The new Knockturn Alley
"What is it?" Will stopped swinging his Wand and looked at Lucius, though he knew Lucius probably wanted to talk about the Draco.
The Malfoy family are all family-oriented heroes.
"Regarding Draco..." Lucius's face showed a pleading expression, "I hope you can take good care of him."
Will smiled, Lucius was delighted, thinking Will was going to agree. But what Will said next startled Lucius.
Will smiled, but his tone was cold and distant. "Lucius, should I say that you Draco too much to dare to scheme against me, or that you're so concerned that you've turned your attention to me?"
Lucius was deeply shaken.
"Mr. Behrens, I... I don't know what you're talking about," Lucius, sounding dishonest.
"Oh? So, at the beginning of this school year, Draco told me that you sent him to me, hoping I would help Draco complete his mission, and that you were willing to pay the price, no matter how high the price."
Lucius quickly said, "Mr. Behrens, I... I'm just concerned about Draco. He's very incompetent. I'm willing to ask you to help. I'm willing to pay the price. You can name your price—"
Will waved his hand to interrupt Lucius: "You want to tie me to Draco and make me do the work; is it because you know that even if Draco fails the mission, the professor won't punish Draco for my sake, am I right?"
Lucius opened his mouth— Will's perceptiveness exceeded his expectations.
"If I tell the professor about these things," Will said, a smile that made Lucius uneasy, "Guess what will happen?"
On a cold December night, Lucius was sweating profusely. He wasn't afraid of what would happen to him, but rather of Narcissa and Draco's situation.
He quickly said, "Mr. Behrens, I'm willing to make amends to you. I'll do whatever you say... just don't tell our Master that the Malfoy family is willing to offer their most loyal friendship."
Will remained silent, his silence in the cold night like a dull knife, relentlessly stabbing at Lucius's heart, his long platinum-blonde hair already soaked with cold sweat.
Will smiled at this moment, "Don't be nervous, Lucius, why would I tell the professor something like this?"
Lucius was almost caught off guard— Will's change of expression was too fast.
"You... you mean it?" Lucius could hardly believe his ears. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Don't be silly, I don't need you to do anything," Will shook his head. "Thank Draco, you do have a good son. With him around, you don't have to pay any price."
He does a great job in many ways, and I value him highly; moreover, as a friend, I have no reason not to help him.
Alright, I'm leaving now. You'd better wipe your sweat off, or you'll easily catch a cold. You'd better learn the Cold Spell I taught you a while ago."
With a "snap!", Will vanished without a trace.
Lucius stood there, stunned, staring at the spot where Will had been standing, speechless for a long time, until a gust of cold wind blew by and Lucius shivered, snapping him out of his daze.
Will didn't go straight back to Hogwarts; he planned to stay away for a while.
He needed to check on the progress of the Magical University, capture some Test Subject, and finally, he had to go to Louisiana to see the cult's grand event.
Over the next few days, Will first went to Knockturn Alley.
This place has become Voldemort's territory, quite different from before.
Although Knockturn Alley is still the same Knockturn Alley, it is cold, damp, and filled with a musty smell and a host of other strange odors.
However, Will noticed something different—things were starting to get orderly.
The Dark Wizard setting up their stalls were noticeably more disciplined, and the entire alleyway looked as if it had been tidied up, becoming much cleaner.
Will then realized that a considerable portion of the flagstones weren't black at all; the previous darkness was just dirt.
Will was dressed in a Black Robe and looked odd, but no one stopped him; this was essentially still Diagon Alley.
However, as Will passed by Borgin Burke's shop, he glanced at it and saw several withered "Hand of Glory" displayed in his window.
But more accurately, Will was watching the "sentinels" outside the Borgin Burke store.
Inside the guard post, which resembled a phone booth, stood a Death Eaters in a long black robe, expressionless, like a statue.
As Will continued walking, Will noticed that some of the previously dilapidated shops on both sides of the street had been renovated.
The signs were repainted, the shop windows were polished to a shine, new stores had opened, and there were Death Eaters sentries every so often, as well as patrol teams.
They walked in twos and threes, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
Will began to understand; Knockturn Alley had become a "trading center" within Voldemort's sphere of influence, seemingly creating a power struggle with the Ministry of Magic.
He did see something else— Voldemort was very confident of becoming the ultimate winner, and he had already begun to build his own kingdom. In his view, Knockturn Alley was a manifestation of Voldemort's ambition.
If Voldemort didn't have this confidence, he wouldn't have sent Death Eaters here as security guards and patrolmen.
A person won't think about how to become king before they've had enough to eat.
Was his confidence based solely on the Resurrection Stone Ring he possessed? Or did Voldemort believe he was absolutely certain of obtaining the Deathly Hallows?
Will never imagined that Voldemort Will n't covet the Deathly Hallows — Voldemort loved pursuing the power of external things, such as Horcrux.
His current situation isn't good, and wanting to collect the Deathly Hallows is very much in line with Voldemort's mindset.
Thinking it over, Will walked into a darker, narrower, dirtier, and more chaotic twisted alley in Knockturn Alley. It would be easier to capture the Dark Wizard here...