Lucius clenched his fist. He knew all too well that having his son act as a spy was dangerous. But he always believed that, compared to the Dark Lord, Victor Dreyar was nothing more than a troublesome hawk.
Upon hearing her husband's words, Narcissa sighed helplessly and continued to plead, "Lucius, Draco is our son! No matter what, you shouldn't put him in danger!"
"It's because he's my son that I want to keep him safe! We don't know when the Dark Lord will return. If he finds out that I did nothing to the person who humiliated him, can you imagine what the consequences would be?!" Lucius's veins bulged, and he was losing control.
Just as the argument between the Malfoy couple was about to escalate, an extremely unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted their conversation, instantly sending a shiver down their spines. The two of them quickly turned their heads to look in the direction of the voice.
"I have to say, Mrs. Malfoy! You are more reasonable and more aware of the situation than your husband!"
They saw that at some point, an overly young figure had silently appeared on the sofa in the living room, and he was eating one of the afternoon tea pastries that Narcissa had just made.
"It tastes pretty good! Did you make it yourself, Mrs. Malfoy?!"
For some reason, as Lucius and Narcissa looked at the seemingly harmless stranger, they felt a chill run through them. Lucius immediately stood up and shielded his wife behind him, then quickly drew his wand from his snake-headed staff and pointed it at the boy on the sofa.
"Who are you?!" Lucius asked nervously.
"Mr. Malfoy, before you deal with your enemies, you should at least know what they look like, shouldn't you?" The boy swallowed a red bean paste scone, then stood up with a hand on his thigh and introduced himself. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Victor Dreyar, your son Draco Malfoy's schoolmate! I came to Malfoy Manor today to ask you some questions, Mr. Malfoy."
"Victor Dreyar, the heir of Ravenclaw." Lucius stared intently at Victor. "I don't care why you're here, but Malfoy Manor does not welcome any strangers!"
"I said, I'm just here to ask a few questions. There's no need to be so nervous!" With that, Victor took two steps forward.
Lucius immediately tried to cast a spell, but just as he was about to shout the incantation, he suddenly felt something stuck in his throat, preventing him from making any sound.
What was even worse was that he suddenly felt his whole body stiffen, and he couldn't even move his fingers. He tried to turn his eyes to look at his wife and found that Narcissa was in the same state as him, frozen in place with a look of terror.
Victor slowly sat back down on the sofa and casually waved his hand. Lucius's and Narcissa's wands suddenly flew from their hands and slowly floated in front of him. Then, with another wave of his hand, the spell on the two of them was instantly lifted.
Lucius immediately felt his body relax. He quickly blocked his wife completely behind him and stared at Victor nervously, shouting, "Dobby! Dobby!"
"Don't bother calling him, Mr. Malfoy! I knocked out your house-elf while he was cleaning the garden outside!" Victor said with an expressionless face, his calm eyes holding a dangerous glint. "As Draco's Guild Master, I don't want to make things too difficult. So, when we can be reasonable, please don't force me to use force!"
Feeling the invisible pressure emanating from Victor, Lucius stiffened his neck and took a step back, then tried to calm himself down and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Victor instantly dropped his dangerous, serious demeanor, and his whole aura suddenly became calm again.
"Didn't I just say, I'm just here to ask some questions!" Victor picked up a scone and started eating it again. "I want to ask you, what did you do with the diary that your master, Voldemort, gave you?"
Upon hearing the name Voldemort, Narcissa's pupils constricted, and she tightly clutched her husband's sleeve. Lucius also held his wife's hand to calm her. He swallowed hard, then said with a fierce look in his eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Mr. Malfoy, there's no point in lying," Victor said with his eyes lowered. "It was I who told Dumbledore that Voldemort created Horcruxes to achieve immortality.
"Let me guess. After Dumbledore told you about the Horcruxes that day, you went home and immediately found the diary that Voldemort entrusted to you. But at the time, you couldn't be 100% sure if the diary was a Horcrux, so I'm guessing you went to some of your former colleagues in Azkaban to ask for some information. Am I right?!"
Victor smiled at the twitching on Lucius's face, instantly confirming that his guess was correct. And in fact, he hadn't used Legilimency.
"So, Mr. Malfoy! Could you please tell me what you did with that diary? My patience is limited. Don't force me to use Legilimency!"
Looking at the eerie and yet harmless smile on Victor's face, Lucius finally couldn't take it anymore. If he had felt pure fear when facing Voldemort in the past, now, when facing Victor, he felt a spine-chilling, endless sense of helplessness.
"I threw that diary away at Flourish and Blotts, on the same day that I had a confrontation with Arthur Weasley!"
"You threw the diary away?!" Victor frowned when he heard this news. "You didn't secretly put it in someone's bag and just threw it away?"
"Yes!" Lucius nodded.
"Can you be more specific?"
"The story, you see, begins on the day Dumbledore told me about the Horcruxes…"
Time rewinds to over a month ago.
After Dumbledore told Lucius about the Horcruxes, Lucius was filled with dread and anxiety at home. To be honest, he really wanted Voldemort to die. But at the same time, the fear that Voldemort had carved into his heart made it difficult for him to make a choice. So after careful consideration, he decided to first gather some information about the Horcruxes.
Although he wasn't sure if the diary in his hands was really Voldemort's Horcrux, since Voldemort had entrusted him with it and even said things like "trustworthy," this diary was at least an important item to Voldemort. Therefore, he naturally thought of whether Voldemort had also entrusted Horcruxes to his other confidants.
So, Lucius decided to have his wife go to Azkaban to find the person who was fanatically devoted to Voldemort: Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa's sister.
Bellatrix Lestrange was a pure-blood witch with the surname Black before marrying Rodolphus Lestrange. She was the eldest daughter of Cygnus Black III and Druella Rosier, and the older sister of Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy.
In 1962, Bellatrix attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Slytherin House. After graduating from Hogwarts, she became a Death Eater. She had the Dark Mark tattooed on the inside of her left forearm and was fiercely loyal to Voldemort. She was one of the few known female Death Eaters and one of the most dangerous and vicious of Voldemort's followers.
Bellatrix had the typical beauty and arrogant demeanor common to the Black family. She was a tall woman with thick, shiny black hair. She had a thick jaw, thin lips, heavy eyelids, and thick eyelashes.
In 1981, Voldemort was defeated and severely injured. But Bellatrix and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, remained loyal to Voldemort and tried to find out what had happened. They captured the Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife Alice Longbottom and, with Rabastan (Rodolphus's brother) and Barty Crouch Jr., used the Cruciatus Curse to torture the Longbottoms into insanity.
Soon after, the four were captured by Aurors and sentenced to Azkaban. After being imprisoned, Bellatrix refused to condemn her master and vowed that he would return. Because of this, Bellatrix was a major criminal as a Death Eater, and it was extremely difficult for Lucius to get his wife to visit her.
So, after using a large number of the Malfoy family's connections and resources, Narcissa finally obtained a visit pass from the Ministry of Magic during the summer…
Early August 1992, Azkaban.
Azkaban was an isolated fortress on a small island in the cold waters of the North Sea. It was the highest security prison for wizards and witches, guarded by terrifying, immortal Dark magic creatures: Dementors.
Walking through the dark and damp prison corridors, one could feel an inexplicable cold seeping into their bones, even with a thick coat on. After walking for what felt like forever, Narcissa arrived at a solitary cell.
The prison door had no keyhole and was covered in rust, but the runes on it were exceptionally clear. It was obvious that without the corresponding key, it would be impossible to open the door.
The door had a small window, the width of a palm and the height of two fingers, which allowed a person to just barely look inside the cell.
In the darkest corner, a figure was curled up on the cold floor. Narcissa took a deep breath, raised her hand, and gently knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Bella!" With a mix of emotions, she softly called out her sister's name.
The figure curled up in the corner heard the familiar voice, and her thin body suddenly trembled violently. Then, like a spider, she slowly crawled out of the darkness on all fours.
"Narcissa?"
"It's me, sister..."
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