Mystery of the Broken Wand - Chapter - 11

Crabb and Goyle stood trapped, their backs against the cold stone walls of the lavish villa as the circle of hostile wizards closed in around them. Disarmed and outnumbered, they had mere moments to react. The room, once filled with laughter and merriment, now echoed with the sinister plotting of their enemies.

One of the partygoers, a tall man with a cruel smile, stepped forward. "We should wipe their memories," he suggested, his voice dripping with malice. "Dump them in the middle of a Muggle town. Let them figure out where they are."

Another guest, a woman with glittering jewelry and dark eyes, nodded in agreement. "Yes, and make sure they forget everything. It will be like they never existed."

Crabb and Goyle exchanged a glance, their minds racing. They had been trained for situations like this, but no amount of training could fully prepare them for the sheer numbers and the dangerous unpredictability of a room full of drunk and drugged wizards. Yet, amid the chaos, a flicker of hope sparked in Goyle’s mind.

He remembered the small pen tucked inside his robe pocket. It had been given to them by the Italian Auror Department upon their arrival in Italy. The pen was no ordinary writing instrument—it was a powerful emergency beacon. The Italian Aurors had explained that if the pen were broken in half, an entire team of Aurors would be summoned to their exact location. The pen was designed for situations where a single Auror team might be overwhelmed by a large criminal gang. And right now, they were undeniably overwhelmed.

Crabb’s eyes darted toward Goyle, and he saw that his partner was already thinking the same thing. Goyle’s large hand subtly moved to his pocket, his fingers brushing against the pen. But they had to be quick. The wizards around them were getting closer, their wands raised, ready to cast the memory-wiping spell.

One of the wizards, an older man with a sneer etched permanently on his face, began to chant the spell. "Oblivi—"

Before he could finish, Goyle acted. With a swift motion, he snapped the pen in half. There was no immediate explosion or flash of light, just a faint magical hum that only Crabb and Goyle could hear. The beacon was active, and now all they needed to do was buy time until the cavalry arrived.

But buying time wasn’t going to be easy. The enemies were many, and their wands were aimed and ready to fire. Crabb and Goyle, however, had something that their foes didn’t expect: raw, brute strength. Though they lacked the finesse and magical power of more skilled wizards, their physical prowess was unmatched.

Goyle smirked at Crabb. “Let’s show them what we’re made of.”

Without warning, Goyle lunged forward, his fist connecting with the jaw of the closest wizard. The man crumpled to the floor, his wand clattering away. Crabb followed suit, grabbing a nearby chair and swinging it like a club, knocking another wizard off his feet.

Chaos erupted. The wizards, many of whom were drunk and sluggish from whatever concoctions they had consumed, were slow to react. Spells were fired wildly, missing their targets and hitting the lavish decorations instead. Crystal chandeliers shattered, tables were upended, and the grand villa was quickly transformed into a battlefield.

Crabb and Goyle fought with the ferocity of cornered animals. They used their size and strength to their advantage, taking down one opponent after another with punches, kicks, and improvised weapons. The partygoers, caught off guard by the sudden physical assault, stumbled and faltered.

Crabb delivered a powerful uppercut to a wizard who had tried to cast a spell at him. The man’s wand flew out of his hand as he collapsed in a heap. “Guess you weren’t expecting that,” Crabb muttered under his breath, wiping sweat from his brow.

Goyle, meanwhile, had cornered two more wizards near the bar. They attempted to raise their wands, but Goyle grabbed one by the arm and slammed him into the other, sending both of them crashing into the wall. Bottles of fine wine shattered around them, spilling red liquid across the floor.

As the fight raged on, Crabb and Goyle found themselves facing Luca and Giovanni Zabini, the masterminds behind Blaise’s murder. The cousins had been watching the chaos unfold with a mixture of disbelief and fury.

Luca sneered, his wand pointed at Goyle. “You think you can take us down with your fists? You’re nothing but muscle-bound fools.”

Goyle grinned, unperturbed. “Maybe, but we’re still standing, and you’re about to fall.”

Before Luca could cast his spell, Goyle charged at him, tackling him to the ground. The two men wrestled for control, their bodies crashing into the remnants of the party. Crabb, seeing his partner engaged, turned his attention to Giovanni.

Giovanni, more agile than his cousin, tried to sidestep Crabb’s attack, but Crabb was relentless. He grabbed Giovanni by the collar and lifted him off his feet, slamming him onto a nearby table. The table splintered under the impact, and Giovanni groaned in pain.

“Where’s all that confidence now?” Crabb growled, pinning Giovanni down.

The fight seemed endless, and exhaustion began to set in. Crabb and Goyle were bruised and battered, but they had managed to subdue eight wizards. The rest, seeing their comrades defeated, fled into the shadows, disappearing into the night.

Just as Crabb and Goyle began to feel the weight of fatigue, a series of loud cracks filled the air. The Italian Aurors had arrived, their robes swirling as they apparated into the villa. In an instant, the room was flooded with wandlight and the commanding presence of seasoned law enforcers.

“Crabb! Goyle! What the hell happened here?” demanded the lead Auror, a stern-faced man with a scar running down his cheek.

Before Crabb could respond, Goyle, still breathing heavily, grinned and said, “Just a bit of cleanup duty. We wanted the criminals to think we’d left Italy, then catch them off guard. Worked like a charm.”

The lead Auror surveyed the scene—eight unconscious wizards sprawled across the floor, the remains of the party scattered everywhere, and Crabb and Goyle standing victorious amid the wreckage.

“So, these are the people who killed the Zabinis?” the lead Auror asked, his tone serious.

Crabb nodded, wiping a smear of blood from his lip. “Yes. Luca and Giovanni Zabini, nephews of Mrs. Zabini. They killed Blaise and his mother for her fortune.”

The Italian Aurors moved quickly, securing Luca and Giovanni with magical bindings and checking on the unconscious partygoers. The villa, once a place of luxury and celebration, was now a crime scene.

As the Aurors worked, Crabb and Goyle recounted the night’s events, though their version was embellished with a few more dramatic flourishes. By the time they finished, they had painted themselves as cunning and fearless heroes who had outwitted a dangerous criminal gang.

The lead Auror, though skeptical of their more grandiose claims, couldn’t deny the results. He nodded approvingly. “Well done. Since the criminals and victims are both Italian by nationality, the trial will be held here. We’ll take care of the formalities from here on out.”

He extended a hand to Crabb and Goyle, who shook it gratefully. “We’ll make sure the British Ministry of Magic hears about your success. They’ll be proud to know they sent such intelligent and strong wizards to handle this case.”

Crabb and Goyle exchanged a look, their expressions a mix of pride and exhaustion. They had done it. They had brought the Zabinis to justice and survived a night that could have easily ended in disaster.

As the Italian Aurors continued their work, Crabb and Goyle were escorted outside, where the cool night air greeted them. The villa loomed behind them, a silent monument to the battle they had just fought.

“Ready to head back to Britain?” Crabb asked, stretching his sore muscles.

Goyle nodded. “Yeah, I think we’ve earned a break.”

With a final nod of thanks to the Italian Aurors, Crabb and Goyle Portkeyed back to Britain, their mission complete. They returned as heroes, with tales of their daring exploits spreading quickly through the halls of the Ministry.

Though they knew the truth was slightly less glamorous than the stories being told, Crabb and Goyle couldn’t help but enjoy their newfound status. They had faced impossible odds and come out on top, proving that even the most underestimated wizards could rise to the occasion when it mattered most.

When Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle arrived back in Britain, it was as if they had never left. The humdrum of the Auror Office buzzed around them as usual, with stacks of paperwork piling on desks and tired-eyed wizards discussing ongoing investigations. No one suspected that Crabbe and Goyle had just returned from a perilous mission in Italy, let alone that they had brought justice to the murderers of Blaise Zabini and his mother, Natalia Zabini.

The two Aurors slipped into their familiar routine with ease. Their first task was to hand over the official investigation report to Auror Smith, their direct superior. Smith, a grizzled veteran of the department, barely looked up as they handed him the parchment detailing the case.

“Put it on the pile,” Smith muttered, waving them off as he buried his nose deeper into the report he was already reading. Crabbe and Goyle exchanged a quick glance and obeyed, leaving their report on the desk and heading back to their cubicles.

For the next two weeks, life returned to normal. Crabbe and Goyle handled minor assignments, combing through magical records and following up on leads that rarely led anywhere exciting. Occasionally, they wondered what had become of the investigation in Italy, but they assumed that once they had handed over the Zabini cousins to the Italian Aurors, their role in the affair was over. They had done their job, and that was that.

But everything changed one brisk morning, when a ripple of excitement ran through the office. Crabbe was at his desk, absently twirling his quill between his fingers, while Goyle was rifling through a stack of files when the Auror Office’s enchanted announcement board suddenly lit up with bold, flashing letters:

INTERNATIONAL BREAKING NEWS: ZABINI KILLERS CAUGHT BY BRITISH AURORS!

Auror Smith, who had been absorbed in his reading, jerked upright as the words caught his attention. He muttered a curse under his breath and bolted from his office, heading straight for the announcement board. Crabbe and Goyle, startled by the sudden commotion, craned their necks to see what all the fuss was about.

"Smith! What's going on?" Goyle asked, trying to get a better look at the board.

Smith, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief, gestured for them to follow. "You two better come with me. It seems your little trip to Italy is making headlines."

They hurried after Smith, curiosity gnawing at them. The announcement board was crowded with Aurors, all murmuring to each other as they read the scrolling news.

As they approached, Crabbe caught sight of the text:

"The murderers of Blaise Zabini and his mother, Natalia Zabini, have been apprehended by two brave and highly skilled British Aurors: Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. These two wizards, known for their physical prowess and sharp investigative minds, tracked down the killers and engaged in a heroic final confrontation, subduing them with a combination of tactical brilliance and raw courage…"

Crabbe blinked, unsure if he was reading correctly. "Did... did that just say 'sharp investigative minds'?"

Goyle, equally bewildered, snorted. "It did. And 'tactical brilliance.' That’s not a phrase I hear every day in connection with us."

Auror Smith looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "Care to explain what the hell is going on?"

Before either of them could respond, a loud, excited voice called out from across the room. "Hey! Daily Prophet’s just published an exclusive story on this! Says you two are the heroes of the Zabini case!"Crabbe and Goyle turned to see one of their colleagues waving a freshly printed edition of the newspaper. The front page bore a massive headline:

"Heroes of Britain: Crabbe and Goyle’s Daring Defeat of the Zabini Killers!"

The article went on to describe their supposed cunning, the intricate planning of their investigation, and their brave showdown against overwhelming odds. According to the story, Crabbe and Goyle had outsmarted the Zabini cousins at every turn, culminating in a dramatic brawl that ended with the villains being captured just as reinforcements arrived.

The exaggerated details were all too familiar. Goyle’s dramatic retelling of the events in Italy had somehow found its way into the press—word for word.

“Looks like you two really made an impression,” Auror Smith said, still eyeing them suspiciously. “I don’t recall anything about ‘tactical brilliance’ in your report.”

Goyle shrugged, trying to suppress a grin. “Well, you know how these things go, sir. Stories tend to grow in the telling.”

Smith shook his head, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Apparently so. Well, the public seems to love it. You two better be ready for the spotlight.”

The spotlight, as it turned out, was far brighter and more intense than Crabbe and Goyle could have ever imagined. Within hours, their names were being hailed across the Wizarding World. The international media, eager for a story that wasn’t just another dull political scandal or Quidditch result, latched onto the tale of two unlikely heroes.

The Daily Prophet sent a reporter to Italy to dig up every detail of the case. When they returned, they published an in-depth feature that painted Crabbe and Goyle as heroic figures on par with the legendary Harry Potter. The article described their bravery in Italy, framing them as unsung protectors of justice who had risked everything to bring criminals to justice.

Soon, other media outlets followed suit. Witch Weekly declared them "Wizards of the Year" and ran a feature on their "amazing transformation" from schoolyard bullies to brave defenders of the magical world. Even The Quibbler got in on the action, albeit with a more outlandish take, suggesting that Crabbe and Goyle had been secretly trained by centaurs in the Forbidden Forest to master both magic and physical combat.

The attention was overwhelming. Reporters swarmed the Auror Office, desperate for interviews, and letters of praise poured in from all corners of the Wizarding World. Crabbe and Goyle found themselves uncomfortably thrust into the limelight. Even the Minister of Magic himself, a usually aloof and reserved figure, publicly thanked them for their service, calling them "an inspiration to all young wizards and witches."

For Crabbe and Goyle, who had spent most of their careers in the background, this sudden fame was both exhilarating and disorienting. They were invited to speak at events, to give lectures at the Auror Academy, and to attend glamorous galas as guests of honor. They found themselves rubbing shoulders with the elite of the Wizarding World—people who, only weeks ago, wouldn't have given them a second glance.

But amid all the praise and adulation, Crabbe and Goyle couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that this newfound glory was built on a somewhat shaky foundation. They knew better than anyone that their success in Italy had been as much a result of luck and brute force as it had been of any actual cunning or tactical brilliance.

One evening, after a particularly exhausting day of interviews and photo sessions, Crabbe and Goyle found themselves alone in their shared office. Crabbe leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. “Can you believe all this? One minute we’re just doing our jobs, and the next, we’re heroes.”

Goyle, who was flipping through the latest edition of Witch Weekly, nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah. It’s a bit much, isn’t it? I mean, we did our part, but... I didn’t expect all this.”

Crabbe sighed. “I just keep thinking... what if the next case isn’t so lucky? What if we mess up? Everyone’s expecting us to be these brilliant Aurors now.”

Goyle put down the magazine and looked at his friend seriously. “We’ll just have to keep proving them right, won’t we? If we work hard enough, there’s no reason we can’t live up to all this.”

Crabbe considered this for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right. We’ve come this far. Now we just need to keep going.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Auror Smith poked his head in, a rare smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Crabbe, Goyle—Minister of Magic wants to see you two in his office. Don’t keep him waiting.”

As they followed Smith down the corridor, Crabbe and Goyle exchanged a glance. They knew this was only the beginning. With their newfound reputation, there would be no turning back. They had proven themselves—at least in the eyes of the world—and now, every case that came their way would be another test.

And as they stepped into the Minister’s office, the weight of their new roles settled on their shoulders. They were no longer just ordinary Aurors. They were heroes, whether they liked it or not. The future would bring new challenges, but for the first time, they felt ready to face them head-on.

With a mixture of pride and trepidation, Crabbe and Goyle braced themselves for the next chapter of their lives—one where they would have to live up to the legends that now surrounded their names.