Homecoming from Hogwarts

A man suddenly appeared from thin air in a narrow alley. After landing, he immediately looked around vigilantly to make sure that no one was watching. The wand that had protruded from under his black cloak retracted and he breathed a sigh of relief.

On the left side of the alley were low thorn bushes growing wildly, and on the right side were tall, neatly trimmed hedges. The man walked forward, his long cloak flapping around his ankles.

The low-hanging branches overhead blocked the moonlight from time to time, and the man's anxious face appeared to be bright and dark.

He quickly left the alley and turned right, entering a wide driveway. The tall hedge also turned a corner and extended into the distance. Two magnificent wrought iron gates blocked his way. The man did not stop, but stretched out his right hand from under his cloak, and then went straight through the smoke-like wrought iron gate.

At the end of the straight driveway, a very ordinary mansion appeared in the darkness.

Malfoy Manor.

This was not the first time Nott had visited his old friend Lucius's home. He had previously admired this stately and luxurious mansion. The elegant decorations in the mansion were worthy of the glory of the ancient pure-blood family of the Malfoy family, and also demonstrated the wealth of the Malfoy family.

But now, this respectable manor located in the darkness is shrouded in a heavy haze, and even the bright moonlight cannot break through the ominous atmosphere surrounding the manor.

"call--"

Walking into the hallway, under the gaze of the pale portraits on the wall, Old Nott took a deep breath and muttered something to himself, as if to cheer himself up. Then, he stepped on the luxurious carpet that almost touched the ground and came to a heavy wooden door.
"I will. Phew, get appreciated"

After hesitating for a moment, Old Nott turned the bronze handle and pushed the door open.

There was a long, ornate table in the living room, and the ordinary furniture in the room was pushed carelessly against the wall. A small flame burned in the ornate marble fireplace, providing only the minimum level of lighting for the spacious room, as if the people in the room did not need light.

"You're here, Nott--"

There were only two people in the room, one was the original owner of the house, and the other was the new owner of the house.

Voldemort, who was sitting in the middle of the innermost room of the long table, said in a high-pitched voice, his left hand resting on the armrest, holding his wand elegantly.

Lucius Malfoy was crawling on the ground, his long light golden hair scattered in front of his eyes, his grey eyes filled with unspeakable fear and panic, his pale cheeks without a trace of blood were still twitching, as if he had just endured some unimaginable pain.

Lucius' miserable condition made old Nott's heart tremble. He stared at him blankly, forgetting everything he had prepared to report. His legs went weak and he knelt down directly.

"Oh, don't worry, Nott—"

Voldemort seemed to find this scene quite interesting. He smiled lazily and turned his head to look at Lucius, who was lying on the ground gasping for breath. His scarlet snake pupils were colder than ice.
"Lucius betrayed my trust. He lost the treasure entrusted to him by the great Dark Lord and delivered it to Dumbledore and Braine in an extremely stupid way. He was punished for it -"

A chill surged across Voldemort's face, and the wand in his hand swung rhythmically.

"But the Dark Lord is magnanimous, Lucius. I can forgive you once. Of course, this is also because you have won the support of the giants for our great cause. Lucius, I hope this stupid mistake will not happen again. You will not betray my trust again, right?"

"Thank you for your magnanimity, my Lord!"

Lucius dragged his disheveled body to Voldemort's feet and kissed his robe with his nose twitching.

"Get up, Lucius, and let us listen to what good news Nott has brought us."

Voldemort stood up and said, slowly walking to Nott's side, but he did not let Nott stand up. Instead, he leaned slightly over and looked at him. The huge shadow reflected on the wall seemed to devour old Nott's shadow like a demon.

"You do bring good news, don't you, Nott?"

Voldemort asked.

"Oh, I don't know, Master. I don't know if it's good news, but I think it's necessary to report to you."

Old Knott rested his forehead against the shaggy carpet, and every syllable he uttered trembled. "But I saw Amosta Blaine. I saw him coming back."

"Amosta Blaine is back."

A flash of disgust flashed across Voldemort's pale face, and then a moment of indifference.
"You sent for me just to tell me this. Wasting the Dark Lord's precious time with information I could probably find out by buying a copy of the Daily Prophet?"

Old Nott's heart suddenly tightened, and he could feel an overwhelming chill pressing down on him.

"I met Brian in Gringotts, Master. He was opening a vault with a woman. He brought that woman back from New York. Brian said that the woman was very talented in alchemical tools, so he planned to arrange her to work in the workshop that made money for him and Remus."

Voldemort's lowered gaze became increasingly cold and impatient.

"--Of course the key point is not here. Later, they went to the vault under the guidance of a goblin. Out of curiosity, I waited outside for a while. Oh, actually I waited for several hours. This made me feel something was wrong. You know, generally speaking, it would not take so long to go to the vault to get gold.

Later they came out of the underground vault, but something was wrong. The goblin who led them down seemed to have fought with a fire dragon. His clothes were burnt and his face was blackened."

As if he had some guess, a trace of throbbing flashed in Voldemort's eyes, and his voice was cold and heavy.

"You have, I suppose, made your inquiry clear with the goblin, Nott?"

"Of course, my Lord!"

Realizing that what he said was not without value to the Dark Lord, Old Nott's silent heart regained some vitality, and his voice was no longer trembling as before.

"It didn't want to say anything at first, but I threatened it. If it didn't tell me what they were doing, I would interrupt all the business between the Nott family and Gringotts, take away the Nott family's gold, and bring bad luck to it. Then, it told me that Brian opened a very old family vault."

"A very old family vault?!"

In an instant, a huge fear gripped Voldemort's heart. He looked suddenly at Lucius Malfoy, his fierce eyes filled with anger.

Lucius Malfoy had just told him about his precious Horcrux when he asked about the notebook, which made him furious.

But after calming down, he thought that he didn't need to be so nervous.

It was just an accident. It was Lucius's foolish act that exposed his precious Horcrux to Dumbledore and Brian. Dumbledore was already old and dim-sighted. He couldn't recognize his great magic that could prevent death. Brian made him a little worried.
The fact that Brian could use Fiendfyre to an outstanding level showed that he was not a "saint" like Dumbledore. He had a deep understanding of the dark arts.

He was just wondering whether Brian might know about Horcruxes, and then Nott brought him the news.

"The treasury of an ancient family—"

The red light in Voldemort's snake pupils grew brighter, but his voice was light and fluttery.
"Who does it belong to?"

"That goblin won't say anything, Master—"

Old Nott was out of breath.
"It said that telling me this was already a big risk, and if it revealed more, Brian would not let it go."

"You won't tell me?!"

Voldemort's voice suddenly became high-pitched, and his pupils glowed red. He looked at Old Nott grimly.
"When did you become such a gentleman, Nott, or have you forgotten how serving the Dark Lord is of no value?"

(End of this chapter)