But because of this, the Killing Curse he was about to cast was interrupted.
At the same time, Maxime's charm exploded right in his chest.
Barty Crouch Jr cried out in pain, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it." Seeing the Wampus Cat so close, a vicious look flashed in Barty Crouch Jr's eyes as he spun around abruptly.
Maxime's second Blasting Curse landed on the arm that had just been bitten.
His arm was blasted off, but at the same time, Barty Crouch Jr regained his freedom.
He didn't hesitate at all—his whole body turned into a cloud of black smoke, and in the blink of an eye he flew out of the valley.
This was a charm commonly used by Death Eaters, probably invented by Voldemort himself. It was very fast—useful whether for escaping or hunting someone down.
Now it was already too late to chase after him.
"He's a ruthless one..."
Kael looked at the severed hand and wand left behind, and said softly.
The other Death Eater, Rabastan Lestrange, wasn't so lucky. When he saw Barty run, he wanted to do the same.
But with everyone on guard, how could they give him that chance? Almost the instant he turned into black smoke, three spells shot from different directions, blasting him out.
Then Hagrid arrived, swinging his two massive arms and raining down heavy punches. Lestrange didn't even get a chance to scream before passing out on the spot.
"He can't be dead, right..." Kael looked at the motionless Lestrange and asked in a low voice.
"I-I don't think so... I didn't use that much strength," Hagrid said, a little guilty. But soon his face hardened and he said forcefully, "He's a Death Eater, and he wanted to bring giants to the battlefield. Even if he died, he deserved it."
"That's right." Maxime walked over and said seriously, "If giants get involved in the coming war, even more wizards will die."
"I'm not saying otherwise," Kael shrugged.
"It's definitely better if he's alive. We need to learn more about You-Know-Who, and he probably knows a lot." Newt squatted beside Lestrange and checked his condition.
Although Newt was a magizoologist, he knew a bit about healing magic too—after all, Fantastic Beasts got sick as well.
A moment later he stood back up.
"Forget it, let's leave gathering intel to Dumbledore."
Everyone immediately understood what he meant. They tacitly busied themselves with cleaning up the battlefield—erasing stray magical traces and putting out the still-burning fires on the ground.
Hagrid seemed preoccupied, distracted.
"Don't think too much about it," Kael walked over and patted his arm. "Like you said just now, he's a Death Eater. You don't need to care..."
"What?" Hagrid turned his head. "No, Kael, you've got it wrong. Don't forget, I fought in that war over a decade ago. I killed quite a few Death Eaters myself—it's nothing."
"Then why did you seem so distracted earlier?" Kael asked in confusion.
"I was thinking... is it too late for me to start learning magic now?"
He snuck a glance at Maxime, and said in a low voice, "You noticed it too, didn't you? She was so graceful when she fought."
As he spoke, Hagrid's eyes were practically heart-shaped.
But soon, with a touch of disappointment, he went on, "But I can't even do Apparition. I'll definitely be a burden in the future."
He couldn't help it really. Hagrid had been expelled in his third year, and since he didn't like studying, he'd only learned some basic magic.
It was only because of his powerful Half-Giant body that he hadn't cared much.
"Um... it should still be possible," Kael said, looking at Hagrid, who was clearly smitten. Kael really wanted to just walk away, but forced himself to endure the sour atmosphere and stayed put.
"If you want, I can lend you my books. I've got notes from class in there—they should help you with your magic."
"That would be wonderful," Hagrid said, then hesitated a bit, "What about Apparition... do you think I could learn it?"
Kael's mouth twitched.
For a Half-Giant, learning Apparition was more than just difficult. The fact that Maxime could do it didn't surprise Kael.
After all, she was the headmistress of Beauxbatons. In terms of both talent and power, she's got to be top notch.
But Hagrid... honestly, Kael really couldn't guarantee he could manage it.
"Give it a try," he said with a smile. "There's always a way when it comes to magic."
...