The Dark Mark, Aiken and Black

Fabian Aiken was released by Sean the next day, but in a rather unseemly manner...

News of Aiken's disappearance had naturally spread throughout the castle long ago, but unlike the case of Sean's disappearance at Hogwarts, Aiken had obviously been kidnapped.

The students of Newmontgard merely scoffed at the news. In Newmontgard, where team spirit was weak, the mysterious disappearance of their classmates did not cause them much concern.

In addition, Aiken was arrogant and haughty, and most of the non- Pure-blood Wizard, who made up the majority of students, didn't like him. Many Muggle-born wizards who had been suppressed by him in the past were secretly laughing.

This arrogant second-generation devil should have been taught a lesson long ago, shouldn't he?

Of course, many people with a keen eye also connected this to Aiken's background, and they began to wonder if this was the beginning of an operation by a hostile organization.

As for Aiken's life or death, apart from his few loyal followers and Old Man Aiken, really few people cared.

However, no one expected to see Fabian Aiken again in such a bizarre way.

The morning at Newmontgard Castle was as busy as ever, with students pouring out of their dormitories to head to the Great Hall, discussing the events of the previous day along the way.

"Have you heard? It seems that Old Man Aiken was punished by Mr. Grindelwald."

"Really? Those wizards were all so arrogant yesterday, one of them even came to question me about my whereabouts."

"They wield immense power, their influence in the French Wizarding World is considerable, and the Aiken Family naturally operates this way—to be honest, I was quite angry yesterday, Professor Grindelwald just letting those people run rampant? But, hehe—"

"How dare they use vigilante justice against students in our Newmontgard? Those idiots really don't respect the headmaster. When that Old Man Aiken slipped away yesterday, tsk, his face was so pale, I bet I wouldn't be as pale as him even if I were dead for three days."

"Serves him right—but I wonder if Fabian is really in trouble?"

"Who can say for sure..."

"To be fair, Fabian Aiken is very strong, and the person who kidnapped him must be incredibly powerful. We just don't know what their motive is..."

Several familiar students were chatting away, but the surging crowd in front of them suddenly stopped, and snickers and whispers continued to rise.

The students squeezed around the corner and saw what was happening.

Fabian Aiken, who had been missing for a day, returned to Newmontgard Castle, but...

The once meticulous and arrogant second-generation demon was now hanging upside down from the ceiling in front of the Great Hall entrance, his face covered in dirt and his body wrapped in a dirty rag.

Not only that, his body was covered in bruises, clearly indicating he had been severely beaten. His left leg was hooked to the edge of the chandelier with a rope, while his right leg was bent at an odd angle...

The scene before them made all the students frown, wondering what kind of torture Fabian Aiken had suffered.

Sean, the instigator, and his friends were also watching from a corner. They were actually among the first to arrive, but the Hogwarts weren't about to be kind enough to rescue the unfortunate hanging victim. The Weasley twins were laughing so hard they could barely stand up straight, as happy as if they'd won the Galleon.

Sean squinted at Aiken. The environment was too dark when they made their move last night, and it wasn't until this morning that he realized how badly the other party had been injured.

Pudding, you're really ruthless. Six limbs are definitely more vicious than four limbs... Sean thought to himself.

He glanced at his watch, realizing it was almost time...

Sure enough, just one minute later, Fabian Aiken opened his eyes, trembling.

He first saw a blinding white light, then felt intense pain all over his body, and his head felt like it was about to explode.

Aiken squinted, and a painful groan escaped his throat involuntarily. Only then did his groggy mind receive the information coming from the outside world.

Those were the students' upside-down faces, their expressions filled with mockery, disgust, and schadenfreude, while some of the girls looked somewhat sympathetic and reluctant to see them suffer.

The students' words also reached his ears.

"That beating wasn't light—"

"Tsk tsk, look at that face. If it weren't for that annoying look on his face, I wouldn't recognize him."

"He looked just as pathetic as his father, who slunk away yesterday..."

Fabian Aiken finally realized his predicament. The pain in his body was secondary; he only felt his face burning, as if Blast-Ended Skrewt had crawled over it.

A tremendous sense of shame rose in his heart, but the chandelier hanging upside down acted like a spotlight, magnifying the expression on his face for everyone to see.

Aiken could clearly hear everyone's words: mockery, sneer, pity...

As expected of a noble second-generation demon from the elite of Newmontgard, Aiken finally displayed his extraordinary wit.

His eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Sean was amazed—that feigning fainting was so clever; what a smart guy!

At this moment, the students finally remembered something else: they still hadn't let go of each other.

After a chaotic scene, Aiken, with his eyes closed, was pulled to the ground, and the professors arrived.

As for when Aiken will wake up, that's beyond their control.

Paris, at the Aiken Family mansion.

Old Man Aiken's face was ashen, and a wizard in front of him shook his head solemnly.

"Mr. Aiken, this is difficult to resolve..."

Old Man Aiken withdrew his unusually youthful right hand and bare left wrist. He seemed about to lash out, but finally managed a smile that was more like a grimace, "Thank you for your trouble, Master Federman..."

After seeing off the seventh invited master of unraveling the curse, Old Man Aiken slumped back onto the leather sofa, staring at his bare left hand. Fear and resentment flashed in his eyes, finally settling into a sigh.

"This is Grindelwald... this is Grindelwald...?"

He was now truly filled with regret, regretting that he had insisted on provoking the First Generation Dark Lord. Decades as a school principal had only made that man tone down his sharp teeth, and he, a hyena who was so ignorant of his own limitations, had actually dared to try to suppress the king of yesteryear...

Old Man Aiken sighed deeply, his face, which was originally fifty years old, suddenly looked ten years older.

With his only son missing and himself losing his left hand, this Pure-blood nobleman, who once roamed the French Wizarding World, aged overnight under these blows.

"Fabian, still no news..." He looked at the person next to him.

"Not yet..." the person beside him answered respectfully, "We've made contact with the intelligence agents in Newmontgard, they—they're just saying they're also searching with all their might..."

Just then, a loud bang echoed through the air, and a House-elves wearing a tattered sack teleported over, bowing his head to the ground. "Lord Aiken, news has arrived from Newmontgard, the young master has been found..."

Old Man Aiken suddenly jumped up from the sofa.

That night, Fabian Aiken finally opened his eyes in his bedroom in the villa.

Old Man Aiken breathed a sigh of relief. The therapist had examined his son and found that he was alright; the injuries were minor and would heal with some rest.

However, physical injuries can never compare to the wounds in one's heart.

Aiken stared blankly at the ceiling; his proud demeanor was long gone.

"Fabian," Old Man Aiken sat down on the edge of his son's bed, "My child..."

"Father," Aiken finally managed to squeeze out the trembling words through clenched teeth, "I... I've become the laughingstock of Newmontgard ... Gone, everything is gone... My reputation in Newmontgard, my image in the eyes of the professors, the organization I painstakingly built... all gone..."

At this point, Aiken burst into tears.

Old Man Aiken took a deep breath. He didn't know how to comfort him. From the moment his son was hung in the castle, the situation was beyond repair.

Finally, he could only gently pat his son's arm. "He'll come back... he'll come back..."

Fabian Aiken was indeed a remarkable man. With his father's comfort, he gradually recovered from his dejected state. The listlessness in his eyes was replaced by deep resentment, and that fierce anger turned into an old, indelible stain.

"I want revenge, Father, I want revenge!" His eyes were bloodshot as he lay on the bed, panting like an angry bull.

Old Man Aiken's eyes sharpened, and he nodded. "The honor of the Aiken Family must not be tarnished!"

His words were forceful, yet he never even mentioned Grindelwald's name.

Aiken was, after all, a victim, and the father and son discussed the details together.

After some discussion, Old Man Aiken frowned. "Currently, there are two suspects: the fifth-year student from Newmontgard, and Sean Wallerup."

"Wallerup, that Mudblood, is going to be in trouble too!" Aiken screamed. "But that Newmontgard fifth-year student is definitely the murderer; no one had been to that herb garden before him!"

"I spoke with that student last night, an ordinary Half-blood Wizard," Old Man Aiken said. "And he was at some kind of make-believe little gathering, and many people can testify that he didn't leave the castle at all that day."

"Someone is impersonating him!" Aiken said through gritted teeth.

Old Man Aiken thought of something more, and he frowned. "Metamorphmagus or simply makeup?"

Aiken tried his best to recall the events of that day; his mind was now filled with revenge. In this process of reflection, he finally discovered details he had forgotten.

"The tattoo, that guy has a weird tattoo!"

"A tattoo?" Old Man Aiken summoned the family's hired wizard and asked him, then turned to his son and said, "The real fifth-year student from Newmontgard didn't have a tattoo. What did that tattoo look like?"

"On the right forearm, a python emerges from the mouth of a skull and then coils in an S-shape."

His son tried hard to recall the details, but a storm raged in Old Man Aiken's heart.

He grabbed his son's arm in disbelief and asked seriously, "Fabian, are you sure it's like that?"

Aiken didn't know why his father was suddenly so serious. He immediately realized that the tattoo might represent something. After closing his eyes and recalling it carefully, he nodded seriously. "Absolutely right."

Old Man Aiken, panting heavily, released his son's arm; the gloom on his face was like an unyielding dark cloud.

"Death Eaters ..." Aiken heard his father murmur.

"Death Eaters? Who are those people? Why are they targeting me!" Aiken said angrily.

Old Man Aiken didn't answer. He stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the room, his brows almost furrowed.

"They've risen from the ashes? But why my Aiken Family...? This doesn't make sense. I've never offended them... Is it a problem between associations? No way..."

Old Man Aiken stopped and looked to the side, as if he had made a decision.

"Father?"

"Fabian, you get some rest. I need to see someone and get to the bottom of this!"

"This weather is awful..." Old Man Aiken muttered as he teleported to a hillside using an illegal Portkey. Apart from his most trusted follower, he had no one else with him.

The two waved their wands again, and when they reappeared, they were standing in a square.

It was already past midnight, and most of the lights in the Muggle windows had gone out. Old Man Aiken followed his memory and walked to the middle of a row of townhouses.

The house numbers on both sides record the information here: Number Eleven, Grimmauld Place; Number Thirteen, Grimmauld Place; only number 12 is missing.

Old Man Aiken saw information that Muggle couldn't see. With a wave of his wand, the buildings on both sides rumbled and moved to the side, the Muggle inside completely unaware.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place came into view.

Old Man Aiken stepped forward. It was a large, black-painted door covered in scratches, with a silver doorknob shaped like a coiled snake. There was no keyhole or mailbox on the door.

He rang the doorbell, and then suddenly heard an old woman's cursing voice coming from inside the house.

Soon, the door opened, and a handsome man who looked to be in his thirties stood behind it.

"Regulus Black ..." Old Man Aiken said, "It's been a long time."

Regulus and Sirius were very similar, but Regulus's temperament and appearance were much more peaceful than his brother's. He lacked the aggressive and cynical aggression of his brother, and he raised his head slightly, revealing his good manners.

Regulus shook hands with the other party and gave him the polite smile one would give to a guest.

"Mr. Aiken, you've illegally crossed into the England late at night, so you must have something urgent to do."

Old Man Aiken followed the other man into the Entrance Hall and sat down in the reception room, where an elderly House-elves respectfully served him black tea.

"Hoo..." Old Man Aiken took a sip of his black tea and sighed, then casually remarked, "Mr. Black, it seems you've been keeping yourself busy lately?"

"Old Man Aiken," Regulus, casually crossing one leg, now even resembling his older brother, "did you come looking for me and Red Tea in the middle of the night? We're all smart people—"

Old Man Aiken glanced at the other man, then slowly said, "I was being presumptuous... So let's get straight to the point, Black, has your master returned?"

Regulus froze in mid-air, holding the cup of red tea, and narrowed his eyes slightly.