Chapter 1237: The Mantis and the Oriole
Chapter 1237: The Mantis and the Oriole
"Are you sure you don't need me to come with you?"
Bella leaned against the door frame, cocking her head at Narcissa, who had transformed her appearance to that of Pansy using a complex potion. A slight frown creased Bella's forehead, clearly indicating her distrust in her sister's ability to execute the plan.
Narcissa was overly self-interested, with nearly all her thoughts focused on her own family.
"No, it would be better if you don't come. Your presence might complicate matters."
Narcissa straightened her school uniform and reached for the birthday gift on the table, tucking it into her Undetectable Extension Charm bag.
According to the intelligence provided by Draco, it was Horace Slughorn's birthday today. Narcissa would use the pretext of delivering a birthday gift to Slughorn to approach him and, at the same time, request to purchase Felix Felicis.
If Slughorn still refused to sell the potion even after she offered a high price, she would simply snatch the Felix Felicis from him.
In truth, Narcissa felt that her chances of success would be higher if she approached Slughorn disguised as a member of the Slug Club. However, obtaining their hair for polyjuice potion was difficult, and Draco couldn't control their movements.
Although the likelihood of the two of them running into each other in the corridors was low, they still wanted to avoid such an awkward situation.
Bella reached out and grabbed Narcissa's hand, pressing the lone bottle of Felix Felicis into her palm. She fixed her eyes on Narcissa and said, "You must succeed. We have no other options. Only when Dumbledore is dead can Lucius return to your side!"
"I know," Narcissa replied.
She took a carefully measured sip from the potion, leaving the rest for Bella. She only needed a few hours' worth of good luck.
"How do you feel?" Bella asked curiously, sizing Narcissa up and down. She needed to first confirm that the Felix Felicis was effective.
"Wonderful," Narcissa replied, her eyes closed as she savored the feeling the potion gave her. "I feel like whatever I do will be a success. Once we get a large amount of Felix Felicis from Slughorn, we'll definitely be able to kill Dumbledore." Her faith in the potion's ability to ensure Draco's survival and repair the Vanishing Cabinet was strengthened.
"I have a feeling that as long as Draco uses the Felix Felicis, he'll definitely be able to fix the cabinet tonight," Bella said. "I suggest you start gathering people and making preparations. Draco will contact you through the two-way mirror later."
Bella was a little surprised by Narcissa's transformation and nodded as she took the two-way mirror. "Good. I'll inform Alecto to bring people to Borgin and Burkes to retrieve the cabinet. If all goes well, we'll be able to sneak into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore tonight."
"Wait for my good news," Narcissa said, leaving the two-way mirror with Bella. She picked up the Invisibility Cloak that was draped over a chair and, with a swish and flick, Disapparated to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.
The most direct way to sneak into Hogwarts was through its secret passages, and there was said to be more than one such passage connecting the school to the outside world. The one Narcissa intended to use was the one Severus Snape had kindly provided: the passage from the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow.
Perhaps it was due to the influence of the Felix Felicis, but Narcissa's journey was smooth and uneventful. She quickly located the secret passage that Snape had described and, after some time spent navigating the tunnel, successfully emerged at the Whomping Willow's entrance.
She draped the Invisibility Cloak around herself and stealthily made her way along the path of flying rocks to the front of Hogwarts Castle. In a secluded spot, she removed the cloak and stowed it back in her bag before continuing toward the castle as Pansy.
No student would pay particular attention to Narcissa, and even if she happened to encounter an acquaintance, she could easily handle the situation. The Felix Felicis had transformed Narcissa into an excellent actress, and she made her way to Slughorn's Potions office without hindrance, now carrying a box of pineapple slices from Honeydukes.
She took a deep breath and knocked three times on the wooden door.
"Who is it at this hour?" came the sleepy voice of Slughorn, who was clad in a green velvet dressing gown and a matching nightcap. He rubbed his eyes as he looked at Pansy, his expression one of surprise.
"Parksinson?" he mumbled. "What brings you here? I usually sleep in on Sundays."
Narcissa smiled and proffered her gift. "Happy birthday, Professor."
"Oh, thank you," Slughorn said, accepting the pineapple slices, his favorite treat. He looked at Parkinson with a puzzled expression, as they didn't have much of a relationship.
"My father wishes to do business with you, Professor," Narcissa said eagerly. "He wants to purchase some rare potions from you, and I was wondering if I could come in and discuss it?"
"You want to buy potions from me?" Slughorn asked, his expression one of astonishment, though it quickly gave way to understanding and a hint of suspicion.
"Felix Felicis," Narcissa blurted out, driven by the potion's influence. "The amazing potion you introduced during our first class. My father hopes to procure some from you." Without giving Slughorn a moment to react, she continued, "You probably don't know how valuable Felix Felicis is these days. They say it's being sold for hundreds, even thousands of galleons. My father wants to buy some just in case."
"You want to buy Felix Felicis?" Slughorn asked, not entirely surprised as he had heard of the potion before.
"Yes," Narcissa lied without batting an eyelid. "The Shabini and Bulstrode families also want some. I'm sure you've heard of the unfortunate incident involving Mr. Darmocles. They believe that using Felix Felicis when necessary might help them avoid a similar catastrophe. As my father says, 'No amount of galleons can buy safety.'" Narcissa continued, "Perhaps the price isn't as exorbitant as it is on the outside, but it will definitely be to your satisfaction.
"Of course, if you'd like some help with the brewing process, we're more than willing to pay a deposit in advance." Narcissa's barrage of Galleons did indeed leave Slughorn feeling dizzy and overwhelmed.
"Well...if you really want it, I can take the time to brew some for you." Slughorn agreed. If they were willing to spend Galleons to buy Felix Felicis, he didn't mind playing along and earning a substantial sum, which was certainly more than his Hogwarts salary.
"I think Father will be very pleased." Narcissa was relatively satisfied with the current outcome. She took out the Galleons she had brought from her pocket and placed them on the table, "Of course, you also know that it takes half a year to brew Felix Felicis. If you have any remaining Felix Felicis, I hope you can sell some to us first. This portion of the Galleons is a deposit, and the rest will be paid after the delivery."
"This..."
Slughorn stared at the pile of Galleons, knowing that what they had said was probably true, especially since they had brought the money and seemed very sincere.
"Is there a problem, Professor?"
Slughorn's hesitation made Narcissa feel a sense of unease.
"My stock of Felix Felicis was recently bought out by Dumbledore, you know, he's the headmaster..." Slughorn felt helpless about the situation, thinking that he had sold it too cheaply.
"Sold out?" Narcissa's expression immediately turned sour.
"Don't worry, I'll write a letter to find someone to help acquire the ingredients for the potion. We should be able to start brewing by the end of the month." Professor Slughorn tried to comfort her.
Just then, Professor Slughorn's expression froze, as if he had been hit with a Full-Body Bind Curse.
In fact, Slughorn had indeed been cursed, and the caster was none other than Miss Parkinson, Pansy herself. He couldn't understand why she would do such a thing. Was it because she heard that all the Felix Felicis had been bought by Dumbledore?
But...why?
When Slughorn said that he didn't have any Felix Felicis, Narcissa felt that he was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.
If this venture didn't yield any Felix Felicis, it would mean that all their efforts would be for nothing. This was something Narcissa couldn't tolerate, so she decided to move on to Plan B.
How could she, in a short period, pry open Slughorn's mouth and get the potion from him? The solution, as suggested by Snape.
Therefore, Narcissa didn't use the Cruciatus Curse to interrogate Slughorn. Instead, she opted for a simpler approach—Veritaserum.
Slughorn watched helplessly as Miss Parkinson pried open his mouth and poured three drops of the Truth Serum down his throat.
The next moment, Slughorn's consciousness began to blur, and he felt a loss of control over his thoughts. He vaguely heard a voice asking, "Where is the Felix Felicis hidden?"
"In the wooden box in the right-hand drawer of my desk," Slughorn replied in a monotone voice.
Narcissa was delighted and quickly scurried over to the drawer, only to find that it was locked with a spell, impossible to open even with an unlocking charm.
"Where's the key to the drawer?" she asked irritably.
"In the right pocket of my cloak," Slughorn answered without hesitation. He couldn't conceal anything at this point. His eyes were blank, and his mind was empty, leaving him only able to respond reflexively to her questions.
Once Narcissa found the key, opened the desk drawer, and retrieved the wooden box that Slughorn had mentioned, her expression froze as she opened it in front of him, finding only a single small bottle of Felix Felicis left inside.
"Where is the rest of the Felix Felicis!" Narcissa demanded sharply.
"It's been sold to Dumbledore. He's the headmaster, and he offered a price I couldn't refuse." Slughorn explained, "This last bottle was kept for my personal use."
"Damn it, damn it all!"
How could Narcissa not be angry? After all their scheming, they had only managed to obtain one bottle of the potion, which meant that their subsequent plans were doomed to fail.
Of course, the single bottle of Felix Felicis they had obtained would be reserved for Draco.
As Narcissa prepared to leave after modifying Slughorn's memory, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Narcissa's expression turned grim, and as she approached the door, intending to knock out whoever was on the other side, she had a bad feeling.
A hole was blasted into the wooden door, and a Stunning Spell flew towards Narcissa. Fortunately, the effects of the Felix Felicis allowed her to dodge this sneak attack successfully.
The door swung open, and as Narcissa saw something flying towards her, she blasted it with a curse, causing it to explode.
It was a bottle of wine, and as the liquid splashed onto the floor, a figure appeared and launched a fierce assault on her.
Several spells were deflected by Narcissa, blasting holes into the nearby cabinets and sofa.
The two were at a stalemate.
Narcissa knew she had to leave. The sound of their battle would surely attract others.
If she was trapped here, it would be a disaster, so she had to escape before anyone else arrived.
However, Harry Potter proved to be more troublesome than she had anticipated. He was like an elite Auror, effortlessly blocking her attacks, which made Narcissa feel uneasy. Fortunately, she had consumed the Felix Felicis, and it soon occurred to her how to extricate herself from this situation.
She draped the Invisibility Cloak over herself and used a Smokescreen Spell to release a large amount of mist from the tip of her wand. Taking advantage of the smoke that obscured their vision, she quickly made some noise to attract Potter's attention and then slipped away while he was distracted.
Before Narcissa had gone too far, she felt the smoke being blown away by a strong gust of wind. Thankfully, the Invisibility Cloak kept her hidden from Potter's sight.
She knew she had to get out of there.
Following the predetermined route, Narcissa met Thor who was waiting in a secluded secret passage.
"Pansy?"
Gao Er was startled by Narcissa's sudden appearance.
"Pass it on to Draco secretly. This is important and must not be lost."
As planned, Narcissa handed over the Felix Felicis she had obtained from Slughorn to Thor, and quickly reminded him, "Pass it to Draco as soon as possible and don't let anyone else know about it. He will tell you why."
After handing over the Felix Felicis to Thor, Narcissa hurried into the secret passage. She had to leave before the commotion spread throughout the castle.
As for when to make their move, Narcissa believed that after consuming the Felix Felicis, Draco would definitely be able to make the best judgment.
The process of leaving the school went smoothly without any hindrance, as everyone's attention was drawn to the earlier disturbance.
Narcissa calmed the Whomping Willow with a branch, ducked her head into the tunnel, and soon exited the grounds of Hogwarts.
Just as Narcissa was about to emerge from the tunnel, she was startled to find someone standing outside the trapdoor.
"It's me."
Avery pulled Narcissa out of the trapdoor.
"Avery, what are you doing here?"
"I was setting up the Dementors in the mountainous area outside Hogwarts, and Bella asked me to come and meet you." Avery eyed the trapdoor Narcissa had emerged from and muttered, "I didn't expect there to be a secret passage to Hogwarts here."
Narcissa sneaked a glance at Avery, feeling that something was amiss. But Avery asked, "Did you get the Felix Felicis?"
"I got it, but not much," Narcissa said.
"Are you okay to go back on your own? I guess Bella must be pretty unhappy, and I don't want to get on her bad side."
As the two walked away from the Shrieking Shack, Avery scanned their surroundings before turning back to Narcissa and saying, "I still need to stay here and deal with the Dementors. Also, it's best not to drag out the whole plan for too long, as appeasing the Dementors is no easy task."
"Draco should be able to fix the cabinet soon," Narcissa managed a feeble smile, reassuring him, "maybe as early as tonight."
"That's good." Avery's tone seemed to brighten a little, "Then I'll be off!"
"Goodbye."
Just as Narcissa was about to Disapparate, she suddenly froze, a nameless fear spreading through her.
The next moment, she felt Avery rummaging through her pockets, apparently unable to find anything, and then he used the Summoning Charm, but nothing flew out of Narcissa's pockets. Perhaps there had never been any Felix Felicis to begin with.
"Damn it, didn't you say you got the Felix Felicis?" Avery's voice was filled with anger, "Where's the Felix Felicis you took? Damn it, where is it?"
As he spoke, Avery seemed to vent his anger by slapping Narcissa twice, knocking her to the ground, and then kicking her viciously.
Avery beat Narcissa senseless, and she couldn't understand what was happening.
Could Avery be betraying them, or was he under the influence of the Imperius Curse?
Only these two possibilities could explain Avery's current behavior.
Betrayal was a very distant concept to any Death Eater, because betrayal meant death.
So there was only one possibility left—Avery was under the Imperius Curse.
An indescribable fear engulfed Narcissa, and she couldn't imagine what their plan to assassinate Dumbledore would turn into.
Thinking of her son, Draco, Narcissa fell into despair. She struggled to break free from the curse and wanted to tell Draco to abort the mission. However, even after consuming the Felix Felicis, she still couldn't free herself from the spell, and a strange drowsiness suddenly overwhelmed her.
Narcissa was taken down by a Stunning Spell.
Looking at the unconscious Narcissa, Avery fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if remembering something, he took out a piece of candy from his pocket. He unwrapped the candy to reveal a thumb-sized capsule, pried open Narcissa's mouth, broke the capsule, and poured the liquid into her mouth.
Pansy's face, which had already been altered, underwent another strange transformation—a side effect of taking the compound potion twice. What was worse was that, like Hermione when she had been turned into a cat, this aftereffect seemed irreversible.
"What should I do with you?" Avery muttered.
Two options ran through his mind: erase this woman's memory completely, abandon her abroad to fend for herself, or feed her to the Dementors.
Avery didn't hesitate for long before ultimately choosing the latter option, as it was simpler and less troublesome. He waved his wand to alter Narcissa's appearance, then dragged her away with him.
In the mountainous area near Hogwarts, despite it being spring, the temperature remained chillingly cold.
A substantial number of Dementors lurked in these mountains.
Avery tossed the person in his grasp to the Dementors, much like other Dark wizards who provided prey for the Dementors.
"Don't let the Dementors eat too much, or they might not follow our orders for the upcoming operation." Avery said to the Dark wizard beside him.
In exchange for the Dementors' participation in the upcoming action, the Death Eaters would willingly provide some Muggles as food and allow the Dementors to feed on their souls. Then, the Muggles who had their souls sucked out would be turned into Inferi for further use.
(End of Chapter)
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