Chapter 1114: Old Man Severus is Up to Something
Chapter 1114: Old Man Severus is Up to Something
"Damn Mudblood, couldn't she send a proper invitation?"
Lucius Malfoy examined the silver card in his hand, still unsure of its purpose. Despite Severus' explanation that the date and location of the Mudblood's wedding would appear on the card, he was still perplexed.
Fortunately, Lucius had invited his old friend Severus Snape over for dinner, hoping to gather more useful information. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to proceed with his plans.
"Severus is here," Narcissa called out after knocking on the study door.
"Oh, wonderful," Lucius replied as he picked up the silver card and made his way to the living room.
"Here's a batch of Polyjuice Potion, enough for about ten people. This is the last of my stock," Snape said, placing a bottle of slowly bubbling, viscous potion in front of Lucius.
"If you need more, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while," he added.
"Thank you, this is a great help," Lucius said gratefully.
"You're welcome," Snape replied.
Just then, they heard footsteps in the corridor outside.
The door to the living room opened, and the Rodolphus entered, looking surprised to see Snape sitting at the dining table.
"Lucius, I think we should act as soon as possible," Bella said, ignoring Snape and addressing Malfoy. "I've been to the McDougal residence, and she hasn't lived there for a long time."
"So, you plan to burn her house down?" Snape asked, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"Who told you that?" Bella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "That idiot, Avery?"
"Avery is right. If you burn down her house, all you'll do is alert them," Lucius said, frowning. "You might as well be telling them outright that you're after them and that they should hide."
"So what?" Bella said scornfully. "They'll just cower in fear like rats."
"Cower in fear," Snape repeated softly.
"What's so funny?" Bella glared at him irritably.
"That's enough, Bella. Anger won't solve anything," Lucius said sternly, glancing at Rodolphus.
"Severus obviously knows our enemy better than we do. Perhaps we should listen to his advice," Rodolphus said, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder as he looked at Snape and then at Lucius. "You've become more cautious than before."
The word "cautious" was emphasized, as if mocking Lucius for being cowardly.
"Who among you can take on the entire Auror Office by yourself?" Snape asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Rodolphus asked.
"Umbridge had gathered over forty Aurors, and he managed to defeat and pin them all to the walls," Snape said, looking at the two of them. "Even if those forty-odd Aurors were incompetent, they were still Aurors."
A silence fell over the room.
"Your enemy is an International Duelling Champion, not a Ministry employee who can't even cast a decent Shield Charm," Snape said quietly, glancing at Bella. "And if you burn down the McDougal residence, do you think your own home will be safe?"
"What do you mean?" Rodolphus frowned.
"I mean that if you burn down the McDougal residence, Anderson will burn down your house the same day. Don't doubt that he'll do it, and don't doubt that he can find your location. For a Seer, finding something is never a difficult task," Snape explained.
"I suspect that it was Anderson who helped the Aurors find the Dark Lord and capture him. And your failed attempt to steal the prophecy ball may also have been due to his interference," Snape continued quietly. "Yet you underestimate such a dangerous individual?"
"What do you suggest, then?" Lucius asked.
"Kill him in one fell swoop, don't give him any chance to react," Snape said seriously. "And his wedding is your only opportunity. It's best not to do anything unnecessary before then."
"Are you saying we shouldn't go to St. Mungo's to capture that McDougal woman?" Bella asked, her eyebrows arched skeptically.
"That man is a powerful Seer. I doubt you'll be able to enter St. Mungo's without running into an Auror ambush," Snape said, well aware of the dangers of provoking Albert Anderson. He hadn't forgotten how Wormtail had died, and he didn't believe that it was Harry who had sent Umbridge to Azkaban.
Just because Anderson didn't kill with his own hands didn't mean others wouldn't.
"If this gets out, we'll become a laughingstock," Bella said, her tone laced with contempt.
"Bella, you haven't dealt with him before, so you don't understand how formidable he is," Lucius said quietly. "As Severus said, underestimating him because of his Mudblood status will only lead to trouble. I've already made that mistake once, and it's taught me to be cautious. It's what saved me from imprisonment last time."
If possible, Lucius Malfoy would rather have nothing to do with Albert. As Snape had pointed out, failing to kill him in one strike would only earn Lucius a formidable enemy. What's worse, Albert was a Seer who could foresee danger. Provoking such an individual was unwise, as even the Dark Lord himself had failed to kill him.
"If you insist on going to St. Mungo's to capture her, I'll help. But before that, I have some matters to discuss with Severus," Lucius said, shooting Bella a warning glance, indicating that she should keep quiet.
The Rodolphuses left in a huff.
Lucius watched their retreating figures and shook his head. Then, taking out the silver card, he asked Snape, "Severus, what do you know about this?"
"This is one of the invitations Anderson sent out. I know what you're going to ask," Snape said, taking the silver card from Lucius. "To be honest, I don't know much about it."
"According to the guests who received these invitations, the date and location of the wedding will appear on the card as it gets closer to the event," Snape explained as he handed the card back to Lucius.
"That's it?" Lucius asked.
"Yes, that's it," Snape said. "I believe Anderson anticipated the possibility of these cards falling into the wrong hands."
"What do you think are the chances of us walking into an ambush if we go to St. Mungo's?" Lucius inquired, putting away the silver card and letting out a soft sigh.
"I don't know, but it's best to be prepared," Snape replied.
"Thank you, Severus," Lucius said, patting Snape's shoulder. "Stay for lunch before you leave."
Snape didn't refuse.
However, the meal was far from pleasant.
"Are you sure we have to use this stuff?" Bella asked, looking at the Polyjuice Potion in her hand with disgust.
"St. Mungo's isn't a shop in Diagon Alley. We'll need to spend some time inside, and if you just barge in, even without an ambush, the Aurors will arrive before you know it," Lucius said, offering a more convincing reason to Bella.
"Prophecies aren't always accurate, and do you really think that Mudblood has reached such a level?" Bella clearly didn't believe Snape's warnings.
"I don't remember you being this timid before," Lucius said, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.
The Rodolphus couple was quite displeased with Malfoy's cowardice.
"Cowardice? No, this is prudence." Lucius said with displeasure, "Being cautious is never wrong. Our goal is to capture someone and gather information, not to attack St. Mungo's or fight the Aurors head-on."
A few minutes later, Malfoy, along with the Rodolphus couple, set out on their mission. Malfoy disguised himself as a patient, while the couple posed as relatives of the patient.
They smoothly entered St. Mungo's and controlled a trainee healer with the Imperius Curse, making their way directly to the fifth floor toward the Magical Injuries and Illnesses ward.
However, when the three of them arrived at the ward director's office, they found a sign hanging on McGhoul's office door, indicating that she was on leave.
"I did remind you about this possibility," Lucius said after a moment of silence.
"What are you doing here?" a healer asked, frowning at the group.
"We are..."
"Where is McGhoul?" Bella interrupted, pointing her wand at the female healer's neck and grabbing her by the hair.
"Director McGhoul... seems to be on leave. I heard her daughter is getting married soon," the witch replied, startled by Bella's action. "You're here for..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Lucius silenced her with a Stunning Spell, followed by a Forgetfulness Charm.
"I did remind you to keep a low profile," Lucius glared at Bella, "We should leave this place as soon as possible."
It didn't take long for the disturbance to be discovered.
That evening, Scrimgeour announced that he would dispatch squads of Aurors to guard St. Mungo's, ensuring the hospital's safety.
"I thought you would give them a big surprise."
Isabella put down the newspaper and looked at Albert.
The Death Eaters had intruded into St. Mungo's, apparently intending to capture Mrs. McDougal. Fortunately, they had acted first and taken her away, or who knows what might have happened.
"We can't push them too hard," Albert cut into the ice-cold watermelon, offering a piece to Isabella, "otherwise, if they become too cautious, they won't fall for our trap."
"Why would the Aurors agree to help?" Katrina wondered.
"Why would they refuse? It's a great opportunity for Scrimgeour," Albert placed the watermelon slices on the plate.
"What kind of opportunity?"
Mrs. McDougal, who had just exited the study, overheard their conversation.
"Mom, look at today's newspaper. The Death Eaters indeed went to St. Mungo's to capture you." Isabella diverted the topic.
"What were you saying about an opportunity?" Mrs. McDougal ignored the news and asked.
"An opportunity to strike at the Death Eaters," Albert replied calmly.
"What are you planning to do?" Mrs. McDougal inquired.
"I'm sure the Death Eaters have obtained one of the invitations," Albert took out a silver card nonchalantly, "and they are probably planning to ruin our wedding."
"A surprise?" Mrs. McDougal repeated softly.
"So, I intend to give them a surprise as well." Albert waved his wand, and a metallic book floated open, revealing a large map of Britain with numerous labels indicating the precise locations of each invitation.
"When the Death Eaters arrive at the wedding to cause trouble, the Aurors will be disguised as guests, waiting for them at the venue. Of course, Scrimgeour will also have people impersonating us, pretending to be the bride and groom."
"Did you know this all along?"
Mrs. McDougal fell silent for a moment, realizing why Albert was on the hit list of both the Death Eaters and the mysterious man.
"Just in case," Albert took a bite of the watermelon, "after all, I can foresee the future. A long time ago, I predicted that my wedding with Isabella would face disturbances, so I started preparing early on. The wedding will take place abroad, in a mansion protected by the Fidelius Charm. Even a mysterious man would find it impossible to breach the Fidelius Charm and crash our wedding."
"Then why did you..." Mrs. McDougal didn't understand why Albert would provoke the mysterious man and the Death Eaters.
"It's not that I want to provoke them, but they can't tolerate my existence." Albert shook his head, "Because I'm Muggle-born, and the accolades I carry are too dazzling. The pure-blood wizards, led by the mysterious man, loathe me and want me dead. You know, many pure-blood wizards believe that pure-bloods are superior, and in their eyes, I'm an intolerable disgrace."
"Since it's an irreconcilable enmity, I don't mind helping others get rid of them." Albert's tone was casual, but Mrs. McDougal sensed the underlying lethality in his words.
In fact, that was precisely what he was doing—using the Aurors to deal with them.
"Are you sure they will fall for it?" Katrina asked curiously.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they look down on Muggle-born wizards. That contempt will send them straight to hell." Albert spoke softly, "Even if the plan fails, it doesn't matter. I won't be at a disadvantage anyway."
"They will hate you even more."
"So, next, I will hide here." Albert took another large bite of watermelon, unconcerned, "The Secret-Keeper here is hiding in another safe house where I am the Secret-Keeper. Therefore, this place is absolutely secure, not to mention that the mysterious man and the Death Eaters won't be able to locate this place. In fact, apart from us, no one knows we're hiding here."
Mrs. McDougal fell into silence once more, realizing that Albert's preparations were more thorough than she had imagined.
"Moreover, the Death Eaters don't stand a chance against me. Although it may sound boastful, my abilities are quite close to Dumbledore's, and the vast majority of wizards are no match for me." Albert stated a fact that left Katrina and Isabella silent, "As for the mysterious man, if necessary, I will definitely seek Dumbledore's help to confront him."
Katrina and Isabella fell silent, remembering how Albert had done exactly that during the International Duelling Competition.
"So, the incident at the International Duelling Competition wasn't an accident?"
"Of course not." Albert reminded them, "There are no such coincidences in this world."
"Does he know? I mean, does the mysterious man know?"
"He probably didn't know at first, but later on, he might have guessed. After all, the mysterious man doesn't need evidence." Albert reassured them casually, "However, there's no way he can win. The Second Wizarding War will soon come to an end, and he will be thoroughly defeated."
"With the help of Harry Potter?" Katrina asked, her eyes widening.
"Yes, because Harry is the savior."
"I suddenly feel a bit sorry for Harry Potter." Katrina murmured.
"You knew this all along?" Mrs. McDougal looked at her eldest daughter, who had been quietly eating watermelon.
"Yes, Albert is just stating the facts to ease your worries." Isabella put down her watermelon and remained calm.
(End of Chapter)
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