Malfoy Manor

Southwest England

Wiltshire.

A huge estate.

Malfoy Manor has existed on this land for a thousand years, but few people know that Malfoy's ancestors were not England.

The first member of the family to come to the United Kingdom was Armand Malfoy, who arrived during the Norman Conquest.

William I Conqueror then granted him a piece of land in Wiltshire, England.

For nearly a thousand years since then, the Malfoy family has continuously annexed the lands of surrounding Muggle, expanding their already large estate.

They also successfully ventured into Muggle currency and assets, becoming one of the wealthiest wizarding families in the United Kingdom.

This abundance has continued to this day, reaching its peak with the rise of the Dark Lord, but then declined as the Dark Lord lost power.

These past ten years have been filled with ups and downs, and the family's situation has become increasingly dire. This is the consequence of choosing the wrong side.

In the magnificent study, only two people sat silently around an exquisitely decorated long table.

A roaring fire burned in the marble fireplace, its light illuminating the room, and above the fireplace was a gilded mirror.

After reviewing the intelligence he had just received, Lucius Malfoy finally looked up at his wife Narcissa Malfoy, who was drinking coffee.

Lucius leaned back in his chair and asked softly, "Cissy (Narcissa's nickname), was the journey smooth?"

"It didn't go smoothly; the waves over there were too big." Narcissa stirred the silver spoon and sighed.

Azkaban Castle is located on a solitary island in the middle of the North Sea. It was not originally owned by the Ministry of Magic, but was built by a dark wizard Ekrizdis.

His goal was to lure Muggle ships to the island, conduct various studies on them, and finally torture them to death.

Therefore, he chose a location directly in a storm-prone area.

July and August are the peak season for storms.

"How is Bellatrix doing?" Lucius asked with concern.

"My sister is in very bad shape..." Narcissa said sadly, "I almost didn't recognize her."

Lucius picked up a cup of black tea and sneered, "Of course it was terrible. Living in that kind of environment for eleven years... Do you know why Azkaban doesn't have Auror guards?"

Because Dementor can drain all the hope and pleasure of prisoners, the prisoners there are severely tormented by Dementor, and no one can escape."

"Can we get Bellatrix out?" Narcissa pleaded with her husband.

Lucius glared at Narcissa and said sternly, "Cissy, don't bring this up again. We have no official connection with the Death Eaters right now!"

Save her?

How many Galleon did I spend to bribe the Ministry of Magic and escape trial?

And what about Bellatrix, that woman?!

Even though she knew the Dark Lord had lost power, she was still audacious enough to torture the Longbottoms with the Cruciatus Curse;

During the trial, she even openly declared that the Dark Lord would return and everyone would die!

"Not giving Bellatrix a Dementor's Kiss is already letting her off easy."

Narcissa's right hand, adorned with an emerald ring, trembled slightly.

She was well aware of all this.

But...

Bellatrix is still my own sister!

Lucius shook his head and sighed.

"Things are not what they used to be; life is getting harder and harder. Although Fudge is in power, everyone knows he listens to Dumbledore and is just Dumbledore's dog!"

Look at this.

Lucius passed the intelligence he had just obtained to Narcissa.

After Narcissa opened it, she frowned and asked in confusion, "What does the new Muggle Protection Act... have to do with us? We are not bullying Muggles?"

"Of course it's relevant. Look at this." Lucius pointed to a passage and read, "'Aimed at protecting Muggle from Dark Magic creations.' How many Dark Magic items do we have in our house?!"

"They still dare to search Malfoy Manor?" Narcissa's voice was shrill.

"What's there to be afraid of!" Lucius said angrily. "Arthur Weasley was involved in drafting this law, and he's also the director of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office."

Don't underestimate this seemingly useless position; thanks to this law, he can openly and legally conduct a surprise search of our home!

Narcissa frowned and asked, "Can we settle this with money?"

"Not optimistic." Lucius shook his head. "Dumbledore hates families like ours. Many people are afraid of him and are starting to distance themselves from our family."

Money is no longer effective!

Lucius sighed. "And also, do you know how many Galleon I spent and how many connections I used to get you to see your sister Bellatrix this time?"

Fudge is an insatiable beast!

Don't be fooled by his ever-smiling face and the fact that we seem to have a great relationship. When it comes to making money, he doesn't hold back at all.

Saving your sister is going to be difficult!

In this respect, Lucius Malfoy greatly admired his junior schoolmate Snape.

Snape had secretly been climbing the social ladder to Dumbledore for a long time.

Despite being Death Eaters, after the Dark Lord lost power, he was directly vouched for by Dumbledore and became the Potions Professor, living a very comfortable life.

You have excellent taste!

If Lucius had known that the Dark Lord would be defeated by an infant, he would have surrendered long ago. How could he have ended up in this dilemma?

"So, there's really no way to save Bellatrix?"

Narcissa covered her mouth and cried, her chest heaving violently and her cheeks flushed red.

"Of course, it's not entirely hopeless." Lucius looked at his wife with pity and took a breath.

"How can we save her?" Narcissa looked up.

"Even if Galleon don't work, they're still Galleon. There's no way to save them right now; it's just that the price offered wasn't high enough."

Lucius stared at his wife and asked, "So, did your sister agree? Is she willing to transfer all of Gringotts ' assets to your name?"

We will use her assets to get her out..."

Narcissa shook her head.

Lucius frowned. "Didn't you tell her that the Ministry of Magic is proposing a bill to cooperate with Gringotts in clearing the assets of those convicted of life imprisonment?"

This is, of course, just a suggestion and is unlikely to be adopted, since private property is sacred and inviolable.

But using this as a pretext, Lucius wanted his wife to take over Bellatrix's vault.

As a child of the Black family and favored by her mother, Bellatrix received a considerable inheritance.

The thought of such a huge fortune being kept in Gringotts pained Lucius terribly.

He was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see other people's gold gathering dust in Gringotts.

Of course, it's no big deal if your own gold gets dusty; it's all about putting the greater good before personal interests.

Lucius prefers to help others protect and care for them.

This is also why he sent Narcissa to Azkaban.

Lucius planned to use the pretexts of "the Ministry of Magic confiscating Gringotts gold" and "bribing officials to release Bellatrix" to trick... oops... legitimately move the Black family's gold to the Malfoy family!

Narcissa shook her head. "Darling, Bellatrix has gone mad. You didn't see her like that... When she saw me, she grabbed my hand and asked if the Dark Lord had returned?"

She was acting crazy, constantly reliving the happy days she spent with the Dark Lord...

"Foolish!" Lucius asked again. "What about Black Sirius?"

Logically speaking, Sirius has no right to inherit; he has already been removed from the list.

Aside from what was divided between Bellatrix and Narcissa, most of the Black family's inheritance would go to Regulus Black.

But Regulus died early, while Sirius, the only male in the Black family, survived, and his mother's will became invalid, making his inheritance legal.

Intestate succession is not based on the wishes of the deceased, but on blood relations.

Therefore, most of the property was in Sirius's hands.

Sirius... he just smiled when he saw me... like he was watching a joke.

Narcissa shrank back, somewhat fearful, as if recalling the scene from that day.

"Let's go again sometime, I'll go with you," Lucius said, unwilling to give up.

"I'm surprised they've lasted this long. If they all had died in Azkaban, the legacy would truly be gone forever."

As one of the top Pure-blood families, the Black family has more gold in its vaults than the Malfoy family. Lucius really doesn't want to let go of it!

"My dear," Narcissa paused for a moment, then asked cautiously, "The Dark Lord... will he return?"

Lucius looked up, staring blankly at the ceiling, his voice echoing in the empty study.

"I don't know, but I'd rather he... never... come back."

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