Platinum Dragon Wizard - 619/620 |
At this point in the war, how it would end no longer seemed all that important.
What was clear now was that, after faintly becoming a target for both sides, Barty Crouch Jr. and Fenrir Greyback vanished from Draco and the others’ sight together with all the Death Eaters.
It really was the right decision.
After all, compared with the grudge between Lucius and Dumbledore, Voldemort was the one who truly posed a threat to the magical world.
Strictly speaking, Lucius and Dumbledore’s side might be able to accept each other’s victory, but they would never be able to accept the Dark Lord ascending the throne of magical Britain.
And although Dumbledore was not here, Remus Lupin surely understood that as well.
In other words, once Lucius Malfoy and Remus Lupin reached an unspoken understanding, the ones who would end up surrounded and hunted down would definitely be the Death Eaters.
So as time passed, that fragile balance could never last.
Barty Crouch Jr. might act like a madman, but he was not stupid. He could naturally see that clearly, otherwise he would not have left so cleanly and decisively.
And precisely because of that, since Barty Crouch Jr. and the others left before Lucius and the others had time to come to any understanding, neither Lucius nor Lupin made a move to stop them. They simply let them leave.
It was not that they could not do it. They just had too many misgivings.
Part of the reason for not acting was to prevent the Death Eaters, once they realized escape was impossible, from falling into one last frenzy. At the same time, they also had to be wary of Voldemort, who had never shown himself from beginning to end.
What if Voldemort suddenly decided to show mercy and did not want these followers of his to die?
With so many factors in play, the fact that the battle ended without breaking out again, and even wrapped up rather hastily, seemed like an outcome anyone could have foreseen.
And setting aside that final silent look exchanged between Lucius and Lupin, all Draco could think about was...
Before leaving, the cold, murderous, crazed smile Barty Crouch Jr. had shown him.
Clearly, whether it was those mocking words Draco had thrown at Voldemort earlier, or the unexpected strength he had just revealed, Barty had taken all of it to heart.
In other words, Voldemort would definitely learn about it too...
...
Using a Broomstick could actually expose your movements.
Because every Broomstick produced had to pass through the Ministry of Magic and be registered.
But the Ministry now seemed to be halfway paralyzed. Many departments were no longer functioning at all...
So whether the Ministry was deliberately pretending not to notice, had reached some kind of deal with that Minister, or simply had not noticed at all, no one could say for sure.
In any case, on the way back, cautious as ever, Lucius clearly had no intention of continuing to use the Broomsticks.
Led by Lucius, they flew to a valley not far from the battlefield. The moment they landed, everyone, including Lucius, put away their Broomsticks...
In that valley, where there seemed to be no exit except the sky above, there were a few roughly built wooden huts and traces of life that were difficult to spot.
Apparently, this was a very secluded hideout that had not been used in a long time.
“Ten minutes. We leave in ten minutes.”
“If that is the case, Lucius, then this hideout can no longer be used. It has most likely already been exposed.”
“If it is exposed, then it is exposed. I had no intention of using it again anyway. What matters now is that before things are settled on the Dark Lord’s side, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
“The Dark Lord... do you think it is possible...”
“Do not bother thinking about it. If he had not been injured, then perhaps there would still be something to hope for. But now... hmph.”
The ones speaking were Lucius and Pansy’s father, while Astoria’s father stood nearby in silence with the other wizards.
From that alone, it was easy to see that Lucius Malfoy’s status among them stood in a league of its own.
After him came Karnov Parkinson, whose businesses were spread throughout almost the entire magical world, and Paul Greengrass, whose complexion always looked pale and frail, yet who possessed the greatest strength.
The existence of those three, and the close ties between them, had turned these noble wizards into a tightly bound community of shared interests, one that had become a powerful force capable of resisting the Dark Lord’s brutal rule.
And whether by coincidence or not, a scene both similar and not quite the same was playing out on the other side as well...
Pansy, now gathered around Draco, clung to him like a little dog begging for attention from its master, while Astoria stood on Draco’s other side smiling as she watched.
As for Crabbe and Goyle, who were also here, they stood off to one side with the other followers.
Unfortunately, Miss Know-It-All was not here...
In any case.
From the perspective of Lucius and the other pure-blood wizard nobles, this was probably exactly the sort of sight they were delighted to see.
Especially after learning of Draco Malfoy’s astonishing and terrifying achievements, not only were the followers’ eyes burning with excitement, even the heads of the smaller families standing behind Paul Greengrass were now looking at their own children with satisfaction.
Satisfied with their judgment.
And even more satisfied that the one their children had chosen to follow was someone like this.
Because in Draco Malfoy, they saw hope, and the path to rise again.
...
Unknown valley.
Even here, black smoke could still be seen rising in the distance.
Those were the traces left behind by the Death Eaters and Werewolves.
What had once been a peaceful wizarding village now had nothing left but flames that had not been put out in time and dark red blood that had long since dried.
Faintly, it even seemed as though the Dark Mark still hung over the village, refusing to disappear...
Draco pulled back his gaze.
Then he pushed away Pansy, who had suddenly become very clingy. That utterly unromantic move made her puff out her cheeks.
“I have not forgiven you yet. Not unless you explain why you came here by yourself.”
Even as she said that, Pansy wrapped herself around Draco’s arm again.
And this time, Astoria did not simply stand there either. Taking Hermione’s place, she directly cut off Draco’s chance to dodge the issue.
“That is right. Do not answer our questions with another question.”
“.......”
Draco felt both his arms sink into softness, and all he could do was blink hard with a speechless expression.
For some reason.
Faced with the two girls at his side, Draco would honestly rather go deal with those vicious Death Eaters instead...
...
For ordinary wizards, limited by their horizons and life experience, it was actually very hard to imagine just how terrifying the foundations of the Sacred Twenty-Eight really were.
Especially after their defeat in the First Wizarding War. Those defeated families only needed a few years of recuperation before they were able to claim a place for themselves in the magical world once again.
Even though Dumbledore joined forces with Fudge and made all kinds of arrangements, it still seemed impossible to stop those noble families from rising again.
Perhaps even Dumbledore himself knew it could not be stopped...
In any case.
You could already see some of that in Lucius Malfoy, and from the place Draco and the others had now arrived at, it was not hard to understand why Lucius and his faction had the right to stand in the war between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore.
Perhaps Lucius and the others did not possess a monstrous top tier fighter like Dumbledore, but their logistical strength and their number of mid to high level fighters were not to be underestimated. If anything, they held the greater advantage there.
And that was exactly where their confidence came from...
...
An unknown building.
After leaving the valley that had only served as a temporary resting place, Draco and the others followed Lucius and the rest, and in what felt like the blink of an eye, they arrived at this heavily guarded place.
The moment they stepped inside, they saw a magnificent hall so beautiful that its ceiling was almost impossible to make out.
Several wizards stood ahead to receive them. Even with Lucius himself present, they did not lower their guard in the slightest. Only after confirming everyone’s identity did they finally lower their wands.
And after passing through that hall, they could see busy wizards hurrying past them one after another.
Voices speaking.
Voices giving orders.
If Lucius had not been the one who brought them here, Pansy and the others might have thought they had somehow arrived at the Ministry of Magic or somewhere like it...
“So this is the headquarters Father and the others use to fight the Dark Lord, Draco?”
“This is my first time seeing it too, but I think so.”
Compared to the former Ministry of Magic, this place felt much more severe. More precisely, everyone here seemed to move with a much clearer purpose.
After all, they had not gathered here to make money, work, and support their families, but for a greater goal and even greater interests.
More than that, Draco also noticed that there seemed to be wizards here from many different countries.
Skin color, styles of dress, and wands.
Whether the differences were subtle or obvious, all of them pointed to one thing. Some of these wizards clearly did not come from the British magical world.
That discovery made Draco realize something, and he stared hard at the figure walking ahead of him.
The surprise in Draco’s eyes naturally was not because he thought Lucius had sold out the interests of the British magical world in exchange for help from foreign wizards.
Doing that would completely go against the interests of the nobility, and it was not the kind of choice his proud father would ever make.
What shocked Draco was the terrifying network and influence revealed by that decision...
...
Unlike the Ministry of Magic, which chose to hide everything underground, Lucius Malfoy and the others had gone with a much simpler and rougher solution.
They had gone directly outside Britain.
This was an old castle.
Draco did not know exactly where they were, but judging by everything he had seen and heard along the way, they were probably still somewhere in Europe.
More than that, based on the food, the surroundings, and the castle beneath his feet, Draco had roughly concluded that this was very likely that magical country which not only did not shy away from dark magic, but actually regarded it quite highly...
Thinking about all that, Draco continued walking through the castle.
Probably because he carried the Malfoy name, Draco could move through this castle almost completely unhindered.
Every guard he met on the way only glanced at his unmistakable pale blond hair, then withdrew their wary gaze.
Worth mentioning was that quite a few of those guards were the elders or parents of one or another of his followers...
In any case.
At this moment, Draco was wandering through the castle alone in a seemingly aimless stroll.
One hand at his chin, he murmured,
“So that is how it is. Unlike the Ministry of Magic, which has to consider relations between nations, and unlike Dumbledore, who carries too many burdens on his name, we are much less restricted. That is why we can do something like this.”
“That is why we can settle down so easily in another country, and even recruit so many wizards from abroad. If it were anyone else, they would have been driven out long ago.”
“...I underestimated Father and the others.”
Only when you saw it with your own eyes could you clearly recognize your own ignorance and shortcomings.
Even Voldemort probably had not imagined that his former subordinates could actually reach this level.
Slytherin wizards were not only cunning, they also knew how to endure.
Even before Voldemort became tyrannical, Lucius and the others had not revealed all their cards.
Not until Draco and the others were truly threatened...
“So, this should be their trump card.”
Draco’s tone carried a trace of uncertainty.
...
Ever since arriving here, Draco and the others had almost felt forgotten.
No one had called them over for a scolding as expected, nor dragged them away to question them in detail about everything that had happened that day.
Instead, Pansy and the others spent every day following Draco around. Aside from not being able to leave the castle, their footprints had ended up in almost every room here...
“Come to think of it, Draco, are you looking for someone?”
“Now that you mention it, we really have been running all over the place these past few days. Is there some wizard here you want to find?”
After Astoria spoke, Pansy chimed in as well. The difference was that Astoria sounded genuinely puzzled, while Pansy was more simply curious.
Either way, they had both pointed out Draco’s odd behavior.
Draco did not think there was anything he could not tell them.
The only reason he had not mentioned it before was simply that he was used to thinking things through on his own.
“Kreacher.”
“Huh? Who was that again? That sounds familiar somehow.”
“That House-elf?”
Unlike Pansy, who cared about little besides Draco, Astoria, with her better memory, immediately recalled that odd House-elf.
But why him?
That was right.
Pansy and the others still did not know about the connection between Kreacher and Lockhart.
And they had no idea who it was that had personally sent Draco onto that battlefield...