After listening to his wife's thorough analysis, Lucius Malfoy's originally restless mood gradually calmed down.
The House of Malfoy never burned its bridges completely; he still had room to maneuver—
Just as he was about to respond, an express Owl suddenly struck the wide windowsill of his family's drawing room like an arrow released from a bow, letting out a dull thud.
This sudden turn of events instantly broke the original heavy atmosphere in the room, startling both husband and wife.
Lucius Malfoy recognized the Owl as one specifically used for transmitting urgent messages within the Death Eaters. His heart tightened as he quickly walked over, removed the letter from its leg, and began to read.
The suicide squad dispatched to Hogsmeade to carry out the mission had been completely wiped out—to be honest, this result did not surprise Lucius Malfoy.
Hogsmeade was only a ten-minute journey from Hogwarts, and Dumbledore had been staying at the school lately, busily planning matters related to this year's O.W.L. exams and N.E.W.T. exams.
Even if he were exhausted from a busy Saturday, he might still choose to go to Hogsmeade to relax. For a Wizard as powerful as him, casually eliminating over twenty Death Eaters while taking a stroll was nothing more than a bit of exercise; it was perfectly logical.
He continued reading downward—what?
Dumbledore only stunned one Death Eater and then stopped taking action?
Hmm... thinking about it carefully, that seemed normal enough.
If he hadn't been walking alone at the time, but was accompanied by several Hogwarts Professors, then there would indeed be no need for him to act personally; the Professors could naturally handle it with ease.
While thinking, Lucius shifted his gaze to the next line of text—the guards by Dumbledore's side didn't lift a finger. Instead, it was the first-year Ravenclaw House student, Adelaide Grindelwald, who took on twenty enemies alone and completely defeated the suicide squad sent by the Death Eaters.
Seeing this, Lucius's pupils suddenly contracted. Merlin's princess dress!
What kind of fantasy plot is this!
As a close confidant of Lord Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy was among those within the Death Eater group who had a relatively direct understanding of Lord Voldemort's power.
Based on his knowledge of Lord Voldemort, even the Prefect Tom Riddle back in his fifth year at Hogwarts would likely have found it difficult to face twenty adult Wizards alone.
One must realize that the members of the suicide squad in this operation were all elite Wizards; every single one of them was highly accomplished in the field of Dark Arts, and their levels all reached that of an Auror.
And yet this young master of the Wizengamot, only 11 years old, was actually so heaven-defying. It was truly hard to believe!
Lucius Malfoy couldn't help but suck in a cold breath. After steadying himself, he continued reading. The next piece of news left him even more dumbfounded—due to some mysterious spell cast by Adelaide Grindelwald, the entirety of Hogsmeade had fallen into a state of 'occupation'!
Lucius Malfoy felt his brain suddenly go blank, completely unable to comprehend what the word 'occupation' actually meant in this context.
After all, since that soul-stirring Goblin Rebellion in 1612, people had never heard of Hogsmeade being associated with such a terrifying word as 'occupation'.
The end of the letter read: The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, the Auror Office, and the St Mungos emergency squad among other important institutions have already moved into Hogsmeade, tensely carrying out post-disaster response work.
Lucius Malfoy really couldn't figure out what kind of methods an 11-year-old girl had used to make the spy writing the letter use the term 'post-disaster' at the end.
"Cissy, it seems I was wrong again."
Narcissa looked at her husband, whose expression was constantly changing, with some confusion and asked worriedly, "What is written in the letter?"
Lucius did not answer her question but murmured to himself, "It's not the return of the former Dark Lord, but the rise of a new generation Dark Lord... the British Wizarding World is about to face another storm of blood and gore!"
Lucius took a deep breath, trying hard to restrain the surging emotions in his heart. He knew that staying calm at this moment was crucial.
After all, the House of Malfoy had not yet been swept into the treacherous struggle between the Death Eaters and the Wizengamot; it was not too late to choose a side now.
He said with a grave expression, "Cissy, from now on, you should try to minimize contact with the Avery and Selwyn families. Remember to tell Crabbe and Goyle not to get too close to Death Eater families that have had conflicts with the Wizengamot. As for the Parkinson Family, that old fox of theirs likely won't need our reminder... as for your fanatical sister Bellatrix, in my opinion, it's best to arrange for her to go abroad as soon as possible to avoid the spotlight for a while."
Although Narcissa did not know exactly what had happened, from Lucius's behavior of facing a formidable enemy, she could roughly guess that the forces led by Lord Voldemort were likely at a disadvantage right now.
There was no doubt they had to make a decisive change and switch to supporting the faction with a higher chance of winning.
"I understand. In that case, for the grand ball the Malfoy Family is hosting this August, should we also invite that Miss Grindelwald and Miss Rosier from France?"
Lucius thought for a moment and then nodded slightly in agreement. "Cissy, you are still the more thoughtful one! If we can get our son Draco in contact with this figure who is very likely to become the new generation Dark Lord as early as possible, it will certainly be of some help to his future growth and development. After all, Lord Voldemort's current situation is unclear; it's too optimistic to expect him to dominate the British Wizarding World."
"Besides building a good relationship with the young lady of the Grindelwald Family, I think it may be necessary to personally write a letter to Albus Dumbledore to express the friendship of our Malfoy Family and take the opportunity to invite him and the Hogwarts teachers to attend the ball as well—they might not come, but at least we've shown our sincerity. Then we can have Severus help mediate a bit; as long as Dumbledore doesn't liquidate the Malfoy Family, there's still a chance for everything."
"As for the savior Harry Potter, it seems a bit early to invite him now... but no matter, after Draco enters school, we can arrange for him to interact more with the savior. That way, whether it's for the improvement of Draco's personal abilities or the expansion of the Malfoy Family's influence, it will produce a positive and far-reaching impact."
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!