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Chapter 1255: Where's Mom Going?
Chapter 1255: Where's Mom Going?
Ever since Voldemort and his Death Eaters raided Azkaban during Dumbledore's funeral and made their grand comeback, the Death Eaters have shed their image as the oppressed underdogs constantly under the thumb of the Ministry of Magic.
Lately, the Death Eaters have become more active, and their numbers are slowly growing. Voldemort has made it clear through his actions that they are the ultimate victors in this Wizarding War.
As for the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort has never truly considered it a serious threat.
In a recent meeting, Voldemort brought up the plan to kill Scrimgeour and gain control of the Ministry once again.
Now that Dumbledore is gone, Voldemort no longer needs to hold back. His most pressing goal is to firmly grasp control of the Ministry and eliminate it as a potential threat.
He intends to break the knife in the Mudblood's hand once and for all, preventing him from causing further trouble through the Ministry.
Of course, there are numerous other benefits to controlling the Ministry, such as using its power to crush the Order of the Phoenix and effortlessly seize control of Hogwarts, setting the stage for his future plans, including dealing with Harry Potter.
Voldemort has never regarded Harry Potter as a worthy opponent, but he understands the necessity of killing him personally to prove to the foolish Death Eaters that those so-called prophecies were never to be trusted.
The renowned savior, Harry Potter, is not destined to be his nemesis.
It's all a terrible joke.
After the meeting, each Death Eater was assigned a task.
Lucius Malfoy, recently rescued from Azkaban, was no exception. His task was to find and monitor Albert Anderson's whereabouts.
Undoubtedly, this was the most unpleasant task of all.
However, Lucius had no choice. After consecutive failures, the Malfoy family's situation had become extremely awkward. The task that countless Death Eaters avoided like the plague eventually landed on the Malfoy father and son duo.
Among the Death Eaters present, none were more unpopular than them.
Even though Lucius managed to retain his life and his status as a Death Eater, he was still looked down upon and mocked by his peers. Naturally, the dirty and undesirable tasks fell to him.
Nowadays, no sensible Death Eater would dare to underestimate Albert Anderson, even if they privately referred to him as a "Mudblood." Very few Death Eaters were willing to deal with such a cunning and dangerous individual.
The number of vacant seats among the Death Eaters made it clear how dangerous and feared that person was.
Those Death Eaters who had once tried to kill him had faced retaliation and met their end in the past year, thanks to his connection to the Ministry.
Especially those who had joined Lucius in crashing his wedding, most of them had been picked off one by one with the help of the Ministry, leading to a significant turnover among the Death Eaters.
As a result, no Death Eater wanted to provoke Albert for fear of becoming the next target.
Thus, the task ultimately fell to the resilient Lucius Malfoy. After all, there was deep-seated enmity between the two parties, and they hadn't forgotten that the Malfoy family had once put a bounty on Albert's head. Moreover, Lucius himself knew Albert better than most Death Eaters.
The Malfoy father and son had no choice but to grit their teeth and take on this troublesome assignment.
"Severus, do you have some time later?"
After the meeting, Lucius called out to his old friend. He wanted to thank Snape for saving his son, Draco, and also to gather some information from him.
"Oh, certainly!"
Snape had been wanted by the Ministry of Magic recently, but Voldemort hadn't burdened him with too many tasks. Instead, he was tasked with keeping an eye on Harry Potter's movements.
Although Harry Potter was always protected by members of the Order of the Phoenix, making surveillance difficult, Snape, as a member of the Order himself, had inside knowledge and easily completed the monitoring task through his own channels.
"I haven't had a chance to thank you for what you did for Draco," Lucius said, his expression complex. It used to be him helping Severus, but now their roles had reversed.
Now that Snape had become Voldemort's right-hand man, a position Lucius once held, it was only natural for Lucius to feel jealous. However, he understood that his priority now was to maintain their friendship.
"You're welcome, I was merely completing the Dark Lord's task." Snape shook his head, "Helping Draco was just a side task."
Although there were indeed other reasons, what he said was mostly true.
"No, I still need to thank you, especially as a father, I am truly grateful that you saved him." Lucius placed his hand on Draco's head and solemnly expressed his gratitude to Severus.
"I'm sure there's another reason for your visit." Severus moved aside and steered the conversation in a different direction.
"Indeed, there is another matter," Lucius sighed in relief that their relationship with Severus remained unchanged, which was important. "Do you know anything about Narcissa's disappearance? I've been trying to find any information about her lately."
"This... I'm not too sure myself." Snape turned to look at Draco, "I recall Narcissa using a two-way mirror to communicate with you, right?"
"Yes, that's how we used to communicate," Draco said, feeling perplexed as he spoke of his mother, "but after Mom stole the Felix Felicis from Hogwarts, she suddenly went missing."
"The last time Aunt Bella saw her, she suspected that Mom had given the only bottle of Felix Felicis to me, so she felt embarrassed to face them. But... she really did disappear, and no one knows where she went. The last person to see her was Goyle, but according to him, Mom should have left Hogwarts through the tunnels."
"Don't worry, I'm sure Narcissa is fine." Snape offered reassurance.
"Thank you, Severus." Lucius pressed his lips together, a sense of foreboding already creeping into his mind.
After parting ways with Snape, Lucius quietly returned to his former home with Draco. Looking at the charred remains of the manor and the completely destroyed dungeon, Lucius Malfoy felt dazed and disoriented, unable to accept the drastic changes that had taken place during his brief imprisonment in Azkaban.
In less than a year, the world outside had transformed drastically.
His home was gone, his son had become a Death Eater, and his wife had mysteriously disappeared.
The Malfoy family's status had plummeted, losing several key allies. The Lestrange family was in ruins, and Bella had gone missing during the mission to assassinate Dumbledore.
Perhaps Bella had been secretly executed by the Ministry after her capture.
The Goyle and Crabbe families were also gradually distancing themselves from the Malfoys, and their relationship with the Carrows had grown cold as well.
Lucius couldn't understand how their once-powerful family had fallen apart so completely.
Was this the Dark Lord's punishment for him?
"Don't worry, we will find Narcissa." Lucius put his arm around his son's shoulders and whispered reassuringly.
"Mhm."
Draco, too, was feeling lost and confused. He had completed the Dark Lord's task but received no reward, perhaps due to Snape's involvement in Dumbledore's death. At this point, he didn't expect any rewards; he just wanted to find his mother.
However, even after several days, Draco still had no news of Narcissa. Despite using tracking spells, it was as if she had vanished into thin air.
"Dad, do you think Mom might have defected to Dumbledore's side and is now hiding with them?" Draco lowered his voice, voicing his suspicion, "Dumbledore did mention that possibility before."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Lucius shook his head vigorously, "I don't believe that after learning of my escape from Azkaban, Narcissa would choose not to return to us."
Lucius knew his wife well; perhaps she might have considered defecting for their safety, but Narcissa would never just disappear like this once she knew they were safe.
"Narcissa will be fine, we'll find her." Lucius stared at the ruins of their manor, muttering to himself.
"Do you think this has something to do with Anderson?" Draco suddenly recalled something, his eyes narrowing, "This must be his revenge against the Malfoy family for putting a bounty on his head. Yes, it has to be him. So many Death Eaters have faced his retribution, there's no reason for him to spare us."
"It has to be him, it must be!"
(End of Chapter)
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