Pure-Blood Families, Full of Themselves / A Villainous Interlude, Infighting at the Manor

The reason is quite simple: a significant portion of the parents who caused trouble earlier have already been arrested.

Indeed, just when the Ministry of Magic was playing the delaying game and refusing to clearly deal with those involved, Scrimgeour made his move.

He bypassed Fudge and, using his authority, sent all thirty-odd thugs he had previously arrested at the Quidditch World Cup to Azkaban.

His uncompromising attitude towards the powerful earned him much praise in the Britain Wizarding World... but it definitely pissed Fudge off, and naturally, Fudge thoroughly afterward.

As the Head of the Auror Office, the fact that he was directly assigned to be in charge of security for Hogwarts and the Triwizard Tournament, and even stationed alongside Dementor on the outskirts of the school and village, speaks volumes.

"But... they actually used Dementor? Cornelius Fudge is such an idiot, why didn't the headmaster warn him?"

Three weeks after the start of the semester, the members of the Detective Society gathered together to help organize the latest article material for "The Quibbler," while also discussing the Ministry of Magic's previous so-called countermeasures.

Harry's assessment of this plan was summed up in just one sentence...

"This is definitely a case of focusing on the head but neglecting the rear!"

"Isn't what they're doing wrong?" Will asked, somewhat puzzled. "With such a big incident happening during the Triwizard Tournament, the Ministry of Magic definitely has to put on a show. Dementor being deployed to the defense will make many people think they're really going all out; the British Government often uses this kind of publicity stunt. Besides, Death Eater can't use their Patronus, so using Dementor against them makes sense."

"But if I were that Death Eater, I definitely wouldn't come back to Hogwarts to cause trouble anytime soon," Harry said, shaking his head. "Don't be fooled by the clump of hair he pulled out when he left; that was actually forcing us to defend ourselves so he could do something else."

"Something else?" Colin, who was processing the photos, raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"It's Azkaban."

"What?!" *N

It was clear that Luna Lovegood had also seen through the other party's scheme, and her words surprised everyone present.

"That's right, it's Azkaban!" Harry nodded affirmatively. "If I'm not mistaken, that Death Eater is probably plotting to break into the North Sea while the defenses are weak... Of course, he might have already succeeded!"

The reason Harry was so certain of the other party's actions was that a prison break was an absolutely necessary step for the Death Eater.

Voldemort's power is severely depleted now. With the help of that clever, mad Death Eater, he might be able to complete his final resurrection plan, but he can forget about fighting against both Harry and Dumbledore!

Therefore, he must find a way to win back his former followers.

Currently, there are at least four loyal and powerful servants of Voldemort in Azkaban prison. If they can be rescued, the Death Eater's strength will naturally increase significantly.

Furthermore, Scrimgeour's decision to imprison those fence-sitters and former Death Eater inadvertently provided Voldemort with an additional force he could win over.

"But... didn't Will just say that the Death Eater can't use their Patronus, so they can't deal with the Dementor at all?" Astoria Greengrass then raised the practical difficulties of the prison break.

"But I already demonstrated how to completely kill a Dementor before school started." A cold glint gradually appeared in Harry's eyes. "That Death Eater might use this method, or he might have other ways, but in any case... now is when Azkaban's defenses are at their weakest. If he doesn't try to break them out now, he might not have another chance!"

"So what do you plan to do?" Tonks asked after a moment's hesitation. "Having deduced their plot, are you really going to ignore it all?"

"You can tell the Ministry of Magic about this, or you can have Moody tell Dumbledore," Harry sighed to Tonks. "I can't get involved myself, because I can't just leave Hogwarts based on a guess, and I don't want you to take any risks either."

"Well... alright." Tonks shrugged helplessly. "I'll pass these words on to Mad-Eye Moody."

Although most of those present were children, they had all matured after experiencing so much.

Harry wouldn't stake out Azkaban based on mere speculation. He would only spare the energy to look after others when he was absolutely certain that everyone around him was safe.

Tonks left, having been repeatedly instructed by Harry beforehand not to participate in any Ministry of Magic operations, but to stay with Lupin at the Odd Jobs Shop, which Tonks eventually agreed to.

A few days later, Harry received the news, not from a statement from the Ministry of Magic, but from a BBC news report.

A fishing vessel in the North Sea fishing grounds mysteriously changed course and exploded at sea; casualties are still being assessed...

Chapter 611 Pure-blood Family, Self-Important

Azkaban has probably been kidnapped...

Even without the Ministry of Magic's confirmation, this BBC news report alone was enough to confirm Harry's suspicions.

Honestly, he really wanted to applaud this mad Death Eater, because if Harry were to attempt a prison break himself, he would definitely choose to control the ship as well.

Britain controls one of the world's four major fishing grounds, the North Sea. In addition to fishing, this busy sea area is also an oil and gas exploration and development zone divided among several countries, including Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Norway. It is also a major shipping route for bulk cargo from coastal countries and Europe to other countries, making it a complex and diverse area with many ships.

Even the larger fishing boats controlled by the Death Eater only had a crew of about a dozen people, and he could easily infiltrate and take control of all the crew members by himself.

In addition, larger ships are equipped with diesel generator sets, which undoubtedly makes it easier to deal with Dementor.

Therefore, by controlling such a ship to head directly towards the island where Azkaban is located, using the vibrant emotions of the dozen or so crew members to attract the Dementor, and using the power of the generator to restrain them, the Death Eater could easily seize the opportunity to use a spell to blow up the outer walls of the prison and rescue his comrades.

Moreover, even if the Ministry of Magic and Albus Dumbledore sent people over beforehand, that guy still had at least a dozen hostages in his hands, so he was still invincible!

A brilliant plan!

So far, the Ministry of Magic has not issued any statement on this incident, which suggests that the guy's operation may have been successful.

Given the Ministry of Magic's current decline, if they were to actually stage a remarkable comeback, they would likely shamelessly write extensively about it in the Daily Prophet in an attempt to salvage their already utterly discredited reputation within the Britain Wizarding World.

Their silence now is a clear indication that they have been humiliated in Azkaban.

Albus Dumbledore didn't tell Harry the specifics... but Harry understood his choice.

After all, if he really dared to say it, Harry would definitely publish the news verbatim in <The Quibbler>.

At that time, not only will the Ministry of Magic's reputation suffer another heavy blow, but the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix, who Harry believes have been secretly colluding, will also develop rifts with each other.

This is actually one of the reasons why Harry ultimately chose to break with Albus Dumbledore, because for some reason, Dumbledore insisted on taking care of that lousy Cornelius Fudge!

If Harry continues to swallow his pride and cooperate with them, he will inevitably be indirectly dragged down by the Ministry of Magic, which is such a terrible ally. Therefore, it would be better to cut ties sooner rather than later and make things easier for himself.

Since Albus Dumbledore is willing to deal with that mess, let him handle it himself... Hopefully, he won't get so angry at those idiots in the Ministry of Magic that he'll vomit blood.

"They need to be extra careful about their safety..."

After figuring out the prison break plan, Harry asked Hedwig to send a letter to his godfather.

Firstly, he needed to remind Sirius and the others to be vigilant about their safety; secondly, he wanted to commission Xenophilius to compile his conjecture about the prison break into an unrealistic speculative article and publish it in the new issue of <The Quibbler>, as a heads-up to his readers.

Do you really think that without a reliable source, Harry can't find out what's happening?

If he doesn't even have this much reasoning ability, then he wasted his time as a forensic pathologist in his previous life, and all those episodes of Bleach were a waste of his time!

If Harry's prediction is correct, this is the time when Hogwarts truly needs to be on high alert.

The Death Eater had previously used the student's hair to scare his side, but when the Ministry of Magic called in the Dementor, he immediately went to Azkaban to break them out of prison, showing that he was quite adept at exploiting the enemy's weaknesses.

After this prison break, the brainless Fudge will definitely send another batch of Dementor back to prison as soon as possible. However, this will create a gap in the defenses around the school and Hogsmeade Village, giving the enemy another opportunity to exploit the situation.

Harry could think of these things, Dumbledore probably could too, but whether Fudge would listen to Albus Dumbledore's advice was none of Harry's concern; he only needed to manage his own small group...

"Greengrass." After a moment's thought, Harry summoned one of his ghosts, whose stealth abilities were superb.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

"Among the Pure-blood Family and Death Eater you've associated with, are there any who have a good understanding of ordinary people?"

While analyzing the previous prison break incident, Harry noticed a problem and decided to discuss it with the ghost who had been the head of the family in his previous life.

It now seems that the Death Eater was definitely a die-hard fan of Voldemort, so he might also be a Pure-blood wizard, which would presume to know so much about ordinary people.

So even if he learned from Harry's demonstration that electricity could be used to deal with Dementor, it wouldn't necessarily mean he could immediately come up with a solution involving a fishing boat and a diesel generator.

Therefore, Harry felt that he might have someone guiding him, and that this person was likely an accomplice with a basic understanding of ordinary society.

"There are quite a few people like that, Lord Granger."

Surprisingly, Greengrass's answer was completely unexpected by Harry.

"There are many ancient, Pure-blood Family who have a certain understanding of ordinary people, including my Greengrass Family. Before the <Statute of Secrecy> came into effect, we had close ties with noble families among ordinary people, and many Pure-blood Wizards have served in the Royal Family."

"Since the Statute of Secrecy came into effect, although we were the first to draw a clear line between ourselves and ordinary people, we still secretly maintained a great deal of communication with the upper class among ordinary people. In particular, some families, led by the Malfoy, were very keen to do business with the Royal Family and nobles, and were also scouting up antiques and treasures that ordinary people coveted."

"So... you know exactly what society is like for ordinary people, yet you still look down on them with your superior attitude?!" Harry was speechless upon hearing this.

"Well... maybe it's because we're wizards, and we have a rather powerful ancestor, so we consider ourselves to have a noble bloodline." Greengrass's ghost scratched his head awkwardly, clearly aware that his words had displeased the lord.

"Heh, so what if you have ancestors?" Harry rolled his eyes dismissively.

Honestly, his ancestors included emperors in his past life. When have you ever seen him brag about that to anyone?

"Anyway, go and investigate for me. The Malfoy and other Pure-blood Family have them. I have a feeling that someone among them is secretly helping Voldemort!"

"Yes, sir!" Greengrass's ghost respectfully accepted the order and then disappeared into the shadows in the corner of the room.

Meanwhile, at a luxurious manor in Wiltshire, a mysterious man who had regained his original appearance was respectfully making a suggestion to his master.

"Master, we should leave now... This place is becoming increasingly unsafe!"

Chapter 612 Villain's Interlude, Internal Strife in the Manor

At Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, England, after the young Malfoy master started school, Voldemort and his men were finally no longer confined to the dark and suffocating dungeons and could swagger out into the living room.

Moreover, compared to his previous meager number of only two henchmen, Voldemort now has a significantly larger following, almost reaching double digits.

Although these guys still looked terrible after their time in prison, at least Voldemort regained some of the aura he had during the Dark Lord's reign.

The reason the Dark Lord, in his underage form, has gathered them together at the long table in the living room is to discuss a suggestion made by one of his most loyal Death Eater.

"You said you wanted us to leave this place, why...?"

"Yes! We were perfectly fine staying with Narcissa, why do we have to leave now?!"

Voldemort had barely opened his mouth when a piercing scream suddenly rang out behind him—a woman's frantic questioning.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, may I ask my loyal servant to finish speaking first?" Voldemort closed his eyes slightly, his expression clearly showing some displeasure.

Bellatrix Lestrange Lestrange, one of Voldemort's most loyal Death Eater.

She is also the most insane, most powerful, and loudest female Death Eater... without a doubt in this last point~

It's no exaggeration to say that her shout just now really made Voldemort's weak little body involuntarily twitch.

But for the sake of the Dark Lord's image, he couldn't complain about the other party.

Of course, what Voldemort resented most was that he was being held in the other person's arms at that moment!

This idiotic, crazy woman, does she really think she likes being held like a baby?!

Voldemort really wronged Bellatrix Lestrange; she did it entirely to express her loyalty and... true love to the Dark Lord.

Who told her to meet Voldemort for the first time after her prison break, and that's how Narcissa carried him out?

Bellatrix Lestrange, who is usually too lazy to think, naturally felt instinctively... so this is what the Dark Lord likes~

"Yes, my master." The man who had just spoken glanced smugly at Bellatrix Lestrange, then continued respectfully, "The reason I made this suggestion is that if we stay here any longer, we might very well be discovered by Harry Potter."

"Go on." Hearing the other person mention Harry, Voldemort knew he couldn't take this lightly.

"Yes, I've always had a lingering doubt about one thing: Harry Potter's intelligence sources." The man continued, "I've noticed that in his previous clashes with the Ministry of Magic, he often seemed to have learned about his opponents out of thin air, and then immediately caught the Ministry of Magic guard. Even when I was infiltrating Hogwarts, he seemed to quickly confirm that Mad-Eye Moody hadn't been brought to Hogwarts by me..."

After a brief pause, the man continued, "That's why I was wondering if this kid, besides being exceptionally intelligent and extremely good at reasoning, also possesses some unknown methods of intelligence gathering? Although our operation this time was a success, it also inadvertently exposed some problems, such as our level of understanding of those Muggle... Harry Potter might notice this and then trace it back to Narcissa Malfoy!"

"You... you mean I'll expose the Dark Lord's whereabouts?!" Narcissa Malfoy screamed angrily upon hearing this. "Impossible... that's absolutely impossible! Haven't these days proven just how loyal I am to the Dark Lord?!"

"That's right, Narcissa will never betray the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix Lestrange echoed from behind Voldemort, her voice sharp with accusation. "You coward... Don't think that just because you rescued us you can stand here and boss us around! Don't forget how cowardly you were, begging for forgiveness in the judgment seat at Wizengamot ..."

"I only wanted to preserve my body so I could continue serving my master in the future!" the man retorted angrily. "If it weren't for me, you lot would still be sleeping with the Dementor in Azkaban!!"

"Stop arguing!" Voldemort said with a grim face, stopping the argument between the two sides.

Frankly speaking, for Voldemort now, having more subordinates isn't necessarily a good thing.

He hasn't fully recovered yet, so much so that his arrogant and unruly subordinates are all daring to act on their own!

Especially the man and woman arguing; their relationship had been hostile ever since they first met. Voldemort had once thought their discord wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but now he only felt annoyed.

And then there was that other bunch of two-faced good-for-nothings who were rescued along the way!

"Go on," Voldemort said after a few cold, panting breaths, deciding to listen to the man's opinion first.

"I must state one thing, Narcissa Malfoy: I have never doubted your loyalty to your master. I just feel that your previous assistance to me might have aroused Harry Potter's suspicion."

After bowing respectfully to Voldemort, the man continued, "We all know that kid is Half-blood- breed raised by lowly Muggle. He understands wizards, and he understands Muggle even better, so he can easily figure out the key to our success this time! Therefore, he will likely come to investigate the Malfoy family in the coming period, and we must evacuate immediately!"

"In that case, why don't we go to my house?" The Death Eater at the end of the long table exchanged glances. Crabbe, the fat-headed man, stood up and said, "My house has never had anything to do with those lowly Muggle. The Dark Lord is absolutely safe there! Besides, I've always been loyal to the Dark Lord."

'Hmph, what a jerk.' 'He really has always been an idiot!'

The Death Eater were closest to Voldemort exchanged glances after hearing these words, and when they turned to Crabbe, it was as if they were looking at a dead man.

This guy is a complete idiot. How dare he jump out at a time like this to cause trouble and try to get something for himself? Isn't he afraid of being killed to establish his authority?