(Lucius Malfoy POV)
It was the day after the attack on Hogsmeade. It was evening and I was holding in my hand another special edition of the newspaper. Nearly every publication in Wizarding Britain had published a special edition.
Special editions were a rare occurrence, published only when the news was so enormous, so earth shaking, that it could not wait even a few hours to reach the people of Wizarding Britain. It was also an enormous business opportunity for the newspapers as the special editions were priced quite costly and since the news was so intriguing almost everyone bought it.
But now, two special editions have been published in two days. The first had been to report the attack on Hogsmeade. And the second, published today, was to report something even more momentous. Albus Dumbledore's declaration.
A decision to kill the Death Eaters. A decision to wipe them out completely.
Even though a few minutes had passed since I had finished reading the paper, my heart was still beating frantically, my palms were trembling slightly as I held the page. The image of Dumbledore, his eyes burning with fierce power with one of his hands raised, published on the front page was sending a chill down my spine.
Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard to walk the earth in centuries, and without question the strongest of our time, had just declared himself our enemy.
And if I were to speak honestly, it terrified me. I was afraid. The thought that some day we would have to face Albus Dumbledore someday was frightening.
The attack on Hogsmeade had been Rodolphus's plan, or at least that's what he claimed. But I knew better. I had known him since childhood and I was certain he was not intelligent enough to pull off something like this. The only person capable, cunning, and shrewd enough to plan it was his mother, Penelia Lestrange. I was almost certain of it.
But that was not really important.
Rodolphus had called on me to join him in the raid. I had not been particularly willing for various reasons. In fact, I had intended to refuse outright, but my father persuaded me otherwise. And perhaps I could still have denied him if Rodolphus had not promised that his family would owe mine a favour in return. That was reason enough to reluctantly agree or better say for my father to force into this.
The plan itself had been simple, yet dangerously well crafted. It was to be the biggest and most daring attack the Death Eaters had ever attempted. An assault on Hogsmeade, right under the nose of Albus Dumbledore himself. We had known that if we pulled this attack, this was going to shake the Wizarding Britain.
Rodolphus had spoken beautifully about his plans. Which only confirmed what I had already suspected. He was parroting his mother's words. He had called it a golden opportunity, a chance to restore the Dark Lord's glory and remind the world that the Death Eaters still commanded fear.
He had persuaded everyone so well. He had cited how our organisation and how the death eaters were losing their reputation. How our fearsome name was taking a hit and the fear and terror we had cultivated in the mind of people was decreasing. He had argued that if we did not do something like this we would lose all our power. And this had pumped the blood of most of the death eaters. This feeling that no one dared to oppose you once you donned that dress and that mask had become a drug to the most. They could not bear to lose that power.
Perhaps that was why so many of them still followed the Dark Lord, despite the endless pain, the cruciatus curses, and the empty promises of reward.
They did not serve him for gold or glory. They served him for power. For that fleeting high of control in front of the terrorised common people.
And so, the raid was finally agreed upon. Rodolphus had argued that the plan was in complete alignment with what the Dark Lord desired. This attack, he claimed, would unleash the chaos and terror that the Dark Lord himself had commanded us to spread.
And as I had said before, Rodolphus had been too meticulous in his planning, almost unnaturally so. He had even accounted for a risk that no one else had considered. The danger to the children of Death Eaters studying at Hogwarts.
To mitigate that, a message was discreetly circulated. Those directly involved in the raid were informed clearly, while those unaware were told indirectly, coded warnings passed through trusted channels. Parents were instructed to send word to their children, advising them to stay away from crowded areas and instead remain inside establishments that served food and drink. To stay safe and warm and inside four walls in the cold.
Meanwhile, the Death Eaters participating in the raid were told to take special care not to attack such establishments.
It was also agreed that no students would be killed. True, killing Hogwarts students might have created even greater terror, but it would have also brought catastrophic backlash. Terrorising them would be enough but going too far would turn the entire magical world against us. Even Rodolphus understood that such a counterattack could destroy us from within.
Rodolphus had cloaked his plans and intentions beautifully, speaking as though everything he did was for the greater cause, the revival of the Dark Lord's dominion. But I knew him better. And I was right.
His true purpose revealed itself in Hogsmeade.
I had trailed him in Hogsmeade from a safe distance and had been watching his every move. It was then that I saw him, along with three of his subordinates, surrounding a single girl and attempting to kill her.
Lily Evans.
The same girl who had been the reason for the suspension of several Slytherins, including his own brother, Rabastan. The same girl whose name Antonio Olario had spoken at the Black family gathering weeks ago.
It all came rushing back to me then. It looked to me as if everything had begun on that fateful day. And I could not help but wonder, what a fateful meeting it had been?
But what no one had expected was this move from Dumbledore. He had taken all of us completely by surprise. Even now, my mind could not help but wonder, what must the Dark Lord be thinking at this very moment?
Dumbledore's declaration had changed everything. For years, the man had been known for his restraint, and for his inaction. And now, suddenly, he had cast all of that aside.
He had declared war.
Still, I would not have to wait long to find out what the Dark Lord thought of it. Another gathering had been called today itself at midnight. I was truly, deeply curious. What would the Dark Lord say now?
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