Chapter 732: Meeting Mrs. Greengrass
Chapter 732: Meeting Mrs. Greengrass (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
Ryan and the others followed Mrs. Greengrass into the living room and took their seats. A Handy floated over and poured each of them a cup of black tea. After taking a sip, an awkward silence fell over the room. Finally, Mrs. Greengrass broke the silence.
"Did you come here today to discuss something specific?" Mrs. Greengrass asked calmly. "If it's about our Contract, I want to assure you that while my husband did indeed perish, I guarantee that as long as a single member of our clan remains, the Contract will continue to be honored."
"No, it's not that", Hermione said hesitantly, but she eventually continued. "Mr. Greengrass died because of us, so we feel—"
"Is this pity?" Mrs. Greengrass interrupted Hermione. "You are much kinder than I imagined. I know that if I admitted what you're suggesting, it would bring me many benefits. But I need to tell you that while my husband's death is related to you, it was ultimately inevitable."
"Inevitable? What do you mean?" Liam frowned when he heard Mrs. Greengrass's words. To him, it was clear that Voldemort had chosen a way to harm the Greengrass Family's interests, and Mr. Greengrass had contacted them to resist. However, due to a lack of secrecy, they were caught and the rest unfolded.
But now, Mrs. Greengrass's words suggested that the entire event was part of Voldemort's plan from the start, which piqued Liam's curiosity. He was eager to know what had really happened. Hermione, at this moment,
"The situation was like this—" Mrs. Greengrass began, seeing Liam and Hermione's curious expressions. She slowly recounted everything that had happened on that fateful day.
After the initial plans were set, Voldemort sent a few foreign hired Wizards to the Greengrass Family Manor. The reason given was to ensure the secrecy of the operation, and Mr. Greengrass had no reason to deny them entry. These Wizards did not stay in the Manor's rooms but roamed around the grounds, and every few days, they were replaced by new arrivals.
"These were the three we eliminated at the beginning", Hermione told Liam using the Phoenix Mark. "It seems they didn't know the Dark Lord's full plan, or perhaps he used their deaths to confirm we had taken the bait."
"You're right", Liam replied using the same method. "A simple tactic. If these people didn't respond within the set time, the Dark Lord knew we had arrived. For a Dark Wizard like him, using lives to gain crucial information is worth it."
Mrs. Greengrass was unaware of Liam and Hermione's secret communication. After recounting the earlier events, she began to describe what happened on the day of the incident.
That evening was when Mr. Greengrass was supposed to carry out his mission. So, the Greengrass family had an early lunch and spent the afternoon resting in the living room. However, at around two or three in the afternoon, someone unexpectedly came to visit.
"It was two in the afternoon when we discovered the Parkinson Family had come to visit us. Although we found it strange, as old acquaintances, we welcomed them in."
At this point, Mrs. Greengrass's emotions became agitated. "Because of the relationship between our two clans, we welcomed them into the living room as usual and had our House-Elf serve them tea. But then, Bellatrix, disguised as Pansy Parkinson, used the Killing Curse to murder my husband. Our House-Elf, Kari, tried to stop her but was also killed by another Killing Curse."
"This is absolutely terrifying", Hermione sighed. She felt that killing someone's father in front of their underage children was truly awful. Fortunately, they had never encountered such a difficult situation in previous battles.
"Yes, it is indeed terrible", Mrs. Greengrass said, trying her best to maintain her composure. However, Ryan and the others noticed that her eyes were already red, and she was looking up to try to stop the tears from falling.
A few minutes later, Hermione handed her a handkerchief, and Mrs. Greengrass wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She finally managed to control her emotions and said with a tone of resentment, "I never expected the Parkinson family, with whom we have had a century-long friendship, to provide cover for Bellatrix at this moment, allowing that madwoman to kill my husband."
"So, Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson were really involved?" Liam finally understood why Mrs. Greengrass was so angry. Traitors were always more hateful than enemies, and Mr. Greengrass's death was entirely due to a traitor's actions.
Given the ancient magic defenses of a Pureblood Family Manor, even Voldemort himself would need about seven or eight minutes to break in. This time would be enough for them to sound the alarm, call for reinforcements, or escape through a secret passage.
"Yes, it was Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson who stunned us", Mrs. Greengrass said, suppressing her anger. "Later, when my daughters and I were placed in those tents, we realized that everything had been part of the Dark Lord's plan."
"Could someone have been deceiving you?" Hermione asked. "Maybe they created an illusion to mislead others, hoping to convey false information through you to mislead us."
"No, that's absolutely impossible. Bellatrix told us this herself; she seemed to think it was a great opportunity to showcase the Dark Lord's wisdom. In this regard, Bellatrix would never lie", Mrs. Greengrass said firmly. "Moreover, the information she provided confirmed some things I had been unable to understand before."
Hearing this, Liam gestured for her to continue. Mrs. Greengrass paused and then said, "First, she boasted about the Dark Lord's trust in her, and then she said that the Dark Lord had always suspected our loyalty and thought we might be traitors. So, he used this event to test us. As the Dark Lord predicted, we indeed became traitors."
"Why did the Dark Lord think you were unreliable and needed to test you?" Liam asked.
"It's because many people around us have become the Dark Lord's servants", Mrs. Greengrass said, speaking slowly and deliberately. "The Dark Lord's arrangements for my daughters' marriages and his orders for us to kill Muggles in the streets have been met with opposition from us, as we want to protect the integrity of our clan. These complaints within the Pureblood Families quickly reached the Dark Lord."
"Under the Dark Lord's targeted investigation, I believe my husband's first letter to you in Hogsmeade had already exposed us", Mrs. Greengrass concluded. She then looked at Ryan and the others earnestly and said, "But I swear, at no time did my daughters and I blame you two."
"Why is that?" Liam asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "While the Dark Lord set a trap, Mr. Greengrass's death is, strictly speaking, closely related to us. I find it hard to understand why you have no resentment towards us. Honestly, I can understand if you were to either endure it silently or lash out at us, but I can sense that you truly do not harbor any hatred."
"That's because this was one of the best outcomes we had anticipated", Mrs. Greengrass replied unexpectedly.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
