Hogwarts Homecoming

It was about to dawn, and a pale green light emerged from the end of the horizon, slowly eroding the still dark sky.

The fierce wind howled over the Malfoy Manor, but it still couldn't take away the thin gray fog in the air.

On the terrace on the roof of the mansion, Voldemort squinted his eyes and looked at the light of dawn, and his wide black robe rustled in the wind.

"It's time--"

The noisy wind couldn't overwhelm Voldemort's mumbling like a soliloquy, he turned around and looked behind him--

Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, Old Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, McNeill, Avery, Greengrass

His most loyal Death Eaters have all gathered here.

"We failed fourteen years ago, and this failure made me, you, and my friends, pay a heavy price."

The Death Eaters were in a small commotion, they lowered their heads, and dared not face the scarlet eyes of the Dark Lord.

"Our great cause has suffered a setback. Those mean, hypocritical and incompetent wizards took advantage of our failure to stand on the stage and laugh at our glorious dreams."

Voldemort's lipless mouth opened and closed, his voice was very light, as if he was mourning something,

"But those cowards will eventually realize that Voldemort cannot be defeated. He will eventually lead those who dare to resist to win back the glory of the pure blood. Now--"

Voldemort's suddenly high-pitched voice overwhelmed the wind. In an instant, the air was filled with sharp murderousness.

"Go, my friend, it's time to let people feel some fear again. I will be here, waiting for you to bring me good news!"

The Death Eaters did not speak, and the leader Lucius bowed to Voldemort and disappeared into the air.

"Now--"

Voldemort smiled at the remaining Death Eaters,

"You need to wait a moment."

Snap!

With a crisp sound, Lucius landed in the reception hall of the Ministry of Magic.

The huge and magnificent hall was empty, with only a pale wizard with a lifeless face waiting at the Magic Brothers Fountain in the middle of the hallway.

Lucius's throbbing heart calmed down a little after recognizing the man's face.

He strode over, and only when he got close did he see that there was not only one person here to meet him.

At the boundary between the elevator hall and the reception hall, a young wizard was sleeping soundly on a table placed by the wall.

Lucius's gray eyes were alert, and he pulled out the magic wand from the top of the cane and held it in his palm. When he raised his hand and a red light hit him, his tight breathing rhythm slowed down a little.

He set his eyes on the face of the wizard waiting for him again, and carefully looked at the silent man of the Department of Mysteries - Broderick Bode.

He was the "inside man" selected by Nott and his team after many investigations.

The reason why he was chosen was that as a silent man passed down from generation to generation, he held an important thing in his hand, which was something that the Dark Lord accidentally learned from a ghost in Hogwarts when he was a student.

In order to find out who had this thing, Nott and his team spent a lot of effort.

After confirming that the light in Bode's eyes was still dull, Lucius put the wand back into the cane.

"No one is on guard?"

Lucius asked.

"I changed shifts with the person who was supposed to be on duty tonight, and I'm the only one down there."

Bode said in a calm tone,

"But some people in the department are used to arriving at six in the morning, and we only have one hour left."

"Then what are we waiting for? The Dark Lord is waiting for our good news."

Lucius said.

The two walked quickly into the elevator hall, and Lucius pressed the call button. Soon, an elevator came with a clicking sound.

Lucius followed Bode into the car. After pressing the ninth button on the control box, the golden gate slammed shut, and the car did not rise, but began to fall.

The creaking sound of the chain above the box made Lucius sweat on his temples. He thought the sound would alert the security personnel in the building, but fortunately, nothing happened and the car stopped quickly.

The cold woman's voice said: Department of Mysteries.

The gate was gently opened, and Lucius walked out of the car and stood in the corridor outside.

The walls of the corridor were all rough rocks, and there was no decoration except for the torches hanging on the walls on both sides.

Looking at the corridor in front of him, Lucius's eyes twitched uncontrollably.

This was not a place that could bring him a pleasant feeling. Last time, he was detained here by the Aurors.

But he did not go to the dark door at the end of the corridor, but -

Lucius's eyes swept to the right wall. More than 30 feet away, there was a doorway leading to the underground, where the Wizengamot's courtroom was.

Recalling the efforts he made to escape from prison, and thinking about what he was doing now, Lucius's face tightened.

The footsteps of Bode and Lucius were extremely "harsh" in the empty corridor. They walked to the dark door, Lucius dodged to the side of the door axis, and Bode pushed the door in expressionlessly, and stepped into the room behind the door first.

"Come in."

After a few seconds of silence, Bode's voice came from behind the door, and Lucius put on his cloak and walked in with a cane.

The space behind the door is a large circular room where everything is black, including the floor and ceiling.

There are many black doors embedded in the surrounding black walls, all identical, with no markings or doorknobs.

There are some branch-shaped candles dotted between the walls, the flames are blue, and the swaying cold light casts on the bright marble floor, making people feel like they are standing on the dark water under their feet.

"Ah, the Department of Mysteries is said to contain the ultimate secret of magic and death. I have never been here before."

Staring at everything in front of him, Lucius spoke softly. He seemed to be able to feel a mysterious aura permeating the air, and this aura made him feel awe.

With a click, Lucius closed the door, and the round room immediately fell into deathly silence. There was no sound of air flowing, and even the burning candles were silent.

But before Lucius could adapt to this terrifying silence, a loud rumble suddenly came from behind the wall beside him. Then, the candle began to move to the side, and the circular wall rotated.

In the next few seconds, the wall spun rapidly, and the blue flames blurred into a blur in Lucius's horrified gray eyes, like a neon tube.

"How is this going?!"

The movement ended as unexpectedly as it began. Lucius's pale golden hair was covered with fine beads of sweat. His face turned blue. He pulled out his wand and questioned Bode fiercely.

"A burst of defense mechanisms that can confuse intruders from which door they came in."

Bode said in a dull voice.

"Oh, then we shouldn't be bothered by this, right?"

Lucius asked with narrowed eyes.

"Won't."

Bode said concisely and concisely that even if he was controlled by the Imperius Curse, the mechanisms here did not confuse him. Bode walked toward a black door on the left front.

Under Lucius' vigilant gaze, Bode touched the black door with his finger, and many scattered tiny light spots suddenly appeared on the dark door.

The light spots with the darkness as the background trailed above the door, looking like countless stars moving along inexplicable trajectories in the infinite universe.

Bode clicked on the star points on the door in a way that Lucius couldn't understand. The selected star points immediately accelerated their swimming speed, and they began to hit other star points in a chain reaction. In the end, what was originally just The countless shimmering star points bloomed brightly after the impact, drowning Lucius's curious sight.

When he took his covering hand away from his eyes, Lucius was surprised to find that the black door blocking them had turned into a transparent door emitting white light.

"It's inside."

Lucius asked cautiously.

Bode nodded,

"You can summon them. As I told Nott, once inside, the door key you made will not work."

Without doubting his presence, Lucius nodded, slowly opened his sleeves, and then pressed his fingers on the skull on his arm.