplace they were meeting in, there were at least a dozen Ministry spies lurking around. The Ministry wasn't the only one with a well-established spy network—though Muggles and wizards might despise each other, your enemy often knows you better than anyone else.

"I'll just take you at your word." The blonde guy gave Harry a meaningful look before bluntly continuing, "The entrance to the ruins has been sealed. This is directly connected to the mess you've caused. The Ministry's Aurors intervened and took control of the site by force. They're likely preparing to seize the second 'artifact' inside. After seeing the power of the first artifact, the Ministry officials are no longer dismissing it as mere rumors."

"Looks like they're not stupid."

"Yeah, but this will be bad news for the Mayapan. The prices of relics have risen by 300%. Fortunately, I stocked up earlier—looks like I'm about to make a nice profit."

"There are only two ways to enter the ruins now. The first is for you to charge into the Ministry headquarters and kill your way in, but it's heavily guarded—there are 2,500 Aurors stationed there, plus 3,000 to 4,000 relic hunters surrounding the area. It's a bit tricky."

"Heh." Harry grinned, downing a large gulp of the local specialty liquor, "Gok-Gok Firewater." During the Muggle prohibition, this had become one of the few comforts left for wizards in the area. "Your terrible idea is just like this awful drink. Can we get to the part where we discuss something a normal person could actually use?"

"Alright, go join the suicide squad. You'll even get 300 Galleons for your trouble. That's the best way to sneak into the ruins now."

"The ruins' defensive magic is still intact. The displays inside have been decayed over time, but those protective spells haven't shown a single sign of damage. After they took the first artifact, the defensive magic was fully triggered."

"Over the past two months, at least a thousand relic hunters have died inside, but not a single one has come close to the location of the artifact. The Ministry of Magic is getting desperate. If they don't secure the second artifact soon, they won't be able to withstand the growing scrutiny from other factions."

"Mayapan is also planning a major move, after all, they hate the Ministry more than anyone."

"So, time is of the essence."

"Exactly." The blonde guy nodded. "If they can't clear a path with lives, I have no doubt the Ministry will resort to violent demolition of the ruins. Even if it means destroying the artifact, it's better than letting anyone outside of them get their hands on it."

"Then let's get me signed up. I'm not passing up 300 Galleons."

"Do you need help with the extraction? While it's tough to get you out—our manpower here is limited—I can certainly create some chaos to muddle things up."

"Let those bounty hunters stir things up. With over 2,000 Aurors surrounding us, it still feels a bit tense."

Leaving behind the untouched glass of Gok-Gok Firewater, the two disappeared into the back alley of the tavern.

Thanks to the blonde guy's arrangements, Harry easily took the place of a wizard named Anthony, becoming a member of the suicide squad. It wasn't as simple as just saying, "I've got a reckless life, if I don't die, then it's a win." To join the squad, you had to be registered with the Ministry, which excluded undocumented, rogue wizards from the opportunity.

The ancient ruins were nothing like Harry had expected. Instead of an old-fashioned, local-style door connecting to the outside world, there was a magical portal embedded into a stone wall. The entire ruin was built within an independent space resembling a "small world." If the Ministry of Magic were to resort to violent methods to dismantle the ruins, the collapse of the ruin's space would be almost inevitable. It wasn't a 100% certainty, but it was a 99.9% possibility.

If they wanted the artifact, the only feasible, albeit clumsy, method was to break through the internal magical defenses. The wizard Harry had replaced, an elderly man named Anthony, had once worked as a curse-breaker at Gringotts. Unfortunately, he hadn't cracked any pyramid treasure chambers, but his experience in the field made him a perfect candidate for the suicide squad.

---

(End of Chapter)