[Note: Read up to Chapter - 146 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Late at night.
Malfoy Manor.
Though the hour was well past midnight, the lights inside the grand manor still burned brightly.
In the largest drawing room, several wizards clad in black robes sat quietly on the sofas, their faces hidden beneath deep hoods.
Outside, one or two guards passed by every so often, patrolling in near silence.
"How's the situation? Any news?"
As Lucius Malfoy entered the hall, the seated wizards rose to their feet. A low voice came from one of the hoods.
"That little Shafiq boy and Henry from the Barton family have returned to the manor," Lucius reported, lifting his head and casting a slow glance around the room.
"Now we just need to keep an eye on them," he added coolly.
"But remember—nothing must happen to the two rabbits inside. If anything goes wrong, we risk losing everything."
"Relax," one of the black-robed men scoffed. "Those two won't be slipping away, not a chance."
"Besides," another added, "Avery and his lot are already watching the Barton estate. If they twitch a finger, we'll know."
"Well, in that case," a third wizard said with a lazy grin, reclining back into the cushions, "might as well enjoy the night while we can."
"Now's not the time to be letting our guard down," Lucius said sharply, a slight frown creasing his brow. "Tonight is critical—nothing can go wrong. I trust that's clear to all of you."
"Course we know," one of the black-robed wizards replied, clearly irritated. "Why d'you think we've been stuck here all this time?"
"We've been running about all day—it's bloody late now. What's wrong with having a bit of a breather?"
He cast Lucius a look and added with a sneer, "Just because you've let us use your manor as a base doesn't mean we are under your thumb."
With that, he dropped back onto the sofa and smugly propped his foul-smelling boots on the coffee table.
The other two black-robed wizards glanced at each other, then casually followed his lead, easing themselves into the seats.
"Don't fret so much, Lucius. No one's getting into this place. If someone did manage to break through, then your lads on patrol might as well go home and take up farming," one of them chuckled.
"Yeah, conserve your energy, mate," the other added lazily. "Tomorrow's negotiation is the real centrepiece of this whole plan."
Lucius's jaw tightened slightly, but he said nothing as the two men lounged about, clearly intent on slacking off.
From a shadowed corner of the hall, Narcissa Malfoy peered out from behind a door, her sharp gaze finding her husband's.
Their eyes met, and without a word, Lucius understood. He turned at once and made his way over to her.
"Those lot'll never amount to anything," Lucius muttered under his breath as he and Narcissa stepped into a side room, closing the door behind them.
"Lucius," Narcissa said quietly, her brows furrowed, "you know full well how risky this is. Half of them are on the Ministry's watch list—some probably have warrants hanging over their heads. You can't expect loyalty from people like that… not unless he comes back."
She looked clearly troubled, her voice edged with concern.
"We never should've got involved in this mess. It's far too dangerous. All they care about is Galleons, and now they want to use a child as leverage. If the Ministry catches wind of this, we're finished. And honestly, do we really need the money that badly?"
Lucius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's not about whether I wanted to be involved or not… we're in it now."
He paused before adding, "But if we can control that child, it could work in our favour."
"At the very least, it would ease the family's financial burden."
"And if the boy's willing to cooperate," he added thoughtfully, "it might not be a bad thing, really."
Lucius had already played the scenario out in his head—if the little Shafiq boy behaved himself, he wouldn't give him any trouble. In fact, Lucius was even prepared to hand over a sizeable chunk of the Shafiq fortune, enough to keep the boy comfortable and out of harm's way for the rest of his life.
In his mind, that was the best deal the lad could hope for… and it would spare his life in the process.
Otherwise, those ex-Death Eaters loitering about wouldn't think twice about killing someone and nicking their coin.
"I just hope the Shafiq boy makes the right choice," Lucius muttered.
For this plan, he'd even gone so far as to intentionally leave a loophole when capturing the Lovegoods—just to show Aris a bit of goodwill. A gesture of supposed sincerity.
Truth be told, he'd done everything he could think of.
"But according to the information Draco sent us, Aris Shafiq isn't exactly ordinary," Narcissa said, still looking uneasy.
"He's a first-year, and he's already answering fifth-year exam questions. On top of that, he's well-liked at school… popular, even."
"If you give him a few more years," she added softly, "he could become known throughout the entire wizarding world."
"That's if he lives that long," Lucius scoffed.
"Right now, his spellwork is no better than that of a fifth- or sixth-year. Against a full assault from former Death Eaters and the backing of several pure-blood families? He hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell."
"Even if the Barton family step in, there's no way they can shield him forever."
Narcissa fell silent, then let out a reluctant sigh.
"Poor lad…"
Her eyes drifted to a framed photo of Draco on the wall. With a faint, wistful smile, she said, "Draco probably has no idea one of his classmates is about to be dragged into something this dark. From his letters... it sounds like he's got rather complicated feelings about young Shafiq."
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Shafiq Family Castle
The Shafiq estate was nothing short of grand. Just the interior space of the castle spanned several thousand square metres. Outside, it boasted its own private gardens and a massive entertainment area—big enough to host a small wizarding quiz tournament without feeling crowded.
When Aris first laid eyes on the place, he couldn't help but click his tongue in disbelief.
This place… the total floor area alone could rival the most luxurious palaces from his past life's capital.
It was absolutely bonkers.
If Aris had his way, he wouldn't want to live alone in such a massive place. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night needing the loo—would take you a full five minutes just to reach it. Who could live like that?
Well… that was just him taking the mick.
Still—the place was ridiculously massive.
"If only there were a few more people to share it with…" he muttered to himself.
Without meaning to, a few familiar faces popped into his mind—Hermione, Cho…
Wait—why them all of a sudden?
Must be the stress from worrying about Luna. Yeah, that's got to be it.
Definitely not anything else.
Still… Hermione and Cho?
"Oi, Uncle Henry, you got anything for me?" Aris called, clearing his throat to shake off the wandering thoughts. He was sat comfortably in the main lounge, casually biting into a doughnut.
"Yes, Master," Henry said, stepping in. "I've looked into it—got everything sorted."
Henry snapped his fingers, and a house-elf scurried over, promptly beginning to serve Aris a variety of food and fruit.
"There are about three of them stationed inside the castle," Henry reported, "mainly to keep an eye on us—and to send word the moment anything looks off."
"Also, since the Barton family's lent us their support, they've placed a few watchers on them too. So far, I'd say there are four or five in total, including some who are keeping tabs on Barton family members living outside the estate."
"These spies are monitoring our every move. If they spot anything suspicious, they'll react straight away."
"Hmph, that's quite a few," Aris muttered, frowning slightly.
Three here, five there… makes at least eight so far.
And that's not even counting whoever's holed up at Malfoy Manor.
This was shaping up to be a right headache.
Aris quickly ran through the numbers in his head, estimating how many people the Barton family could still back him with. According to the latest list, there were only four or five he could count on with certainty.
A few others might be neutral… or might turn on him if things went south.
He had to prepare for the worst.
But then his thoughts drifted to Iris—and the sheer might she possessed—and a smirk tugged at his lips.
Let them bring reinforcements. What did it matter?
If Iris got serious, she wasn't just some pet dragon—she was a fricking incarnation of destruction.
Just the thought lifted his spirits.
Relaxing a little, Aris reached for an apple from the table and took a bite, crunching into it with ease.
Then, his gaze casually shifted to the house-elf standing nearby.
"May I ask your name?"
Aris looked at the house-elf with a thoughtful glint in his eyes.
"My name is Snoopy, sir!" the elf replied cheerfully.
"Huh?" Aris blinked, caught off guard. That name… sounded far too familiar.
Still, he shook his head with a faint sigh and chose to roll with it.
In the wizarding world, it wasn't exactly unheard of for a house-elf to share a name with a dog. Just another quirk of magic folk, he supposed.
"Hello, Snoopy…" Aris said, doing his best to suppress the urge to make a joke. Instead, he fixed the elf with a serious look.
"I've heard your kind have rather unique magic. If your master gives a command, you're bound to carry it out, aren't you?"
"Yes, Master," Snoopy said with a respectful bow. "If you give the order, Snoopy will do his utmost to see it done!"
"Good. Then can you help me find out where Luna is?"
Snoopy's ears twitched slightly as he thought it over.
"This may take a little time, Master…"
"Will one night be enough?" Aris asked, eyes narrowing just a touch.
"Hm… yes, I reckon that should do," Snoopy replied after a moment, giving a firm nod.
"Right then—I'll leave it to you."
Aris placed a hand solemnly on the elf's thin shoulder.
Snoopy looked positively flustered. "Master, y-you don't have to be so kind!" he stammered, clearly overwhelmed. As a house-elf, it went against every bit of training to accept such trust without fuss.
"But don't you worry," he added quickly. "I'll find Miss Luna as soon as I can!"
As he spoke, Snoopy gave a light snap of his fingers in front of Aris—and vanished from the living room with a pop.
"He's gone straight to where Luna is?"
Aris looked up, turning to Henry with a curious expression.
"Doubt it's that simple," Henry replied with a shrug. "Most of the time, when a house-elf's trying to find someone on their master's orders, they've got to try a few times before they can Apparate accurately to the person's location."
"That's fine," Aris said with a small smile. "Bit of extra protection, isn't it?"
Henry studied the boy for a moment, then raised a brow. "I'll admit, it's a clever move, Master—but surely the folks at Malfoy Manor aren't just going to sit back and watch Snoopy waltz out with Miss Luna and Mr Lovegood in tow?"
"You got another trick up your sleeve?"
"I never told Snoopy to bring anyone back," Aris said casually, shrugging.
"Then you…"
Henry paused, thinking it over—then it clicked. Aris had only asked the elf to find Luna, not rescue her.
"You'll see tomorrow," Aris said with a knowing smile, then turned and began walking up the stairs to the upper floor of the castle.
"Right—time for a bit of rest."
He stopped halfway up the stairs and looked around, then glanced back at Henry with a mildly helpless look.
"By the way… any chance you could tell me where the bedroom is?"
"Of course!" Henry replied quickly, snapping out of his thoughts.
He was still puzzling over the boy's plan, but as soon as Aris spoke, he sprang into action and led him up to the second floor of the castle.
"To get to the second floor from the main hall, you'll need to walk down a long corridor," Henry explained as he led the way.
"At the end of that corridor, there's a small sitting room. The second door on the left will take you into the side tower of the castle."
"It's the tallest tower on the estate—you can see the whole grounds from up there. I thought you might fancy it, young master."
"Once you're in the side tower, it's just through a sitting room, two more corridors, and then up five spiral staircases to reach your bedroom."
Aris followed, frowning slightly as he took it all in.
"So, from the main lounge to my bedroom, I've got to hike through four or five corridors and climb half a mountain's worth of stairs?"
"That's right, young master," Henry said cheerfully, nodding.
"Brilliant," Aris muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Might as well finish me off now."
He made a mental note right then and there—once he mastered the Elemental Magic Transmission Array, he'd be installing it all over this place.
First order of business: set up a shortcut between the main lounge and his room. No question.
Ten minutes later, Aris finally stepped into his bedroom.
As the door clicked shut behind him, the lightness vanished from his eyes—replaced by a cold, calculating stare.
And with a soft pulse of magic, the little dragon materialised in the room beside him.
"Iris, you've got the gist of what's going on, yeah?" Aris asked gently, resting a hand on the little dragon's head.
"Yes, Master—I know everything," Iris replied, her tone serious. Her wide, innocent eyes shimmered with a fiery glow, tinged with a deadly glint of murder.
"Right then… first, find where Luna and Mr Lovegood are being held, and then—"
He cut himself off, falling silent as he transmitted the rest of his plan to her mentally.
Iris listened intently, nodding now and then, her expression focused.
But once Aris had finished laying out the full scheme, she blinked in surprise, looking a bit uncertain.
"Master… you really plan to go through with that?"
"What? Something wrong?"
"Well… not exactly. Just sounds… very exciting."
"You don't like excitement?"
"Me? Don't be daft! Iris lives for excitement!"
"Then what are you waiting for? Off you go."
"Just you wait, Master—I'll bring back good news!"
Before Aris could even reply, Iris vanished with a sharp gust of wind, slipping out into the night.
Even after she was gone, her voice—sweet but laced with bloodlust—still echoed in Aris's mind:
"Tomorrow, those clueless fools will feel it…The wrath of the great dark dragon!"
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 146 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]