Chapter 1234: Under Surveillance
Chapter 1234: Under Surveillance
After much deliberation, Snape decided to inform Dumbledore about Narcissa's plan to infiltrate Hogwarts and steal the Elixir of Life. The elderly headmaster, who was willing to lend a hand to Draco, would surely be able to handle this matter appropriately. He also didn't want Narcissa's actions to cause any trouble for Dumbledore's plans.
Although Snape himself had never used the Elixir of Life, as a skilled potions master, he was well aware of its miraculous properties. Once Draco used the elixir, there was a chance he could repair the damaged Vanishing Cabinet ahead of schedule.
If the Vanishing Cabinet was fully repaired, the invasion of Hogwarts would be accelerated and become uncontrollable, potentially disrupting Dumbledore's original plans. This was certainly not good news.
"Your information is timely, Severus."
Dumbledore's reaction to the news from Snape about Bellatrix obtaining the Elixir of Life and Narcissa's intention to invade Hogwarts was calmer than Snape had anticipated, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Narcissa didn't tell me the specific time, and..." Snape paused, then looked up at Dumbledore, "How do you intend to handle this situation?"
"There are only a few ways to infiltrate Hogwarts undetected, and with Aurors patrolling, her chances of success are slim."
Dumbledore seemed to be thinking about something else. After a moment of silence, the old wizard murmured, "This is actually a good opportunity."
"What do you mean?"
Snape's face showed a moment of bewilderment, wondering if Dumbledore was speaking nonsense.
"If you could find out the timing of Narcissa's intrusion, it would be even better. I hope to keep all variables within a controllable range."
Dumbledore recalled Albert's reminder and realized that his previous arrangements might not keep up with the changing situation, necessitating modifications to his original plans.
"Let's hope everything goes as you wish."
Snape looked deeply at Dumbledore, not saying anything further. He was well aware that the old wizard in front of him didn't plan to divulge much, and any further inquiries would likely be fruitless.
"I'll do my best. If you have any arrangements, it's best to inform me in advance as well," Snape said, giving Dumbledore a meaningful glance before turning to leave.
After Snape left the headmaster's office, Dumbledore interlaced his fingers on the desk and began contemplating how to handle this development. He still hoped that Harry would obtain those memories from his old friend.
"Time is running a bit short!"
Dumbledore took out the two-way mirror from his desk drawer and attempted to contact Albert, as there were matters that needed to be discussed in advance to avoid potential chaos.
"What is it?"
After a while, the two-way mirror responded, and Albert's face appeared on the other side. He seemed displeased at being disturbed by the old wizard but knew that Dumbledore must have a reason for contacting him, so he refrained from complaining.
"As you predicted, our plans may need to be accelerated," Dumbledore said calmly.
After about thirty seconds of silence, Albert asked, "How much of the Elixir of Life did they obtain?"
"One bottle, approximately a twelve-hour supply," Dumbledore replied.
"Did they return to Britain to seek out Snape?" Albert seemed to be well-informed about the situation.
In fact, it was he who had instructed Bard to secretly spread the word, driving Bellatrix and Narcissa back to Britain.
The bounty placed on them was also Bard's doing, knowing full well that no one would dare kill the two to claim the reward. It also served to give Narcissa Malfoy a taste of being a wanted fugitive.
"It seems you're aware of this matter," Dumbledore said.
"If you're looking for someone to chat with, we can schedule some time for tea," Albert prompted Dumbledore to get to the point.
"The developments have indeed exceeded my expectations. There are some matters that, if I don't have time to handle, I may have to rely on you," Dumbledore said.
According to the original plan, Dumbledore had several months to tie up loose ends, but now time was of the essence.
Without Albert, Dumbledore would never have allowed Narcissa to intrude upon Hogwarts, nor would he have permitted the situation to spiral out of control.
Although he would try to stop them, it was equally necessary to prepare for the worst-case scenario, especially after Albert's prior warning.
"If I were you, I'd give some thought to my last will and testament. I know you've made arrangements, but this development may throw a wrench in some of your plans," Albert added, feeling that his words were redundant. "I'll perform a divination for you, but don't expect extremely accurate results."
"Perhaps we can sit down for tea and discuss these matters at length," Dumbledore suggested.
Dumbledore was relatively satisfied with this response. After ending the communication with Albert, he began organizing his thoughts. Some things indeed needed to be expedited, and while it wasn't good news, it was unavoidable.
On the other end, Albert closed the two-way mirror and sat in his study, pondering the situation. One question still left him perplexed: Would Bellatrix really give the Elixir of Life to Draco Malfoy?
The likelihood was low! That insane woman would undoubtedly prefer to use the elixir to bolster the Death Eaters' chances of success in their plot to assassinate Dumbledore.
However, without the elixir, Malfoy wouldn't be able to repair the Vanishing Cabinet ahead of schedule.
In other words, the prophecy indicated that Malfoy would repair the Vanishing Cabinet prematurely with the aid of the Elixir of Life.
If Malfoy acquired the elixir, it could only have come from his mother, Narcissa. The probability of him stealing it from Slughorn was exceedingly low.
Did Bellatrix and Narcissa obtain two bottles of the Elixir of Life?
It was possible, but unlikely.
The white mist in the crystal ball swirled rapidly, and a clear image appeared before Albert's eyes: a young woman in a school uniform pointing her wand at Professor Slughorn.
"Is that... Narcissa Malfoy? Does she plan to sneak into the school and steal Slughorn's stash of the Elixir of Life?" Albert quickly pieced together what was happening.
The question now was: Did Dumbledore know about this?
If he did and allowed it to happen, why?
Was there something about Slughorn that Dumbledore valued? Albert's fingers tapped lightly on the parchment: "So it's because of Professor Slughorn and that memory he'd rather not discuss?"
"Is it because of me?" Albert mused aloud. "What a bother. This mistake should be rectified."
Having identified the reason for the change in plans, he had no qualms about rectifying the error.
Giving Dumbledore more time to prepare would mean less trouble for him, and should the store of Elixir of Life kept by Slughorn be ransacked, who knew how much havoc the Death Eater who obtained it would wreak?
Since it was already hard to avoid this situation, why not make the whole situation controllable instead?
If Narcissa was going to steal Slughorn's Elixir of Life, why couldn't he steal it from Narcissa?
Albert waved his wand and spread out a large map of Hogwarts on his desk. Looking at the densely packed student names on the map, he took out his wand and tapped it lightly, preparing to mark Draco Malfoy's name for emphasis.
...
At the same time, far away at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy seemed to sense something and couldn't help but shudder.
"What's going on?"
He muttered as he looked at the damaged apple in the broken cabinet, picked it up and examined it carefully, then angrily threw it towards the nearby garbage pile.
Another failure.
Malfoy frantically scratched his hair. Ever since he had come into contact with this broken cabinet, similar things had happened countless times, and his patience was wearing thin from failure after failure.
What should he do? Should he ask Snape for help?
No, if he could really help, the cabinet would have been fixed long ago.
Malfoy took out the two-way mirror from his pocket but ended up not using it. Instead, he put the mirror back in his pocket and took out the notebook on repairing the Vanishing Cabinet to continue reading, trying to find a way to fix it.
At that moment, Narcissa's voice suddenly came from the two-way mirror, startling Draco, who was carefully reading the notebook. He quickly reached for the mirror, but accidentally dropped it on the ground, shattering it into several pieces.
"Mom, what do you want from me?" Draco asked, relieved to see that the broken two-way mirror could still be used.
"Didn't you take Advanced Potion-Making classes?" Narcissa's question puzzled Draco.
"What's it about?" Malfoy countered.
"I need you to get me some hair from a few other students who took the class with you, preferably girls." Narcissa said.
"What do you need hair for?"
Draco was even more confused and couldn't fathom why his mother needed hair.
"Your Aunt Bella and I obtained some Elixir of Life in Europe, but the amount is insufficient. Your Aunt Bella plans to use the elixir to sneak into Hogwarts and get more from Slughorn."
Narcissa didn't mention that she would be the one breaking into Hogwarts, instead attributing the plan to Bella. She knew that if she told Draco that she intended to break in, he would never agree to help.
In fact, Draco was indeed startled by this news. After he recovered, he quickly said, "No, absolutely not. Even if Aunt Bella manages to get the Elixir of Life from Slughorn, it's still not worth it. If this matter is exposed, our subsequent plans will be completely ruined."
This was also the main reason why Malfoy had never tried to obtain the Elixir of Life from Slughorn. It wasn't that he didn't want it, but he couldn't afford the consequences of failure.
"Don't worry, Bella knows what she's doing, and she won't cause any trouble for your plans." Narcissa gently reassured him, but it didn't have much effect. Draco knew his Aunt Bella too well.
"We do need more Elixir of Life, but we certainly won't be foolish enough to botch things up."
Seeing Draco's refusal, Narcissa continued, "Severus also knows about this, and we've convinced him to help us stall Slughorn, so you don't have to worry. Bella will leave Hogwarts immediately after getting the elixir, and she will take a small dose beforehand to ensure the plan goes smoothly."
Narcissa was telling the truth about one thing: Snape had indeed agreed to provide them with assistance.
As for the hair, it was obviously more appropriate to leave it to Draco.
She needed someone to help create an opportunity to avoid the awkwardness of a chance encounter.
Malfoy stared in astonishment, at a loss for what to do.
That night, he went to see Snape, intending to discuss the matter with him.
Even though he knew that Snape was likely using him, Malfoy still didn't know why he continued to trust the man. Perhaps it was because they were now in the same boat, or maybe he just wanted to survive with his family.
If the plan to assassinate Dumbledore failed, everyone would die, including Snape himself.
So, Malfoy wanted Snape to succeed.
"What are you doing here?"
Snape opened the door and saw Malfoy standing outside, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, but he still stepped aside to let him in.
"Mom said Aunt Bella plans to break into Hogwarts and steal Slughorn's Elixir of Life." Malfoy stated his purpose directly.
In this matter, he could hardly be of any help, so he had to figure out Snape's attitude towards the situation.
"I'm aware of this." Snape said calmly.
"Why..."
"Why don't you stop them?"
"Yes, I think we shouldn't take this risk." Malfoy frowned and said.
"I think you might have misunderstood something." Snape looked at Draco and countered, "What makes you think I can stop them?"
Malfoy fell silent.
"What if she fails?"
"If she messes up even with the use of the elixir, I'll go to Dumbledore and report her." Snape said coldly.
"Use Aunt Bella to gain Dumbledore's trust?" Malfoy stood there with his mouth slightly agape, unsure of what to say.
"Yes." Snape admitted bluntly.
"However, as far as I know, the one planning to come to Hogwarts for the Elixir of Life is not Bella, but your mother, Narcissa."
Snape's words left Malfoy dumbfounded.
"You mean..." Malfoy couldn't believe his ears.
"I think she's willing to take this risk for your sake." Snape said calmly, "If it were Bella, I definitely wouldn't agree to help."
"But, how could you... You should stop her." Malfoy exclaimed.
"Narcissa is an adult with her own judgment. Do you really think you can convince her to give up?" Snape sneered, "Why don't you look at yourself?"
"Me?"
Malfoy fell silent, understanding Snape's implication.
"Narcissa's plan has a high chance of success." Snape said indifferently, "And even if we don't want to help her, she will still go through with it; it will just be more troublesome. As for the plan failing, I think she's aware of the consequences and has prepared herself mentally."
(End of Chapter)
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