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Chapter 1150: A Blazing Inferno
Chapter 1150: A Blazing Inferno
As the summer holidays drew to a close, Draco Malfoy, who had originally intended to seize the opportunity of killing Dumbledore to restore the glory of the Malfoy family, gradually lost his initial confidence.
At this moment, Draco Malfoy sat at his desk with a gloomy expression, flipping through the assassination plans he had painstakingly devised, only to cross them out one by one with his quill.
When his gaze fell upon Borgin and Burkes—the opal necklace, he frowned slightly.
The idea of purchasing a cursed opal necklace from Borgin and Burkes and sending it to Dumbledore was far from ingenious.
Even the inexperienced Draco was aware of this. Just trying to smuggle the opal necklace into Hogwarts without raising suspicion would be a challenging task.
Not to mention getting it to Dumbledore and ensuring his death.
It all seemed like a bad joke.
Perhaps this foolish attempt would make Dumbledore lower his guard?
Or would it expose their plans?
In the end, Draco Malfoy decided not to cross it out. He had no other options left, and he had to give it a try.
What if it succeeded?
Draco Malfoy suddenly felt foolish again, thinking that he could take advantage of Dumbledore's negligence. As far as he knew, there was someone who never bothered to open packages sent by strangers, and yet he still entertained such fantasies.
Every time he thought of Albert Anderson, the Mudblood, Malfoy's heart filled with intense hatred. If it weren't for that Mudblood, his father wouldn't have become the failure that everyone scorned, and the Malfoy family wouldn't have fallen to their current state.
If given a choice, Draco Malfoy would much rather have been assigned the task of killing that Mudblood.
Compared to Dumbledore, Albert Anderson was actually easier to kill.
Because his weakness was apparent.
Indeed, it was his close friends.
As far as Draco knew, the relationship between that Mudblood and the Weasley twins was exceptional, to the point where he had generously provided them with a substantial amount of galleons to fulfill their dream of opening a shop.
Ordinary friends wouldn't go to such lengths.
Through the Weasley twins, there was a high probability of trapping that Mudblood.
In fact, Draco had made killing Albert his backup plan, especially after realizing the immense difficulty of assassinating Dumbledore. He needed to provide a fallback option for himself and his family.
According to Aunt Bella's intelligence, the Dark Lord was eager to eliminate that Mudblood. If they could succeed in killing him, not only would they be able to wash away the shame that his father had brought upon the family, but they might also earn the mercy of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for the Malfoy family.
Of course, Draco had never underestimated that Mudblood. Having witnessed Albert single-handedly take down all the Aurors, he was more aware than anyone just how formidable that Mudblood was. Even if they gathered a group of people to ambush him, it would likely still be challenging to kill him.
However, Aunt Bella's comment—that worthless piece of trash who could be taken out with a single Killing Curse—had given Draco a wake-up call.
Indeed, that Mudblood was exceptionally skilled, and it would be difficult to defeat him head-on. But they could resort to despicable and treacherous means, such as using the Weasley twins as bait.
After sharing his idea with his mother and Aunt Bella, Draco received their support.
Upon discussion, following his mother's suggestion, the Malfoy family acknowledged that the bounty of one thousand galleons offered by Lucius previously was still valid, and they would provide additional galleons to Bella to recruit greedy and reckless individuals to deal with the Mudblood.
After all, the Malfoy family had no shortage of galleons, and the most important thing was to maintain their reputation.
Although Draco was well aware that the likelihood of those greedy individuals succeeding in killing Albert was slim, what if they exploited his weakness and set a trap?
Perhaps it might just work?
After all, no matter how powerful he was, he was still just a person, and he could be taken down by a Killing Curse.
Those who dwelled in the gray areas of the magical world were obviously more adept at such schemes.
No one could resist the temptation of galleons.
However, what Draco Malfoy didn't know was that as soon as his plan was set in motion, someone who couldn't resist the lure of galleons would cause the entire scheme to be on the brink of collapse.
Worst of all, their retaliation had already begun.
As Draco put down his quill, he suddenly heard the frantic barking of the family's Kneazles.
He quickly grabbed his wand and looked out the window of his room to assess the situation outside the manor, trying to figure out what was happening.
At that moment, the door to his room was flung open, and two figures rushed in, shouting, "Draco, my son, where are you!"
"Mother, what's wrong?" Draco asked warily as he was embraced by his mother. "Is the Ministry of Magic here to arrest us? Or has someone invaded the manor?"
"It's worse than that," Bella said as she waved her wand to blast open the window. She pushed her sister and nephew toward the window, ready to make their escape. "The Fiendfyre is about to spread over here!"
"This place is..." Before Draco could finish his sentence, he was pushed out the window by Bella. Accompanied by a scream, the three of them hovered in mid-air for a moment before crashing to the ground.
"What in the..." Draco's words caught in his throat as he realized that the entire manor was inexplicably engulfed in flames, spreading at a terrifying speed.
"Hurry, damn it, run!"
Bella dispersed the fiery birds rushing toward them and dragged the struggling pair along, urging them to flee. She couldn't quell the rampant Fiendfyre, so she had no choice but to leave with her sister and nephew.
Crawling and stumbling, the Malfoys had never been as disheveled as they were today. Narcissa looked back from time to time, watching as the raging flames transformed into various ferocious beasts that pursued them relentlessly.
"Damn it, what's going on?" Malfoy demanded, breathless.
"Fiendfyre," Bella replied.
After retreating to the manor's entrance and facing the surging wall of fire, Bella finally had the chance to explain. "Someone used Fiendfyre to directly destroy the protective enchantments around the Malfoy manor. They're taking revenge on you. It's no longer safe here; we must leave at once."
"How could this happen..."
Narcissa stared at the manor consumed by flames, looking as if she might faint at any moment.
"Damn it, how could this happen? Who did this?"
Draco Malfoy felt as if all his energy had been drained, and he fell to his knees, pounding the ground with his fists in angry despair as he watched the manor devoured by hellish flames.
His home was gone.
...
Late at night, at the Ministry of Magic.
Since Scrimgeour took office as the Minister of Magic and declared the ministry to be in a state of war, there had been personnel on duty around the clock, and Scrimgeour himself remained steadfast at his post every night.
As he dealt with official documents, held down the fort at the Ministry of Magic, and contemplated countermeasures, Scrimgeour's dedication was evident to all, and no one dared to complain about the overtime.
There was a knock on the door, and Percy's voice could be heard from outside.
"Come in!"
Scrimgeour, who had been reviewing documents, put down his quill and reached for his wand.
Upon entering, Percy immediately briefed his superior on what had just transpired in Diagon Alley.
Scrimgeour furrowed his brow as he listened to his assistant's report and repeated, "Over fifty Muggle-borns lurking in Diagon Alley attempted to rob the Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store?"
"Yes, aside from those who escaped, the rest were all apprehended. Kingsley has taken the emergency squad to Diagon Alley to handle the situation. They've also captured several suspicious individuals and are currently interrogating them. We should receive an update soon."
Percy stole a glance at his superior and continued, "The store owner believes that these people targeted the Dark Magic Defense Specialty Store because the Ministry of Magic's regulation of dark magic defense items has affected the profits of some merchants... They also think that this incident is likely related to the Mystery Man. If we're lucky, we might be able to trace it back and catch some of the Death Eaters' lackeys who have been causing trouble for the Ministry."
"It seems my luck isn't too bad." Scrimgeour stood up from behind his desk, clearly intending to personally oversee the latest developments.
Anything related to the Mystery Man warranted his close attention.
As he left the office, Scrimgeour seemed to remember something and turned to Percy, "Have the Ministry of Magic's Law Enforcement Department reject the appeal of the Zokos and others on the grounds of insufficient evidence, after all, they have patented their inventions with the Ministry and are protected by the Patent Act."
"Yes," Percy thought for a moment and then asked, "Should we hold a press conference tomorrow?"
"If this incident is related to the Mystery Man, we'll reveal to the public how the Ministry of Magic has once again foiled his plot." Scrimgeour pondered for a moment and added, "We can also discreetly leak information about the dark magic defense items, showing that the Ministry has been working tirelessly to protect everyone's safety."
"As for this matter, let Kingsley and Arthur handle the investigation together."
Even though Scrimgeour was aware that Percy was one of Albert's people, he still made use of him.
After all, it was a matter of safety.
It may sound ridiculous, but it was the reality.
If Scrimgeour didn't want to meet the same fate as Bones, he had to be vigilant about his safety, such as staying in a safe house protected by the Fidelius Charm, with Dumbledore as the Secret-Keeper.
When the two arrived at the interrogation room, the interrogation results were already out.
Just as Scrimgeour took the documentation to review the interrogation, a wizard rushed in.
"Fiendfyre! Someone used Fiendfyre to set the Malfoy Manor ablaze!" the wizard panted as he delivered the latest news to Scrimgeour.
"There's been quite a lot happening today." Scrimgeour handed the document to Percy and quickly strode out of the interrogation room. "What's the situation over there? Has the fire been contained?"
It was no wonder that Scrimgeour was anxious, as Fiendfyre was a highly dangerous form of black magic that could have catastrophic consequences if it spiraled out of control.
"Director Robards has already led a team to manage the situation."
"Director Robards sent word that the fire is massive and they need more hands on deck." The former assistant panted, "Also, the Aurors spotted the Dark Mark above Malfoy Manor."
"The Dark Mark? Are you sure you're not joking?" Scrimgeour halted in his tracks, his face a mask of astonishment as he looked at his former assistant.
The Mystery Man had set the Malfoy Manor on fire? This was, without a doubt, the funniest thing Scrimgeour had heard this century.
"It is indeed the Dark Mark."
"Tell Kingsley to head to Malfoy Manor immediately with reinforcements. As for the task at hand, Weasley, you take charge and bring that bunch of hooligans back to the Ministry for detention." Scrimgeour called out to the others, intending to lead them to Malfoy Manor for backup.
"Oh right, send someone to notify Dumbledore."
To be honest, Scrimgeour was skeptical that this was the Mystery Man's doing, intending to divide the Ministry's defensive forces and create an opportunity to assassinate him. But upon further reflection, it didn't seem quite right.
By the time Scrimgeour and his team arrived at Malfoy Manor, the situation had taken a turn for the worse. The Aurors were barely holding their ground, managing to prevent the Fiendfyre from spreading to the surrounding areas.
It was only with Scrimgeour's reinforcement that they finally stabilized the situation, and it took Dumbledore's intervention to truly bring an end to the terrifying disaster.
"Do we know who's behind this?" Scrimgeour asked, turning to the veteran Auror after greeting Dumbledore.
"Not yet," Gardner shook his head, "By the time we arrived, the Fiendfyre had already consumed Malfoy Manor, and it was showing signs of spreading outward. Fortunately, your timely arrival prevented it from getting out of hand. Otherwise, this entire area might have been devastated."
To be frank, being the head of the Auror Office was no easy task, and Gardner had been stretched thin lately. It was only with the support of Kingsley's crisis response team that he had managed to shoulder some of the burden.
"They saw the Dark Mark, could this be one of the Mystery Man's plots?" Scrimgeour inquired of Dumbledore.
"I don't know," Dumbledore shook his head, "Are the Malfoys still alive?"
Scrimgeour looked to Gardner, who shook his head to indicate that he was unsure.
"This night has been a real mess, one incident after another." Scrimgeour sighed, "If you have time, we should discuss the situation of the British magical community and the safety of Hogwarts students."
"You must be busy for the rest of the evening, let's meet after eleven." Dumbledore checked his pocket watch and smiled at Scrimgeour.
"See you later." Scrimgeour didn't refuse, and after bidding Dumbledore farewell, he turned to his old friend Gardner and said, "At tomorrow's press conference, you can subtly hint to the reporters that Lucius Malfoy may have been targeted by the Mystery Man in retaliation for leaking Death Eater information to the Ministry."
Gardner was taken aback.
"Just hint at it, and my assistant will know what to do."
As for whether the Malfoy family would suffer because of this, that was none of Scrimgeour's concern.
Who knew if Lucius' wife and son had survived this inferno?
Regardless, the relationship between the Mystery Man and the Death Eaters would become very delicate after this incident, and even if the plan didn't succeed, it would still deal a nasty blow to the Mystery Man.
(End of Chapter)
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