Hogwarts: The Exemplary Wizard I Am Chapter 703: Spider Tail Alley, Bellatrix's Mistake - Novel Cool

Chapter 703: Spider Tail Alley, Bellatrix's Mistake

Chapter 703: Spider Tail Alley, Bellatrix's Mistake

As the Minister of Magic, Fudge's decisions were final, and Scrimgeour had no choice but to comply, especially after receiving one-fifth of the donation. His resolve had weakened, and he had implicitly agreed to Fudge's suggestion to give Lupin a chance.

When Sirius left the Ministry, he held a new parchment in his hand.

"I never expected that the problem that has troubled Remus for decades could be solved so easily," Sirius carefully put away the parchment, "I must thank Remus on your behalf, Kyle."

"That five thousand Galleons wasn't donated by me," Kyle said, "and it's not that simple. After all, not everyone can casually come up with five thousand Galleons."

"And it has a lot to do with Lupin's identity."

"Lupin's identity..." Sirius was a bit confused and asked, "A member of the Phoenix Society?"

Aside from that, he couldn't think of any other special identity Lupin might have.

"Sort of." Kyle said, "Dumbledore trusted him. Not only did he exceptionally allow him to attend Hogwarts, but he also appointed him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This is the main reason why Fudge and Scrimgeour agreed..."

"If it weren't for Dumbledore taking the initiative, not only five thousand Galleons, but even fifty thousand Galleons wouldn't convince the Ministry to allow a werewolf to become an Auror."

"It's not that bad..." Sirius said doubtfully.

Fifty thousand Galleons was a huge sum, even for those ancient Pure-Blood families.

"The situation is different now." Kyle said, "Werewolves have openly declared their intention to join the Death Eaters. If people find out that the Ministry has allowed a werewolf to become an Auror, Fudge will be driven out of office by angry wizards the next day, and Scrimgeour will likely follow."

"But Remus..."

"He's different. As I said, Professor Dumbledore took the lead..." Kyle spoke softly, "Even if people find out, Fudge can easily defuse the wizards' anger by saying, 'He was once a professor at Hogwarts and was highly trusted by Dumbledore.'"

"Is that so?" Sirius nodded, somewhat understanding.

He didn't quite grasp it, but it made sense to him.

Nevertheless, Lupin could finally live in the light, just like when he had cleared his name.

Of course, there would still be strange looks, but Sirius believed that with Lupin's character, he would eventually earn the respect of more people.

Lupin had achieved this at Hogwarts, and very successfully. After his resignation, over a hundred students sent him letters and gifts during Christmas.

As for Lupin spending all his savings and borrowing money to return the favors, it didn't matter.

"I must hurry back to tell Remus this good news." Sirius said eagerly, "What about you? Are you coming with me?"

"No." Kyle shook his head, "I've already wasted enough time. I need to go and find Cedric; he's probably waiting anxiously."

"Is it still because of the Dementor?" Sirius asked.

"Yes." Kyle nodded.

"But I've already donated. Soon, the newspaper should publish the bounty for the Dementor, so you shouldn't be in such a hurry, right?"

"The bounty is just to speed things up; it doesn't conflict."

"Alright then." Sirius didn't say anything further, but he instructed seriously, "Be extremely careful. If you notice anything unusual, don't hesitate to run."

"Don't worry, I know." Kyle said.

After that, the two went their separate ways.

Kyle returned to Stagford Village and found Cedric anxiously pacing in front of his house.

"You're finally back. I've been waiting for you all morning..."

"Sorry, I was delayed by something." Kyle said, and at that moment, he realized there was someone else with Cedric.

Beside him stood a house-elf wearing goggles and a leather jacket, dressed like a rock star.

In Kyle's memory, there was only one house-elf who dressed so fashionably...

"Tata?" Kyle exclaimed, "Why are you here?"

"The master sent me." Tata walked over and said.

"Nymphadora?" Kyle tugged at his hair.

Indeed, Tata was Tonks' house-elf, but there was something he didn't understand...

"I only asked Nymphadora how to use that thing, and I could've just sent a message. Why did you come all the way from Devon?"

"The master said..." Tata cleared her throat, "It's truly unexpected. I've lived for six hundred years, and I've never heard of anyone using the Fiery Blast Spell to deal with a Dementor. A normal wizard wouldn't do that..."

Tata imitated Tonks' tone perfectly, but Kyle felt something was amiss.

What did it mean by 'a normal wizard wouldn't do that'? Was he not normal? And there shouldn't have been cases of Dementor rebellion before...

Unfortunately, Tonks wasn't there, and Tata, being a house-elf, probably couldn't answer his questions.

Kyle thought for a while and took out a bottle containing black particles.

"So Nymphadora doesn't know what this is for either?"

"Yes." Tata said, "But the master is very interested, so he asked me to bring some back."

"Here you go, then." Kyle was about to hand over the bottle but hesitated and poured out half of its contents.

It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with it, but since it was useless in his hands, it didn't matter if he gave it all to Nicole.

It was just that Kyle suddenly thought that besides alchemy, potions might also be useful.

Even things like rat liver and leech juice could be used to brew potions, so why not Dementors... So he decided to hand over the remaining half to Headmaster Sascha of St. Mungo's.

...

After Tata left, Kyle and Cedric continued their search for the Dementors.

Meanwhile, many miles away in another place... The sky here was filled with a thicker gray fog than elsewhere, making it seem gloomy even in broad daylight.

A dirty river meandered through the fog, with overgrown weeds and piles of trash on both sides. A tall, dilapidated chimney stood out, looking eerie.

But in this harsh environment, a woman... no, two women appeared out of thin air the next second.

The two women Apparated one after the other to this place.

"Sis, listen to me!"

The second woman caught up with the first, trying to grab her arm, but she broke free.

"Go back, Bella."

"You have to listen to me, Sis. You can't trust him."

"Why not? Even the Dark Lord trusts him!" The woman continued walking forward without turning her head.

"The Dark Lord must have... trusted me, and must have made a mistake."

"Stop, Narcissa!" Bellatrix shouted, "He might have already betrayed us. Even if he hasn't, we can't reveal the plan to anyone. It's a betrayal of the Dark Lord."

"Oh, then go ahead and expose me." Narcissa said without turning her head, "Let the Dark Lord punish me, the Cruciatus Curse? Or the Killing Curse... I don't care!"

Her voice became increasingly shrill, with a hint of hysteria, "I'm telling you, I don't care about anything now!"

Narcissa drew her wand and slashed it in front of her, and Bellatrix, who had just grabbed her arm, flinched as if stung by something, and let go.

"Narcissa, how can you treat your own sister like this..."

"Now, I can do anything for Draco..." Narcissa Malfoy looked at Bellatrix for a moment, then turned and walked into the maze of dilapidated houses by the riverbank without looking back.

Bellatrix had no choice but to follow.

They passed by a faded sign where the name 'Spider Tail Alley' could still be faintly seen.

Finally, Narcissa stopped in front of the last house on this alley and knocked on the door amidst Bellatrix's muttering.

With a creak, the door opened, revealing a sallow face and a pair of dark eyes inside.

"Narcissa? It's a surprise and a pleasure..."

"Severus." Narcissa said nervously, "Can I talk to you? It's urgent."

"Of course."

Snape took a step back and invited her in, but Bellatrix also barged in forcefully.

Snape's thin lips twisted into a slightly mocking smile, but he didn't say anything.

They entered a small, dilapidated living room. A faint candlelight from the ceiling dimly illuminated the few pieces of furniture.

There was a worn-out sofa, an old armchair, and a wobbly table.

It seemed like no one had lived here for a long time. As soon as they entered, Narcissa smelled a strong odor, like rotting straw.

She instinctively covered her nose, but feeling it was impolite, she lowered her hand and tried to get used to the smell.

But Bellatrix beside her had no such concerns...

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"Snape, how long has it been since you last lived here?"

"I thought you'd already gotten used to the environment of Azkaban..." Snape brought two glasses of water and placed them in front of them, "It should be worse there."

Bellatrix's face turned slightly blue, and she said coldly, "I went to Azkaban for the Dark Lord. It's much better than you hiding here in this filthy trash heap."

"Is that so?" Snape looked at her with a mocking gaze, "As far as I know, you seem to have lost something of the Dark Lord's, something very important. That's why he's not as fond of you as he used to be."

Bellatrix's expression worsened.

"Someone stole it from my vault! It's Gringotts' fault, not mine!"

"What a coincidence," Snape drew out the word, "it's not that when you were in Azkaban, someone stole the Lestrange family's vault key, then went to Gringotts to retrieve the Dark Lord's item, and finally put the key back in its place."

"Tsk..." he clicked his tongue, "To be honest, not even the Dark Lord, but even the dumbest student I've ever taught can tell how absurd your excuse is."

"I'm telling the truth!" Bellatrix's eyes turned red, "As long as we catch the elf, we'll know who did this."

"You don't have to worry about that." Snape said, "In fact, I've already done it for you. I used Legilimency to check the memories of a few elves."

"Who did it!" Bellatrix stepped forward and grabbed Snape's shoulder.

"Let go." Snape disdainfully pried her hand off and continued, "Unfortunately, there's no record in the elves' memories of anyone going to the Lestrange family's vault... The last person to enter there was you, before you were sent to Azkaban."

"This is impossible!" Bellatrix shrieked hysterically, "This can't be!"

"Save that explanation for the Dark Lord," Snape glanced at her, "I'm not interested in hearing it."

Bellatrix stood there, frozen, as if she wanted to leave immediately and explain to the Dark Lord, but she dared not... She dared not imagine that scene...

"Finally, some peace and quiet," Snape waved his wand, and the water cup on the table vanished.

He brought out two new cups and a bottle of wine.

"Have a drink..." Snape poured a cup for Narcissa, "I think you'll need it."

Narcissa grabbed the cup with trembling hands and took a sip, spilling some on herself.

"Th-thank you..."

"You're welcome," Snape said, "You should be on your way..."

"No!" Narcissa screamed, "Listen to me, Severus, only you can help me now... Even though the Dark Lord forbids me from speaking of this, but Draco..."

"Since he forbids you from speaking, you should keep silent," Snape interrupted her.

"If it weren't for me knowing about this plan, you would have made a grave mistake, one that could cost you your life!"

"You know!" Narcissa exclaimed, lifting her head in surprise.

"Yes," Snape said, "Although few know of this plan, I happen to be one of them."

"I knew it... The Dark Lord trusts you so much, you must know."

Bellatrix, who was standing nearby, raised her head, looking at Snape with disbelief. She never expected that this traitor, who did nothing when the Dark Lord was in decline, would still be trusted.

Why? A nameless jealousy twisted her face.

However, neither of the two present paid her any attention.

"You have to help me..." Narcissa said, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, "Severus, Draco is only sixteen... He doesn't know what's waiting for him, it's too dangerous. The Dark Lord is just taking revenge for Lucius' mistake, I know it! When the Oracle Ball was shattered in the Department of Mysteries, the Dark Lord was furious and needed someone to blame."

"Lucius was the first to run back then, so he chose Draco to punish Lucius, isn't that right!"

"Silence!" Snape said coldly, "Do not presume to guess the Dark Lord's intentions. And speaking of the Oracle Ball, Lady Lestrange's responsibility is even greater than Lucius'."

Narcissa's body trembled, and more wine spilled from her cup. As for Bellatrix, she had become numb.

Compared to the item she lost, the Oracle Ball was nothing...

But she couldn't understand how it had disappeared. The key was hidden well, and only she knew where it was.

Bellatrix looked lost, even thinking for a moment that she had placed it somewhere else, only because she had spent too much time with the Dementors and lost that part of her memory.

She had seen this situation many times; the Dementors could torment people to madness, jumbling their memories.

And Snape had just mentioned that she had been to Gringotts...

But what had she done there? Bellatrix struggled to remember, but nothing came to mind.

On the other hand, Narcissa was still pleading with Snape.

"If Draco succeeds," Snape looked at her and said calmly, "he will receive greater honor than anyone else."

"He won't succeed!" Narcissa screamed, "No one has ever succeeded... Not even Dumbledore..."

The name seemed to drain all her courage, and Narcissa said with a trembling voice, "Severus, you are the Dark Lord's most trusted confidant. Can you talk to him, convince him..."

"The Dark Lord cannot be persuaded by anyone," Snape said, "I won't be foolish enough to attempt that."

"No!" Narcissa covered her chest, "If it's absolutely necessary, can't we just complete half of it... Just half..."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "If I recall correctly, the Dark Lord has two targets this time. Completing half of it means..."

"Yes, that student named Kyle..." Narcissa sobbed, "Although I don't know who he is, he must be easier to deal with than Dumbledore, right..."

Snape's expression was odd, but he soon returned to normal.

In a sense, she was right, but in another, she was wrong.

Well, at least when facing Dumbledore, Draco wouldn't be in mortal danger even if he failed.

Seeing that Snape remained silent, Narcissa gradually broke down, pulling at her golden hair and collapsing onto the floor.

"Narcissa, that's enough," Snape helped her up.

"Perhaps I can help Draco."

Narcissa sat up abruptly, "You're willing to help him complete this task?"

"No, this is the Dark Lord's task, and only he can complete it himself."

"Then will you protect him?" Narcissa clutched Snape's robe tightly, "Will you watch over him and ensure his safety?"

Snape paused for a moment, "I can only say, I'll try."

(End of Chapter)

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