Chapter 184: The Horcrux in the Vault
Chapter 184: The Horcrux in the Vault
The Lestrange brothers managed to slip away.
It was strange that, in the Ministry of Magic, the Auror headquarters, where Apparition was restricted and there were no other exits, the Lestrange brothers vanished right under everyone's noses.
When the pursuing Aurors returned to report, Sherlock and the others were already briefing the Ministry's high-ranking officials on what had transpired.
"We couldn't save Algernon. They seemed very familiar with the Ministry's layout, and we couldn't stop them from leaving. We had to use an Explosive Charm to create a commotion and draw others to the scene."
Although Sherlock was supposed to recount the events to Minkan, it was Scrimgeour, the professional Auror, who truly understood the details.
"You said Rodolphus transformed into Eddie's appearance to frame him?"
The two Aurors who had been knocked out initially could confirm this. Before they were taken down, Rodolphus deliberately showed his face to them.
Scrimgeour's expression turned thoughtful.
"Pretending to be Eddie makes sense. They knew that Eddie's subordinates were killed due to Algernon's betrayal, giving him a strong motive."
In reality, many present knew this wasn't a strong motive at all, as Eddie had already taken such actions himself.
However, they intentionally avoided asking why Sherlock and Eddie were there in the middle of the night.
Algernon was dead, and Eddie didn't kill him. There was no need to delve too deeply into the matter. Scrimgeour, Crouch, and Minkan were all seasoned officials.
They knew that clarifying these details wouldn't help the situation, and it wasn't worth pursuing Eddie and Sherlock's responsibility further.
Minkan's face remained grim.
"The key issue now is why they killed Algernon. The key issue is that the Ministry's defenses are virtually non-existent! I want to know how they got in and how they got out!"
Investigating these matters would take time.
The Ministry of Magic, as the sole magical political institution in Britain, had surprisingly weak defenses.
Apart from the Apparition restrictions, entry was possible through certain temporary keys left outside and the Floo Network in some offices.
These entry points couldn't be sealed, as doing so would paralyze the Ministry's daily operations and make it impossible to handle government affairs.
So Scrimgeour had a lot of work to do. He needed to investigate all the fireplaces connected to the Floo Network within the Ministry and check if any of the hidden keys had been used.
In the end, Eddie opened his mouth to share what he and Sherlock had overheard from the Lestrange brothers' conversation with Algernon, but Sherlock held back his sleeve and subtly shook his head to stop him.
After the entire night had passed and Sherlock and Eddie completed their records at the Auror Office, they finally left the Ministry of Magic.
They exchanged a glance and, without a word, headed to a bar on the street above the Ministry.
"Why didn't you let me tell them about that conversation?" Eddie asked, puzzled.
Sherlock narrowed his eyes and countered.
"How did Rodolphus transform into you?"
Eddie hesitated before replying.
"Such a transformation must be the effect of Polyjuice Potion."
"Exactly, Polyjuice Potion. If the Death Eaters knew you and Algernon had a grudge, and they used the incident in Wales to explain their actions, how did they obtain one of the potion's key ingredients—your hair?"
Sherlock's question left Eddie speechless.
Since his name was cleared and he returned to the Ministry, he had stayed in the Auror dormitories, never going home, and only interacting with his colleagues.
Under these circumstances, how did the Death Eaters obtain his hair?
Sherlock continued.
"Even if the Ministry's security is lax, if the Death Eaters could enter so easily, they wouldn't have waited until now to engage in petty theft. They would have targeted the Ministry long ago, which would have been far more profitable than their activities outside."
Eddie quickly grasped Sherlock's point.
"You mean there's a mole inside the Ministry?"
"Not just a mole, but one with a high-ranking position. Otherwise, the Dark Lord wouldn't be so restrained. The exposure of Algernon was likely just a smokescreen. His loyalty to the Dark Lord wasn't as strong, which the Dark Lord must have known. The truly loyal and valuable mole is still hiding within the Ministry!"
Sherlock looked at him solemnly.
"Rodolphus’s words and the secrets he’s trying to hide are known only to us. We might even be able to use them to our advantage. But if we reveal them, both the Ministry of Magic and the Death Eaters will know. Besides, even if we tell them, would the Ministry of Magic be able to request Gringotts to investigate the Lestrange family vault?"
Eddie was silent.
Of course, that was impossible.
If it were possible, there would have been no need to wait until now. The family vaults of any pure-blood families that openly supported the Death Eaters would have been sealed long ago.
The real obstacle wasn't the goblins guarding Gringotts, but rather the fact that the Ministry of Magic would never approve such a proposal internally.
Sherlock knew this because even 17 years later, when the Death Eaters had been imprisoned in Azkaban for over a decade, their family vaults at Gringotts remained untouched.
This was essentially an unwritten rule among wizards.
No matter how grave the crime, the ownership of a Gringotts vault belonged to the wizard himself, and no one had the right to touch it (for example, Sirius Black, who, while a fugitive, sent Harry the Firebolt, which he bought using money he withdrew from the Black family vault).
Asking Eddie to keep this a secret was not only because of these reasons but also due to Sherlock's personal motives.
While he couldn’t remember much of the original story, he had learned a lot about the inner workings of this world since arriving.
The cup that Rodolphus mentioned, which Voldemort had Bella hide in the Gringotts family vault, could very well be a Horcrux!
Of course, Bella and the other Lestranges wouldn’t know about the Horcrux. They would only know that Voldemort had entrusted them with something very important.
A Horcrux was not only the only way to defeat Voldemort but also an excellent power-up for Sherlock, adding fifty years to his magical prowess.
By keeping the information secret, Sherlock hoped that the Lestrange brothers, upon realizing the secret hadn’t been spread, wouldn’t tell Voldemort and move the cup, which was likely a Horcrux.
After all, if Voldemort found out, and considering the commotion they caused tonight, the Lestrange brothers would be lucky to escape with their lives.
In the same dimly lit manor.
Sitting on a single sofa, the handsome wizard, his face abnormally pale, gently lifted his wine glass.
"Ha! Rodolphus, Rabastan, my trusted followers!"
His faintly mocking voice echoed in the living room, where the Lestrange brothers, bound and hanging from the ceiling, showed no visible injuries but appeared to have endured great pain.
Sweat dripped from their bodies, pooling on the floor, while Bella, who had just punished them, stood nearby.
As Rodolphus’s wife and Rabastan’s sister-in-law, she showed no inclination to plead for mercy.
Her disdain and disgust were unmistakable.
"We... we didn’t expect that Wizard Butler would actually choose to kill Tafft tonight", Rodolphus pleaded. "Forgive us, my Lord, please."
Bella hissed in anger.
"You two fools! You’ve disgraced me in front of the Lord!"
The wizard slowly swirled the crimson liquid in his glass, seemingly not angry, but no one felt relaxed.
The more they interacted with their Lord, the more they realized his temper was becoming increasingly unpredictable.
At that moment, a few sparks danced in the cold fireplace, followed by a sudden burst of emerald green flames, forming the face of a young, thin man.
"Forgive my rudeness, my Lord, but I cannot leave the Ministry of Magic at the moment. I can only communicate using Floo Powder."
Seeing the young man’s face in the fireplace, the Lestrange brothers held their breaths, exchanging glances that revealed their overwhelming tension.
The wizard stopped swirring his glass.
"Tell me, what did these two fools expose?"
"Though not explicitly stated, Scrimgeour is clearly beginning to suspect there are still spies within the Ministry. He has checked all the fireplaces in the offices and the external keys, finding no anomalies. I have not been suspected and am not at risk of exposure", the face in the flames respectfully reported.
"Is that all?"
"Yes, my Lord, that is all the information I have for now."
Hearing this, the Lestrange brothers finally relaxed, their hearts no longer hanging by a thread.
They were gambling, betting that Eddie and Sherlock either didn’t understand their conversation with Algernon or, if they did, didn’t spread it.
Otherwise, even a confession would mean certain death!
The brothers knew how much Voldemort valued the cup and that he would never spare them if the secret leaked.
From the looks of it, their luck was holding, and their lives were safe for now.
"Complete the task I assigned you promptly", the wizard said coldly. "I don’t want any more delays. The items in that room must be secured as soon as possible!"
"Yes, my Dark Lord!"
The green flames danced in the fireplace, and the young man’s face disappeared.
(End of Chapter)
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