war and peace

Kreacher did not come back for several days.

While the three waited, Mr. Weasley's patron saint of weasels came to tell them that everyone at the wedding was safe.Then there are two more people wearing cloaks outside No. 12 Grimmauld Place, who can be seen as Death Eaters watching at a glance, because they change shifts day and night and wear nondescript Muggle clothes.Then Lupine came and brought them some news from outside.The coup d'état was smooth, news of Scrimgeour's disappearance was blocked, and it was announced that he was resigning.Now the front page of the Daily Prophet is headlined about Harry's arrest warrant in connection with Dumbledore's death.

"There's a good chance Scrimgeour is under house arrest," Lupine told them. "We found a rotation of Death Eaters outside Scrimgeour's residence."

"Then who is that Scrimgeour we saw earlier?" Hermione asked.She hadn't figured out until now who would pretend to be the Minister of Magic and send them Dumbledore's will.

"We don't know either." Lupine shook his head regretfully, looking worried at the same time. "It was originally scheduled. We found out later that Scrimgeour himself was out of the house by then."

"The Death Eaters could have killed Scrimgeour, or cast an enchantment spell on him directly? Is the time-consuming and laborious method of house arrest necessary?" Ron raised different opinions.

Lupine nodded at him. "We think so too, but the actions of the Death Eaters have been unpredictable recently, and they have no idea what they want to do."

Harry immediately thought of the man who didn't know whether he was friend or foe, and wondered whether he should tell Lupine.However, Lupine changed the topic first and proposed to act with them.Harry vehemently objected to the proposal, seeing it as completely irresponsible for Tonks and her unborn child, and they broke up.

Hermione complained a few words about Harry's attitude and thought he should have been softer with Lupine ("He's a werewolf after all! It's normal to be a little worried!").But it didn't last long, and their attention turned back to the man who ordered Kreacher.

"Honestly, I have no idea who it could be," said Ron, frowning. "I've never heard of such a person among the Death Eaters."

"How many people can make Bellatrix obey orders?" Hermione's opinion was similar to Harry's. "Actually, I suspect that she only listens to Voldemort."

Harry gave a short laugh. "Based on what you say, I can believe that the person who cast the healing spell is Voldemort!"

He meant to be joking, but Hermione thought about it seriously, and finally said matter-of-factly: "If it must be said that anyone can do this, Voldemort is probably the only one left—although I still don't think this matter It's true." She gave Harry a sorry look.

"Me too." Ron took the lead in laughing. "That's the funniest sneer I've ever heard!"

Harry and Hermione laughed too.However, they all knew that they were just alleviating the tension in their hearts.If the person who ordered Kreacher was really Voldemort, then they were probably stepping into each other's trap step by step, although they didn't see what his intentions were at all.

**

Loch Lomond on the edge of the Scottish Highlands is full of lakes and mountains.The icy shore curves irregularly, exposing the well-textured strata beneath.It is the end of autumn, and on the island in the center of the lake, the mountains and patches of euonymus are dyed orange and crimson on a dark green background, dotted with bright red fruits.They are reflected on the smooth mirror-like lake, which makes the castle with a pointed conical top in the forest more peaceful and beautiful.

A figure in a black robe suddenly appeared in the sylvestris pine forest on the island opposite it.There was a slight whistling sound in the forest, and one after another people fell down.There were six people in total, and they all wore silver masks with different hollow patterns, but the styles were similar.

"The sixth island in the lake." The tall man who landed first took a step forward to see their destination more clearly. "Muggles can only see five."

"So, this is the master's new meeting place?" A shrill female voice said, "It looks so much better than Malfoy Manor."

A Death Eater tapped the ground with a silver snake-headed cane in his hand.However, the ground was covered with thick pine needles, and the dull voice basically did not express his displeasure. "Don't forget, Bella, the Malfoy family has always provided the necessary place for the master." He especially emphasized "always".And when he turned his head to speak, a strand of pale golden long hair leaked from the hood.

"You said it yourself, 'once upon a time'." Bellatrix continued to mock him without hesitation.

Lucius Malfoy wanted to say something more, but someone beside him reached out and held him down. "Don't make useless quarrels, Lucius. The Dark Lord has specially summoned a few of us, and the Dark Lord cannot be kept waiting." This man also wore a thick silver mask.The difference from others is that he also carried a long package on his back.

The effect of these words was immediate, and everyone fell silent.The man who spoke last walked to the bank, stretched out his left arm, and raised his robe.Following his movement, a black mark was reflected in the water, and there was movement immediately.A white willow had pulled out its long, gray leaves that had been submerged in the water, and transformed them into three narrow, willow-patterned boats with pointed ends.

The six people exchanged glances and quickly divided into three groups.The Lestranges were naturally together, Nott and Yaxley were colleagues at the Ministry of Magic, and Malfoy and Snape had known each other since they were students at Hogwarts.

Those light-looking boats don't even have seats, but they run fast and stable, and two adults can stand on them without draught. "As expected of the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix never concealed her praise and admiration for Voldemort.Rodolphs nodded approvingly behind her, as did Yaxley and Nott in the other boat.They looked at the surrounding environment curiously, and exclaimed from time to time.

The Lestrange couple are loyal followers of Voldemort, and they would not hesitate to enter Azkaban for Voldemort, so it is not surprising to have such a reaction.As for Nott and Yaxley, they would lie to avoid prison in a critical situation, but they responded immediately after Voldemort came back, and did what Voldemort ordered to do well.

Then there is the current head of the Malfoy family, Lucius Malfoy.In his father's generation, that is, Abraxas Malfoy, the Malfoy family was already Voldemort's spokesperson in the pure-blood family.According to him, in addition to secretly supporting Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy also has an extra mind, that is, the two sets of the former and the latter.He took pleasure in torturing Muggles in front of Voldemort, but in public he put on a sanctimonious, benevolent look.It can be said that no one can match him in terms of the ability to see the wind and steer the rudder.

When a group of people crossed the lake, arrived at the castle, and faced the magnificent scene of the exquisitely carved gates opening in sequence, Lucius Malfoy immediately determined in his heart that he definitely did not come in vain this time.Voldemort had more hidden powers than he had ever imagined.He was secretly startled by this, and then began to think in his mind, did he really make any mistakes recently?

The six entered through the front door, past manicured flower beds (which Snape noticed were filled with exotic herbs), and into an empty hall.When they saw clearly what was inside, everyone's eyes widened at the same time.Unlike the main tone of white outside the castle, the interior of the hall is decorated in dark tones.

Neat rows of stone pillars on both sides are decorated with curly buttercup leaves, and large and large flames are suspended out of nowhere beside them, and the mirror-smooth obsidian ground glows with a faint golden light under their illumination.Just below the door is a quarter-pointed dome, and the decoration on it is the carving of several vivid dragons.And the place where they are standing now is topped by an open-air dome about ten feet high. The walls are covered with various ancient and complicated magic symbols and images, and five-petal stained glass windows are decorated in circles below. .

Severus Snape was probably the most duplicity of the group.He is an undercover agent of the Order of the Phoenix, but only he and the leaders of the Order of the Phoenix know this identity.Dumbledore told Moody the secret before he died, and although the latter didn't believe him, he completely trusted Dumbledore, so it wasn't too difficult to communicate the news.

Then again, he perfectly played the role of Dumbledore's killer in Dumbledore's plan. He should be completely trusted by the Dark Lord, and being summoned in private is also a planned thing... But why when he got there, Did he suddenly have no confidence at all?Snape tried his best to let go of his expression and gaze - Voldemort may come anytime - staring blankly at the golden coiling dragon candlestick in front of him, but he couldn't help thinking: Actually, when the Dark Lord recovered his appearance, he was right Doubts about the chances of success of the plan?When he thought of this, he couldn't help reaching out and pressing the thing behind him, feeling his heart beating faster and faster.Why would the Dark Lord want this?

Although everyone except Snape looked around, no one made a sound, and the hall was so quiet that a needle could be heard.So when a figure slowly condensed into a solid body in front of them, everyone lowered their heads at the same moment: "Master."

"My friends, welcome to Slytherin Castle." Voldemort said softly, his eyes falling on Snape.To be precise, it landed on the tip of the package that was exposed behind him.

"We are extremely honored!" Bellatrix was very excited because of her top-notch skills in grabbing words in front of Voldemort.Except for Snape, several other people were not far behind, rushing to flatter Voldemort.But this castle is indeed beautiful and magnificent, and there is no need to entangle the words of praise, they will come out automatically.

"It seems that there are many magic restrictions!"

"This must have a history of more than 1000 years?"

"As expected of the master!"

Voldemort chuckled, and walked down from behind the golden-branched pan-dragon candlestick, still at his usual floating pace. "The purpose of calling you here today is not to listen to these compliments." He paused, his eyes sweeping over the people in front of him one by one this time, "How are you doing with the things I ordered last time? Oh "He looked at Bellatrix who wanted to talk again, "Bella doesn't need to, those two elves cleaned this place very well."

It turned out that the Dark Lord wanted the elves for this purpose... Bellatrix breathed a sigh of relief.If cleaning the house, isn't that the bounden duty of a house-elf? "This is what I should do." Bellatrix felt that she was correctly valued, and she puffed out her chest proudly, completely unaware that Voldemort was only telling a little truth.

"Report master, we have covered the entire British island with eyeliner, and each area has a fixed patrol team on duty." Nott and Rodolphs competed with their eyes for a long time, and there was no winner. In the end, only two people can report progress at the same time.

Voldemort nodded to show he understood, and he turned to the next man.

"Master, Shinix is ​​completely under my control, and the Ministry of Magic is already in our possession. As for Scrimgeour, he has been placed under house arrest in accordance with your master's orders." Yaxley said quickly. The assistant student seemed afraid of being robbed of credit.Scrimgeour was subdued by Voldemort, using only a stun spell, and he was one of the Death Eaters who were seen at the scene worshiped to death. "He's so stubborn, why not just kill him? Also, word has it that on the first day we put Scrimgeour under house arrest, someone went to that Weasley's house pretending to be him." The last sentence His tone was slightly hesitant.

Yaxley thought that Voldemort would be furious at the news, and prepared for the worst, but Voldemort's reaction was completely unexpected. "You don't have to worry about that," the handsome young man waved his hand, "Just keep an eye on Scrimgeour and Thinnix."

"The Fascination and Stunning spells have been used repeatedly, master, it will be fine." Yaxley assured.In terms of the effect of a single spell, they are not as good as Voldemort, but the Minister of Magic can't stand the superimposed effect!Moreover, is it his illusion, the master seems to be in a good mood recently?The number of temper tantrums has decreased a lot, and fewer people have been killed. Is it because of the restoration of appearance?

Voldemort knew what he was thinking when he saw it, but he was in no mood to answer. "Lucius, what about you?"

The man with light blonde hair had already taken off his mask at this time, and replied respectfully: "Those people are staying in the dungeon honestly, master, please rest assured."

Don't worry, you should die again, Voldemort thought viciously in his heart.It’s just that it’s a little bit useless to keep you now, the dungeon has already been watched secretly by other people... He nodded casually, and then looked at the last person, he has never seen through this person’s closed brain Art: "Severus, did you bring something?"

Everyone looked back at the same time.thing?that package?What's inside?