Provoking the Dark Lord

"So—" Voldemort's eyes gleamed with shrewdness, "Lucius's son does sound quite capable... If such a person could be put to my use, restoring the glory of the Pure-blood families and creating a glorious era dominated by Death Eaters would be just around the corner... What a pity..."

Voldemort chuckled coldly, his laughter sounding like the hooting of an owl in a moonlit forest—sharp and chilling. "What a pity Lucius is so ungrateful. If he had brought his son to join me, I could have forgiven his betrayal of the past 13 years, and even reinstated him, giving him a position second only to Voldemort within the Death Eaters..."

"What's wrong?" Voldemort looked at one of the Death Eaters. When he mentioned Lucius, the Death Eaters's body trembled unnaturally. Voldemort narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly in a low voice, "Fawley, do you have a problem with how I handled things?"

This Death Eaters is from a branch of the Fawley Family. It is said that the Fawley Family ostensibly severed ties with him in earlier years, but in reality, they still maintained contact in secret. This is a consistent tradition of the Fawley Family —maintaining a bright and upright image in public, but seeking profit when no one is watching.

When Grindelwald began his rampage across Europe, the Fawley Family unfortunately found themselves embroiled in the infamous position of Minister for Magic. So, while outwardly organizing the Auror to participate in the all- Europe government's campaign against Grindelwald, the Fawley Family secretly slacked off, conserved their strength, and constantly hindered the Europe nations. This was typical of the Fawley Family's behavior.

He appears virtuous but is actually playing both sides and trying to please everyone.

Since the disappearance of their direct heir, the Fawley Family has spent a great deal of money searching for him without success. They have long believed that the House of Malfoy is the mastermind behind it all, but they just lack evidence. In addition, the Malfoy House of Malfoy has a close relationship with the Ministry of Magic. Without solid evidence, even if the four families whose children disappeared at the same time joined forces, they would not be able to make the House of Malfoy pay any price.

Since overt methods are unusable, the only option left is to resort to underhanded tactics.

So, the Death Eaters Fawley was secretly summoned by the Fawley Family and given the task of "sowing discord between Voldemort and the House of Malfoy" that very day. Since the family and the Ministry of Magic couldn't deal with the House of Malfoy, they would let the Death Eaters, who belonged to the dark side, take the lead.

That's why Fawley reacted that way when Voldemort mentioned those words. He carries a heavy responsibility for his family and cannot allow the House of Malfoy to return to the Death Eaters; he must make the House of Malfoy pay a heavy price!

Fawley said, "Master, although the House of Malfoy is wealthy and powerful, it's only because their ancestors were extremely good at accumulating wealth. If we're being serious, the House of Malfoy has always been small in number and not known for its fighting prowess. We've never heard of any formidable warriors from their family. I think..." Fawley pondered for a moment, seemingly considering how to continue the conversation, before saying, "Lucius has the audacity to betray you, Master, probably because he has something else to rely on."

"Master," Selwyn spoke up, "I agree with Fawley. The House of Malfoy has risen too quickly in recent years, almost illogically, especially given the many mysterious and strange aspects about them..."

"At the Ministry of Magic, unusual personnel changes are happening frequently, and almost everyone senses something is amiss..."

"The head of the House of Bletchley was suddenly and inexplicably demoted, and transferred to a sinecure at the Centaur Liaison Office —he was my right-hand man, one of the top-ranking families among my vassal states. His fall from grace was a significant blow to me, but that wasn't the worst of it—among Selwyn's vassal states, the Wankanda Family, which was originally the most powerful, secretly switched allegiance to the House of Malfoy without my knowledge..."

"The Wankanda Family's betrayal was completely unexpected. This family had been allied with Selwyn for six centuries, and their relationship was incredibly strong and close. Who would have thought they would betray us so easily...? Most unbelievably, after their betrayal, they've thrived like Zouwu steed, growing at an astonishing pace in the business and political worlds... Now their power is almost on par with the 28 Holy Pure-blood families..."

"With the success of the Wankanda Family serving as such a prominent example, the entire Britain wizarding world was immediately stirred up—first the Bones family, then the McLaggen family, then the Runcorn Family ... These families all stepped forward to publicly declare their stance, attaching themselves to the House of Malfoy, especially after the Greengrass Family and Carrow Family, also among the 28 Holy Pure-blood families, followed suit—"

"The House of Malfoy's power is now firmly established." Mr. Selwyn's tone was completely calm, clearly indicating that the emotional turmoil caused by his daughter's disappearance had been suppressed.

"The strange thing is—" Mr. Selwyn raised his head, his pupils filled with icy coldness, "... the other families are one thing—" No matter how hard he tried to maintain the calmness in his tone, everyone present could hear the trace of hatred within it, "Master, as we just mentioned, in the process of suppressing and confronting the House of Malfoy, our seven families once formed a short-term alliance, which also included the Carrow Family and the Nott Family..."

"But—at this moment, we were shocked to discover—" Mr. Selwyn said in a deep voice, "... we don't know when it started... but the Carrow and Nott families... have actually colluded with the House of Malfoy behind our backs..."

"The rest of us in the alliance just can't understand it. All those agreed-upon profit-sharing and cooperation agreements... how could those two families turn around and side with the House of Malfoy without a second thought..."

"The only explanation we can find is—" Mr. Selwyn took a deep breath.

"Skylar Malfoy," Selwyn said softly, "That prodigy from the House of Malfoy..."

"Only his existence and his fame can explain all of this..."

"In the long history of Britain wizarding, even a thousand years ago, the House of Malfoy has probably never reached this level... and that cunning but incompetent old man Lucius certainly doesn't have the ability..." Selwyn said slowly, "Therefore, we suspect—"

"Those families, big and small, that have flocked to the House of Malfoy like a snowball, are very likely—" Selwyn said, "Not there for the House of Malfoy, but for the fame of the boy Skylar Malfoy..."

"To be able to do this cannot be explained simply by magical talent or outstanding strength—" Selwyn said, "This boy is probably more powerful, more terrifying than we imagined... terrifying enough to remind us of someone—"

"That is, Master, your nemesis— Albus Dumbledore."