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Chapter 875: Death Eater's Plan, the Hebrides
Chapter 875: Death Eater's Plan, the Hebrides
"Lucius?"
The Death Eater waiting outside eyed Lucius Malfoy, who had just returned, with suspicion. He asked, "Why are you back so soon? Don't you care about your galleons, and are you thinking of defying the Dark Lord's orders?"
"Of course not," Lucius Malfoy replied nonchalantly. "It's an honor for these galleons to be of service to the Dark Lord, and it's an honor for the Malfoy family as well."
"If that's the case, then why are you back?"
"There's a crowd at Gringotts. I'll have to wait a while for a goblin to take me to the underground vault," Lucius Malfoy explained. "I don't want to just stand around, so I thought I'd take a trip to Knockturn Alley to buy some things first."
"Gringotts is crowded?" The Death Eater was skeptical but started walking forward, intending to see for himself.
Lucius Malfoy didn't stop him and instead quickly walked down the stairs, saying, "Then I'll head to Knockturn Alley first. We can meet up here later."
Without another word, he strode towards the fork in the road not far away.
The Death Eater frowned, glancing at the nearby Gringotts before looking back at Lucius, who was walking further away. Without hesitation, he immediately turned and followed.
He didn't want to let Lucius out of his sight.
"Don't you trust me?" Lucius asked casually as he noticed his companion hurrying to catch up.
"If you truly devoted your heart to the Dark Lord, you should take the initiative to hand over the vault," the Death Eater mocked.
"The Dark Lord scorns such things," Lucius said. "And if I were to give it to someone, who would it be? You?"
"I don't mind," the Death Eater said sinisterly, not bothering to hide his intentions.
Lucius remained silent and quickened his pace.
The two turned into the fork in the road and entered Knockturn Alley. The already quiet street became even more deserted. The shops on both sides had their doors wide open, but they were empty and pitch-black, like beasts waiting to devour their prey.
Lucius skillfully turned into another, narrower alley.
The Death Eater followed closely behind, still chattering, "You're really lucky. If it weren't for the death of Lestrange, you'd be the one dead by now."
"That's what I should be saying," Lucius sneered. "If Bellatrix hadn't died, a waste of space like you wouldn't even have the chance to talk to me."
"What did you say?"
The Death Eater flew into a rage, grabbing Lucius by his robe.
The Dark Lord had personally told him that once Lucius Malfoy was no longer of value, the position would be his.
How dare this failure, who was on the verge of being discarded, speak to him like that? Did he want to die?
"Did I say something wrong?" Lucius turned his head, a smile on his face. "Not being able to distinguish whether someone is using a Disguise Spell or not—aren't you a waste of space?"
"Disguise Spell... You..." The Death Eater's pupils suddenly contracted, and he reached for his wand.
But it was too late by the time he reacted.
Two sharp stone cones extended from the wall behind them in the blink of an eye, piercing the Death Eater's shoulders like tofu and pinning him to the opposite wall.
The Death Eater felt the world spinning, and the intense pain in his shoulders made him unconsciously loosen his grip on his wand. Blood dripped from his fingers.
"Who... Who are you...?" He spoke with a trembling voice, the tearing pain causing him to shake. "You... You can't kill me... Otherwise, the Dark Lord will kill you... You... You can't escape..."
"Who am I? I'm Lucius Malfoy, of course. What, don't you recognize me?"
Lucius smiled, but his platinum blond hair began to shorten rapidly, soon turning into short, black hair. His pale face also transformed into a younger visage.
"You... You're not Malfoy... Who are you...?" The Death Eater screamed in terror. "Daring to challenge the Dark Lord... If you don't want to die, let me go..."
"If you don't even know who I am, you really are a waste of space," Kyle said, canceling the Disguise Spell with a lack of interest.
He had thought he had caught a big fish, but it turned out to be a rotten piece of seaweed.
Not to boast, but given Voldemort's level of hatred for him, his notoriety among the Death Eaters was probably no less than that of Harry Potter.
The fact that this Death Eater didn't recognize him only proved that he was an insignificant lackey who could only follow orders.
Was Lucius Malfoy reduced to such a pitiful state? Aside from not being trusted, he was even being watched by such a worthless waste of space.
Kyle curled his lips in disdain and picked up the wand that had just fallen from the Death Eater's hand, weighing it in his palm.
"Whoever you are, let me go immediately, or the Dark Lord... The Dark Lord will definitely kill you..." The Death Eater continued to shout, but he had stopped struggling.
It hurt too much, and every movement felt like his shoulders were about to break. He dared not move anymore.
Kyle ignored him and continued to examine the wand in his hand.
"A pure black wand, ebony, perhaps? As for the core... it's definitely not unicorn hair. It should be dragon heartstring, seeking power."
"What... What are you asking that for?"
"Of course, I'm getting familiar with my weapon in advance. Even if you're a waste of space, you can still be of some use."
Kyle raised the ebony wand, pointing it at the Death Eater's head.
"Although I've never used a wand with this combination before, dragon heartstrings that favor power are usually not very loyal, so there shouldn't be any issues."
"Wait, wait, you..."
"Legilimens!"
...
With a flash of white light, Knockturn Alley returned to its previous quiet state.
Several minutes later.
Kyle exited Knockturn Alley, but this time, he had transformed into the Death Eater he had encountered earlier. He made his way straight to Gringotts, standing at its entrance.
Soon after, Lucius Malfoy emerged, his face even paler than before, his fingers trembling slightly.
"Having second thoughts about your galleons? Remember, it's an honor for you," said Kyle, assuming the role of Travers Nott.
"I don't need your reminder, Travers Nott," Lucius replied coldly. "A mere amount of galleons, the Malfoy family will always be loyal to the Dark Lord."
"If you were truly loyal, you'd hand over your entire family vault instead of trickling it out like this," Kyle said, playing his part.
Lucius' face turned a shade redder, as if he were angered by the insinuation.
It seemed that his only value now was providing galleons. Was the other Lucius suggesting that he wanted to die faster by handing over the entire vault?
Even so, Lucius dared not lose his temper, afraid that Travers Nott would twist his words and report them to Voldemort.
The Malfoy family could not afford to make any more mistakes.
"The Dark Lord knows my loyalty. You don't need to meddle," Lucius said, taking quick steps away from Gringotts.
"Yes, my lord," Kyle, as Travers Nott, replied, keeping pace with him.
Before this, he had thought that Moody had swindled Malfoy again, but after viewing the Death Eater's memory, he realized he was mistaken.
They weren't returning to Cornwall; instead, they were on a new mission, though the Death Eater he had impersonated didn't know the specifics. His task had simply been to keep an eye on Malfoy.
"It's about time," Lucius said as they returned to the back of the Leaky Cauldron. He turned to Travers Nott and said, "Travers Nott, take out the item. If we miss the timing, we will both be punished."
Kyle nodded and took out a... coaster from his robe pocket.
To be precise, it was a Portkey.
Without a word, Lucius placed his finger on it.
The two stood there awkwardly, and after what felt like an eternity, a sudden suction force came from the coaster.
The Portkey had activated.
After a dizzying journey, Kyle finally landed on solid ground. A gust of wind brought with it a familiar briny scent.
However, he could be sure that this place was not Cornwall.
"Right on time," said a pale, frail-looking wizard who approached them without any courtesy. "Travers Nott, you're dismissed. Scram."
Having just adjusted to his new identity, Kyle was a little dazed before realizing that the wizard was addressing him.
The wizard's attitude and disdainful gaze... this person must be a half-blood, or even lower, compared to Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
"Yes, my lord," Kyle said, moving to the back of the group.
Indeed, there were many Death Eaters present, roughly fifty or so, and the one leading them was none other than the frail-looking wizard.
Rodolphus Lestrange, one of the senior Death Eaters, Voldemort's confidant, and husband to Bellatrix, although she was obsessed with Voldemort and had little affection for her nominal husband... at most, they were prison mates, having served time in Azkaban together.
However, Rodolphus didn't seem to mind, and Kyle felt that given the opportunity, he might not even object to replacing Bellatrix.
As Rodolphus spoke with Malfoy, Kyle discreetly surveyed their surroundings.
From Travers Nott's memory, he only knew that after Malfoy had withdrawn the money, he had used the Portkey to bring them to this location, but he didn't know their specific destination.
However, they were currently by the seaside, and based on their environment, it seemed they were either at a dock or on an island. With limited information, Kyle couldn't be certain of their exact location.
The only thing he could confirm was that they were no longer in Britain.
Kyle had extensive experience with Portkeys and could estimate distance based on the duration of the journey. The length of their trip suggested that they had traveled a considerable distance beyond Britain's borders but not too far away.
If Kyle's guess was correct, they were now on an island off the coast of England.
Kyle wanted to gather some information, but everyone around him seemed to despise him. Each time he tried to approach someone, he received nothing but disdainful glances.
It was safe to say that this Death Eater had a terrible reputation.
Kyle even suspected that Rodolphus Lestrange had chosen him to monitor Malfoy precisely because of his poor relationships with others.
Should Malfoy become unhappy or have a change of heart, they could simply kill him as compensation, without any hesitation or remorse.
Even a tattered and ugly wallet was more useful than cannon fodder... Unfortunately, the real Travers Nott seemed to have never realized this.
Noticing Rodolphus Lestrange's gaze sweep over him, Kyle immediately stood quietly in place.
However, Lestrange's gaze did not linger, appearing only to be a routine check.
"Strange, why are we still standing here?" Kyle wondered.
He and Lucius Malfoy had been standing here for over ten minutes, yet the Death Eaters showed no signs of moving, simply standing there dryly.
Could it be that Voldemort was holding some sort of Death Eater training camp? Or were they waiting for others to arrive...?
Just then, Kyle suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and his heart began to race.
In the sky not far away, several clouds of black smoke sped towards them and landed nearby.
Voldemort emerged from the smoke, followed by Yaxley, Crabbe, and Goyle, along with other infamous Death Eaters.
Seeing this luxurious lineup, Kyle was stunned.
He had intended to cause some trouble for the Death Eaters, but that did not include Voldemort.
Causing trouble for Voldemort was as good as signing his own death warrant.
Kyle regretted his decision. If he had known Voldemort would be here, he definitely, absolutely, would not have come to join in on this.
Unfortunately, Travers Nott knew too little, and now Kyle could only try to shrink himself as much as possible into the crowd, thinking that he would find an opportunity to slip away later.
Even if the Death Eaters discovered something amiss, they would only blame Travers Nott; Kyle had nothing to worry about.
Yes, he would slip away at the first chance he got.
Kyle edged further back, relieved that Voldemort's eyes did not seem to notice the dispensable cannon fodder that could be discarded at any time.
Additionally, this time, instead of using a Disguise Spell, he had opted for the Polyjuice Potion, so as long as he didn't do anything foolish, Voldemort was unlikely to discover that a strange entity had infiltrated his ranks.
Mimicking the others, Kyle directed a fanatical gaze towards Voldemort, conveying his loyalty.
"Let's wait a little longer..." he thought to himself,
At least he needed to figure out why Voldemort had come here. For him to show up in person, it had to be for something significant.
After all, when they had recruited the hundred-odd vagrant wizards with Rabastan Lestrange, it was only Bartemius Crouch Jr. who had appeared on behalf of Voldemort.
Now, not only had Voldemort come in person, but many well-known Death Eaters were also present, indicating that they were plotting something major.
Since he had stumbled upon this, he naturally wanted to find out more.
Kyle was glad he had chosen to use the Polyjuice Potion earlier. If he had used a Disguise Spell, Voldemort might have already exposed him by now.
Although Rabastan did not recognize the title of 'Dark Lord', it was not something Voldemort had given himself. He had earned it with his power, and only Dumbledore could rival him in strength.
"Where is it?" Voldemort asked coldly, at the front of the group.
"Right here." Lucius Malfoy, like a quivering quail, took out a Cornwall-style box, presumably a gift from Gringotts.
"Very good." Only then did Voldemort nod in satisfaction, then turned to look at Rodolphus Lestrange beside him.
"My Lord, I have already notified Miles MacNasty. They should be preparing to welcome the great Dark Lord right about now."
"Preparing to welcome me?" Voldemort's red eyes fell on Lestrange. "Are you saying that I still have to wait here for him?"
"Thud!" Rodolphus Lestrange immediately knelt on the ground.
"My Lord, I will go and fetch him right now!"
"Roar!"
As he spoke, an angry roar sounded in the distance, followed by several dozen-foot-long flames that intertwined in the air like a spider web.
The Death Eaters' formation became slightly chaotic, but because Voldemort was here, they quickly returned to order, and even if some were afraid, they dared not show it.
Fear was a sign of weakness, and Voldemort despised weakness. As a Death Eater, if Voldemort took a dislike to you, your fate would be miserable.
"No need, I'll go myself." Voldemort looked up at the flames that had not yet completely dissipated. "Miles is a smart man... and smart people generally make the right choices."
At his command, the Death Eaters finally sprang into action and marched towards the depths of the island.
Yes, an island.
From the moment Lestrange mentioned that name, Kyle had known where they were, and the commotion only further confirmed his suspicions.
The Hebrides, the place where the black dragons were located.
As everyone knew, there were only two places where one could see fire dragons nowadays.
The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, where almost all kinds of fire dragons could be found, except for the black dragons of the Hebrides.
Due to their special nature, these fire dragons could not live with other dragons and had been managed, or rather, protected, by the MacNasty family, who had lived on the Hebrides for centuries.
While caring for the black dragons, they also prevented them from leaving the archipelago.
And Voldemort's purpose here was undoubtedly those war machines.
...
(End of Chapter)
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