78 Ch78. Ambush?

Tom and Natasha alongside Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were running toward their designated portkey place all the while everywhere around them was mayhem and chaos, people screaming and running around like headless chickens.

Frankly, Tom wondered why they were not apparating away, instead of choosing to be like sitting ducks to the masked thugs who were merrily shooting dangerous spells all around.

The whole situation was incredibly suspicious.

Events like this should be teeming with Auror forces, yet, there was not even one Auror in sight and the masked individuals had free reign to sow terror and mayhem all around.

There was no way the British Ministry of Magic would be stupid enough to not station Aurors here so that could only mean they were called away for some reason, which meant outside interference.

Tom grimaced. He knew the corruption in the Ministry was massive but this was simply ridiculous. This World Cup was the best bet for Wizarding Britain to bolster international cooperation and relationships with other Wizarding Countries.

Some form of terrorism should be expected, no matter how unlikely that would be. There should have been plans made to prevent this and yet...

Apparently, the Ministry didn't give a fuck about its relationship with other countries.

As they ran through the campsite, Tom saw that the attackers were not exactly holding back too much. They were not shooting unforgivable curses yet but they didn't shy from killing either.

Even if no foreign wizard died today, Tom could already imagine tomorrow's headlines.

'Foreign wizards killed at the World Cup in Britain! Their Ministry could not be bothered to arrange proper security!'

This was a veritable diplomatic catastrophe as far as Wizarding Britain was concerned.

And while Tom was thinking about it along these lines, Natasha was horrified for a completely different reason.

She couldn't believe how cowardly the wizards and witches were.

At best, there were twenty masked individuals and she managed to notice they were all attacking only the British area of tents but nevertheless, they managed to completely scatter hundreds of magic users.

It was... beyond pathetic sight for the redheaded killer.

If everyone shot a household charm at their attackers, they might not kill or injure them but they would sure as hell stop them!

Before this, Natasha didn't know why Tom was looking down on the wizards so much. She found it ridiculous and thought it to be some of his hocus-pocus-based weirdness, deciding to not stick her nose into it. But now that she saw the wizards in a precarious situation with her very own eyes... she started understanding Tom's point of view.

Unlike mundane people, every wizard always carried a deadly weapon on their person. Every wand could be used to kill in a multitude of ways, yet, nobody tried to fight back in any way.

They had the means to fight back, but no will.

She had even noticed some people cower in their boots, not even raising their wands in an attempt to save themselves just before they were killed.

She really couldn't understand how these people thought.

Somehow, she started to understand how could a few terrorists bring this whole country to its knees just a decade and a half prior.

As they ran, Arthur Weasley taking the lead while both Natasha and Tom stayed in the rear to ensure nobody from their group would get lost, Natasha suddenly came closer to Tom.

"We are being followed." She whispered quietly enough that neither of the kids in front of them could hear it.

Tom glanced at her and smirked. Of course, she would notice.

"Yeah, they are pretty obvious, aren't they?" He uncaringly hummed, to which Natasha rolled her eyes.

"They are morons." Natasha snorted in apprehension.

There were not many reasons why the thugs that attacked the Quidditch World Cup would try to follow them. They clearly wanted to ambush them, most likely somewhere close to the portkey place to add an insult to the injury.

Unfortunately for the lads, they clearly did not have much training in espionage or assassination. Hell, they were not even using spells to conceal themselves and Tom surmised that was why Natasha was so disappointed with them.

She might not be extra proficient with magic but that didn't mean she couldn't think up thousands of ways how it could make her skills that much more efficient. But now that she was seeing people that did have magic and tried to do something she was especially good at... without utilizing said magic at all... she was incensed at their stupidity enough that she wanted to slaughter the fools for significantly bringing the IQ of the general populace down.

Tom wryly smiled at her apprehension. He noticed Natasha's opinion about wizards dropped steeply since the attack started and he was not surprised. But the guys following them? He called them 'thugs' because they were thugs.

He doubted these were the inner circle Death Eaters. There will probably be a lordling or two among them but that was it. Their clothes and masks could not obscure everything and from what Tom was able to discern, most of them were young. Young enough to be just children during Voldemort's first rise.

"So? What are we going to do?" Natasha asked, throwing a meaningful glance at the kids running in front of them.

They couldn't really fight while protecting the group. Not against twenty or so guys. Not without the kids suffering at least some casualties.

Tom sighed and gave her a helpless smile, "Isn't it obvious, my dear Natalia?"

They didn't get much choice here anyway...

"I guess it is." Natasha mirthfully chuckled, her lips stretching into an enthusiastic smile.

'Finally!' Unlike Tom, she didn't feel annoyed that they would be forced to fight. On the contrary. She might not like fighting but it was something she was good at. Something that could be of use to her lover. And at the moment, she loved feeling useful.

It wasn't often Tom would get into trouble where her particular expertise was needed so every single instance where she could make herself useful in this way counted, in her opinion.

The poor sods who were trying to ambush them had no idea what they signed up for, for Natasha really felt motivated and eager to cause some pain right now.

Slowly, both Tom and Natasha started to slow down, covertly enough that the kids in front of them would not notice their sudden disappearance, at least not instantly, until they came to a complete halt in a forested area and turned around.

The two casually stood in the fresh evening breeze, their eyes boredly washing over the trees where their would-be attackers were shoddily hiding.

All the noise from the still panicking crowd on the campsite blended into the background as they focused and waited to be properly surrounded. It not only gave the kids time to get away but also made Tom and Natasha able to ensure none of the thugs would continue pursuing them.

So, they waited.

Tom felt like one of those cowboys in the western movies just before a final show-down. Everything fit the scene. Hair caressed by the breeze, the smell of smoke in the air due to the nearby fires, only him and Natasha standing side by side, about to face the bad guys...

Especially when two pistols appeared in Natasha's hands, the impression was complete for Tom and he couldn't help but smile as he felt the small, almost unnoticeable hum of her magic dutifully working to create temporary mana bullets inside of the chambers.

Unlike him who kept potions in his small pocket space, Natasha had her enchanted pistols in there so she would be armed at any moment. It certainly came in handy right now.

Tom let out a long breath, the air misting in front of his mouth due to the slightly unnatural freezing nightly air, 'We are fully surrounded but none went after the kids. Good.' His mana sense was definitely nifty and useful here.

He exchanged a quick glance with Natasha and smirked at the eagerness in her eyes that were just asking for permission to engage.

Tom mirthfully narrowed his eyes and subtly nodded his head forward, telling her which side was hers.

"Don't kill." He said to her before he turned on his heel until he was back to back with her and raised his arm with his palm pointing at one of the trees and with a vindictive smile added, "Just permanently maim."

It was time to let loose.