As the dawn approached, a streak of sickly green light emerged from beyond the horizon, slowly devouring the still dark sky.
The fierce wind howled above Malfoy Manor, yet it could not dispel the thin gray mist that lingered in the air.
On the rooftop terrace of the mansion, Voldemort squinted his eyes and gazed at the dawn, his wide black robe flapping in the wind.
"It's time,"
The tumultuous wind could not overpower Voldemort's murmured whisper, and he turned, looking behind him—
Lucius Malfoy, his wife Narcissa, Old Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, McNair, Avery, Granger.
His most loyal Death Eaters have all gathered here.
"Fourteen years ago, we suffered defeat. And that defeat cost me, and you, my friends, dearly."
The Death Eaters stirred slightly, lowering their heads, not daring to meet the bloodthirsty gaze of the Dark Lord.
"Our great cause has been set back. Those mean, hypocritical and incompetent wizards took to the stage, laughing at our noble dreams through our failure."
Voldemort's mouth, devoid of lips, opened and closed, his voice soft, as if in mourning for something.
"But those cowards will eventually realize that Voldemort cannot be defeated. He will lead the brave rebels to reclaim the honor of purebloods, and now -"
Voldemort's voice, suddenly high-pitched, drowned out the howling wind. In an instant, the air was filled with a chilling austerity.
"Go, my friends, it is time for people to feel some fear again. I will be here, waiting for good news from you!"
The Death Eaters did not speak, and the leader, Lucius Malfoy, bowed respectfully to Voldemort before disappearing into the air.
"And now—"
Voldemort smiled at the remaining Death Eaters.
"You need to wait for a moment."
Snapping!
A crisp sound, and Lucius landed in the Ministry of Magic's reception hall.
The spacious, magnificent hall was empty, with only a pale wizard standing in the center of the foyer, his face showing deathly pale.
After recognizing the man's face, Lucius's heart began to calm down slightly.
He strode forward until he was close enough to see that there was not just a contact here.
At the junction between the elevator hall and the reception hall, there was a table by the wall where a young wizard was sound asleep.
Lucius's gray eyes were filled with alertness, and he withdrew his wand from the tip of his cane and held it in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, a beam of red light hit the target, and his breathing rhythm became more relaxed.
He then shifted his gaze to the wizard waiting for him, examining this enigmatic man of the Ministry of Magic's Confidentiality Section - Broderick Bode.
He was the 'inside man' chosen by Nott and others after extensive investigation.
He was chosen because, as the descendant of a long line of Confidentiality Section Mutes, he had in his possession a crucial piece of information that Voldemort had unknowingly learned from a Hogwarts ghost during his student years.
To find out who had this thing, Nott and his team went through quite a lot of trouble.
Only after confirming that the light in Broderick Bode's eyes was still fixed did Lucius reinsert his wand into his cane.
"Are there no wards in place?"
Lucius asked.
"I switched shifts with someone who was supposed to be on duty tonight, so there's only me down here."
Broderick Bode said in a calm tone.
"But some in the Ministry are used to arriving by 6 a.m., so we only have an hour left."
"Then what are we waiting for? The Dark Lord is waiting for our good news."
Lucius said.
The two of them walked quickly into the elevator hall. Lucius pressed the summoning button, and soon, an elevator arrived with a clinking sound.
Lucius followed Broderick into the carriage, and after pressing the ninth button on the control panel, the golden gate slammed shut with a bang. Instead of rising, the carriage began to descent.
The clink-clank of the chains above the box made Lucius's forehead sweat with cold, but he thought that the noise would alert the security guards on the floors above. Fortunately, nothing happened, and the carriage soon came to a halt.
A cold woman's voice said, "Confidentiality Section."
The gate of the carriage opened softly, and Lucius stepped out, standing in the corridor outside.
The four walls of the corridor were rugged rocks, with no decorations other than the torches hanging on both sides of the walls.
Fixing his gaze on the corridor ahead, Lucius's eyelid twitched involuntarily.
This was not a place that could bring him any pleasure. The last time, he was imprisoned here by the Aurors.
But instead of heading towards the black door at the end of the corridor, he—
Lucius's gaze swept to the right wall, where, about thirty feet away, there was an opening to a subterranean cavity — the courtroom of the Wizengamot.
Recalling the efforts he had made to escape prison, and considering what he was doing now, Lucius's skin tightened.
The steps of Broderick Bode and Lucius echoed loudly in the empty corridor. They reached the black door, and Lucius moved aside to the door hinge while Broderick, faceless, pushed it open and entered the room ahead of them.
"Come in."
After a few seconds of silence, Broderick's voice came from behind the door, and Lucius put on his cloak and walked in with his cane.
The space behind the door was a large circular room, and everything in it was black, including the floor and the ceiling.
The black walls around were lined with many identical black doors, with no markings or doorknobs.
Some of the branches of the candles were scattered around the walls, their flames blue, flickering cold light casting a dark reflection on the polished marble floor, making it seem as though they were standing on black water.
"Oh, the Confidentiality Section is said to hold the magic and ultimate secrets of death. I've never been here before..."
Lucius gazed at everything in front of him, speaking softly. He seemed to feel a mysterious aura in the air around him, one that filled him with reverence.
With a click, Lucius closed the door, and the circular room instantly fell into a deathly silence. There was no sound of air flowing, and even the burning candles were silent.
But before Lucius could adjust to this terrifying silence, a sudden loud rumbling sound came from behind the wall beside him, followed by the candles moving to one side and the circular wall rotating.
In the next few seconds, the walls whirled rapidly, the blue flames blurring into a haze in Lucius's terrified gray eyes, becoming like fluorescent tubes.
"What's happening?!"
The sudden start and end of the noise were just as unexpected, and Lucius had sweaty strands of gold hair clinging to his temples. His face was pale, and he pulled out his wand nervously, asking Broderick with a fierce expression.
"It's a defense mechanism to disorient intruders and make them unsure which door they came through."
Broderick said in a lifeless tone.
"Well, we should not be troubled by that, should we?"
Lucius squinted and asked.
"No."
Broderick said simply, "No. Even under the Imperius Curse, these mechanisms do not deceive me." He walked forward to a black door on the left.
Under Lucius's watchful gaze, Broderick pressed his finger against the black door. Then, in an instant, numerous scattered dots of light appeared on the dark door.
The light dots against the darkness moved across the door, resembling countless stars in an infinite universe moving along an unknown trajectory.
Broderick clicked at the star points on the door in a way that Lucius couldn't understand. The selected star points immediately accelerated their movement, and they began to collide with each other in a chain reaction. Finally, the bright light emitted by the numerous star points after the collision overwhelmed Lucius's curious gaze.
When he removed his hand from his eyes, Lucius was astonished to see that the black door separating them had transformed into a translucent doorway emitting white light.
"It's inside."
Lucius asked cautiously.
Broderick nodded,
"Yes, you can summon them. As I told Nott, once inside, the door key you made will no longer work."
Without any doubts, Lucius nodded and slowly rolled up his sleeves. Then he pressed his fingers on the skull on his arm.
