Homecoming from Hogwarts

As dawn approached, a pale green light emerged from the end of the horizon, slowly encroaching on the still dark sky.

The fierce wind howled over Malfoy Manor, but it still couldn't take away the thin gray mist that filled the air.

On the terrace on the roof of the mansion, Voldemort squinted at the dawn, his wide black robe rustling in the wind.

"it's time--"

The noisy wind could not overwhelm Voldemort's muttering to himself. He turned around and looked behind him.
Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa, Nott Sr., Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, Avery, Greengrass
His most loyal Death Eaters have all gathered here.

"Fourteen years ago we suffered a defeat, and this defeat cost me, you, and my friends dearly."

There was a small commotion among the Death Eaters. They lowered their heads, not daring to meet the Dark Lord's scarlet gaze.

"Our great cause has suffered a setback. Those despicable, hypocritical and incompetent wizards have taken advantage of our failure to step onto the stage and wantonly laugh at our glorious dreams."

Voldemort's lipless mouth opened and closed, and his voice was soft, as if he was mourning something.
"But those cowards will eventually realize that Voldemort cannot be defeated. He will eventually lead those who dare to resist to win back the glory that belongs to the pure blood. Now--"

Voldemort's sudden high-pitched voice overwhelmed the sound of the wind. For a moment, the air was filled with a sharp and murderous aura.

"Go, my friend, it's time to let people feel some fear again. I will be here, waiting for you to bring me good news!"

The Death Eaters did not speak, and the leader Lucius bowed to Voldemort and disappeared into the air.

"Now--"

Voldemort smiled at the remaining Death Eaters.
"You need to wait a moment."

Snapped!
With a crisp sound, Lucius landed in the reception hall of the Ministry of Magic.

The huge and magnificent hall was empty. Only a wizard with a lifeless and pale face was waiting at the Magic Brotherhood Fountain in the middle of the hall.

After Lucius recognized the man's face, his throbbing heart calmed down a little.

He strode over, and only when he got closer did he see clearly that there was more than one person here to meet the call.

At the boundary between the elevator hall and the reception hall, a young wizard was sleeping soundly on a table placed against the wall.

Lucius's grey eyes grew alert, he pulled out the wand from the top and held it in his palm, raised his hand and a ray of red light hit him, then his tight breathing rhythm slowed down a little.

He turned his gaze to the face of the wizard waiting for him, and carefully looked at the Silent Man of the Department of Mysteries - Broderick Bode.

He was the 'insider' chosen by Nott and his team after extensive investigation.

The reason why he was chosen was that as a silent man passed down from generation to generation, he held an important thing in his hand, which was something the Dark Lord accidentally learned from a ghost in Hogwarts when he was a student.

In order to find out who has this thing, Nott and his team spent a lot of effort.

After confirming that the light in Bode's eyes was still dull, Lucius put the wand back into his cane.

"No one is on guard?"

Lucius asked.

"I switched shifts with the person who was supposed to be on duty tonight, so I'm the only one down there."

Bode said in a calm tone,
"But some people in the department are used to arriving at six in the morning, so we only have an hour left."

"Then what are we waiting for? The Dark Lord is waiting for good news from us."

Lucius said.

The two men walked quickly into the elevator hall. Lucius pressed the call button, and soon, an elevator came with a clicking sound.

Lucius followed Bode into the car, and after pressing the ninth button on the control box, the golden grille door slammed shut, and the car did not rise but began to fall.

The creaking sound of the chain above the box made Lucius break out in a sweat. He thought the noise would alert the security personnel in the building, but fortunately, nothing happened and the car stopped quickly.

A cold female voice said: Department of Mysteries.

The gate was gently opened, and Lucius walked out of the sedan and stood in the corridor outside. The walls of the corridor were all rough rocks, and there was no decoration except for the torches hanging on the walls on both sides.

Staring at the corridor in front of him, Lucius' eyes twitched uncontrollably.

This was not a place that could bring him a pleasant feeling. The last time, he was detained here by Aurors.

But he did not go to the dark door at the end of the corridor, but -
Lucius's eyes swept towards the right wall. More than thirty feet away, there was a door leading to the underground. There was the Wizengamot's courtroom.

Thinking back to the efforts he made to escape prison, and thinking about what he was doing now, Lucius's face tightened.

The footsteps of Bode and Lucius were extremely 'sharp' in the empty corridor. They walked to the dark door, Lucius dodged to the side of the door axis, and Bode pushed the door open with an expressionless face, and stepped into the room behind the door first.

"come in."

After a few seconds of silence, Bode's voice came from behind the door. Lucius put on his cloak and walked in with his cane.

The space behind the door was a large circular room where everything was black, including the floor and ceiling.

There were many black doors embedded in the surrounding black walls, all identical, with no markings and no door handles.

There were some branch-like candles dotted between the walls. The flames were blue, and the swaying cold light was cast on the shiny marble floor, making people feel as if there was dark water under their feet.

"Ah, the Department of Mysteries. It is said that this place contains the ultimate mysteries of magic and death. I have never been here before."

Gazing at everything in front of him, Lucius spoke softly. He seemed to be able to feel a mysterious atmosphere in the air, and this atmosphere made him feel awed.

With a click, Lucius closed the door, and the round room immediately fell into a dead silence. There was no sound of air flowing, and even the burning candles were silent.

But before Lucius could get used to this eerie silence, a loud rumbling sound suddenly came from behind the wall beside him, and then the candles began to move to the side and the circular wall began to rotate.

For the next few seconds, the wall spun rapidly, and the blue flames blurred into a neon tube in Lucius's terrified gray eyes.

"How is this going?!"

The movement ended as suddenly as it began. Lucius's light golden hair was covered with fine beads of sweat. His face turned blue, and he pulled out his wand and questioned Bode in a stern manner.

"A defensive mechanism that can make it difficult for intruders to figure out which door they came in from."

Bode said in a dull voice.

"Oh, so we shouldn't be bothered by this, right?"

Lucius asked, narrowing his eyes.

"will not."

Bode said succinctly that even though he was under the Imperius Curse, the mechanisms here did not confuse him. Bode walked towards a black door in front of the left.

Under Lucius's vigilant gaze, Bode touched the black door with his finger, and suddenly many chaotic tiny spots of light appeared on the dark door.

The points of light against the dark background were lingering on the door, looking like countless stars in the boundless universe moving along inexplicable trajectories.

Bode clicked on the stars on the door in a way that Lucius could not understand. The selected stars immediately sped up their movement and began to collide with other stars in a chain reaction. Finally, the countless stars that had originally only emitted faint light burst into bright light after the collision, drowning out Lucius's curious sight.

When he took his covering hand away from his eyes, Lucius was surprised to find that the black door separating them had turned into a transparent door emitting white light.

“It’s inside.”

Lucius asked cautiously.

Bode nodded.

"You can summon them now. As I told Nott, once you are inside, the portkeys you made will not work."

Without doubting anything, Lucius nodded, slowly opened his sleeves, and then pressed his fingers on the skull on his arm.
(End of this chapter)