Chapter 1239: Celebration
Chapter 1239: Celebration
At this moment, Draco Malfoy's heart was in turmoil. Especially after a famous student rushed into the Slytherin common room, exclaiming that a well-known outsider had broken into Hogwarts and attacked Professor Slughorn, Draco's heart continued to be unsettled.
The intrusion of Narcissa into Hogwarts had finally been discovered, and the culprit was that accursed Potter.
The realization of his earlier foreboding made Draco incredibly irritated.
He should have knocked Potter unconscious and dunked his head in the toilet this morning. Perhaps then, Narcissa's presence would not have been exposed.
What made Malfoy even more anxious was that Goyle, whom he had sent to retrieve the Felix Felicis, had not returned. This left him ignorant of the current situation, unsure if his mother had obtained the potion or if she had successfully left Hogwarts.
Pansy noticed the agitation in Draco's heart and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
"I need to go out for a bit." Draco replied.
Just as Draco prepared to go look for Goyle, the door to the common room swung open, and Goyle hurried in.
"Why are you so slow?" Malfoy immediately strode towards Goyle.
"She asked me to give this to you." Goyle furtively slipped the Felix Felicis from his pocket into Draco's hand.
Draco tremblingly took the potion, carefully tucking it into an inner pocket of his robe. He gently patted it twice before lifting his head to look at Goyle and asking in a lowered voice, "Where is she?"
"She left through the secret passage." Goyle replied.
Goyle seemed to want to say something more, but Draco stopped him.
"You've helped me a lot this time. If there's anything you need, come find me when I get back, and I'll take care of it." Draco patted Goyle's shoulder and quickly made his way out.
"Okay." Goyle managed to squeeze out.
Draco, where are you going?" Pansy called out as she rose from her armchair, intending to chase after him to inquire about the reason for his departure. However, Draco's figure had already disappeared behind the closing common room door.
Draco paid no heed to Pansy and hurried towards the Room of Requirement, knowing that he must use the Felix Felicis to repair the Vanishing Cabinet as soon as possible.
The situation seemed even worse than Draco had anticipated.
That damned Scarhead! How did he figure it out?
Draco's agitation grew.
He was unsure how the exposure of his mother's identity would affect their upcoming plans, but for now, hiding in the Room of Requirement felt safer.
Even if he were implicated, he had to fix the Vanishing Cabinet first.
Upon entering the Room of Requirement, Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He took out the Felix Felicis that Goyle had given him, broke the seal, and took a small sip. Instantly, he felt a surge of power emanating from within, and he knew that he could easily accomplish any task, including fixing the broken cabinet before him.
Even the previous dilemma of eliminating Dumbledore seemed like a trivial matter that could be effortlessly accomplished.
Draco took a deep breath and, wand in hand, approached the place where the Vanishing Cabinet was hidden.
Something felt amiss.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking around as if searching for something.
Someone had been here, or... Draco couldn't find any traces left by others, but he still felt that something was off. However, his attention was soon drawn to a rustling sound nearby, and he sent a spell shooting towards whatever was lurking in the shadows.
It was a rat.
"Perfect for testing." Draco withdrew his gaze and refocused on the Vanishing Cabinet, beginning to repair the broken cabinet according to the methods described in Borgin's notes.
To Draco's surprise, the repair process seemed to be progressing much more smoothly than he had anticipated. In less than five minutes, Draco believed that he had successfully fixed the Vanishing Cabinet.
At the very least, the rat he had used as a test subject was still scurrying about.
"Why couldn't I fix this damn cabinet in the months before?" Malfoy picked up the rat from inside the cabinet and casually tossed it towards the nearby pile of garbage.
Could it really be because of the Felix Felicis?
Never mind, there's no use thinking about that now.
The next step was to kill Dumbledore.
If all went according to plan, the time should be set for eleven or twelve tonight.
They had the numbers, the Felix Felicis, and even Snape on their side. Draco didn't foresee any possibility of failure.
Before that, however, he intended to share his joy with the others and use this opportunity to solidify their relationship.
Draco was well aware that for the Malfoy family to rise again, they needed reliable allies.
"You've already repaired the Vanishing Cabinet."
Bella's delight seemed to overflow from the two-way mirror: "Draco, you've done well. I've gathered the people, and we can take action officially tonight."
"What about Mother?" Draco suddenly asked, "Is she with you?"
"No, I'm still outside. I'll deliver this good news to Narcissa when I return." Bella put away the two-way mirror and turned to Fenrir and the others beside her, saying, "Tell the others that the action will take place tonight. This time, we must make sure Dumbledore is dead."
After leaving the Room of Requirement, Draco, under the cover of a Disillusionment Charm, made his way back to the Slytherin common room.
Along the way, he noticed many students discussing the incident of Professor Slughorn being attacked, with some even claiming that the assailant was Narcissa Malfoy. There were also suspicions among Gryffindor students that it was a plot orchestrated by the Malfoys.
Upon returning to the Slytherin common room, Draco located Goyle and Crabbe and took them to the kitchen to gather snacks and drinks before heading back to the Room of Requirement for a small celebration.
"Professor Snape came by earlier."
Crabbe, after finding himself a broken chair to sit on, filled Draco in on what had happened in his absence.
"He asked where Pansy had gone, and only left after getting confirmation from others. Pansy is really angry now; she suspects that you're involved in this somehow."
"Apologize to her on my behalf." Draco said, raising his pumpkin juice.
"No, I think you should go apologize to her yourself." Goyle shook his head repeatedly, "She looks really furious, and I don't want to get on her bad side."
"By the way, why have you brought us here?" Crabbe surveyed the surrounding pile of garbage and asked, "I don't think this is a suitable place for a celebration."
"Weren't you guys always curious about what I've been up to this semester?" Draco lifted a finger and pointed at the large cabinet behind him, "I've been fixing this thing."
"It's called the Vanishing Cabinet."
Draco introduced the Vanishing Cabinet to Goyle and Crabbe in a tone one would use to boast about a treasure.
"The Vanishing Cabinet?"
Goyle and Crabbe exchanged glances, clearly perplexed by what Draco was up to.
"Yes, the Vanishing Cabinet. Anyone can enter Hogwarts without a sound through the cabinet." Draco was pleased with the astonished looks on their faces and smiled smugly as he asked, "Do you know what this means?"
"What does it mean?" Goyle asked foolishly.
"It means that anyone can sneak into Hogwarts through the Vanishing Cabinet without Dumbledore noticing," Malfoy said with a fanatical gleam in his eyes.
"Do you mean to kill Dumbledore?" Goyle and Crabbe exclaimed, their eyes widening in shock.
"Yes, the Dark Lord wants Dumbledore dead." Malfoy's face twisted into a sinister grin as he recalled, "I've tried other methods, but it's been difficult to assassinate Dumbledore. Finally, I thought of an excellent plan."
"What plan?" Crabbe asked, intrigued.
"Tonight, many Death Eaters will enter Hogwarts through the Vanishing Cabinet, and I'm sure Dumbledore himself will be taken by surprise!" Draco laughed with excitement.
"Do you think this will really work?" Goyle asked, perplexed.
"Of course. We've been planning this for an entire semester, and Aunt Bella will gather the most elite Death Eaters. Even Snape will be involved..." Draco thrilled as he shared his joy with his friends. "Apparently, the Dark Lord plans to raid Azkaban tonight to distract the Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. Plus, we have the Felix Felicis, so we should be able to kill Dumbledore and leave unnoticed."
"That sounds amazing. You should have told us earlier." Crabbe couldn't help but complain, "Can we join in tonight?"
"I want to join too." Goyle raised his hand.
"I don't know, but I think they might not want us to get in their way." Draco raised his pumpkin juice and clinked glasses with the two boys, "Maybe they'll think we're a nuisance."
Seeing the disappointed looks on Goyle and Crabbe's faces, Draco consoled them, "But there's something important you can help me with."
"What is it?"
"Keep this a secret. It's crucial." Draco spoke with an authoritative tone, leaving no room for argument, "I've told you everything you wanted to know, and if you accidentally let something slip..."
"We'll definitely keep it a secret." Crabbe said unhappily.
"Me too." Goyle agreed.
"Leave this place and don't discuss this matter anymore." Draco took another large gulp of pumpkin juice, "Now, let's celebrate. I think Hogwarts will soon have a new headmaster. It's a shame there's no wine here."
Just then, an old cabinet suddenly appeared, stocked with numerous bottles of sherry.
"Would you like a drink?" Crabbe excitedly took out a bottle of sherry from the cabinet.
"Never mind, let's not drink and mess things up." Draco shook his head, "We can drink after we kill Dumbledore."
"Are you planning to leave the school after that?" Goyle asked suddenly.
"Of course, why would I stay here?" Draco proudly rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark on his arm, "After completing this mission, I will officially become a Death Eater, and no one will dare to mess with me again..."
For some reason, Draco suddenly looked up in the direction of the large pile of garbage, as if sensing something.
As Draco and his friends prematurely celebrated their anticipated victory, the mountains near Hogwarts were plunged into a living hell, ravaged by the soul-sucking Dementors.
"Are you ready over there?" Bella asked Avery.
"We're a bit short on Inferi, but we have some Muggles. The Dementors will suck their souls, and then we'll take care of them." Avery explained.
"Then you'd better hurry. We're taking action tonight." Bella reminded him.
"I think those Dementors will be very happy."
Avery had a peculiar expression on his face as he gestured to a black-robed wizard to hurry the Dementors along.
No one noticed that Narcissa, who had just regained consciousness, was silently screaming, her eyes filled with uncontrollable fear. She struggled desperately, trying to get Bella's attention.
However, Narcissa's efforts were in vain as her tongue was stuck to her chin, rendering her unable to make any sound. Her last glimmer of hope was snuffed out.
The thickening fog blurred Narcissa's vision, and all she could see were dark shadows flitting above her and countless piercing shrieks echoing in her ears.
Dementors! The evil, dark creatures were swarming from all directions, a cold sensation seeping into Narcissa's every pore, freezing her thoughts.
She saw it.
Countless Dementors lowered their black cloaks, revealing gaping, abyss-like mouths. They sucked at Narcissa's face with relentless force.
In an instant, despair engulfed Narcissa like a tidal wave, as if her soul was being torn from her body, screaming in agony as the Dementors devoured it bit by bit.
When the last remnants of Narcissa's soul were sucked into the Dementors' mouths, her struggling body seemed to lose all its strength. Her eyes, now empty and soulless, stared blankly, resembling a lifeless corpse.
In the end, Narcissa probably never imagined that she would die like a Muggle, kissed by the soul-sucking Dementors.
Bella, who was talking to Avery, seemed to sense something and glanced at the feeding Dementors, seemingly intrigued by these dark creatures sucking the souls from Muggles.
"Hurry up." Bella soon lost interest in the soulless Muggles and turned to Avery, "They should feel honored to serve the Dark Lord even in death."
"You're right." Avery agreed half-heartedly.
Several hooded Death Eaters stepped forward, moving the lifeless bodies aside and casting a spell to turn them into Inferi. They would serve as cannon fodder during the attack on Hogwarts later that night.
"By the way, have you seen Narcissa?"
Bella remembered the reason for her visit—she needed the Felix Felicis from Narcissa.
"Damn it, do you think Narcissa would come to a place like this?" Avery muttered.
"Narcissa should have successfully obtained the Felix Felicis, but she hasn't returned to the temporary base." Bella frowned slightly.
"Are you sure you didn't miss each other?" Avery asked suspiciously, "Maybe she's already on her way back."
"That's possible. If you see Narcissa, tell her to go back." Bella instructed, "I need to confirm the dosage of the Felix Felicis for distribution during the upcoming operation."
"I will."
Avery glanced involuntarily at the pile of Inferi nearby.
(End of Chapter)
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