Peter was currently in high spirits managing Loren's small world. In that world, the top of the hierarchy were a few important figures—the first three being Loren, Hermione, and Shiraori.
Ever since Loren discovered his small world had been exposed, he no longer guarded its permissions as tightly. Further construction plans were put on hold, and he handed day-to-day control to Peter. Peter now even held the authority to arrange who could go out. Even so, without Loren's express permission, Peter himself could only remain in the outside world for at most one hour a day; when the time was up, he would be transported back.
Peter was satisfied with his current life and wanted to keep it that way, so he worked diligently for Loren. Today, the moment he received Loren's message, he immediately began making arrangements.
As for Mr. Borgin, the former boss, he was now peacefully staying inside Loren's small world—an experimental subject.
Before becoming Loren's experimental subjects, the trio had scurried around Knockturn Alley for years and knew every twist and turn of the place. Loren's assignment for them was to procure supplies and exotic creatures for the small world. It was in order to complete this task that they ended up seizing Mr. Borgin's dark-arts shop.
In fact, the trio hadn't planned to move against Mr. Borgin at first. They only wanted to reach a paid cooperation—borrowing his logistics and distribution channels. After all, Mr. Borgin was a very famous black-market dealer in Knockturn Alley. His name was known far and wide, and yet he had stood firm for many years, which alone made the small fry of Knockturn Alley feel awe. There was even a rumor that the Dark Lord had once worked in the shop; so when the Dark Lord was raging through the world, Borgin's shop remained unscathed. That alone kept many skulking dark wizards at a respectful distance, never daring to make a casual move—especially not the three who had once lived at the very bottom of that alley.
When the trio approached Mr. Borgin with cooperation in mind, an accident occurred: they happened to run into old Mr. Malfoy, who had come to sell dark-magic items.
The Malfoy family had been having a rough time lately. At first, it was only people of Hufflepuff background giving them trouble—mostly the middle and lower rungs of the wizarding world. And with Hufflepuffs' temperament, they would cause problems only within the bounds of the rules, not doing anything too outrageous.
But recently the Daily Prophet, from who-knows-where, got hold of an exclusive interview with Draco. The content sent old Mr. Malfoy's blood pressure soaring, and he immediately called his son in.
Hearing his father's questions, Draco faltered at first, then carefully tried to recall. At last, in an uncertain tone he said, "I remember being interviewed by someone—inside Hogwarts Castle—but who interviewed me, I can't remember."
After speaking, Draco watched his father's face; seeing no change, he carefully added, "I remember that after the interview I was in a foul mood. When I returned to the Great Hall, I even vented my temper at students from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. In the end it was my godfather who took me away."
Hearing those last parts, old Mr. Malfoy instantly realized this was an open-and-shut scheme targeting House Malfoy. He had already learned from Snape that Draco had provoked students of the two Houses, but the causes leading up to it he was only now hearing from his own son.
He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and asked, "Why didn't you tell your godfather the causes and details immediately after it happened? So much time has passed—looking into it now is already too late."
Although his father's tone was gentler than ever, Draco could hear the anger being held down between the words. He answered cautiously, "For some reason, I forgot the whole thing at the time. If you hadn't asked me today, I—"
Old Mr. Malfoy froze at that. He pulled his son straight into the family vault, opened a hidden compartment, and took out a scepter older than the cane he usually carried, though of a similar make. He channeled the scepter's power and examined Draco carefully.
This scepter, similar in function to the Weasleys' family device, was a Malfoy heirloom. Only Malfoy blood could wield it; the purer the blood, the greater the amplification for the bearer. That was one reason the Malfoys prized bloodlines so much.
After a thorough check, old Mr. Malfoy found plenty of magical residue on Draco's body dating back a year or two—everyday leftovers from ordinary goings-on. But he never found traces of the three magics he most wanted to confirm: the Imperius Curse, Legilimency, and Obliviate—common methods by which dark wizards tamper with memory.
He poured all his magic into the attempt this time, even downing several vials of restorative potion. The result was the same as before: aside from mundane residue, there were no traces of those three magics.
This unsettled him. In the wizarding world, there are very few who can manipulate people without a ripple and then leave nothing to be detected. Add to that the fact that it happened at Hogwarts—within that whole castle, only Dumbledore could accomplish such a thing, he thought.
The idea that the hand behind it was Dumbledore made his heart clench. Had his own recent little maneuvers been discovered? Was this Dumbledore's warning?
In truth, this was old Mr. Malfoy scaring himself. When Loren acted on Draco, he hadn't used overt magic at all, but a form of hypnosis—Loren, at the time, preferred subtle means over raw spellcraft.
Even if Dumbledore's "warning" existed only in Lucius's imagination, the consequences of the matter were very real. The things Draco said were the sort of truths pure-blood nobles discuss in private, not to be aired in public, much less delivered with pride. With the Daily Prophet blasting his words across the country, other pure-blood families would certainly be displeased—the fig leaf they worked so hard to maintain had been yanked away by the Malfoy heir. The public would not be kind.
Moreover, old Mr. Malfoy had to guard against hostile families piling on. The Malfoys' slate was not exactly clean and would not withstand careful scrutiny. To preempt disaster, he needed to prepare now—at least clean his own house a bit—before going to allies to pull him out. Hence his trip to Borgin's shop to dispose of certain dark-arts items.
Of course, luck wasn't with him. While he was handling those items at Borgin's, he was spotted by Loren's three-man team. Although Lucius cut the transaction short and left in a hurry when the trio entered, Borgin's was what it was—people who came there weren't there for anything wholesome.
The trio had lived in Knockturn Alley long enough to be shrewd. Since their boss was giving the Malfoys grief, as underlings they had to think ahead for him. They prepared to tail old Mr. Malfoy.
But Lucius was sharp. Coming to Knockturn Alley, he was already guarding against a sneak attack. As soon as he stepped out, he Disapparated, giving the trio no opening.
They struck out at first, but the quick-witted Number One shifted targets to Mr. Borgin. Since the deal was between Lucius and Borgin, if they couldn't grab Lucius, then they would take Borgin instead—wring out the information they wanted from him, and then impersonate him to wait for the next fish.
Numbers Two and Three considered the suggestion and agreed. They had done plenty of "black-eating-black" in Knockturn Alley. With the gear they carried, taking Borgin down would not be a problem. As for how to pry everything they wanted from his mouth… the three of them recalled the various alchemical devices they themselves had tested on their own bodies; an involuntary shiver ran through them. Mr. Borgin would "like" those very much.
Once they had fixed the target, the three discussed how to capture Borgin alive. A man who had stood untoppled for years in peril-ridden Knockturn Alley would certainly have protective magical tools. Without a thorough plan, Borgin might escape. And if he escaped, he would retaliate. They did not fear Borgin's revenge, but a failed mission entrusted by their master was something they absolutely could not accept.
To them now, Loren was their lord—their master. They would risk their lives to complete his orders. If their mistake let Borgin slip away and the mission suffer, they would not forgive themselves.
To make sure nothing went wrong, the three even returned to the small world to consult with Peter Pettigrew and the others. Peter supported capturing Borgin. Rely on mountains and mountains crumble; rely on rivers and rivers run dry—better to keep key channels in their own hands, and they could disgust the Malfoys in passing to vent their master's anger. Peter knew the ins and outs of Loren's feud with the Malfoys; back then he had still been Ron's pet and had watched the entire incident. Hearing from the trio that Loren had handed the Malfoys' dirt to the Daily Prophet, he naturally understood Loren's stance.
After everyone discussed it, Peter made the call: they would use the various alchemical tools Loren had left behind…
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810