Ripples suddenly appeared in the air, scattering the clear, spring-like moonlight. Severus appeared on the path before Malfoy Manor, lined with low thornbushes.
Even in the dead of night, the blazing summer heat was still unbearably stifling, yet Severus remained wrapped tightly in black robes from head to toe.
It was impossible to tell whether his damp hair was wet with sweat or grease.
After glancing up at the crescent moon hanging high in the middle of the night sky, Severus set off toward Malfoy Manor in the distance.
It had grown heavier.
As he drew closer, the Malfoy residence, nestled in darkness, gradually came into focus.
The gray mist draped over Malfoy Manor like a veil made the faintest ripples stir in Severus's indifferent eyes.
This strange natural phenomenon had only appeared at Malfoy Manor after the Dark Lord took up residence there. Naturally, the Dark Lord was the source of this anomaly.
What exactly did it signify?
He still remembered the Dark Lord's previous peak. No such strange phenomena had ever appeared wherever he went.
Had the Dark Lord gained control over a new power, or had his evil deepened even further after his resurrection?
Passing through the wrought-iron gates that looked almost illusory, Severus found himself facing a scene that resembled late autumn.
The lawns, divided into patches by the paths, had turned a dull yellow. The leaves of the plane trees scattered everywhere had lost their verdant green, leaving the estate in a state of desolation.
The flock of white peacocks Lucius kept in the gardens as symbols of the family was nowhere to be seen. No one knew where they had gone.
There was no strange odor in the air, yet it constantly gave one the impression that the stench of decay lingered everywhere.
He