The Malfoy Family

Dewey had a bold idea, and he quickly drafted a plan—a plan to throw every last bucket-headed fool at the Ministry of Magic into Azkaban.

This plan had been hovering in his mind for some time, but it had always lacked a final piece of the puzzle.

A crucial node.

Now, hearing Kingsley's words before him, Dewey suddenly realized.

This crucial node had appeared.

Voldemort.

Or rather, the fear people held for Voldemort!

He could absolutely use that fear to accomplish many things.

In an instant, he grasped the cause and effect, understood what he needed to do, and even began continuously simulating the plan in his mind.

The plan is feasible.

Dewey quickly confirmed that the plan could be executed.

Consequently, his trip to Hogwarts this time was a must-win!

The premise of this plan was that he had to firmly secure his position during Harry Potter's third year and acquire more cards. If he wanted to leverage the power of fear, he had to at least have the ability to protect himself from being harmed by that fear, if not become fear itself.

He currently lacked the ability to protect himself.

Let alone one-seventh of Voldemort.

Even against Snape or McGonagall, he was likely no match for such elite wizards.

Voldemort, weakened to the extreme and mentally fractured, was still able to suppress McGonagall, Kingsley, and Horace Slughorn all at once at the very end—even after all his Horcruxes had been destroyed and the Elder Wand had turned against him. This showed just how terrifying Voldemort truly was.

In The Deathly Hallows, those present—those who resisted Voldemort—had been shielded by the magic of love cast by Harry Potter, meaning the Unforgivable Curses cast upon them might not have taken effect.

Even so, Voldemort was able to blast away a Hogwarts deputy headmistress, an elite Ministry Auror, and a retired but quite powerful wizard in a single strike. Dewey was certain he couldn't block even one of Voldemort's moves, and Voldemort was truly going to return!

On Dewey's arm, there was the Dark Mark.

Whenever the Dark Lord summoned them, the mark on a Death Eater's arm would burn.

Afterward, these summoned Death Eaters would have to go and pay homage to Voldemort; those who didn't, no matter where they hid, would be killed by Voldemort's Avada Kedavra.

From Tom to Voldemort, this noseless, flat-faced demon always preferred to kill with his own hands.

A sense of urgency began to stir in Dewey's heart, a sense of urgency that made him increasingly excited.

A thrilling sensation.

He reined in his dangerous thoughts.

Dewey chatted with Kingsley for a while before heading to bed. At seven the next morning, he was woken up by Kingsley.

Harry Potter and his friends had already packed their luggage and were ready to board the car.

Seeing "Professor Lupin" emerge from the Leaky Cauldron, they greeted him timidly.

Dewey's gaze fell upon Ron. In his jacket pocket, he should have been carrying the little rat Scabbers, but unfortunately, Dewey hadn't seen it since yesterday.

Keen observation and danger perception—an interesting prey. After discovering Sirius had escaped, he became despondent, and upon seeing me, he chose to hide in advance?

Dewey knew the little rat Scabbers had chosen to flee the moment he saw him arrive.

Peter Pettigrew knew his Animagus form was easily discovered by those close to him.

The moment he saw Lupin, or heard Lupin's voice, he had chosen to run, and with great decisiveness.

But Ron didn't seem particularly downcast.

Dewey felt there must be a hidden story here.

Perhaps Scabbers hadn't run away?

Sitting in the car with his head hunched, Dewey saw a cat—Hermione's cat, which should be called Crookshanks? This ugly-looking large cat saw Lupin, instinctively arched its back, and bristled!

"No, Crookshanks, don't do that."

Hermione whispered. She stroked Crookshanks, trying to soothe the cat, but to her surprise, Crookshanks let out a "Hiss!" that signaled a threat.

Hermione was embarrassed, looking at "Professor Lupin" at a loss. Kingsley, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head to help the little girl out of the awkward situation: "Looks like this cat doesn't like you much, does it, Lupin?"

Dewey smiled and said, "Indeed. Is this your pet, Hermione? What is its name?"

"His name is Crookshanks, Professor."

Hermione said in a low voice.

Dewey nodded and looked at Harry, asking, "And what is your pet, Harry? An owl? I've heard that young wizards love fluffy owls; they even deliver letters for you, don't they?"

"Yes, Professor, I have an owl. Her name is Hedwig," Harry said. After answering, he felt a desire to ask Professor Lupin some questions.

He wanted to know if Professor Lupin had truly known his parents—his knowledge of them was far too scarce. He had only seen his parents once, in the Mirror of Erised; otherwise, Aunt Petunia never mentioned her sister or brother-in-law.

Other wizards rarely spoke of them, either.

"They died in a car crash."

Uncle Vernon had once said this.

Harry remembered it vividly.

He had no idea what his parents looked like. The less anyone told him, the more he yearned to know. Having finally met someone who might have known them, he felt as if a cat were clawing at his heart with anxiety.

But there were too many people here; Harry Potter nervously licked his lips several times, yet still couldn't bring himself to ask.

Dewey cast another glance at Harry, his true intentions finally surfacing.

He looked at Ron Weasley, who also appeared quite nervous. Dewey asked him gently, "And yours, Mr. Weasley?

Hmm, what was your name again?"

"Ron Weasley, Professor."

Ron's ears turned red. Dewey said softly, "And what is your pet, Ron?"

"A rat, a little rat named Scabbers."

Ron replied.

"And where is the little rat?"

Dewey continued, "Is he here? I don't see him. Is he a magical creature?"

"He's not here; my brother took him."

As he spoke, Ron cast a cautious, sidelong glance at Crookshanks, and Dewey followed his gaze.

It seemed that because of Crookshanks—or at least, that was what Ron believed—Scabbers the rat didn't want to be near him.

Hermione's cat was truly remarkable; its intelligence clearly exceeded the limits of a normal feline. It could likely understand much of human language and grasped the principles behind many human inventions.

More importantly, it even knew the password to open the door, which Neville had written on a note left by his bedside.

It could also see through an Animagus.

Seems incredible, doesn't it?

After all, it was just a cat, not an Animagus.

But this was exactly why Dewey loved the wizarding world; in this world, anything could happen. Logic that held true in the Muggle world simply didn't apply here.

Dewey stopped asking questions. He closed his eyes, contemplating his next moves.

The special vehicle provided by the Ministry of Magic was quite magical. Harry and Ron both stared wide-eyed at the outside, watching as it miraculously moved from the back of the traffic to the front, with no Muggles seemingly noticing the strange occurrence.

Kingsley was also tense, his hand gripping his wand tightly, guarding against any potential attacks.

Only Dewey was truly relaxed.

The greatest danger the Ministry of Magic was trying to guard against was already in the car; where would any attackers come from on the street?

As long as I don't make a move, nothing will happen here.

Dewey closed his eyes as the car arrived at King's Cross Station. Carrying his luggage, he stepped out and took another small sip of Polyjuice Potion.

He looked at the bustling station and let out a breath.

"Goodbye, Kingsley."

Dewey waved at Kingsley, who finally let out a sigh of relief. Kingsley watched as Dewey led the trio toward Platform 9 3/4, disappearing into the lively crowd.

Lupin took the trio toward the train, but before they boarded, Dewey spotted an acquaintance.

To be precise, a family of acquaintances.

The Malfoys.

No matter how busy he was, Lucius Malfoy always personally saw his child off at the station. This wasn't because he cared so much for his son, but because his wife demanded it.

Narcissa Malfoy was incredibly dominant at home; she was the true master of the Malfoy household.

Seeing Lupin, a contemptible smirk spread across Lucius's face.

He strode toward Lupin.

Aggressively.

Dewey watched the man with the contemptible smile and signaled for the trio to go ahead and find their seats.

The three of them looked at Lupin with concern; they could sense that Lucius Malfoy meant trouble.

"I'm fine, go ahead and board. If you don't mind, could you save me a seat?"

Dewey said gently. The trio nodded, reluctant to leave, but Hermione pulled the two boys along, and they headed onto the train.

Dewey watched as Lucius approached.

His gaze swept over the three people opposite him, lingering on each one in turn.

Among the three, he favored Narcissa Malfoy.

Compared to her foolish husband, Narcissa was the person most likely to be manipulated by him.

Of course, it was also possible that she was the one most likely to manipulate him.

Because of Narcissa, she had never known what loyalty was; in her heart, only one thing held the utmost importance.

Family!

Or rather, her son.

For the sake of her son, she could betray Tom, betray her own sister, betray anyone.

Such a person was a business partner worth dealing with.