Chapter 26: A Blank Diary and Betrayed Loyalties
The next day, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the British Ministry of Magic received an anonymous tip.
The letter stated that a large number of illegal Dark Arts-related items were hidden in Malfoy Manor—specifically, in a secret vault beneath the fountain in the centre of the courtyard.
Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, took the letter from her assistant. Her initially indifferent expression gradually turned to one of wide-eyed astonishment.
'Rufus, come and take a look at this tip-off,' she said, beckoning to Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head of the Auror Office.
A man with wire-rimmed glasses and light brown hair approached. He seemed to have a slight limp, but he walked with a bold, striding gait.
'What is it, Amelia?' Scrimgeour glanced dismissively at the letter in Bones's hand and said casually, 'A tip-off about Malfoy Manor? The Malfoys are always being reported, but we have never found any concrete evidence.'
'No, Rufus, this letter is different,' Bones said, shaking her head slightly as she handed the letter to Scrimgeour.
Scrimgeour took the letter with a sceptical look. Immediately, his expression became one of surprised uncertainty.
'This letter even includes detailed blueprints of Malfoy Manor? Only someone extremely close to the Malfoy family could draw such clear diagrams,' he said, frowning. 'Who exactly wrote this letter, and what is their motive?'
'Regardless, this is a rare opportunity, and we cannot miss it,' Amelia Bones said decisively. 'How about this: Arthur is a sworn enemy of the Malfoys and should know a fair bit about the place. You and he will lead 2 teams of elite Aurors to Malfoy Manor and conduct a thorough search!'
Scrimgeour nodded decisively and turned to head towards the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, preparing to inform Arthur Weasley that he would be joining him on a mission.
After Scrimgeour left, Bones took out a document from her drawer and began filling out a search warrant for Malfoy Manor.
Just then, a relatively tall man with pale blond hair braided into a neat plait appeared beside her desk.
'Is there something you need, Yaxley?' Bones asked, frowning as she noticed the wizard in the ornate robes, who seemed out of place in the Ministry's usually more staid atmosphere.
Yaxley plastered on a smile that was instantly unpleasant and said, 'Our department needs the Head's signature on a document. I am afraid I must trouble you, Head Bones.'
Bones frowned slightly, signed her name on the document Yaxley brought, and then dismissed him from her office area.
What she did not know was that after Yaxley left, he did not process the newly signed document. Instead, he secretly took out a quill and, in the empty corridor outside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, began to write a letter.
The recipient's name was clearly written on the envelope—Malfoy.
Wiltshire, England. Malfoy Manor. One weekend evening.
A wizard, his entire body cloaked in a black robe, stood in the shadows of the street. He stared at the incredibly luxurious and extravagant manor ahead, his face clouded by uncertainty.
'Master, if Malfoy has not disposed of the things you need as you envisioned, what should we do?'
Quirrell's slightly trembling voice echoed in the shadows.
'Rest assured, I have already considered this,' Voldemort's sinister voice echoed in the same shadows. 'If Lucius has not taken out what I want, all the better. It proves that he still retains at least a trace of loyalty to me in his heart.'
'If his loyalty to me has not completely faded, we can use the Dark Mark to contact him and have him hand over the item to you. Of course, if Lucius is truly foolish enough to dispose of my things, we can naturally proceed with the original plan and buy them directly!'
'What is mine will be mine. No one can stop it.'
Voldemort's low voice echoed in the shadows, causing the surrounding atmosphere to become extremely eerie and terrifying.
Time passed, and fine snowflakes gradually began to fall from the sky. Still, there was no movement from within Malfoy Manor.
Quirrell, shivering from the cold, could not help but ask:
'Master, I believe Malfoy still retains a great deal of loyalty to you. He has not disposed of the items yet, and it is unlikely he will now, right?'
'I hope that is the case,' Voldemort's voice also carried a hint of complacency. 'Prepare yourself; I will teach you how to use the Dark Mark.'
Just as Voldemort was about to teach Quirrell how to use the Dark Mark to contact his—hopefully—still-loyal subordinate, the doors of Malfoy Manor suddenly creaked open.
A wizard wearing expensive wizarding robes, his face covered with a silk mask, sneaked out of the manor's gates.
Lucius—who had spent a long time collecting the numerous illegal items—did not disappoint Voldemort's earlier, more cynical prediction. He brought the valuable items left behind by Voldemort to the pre-arranged meeting place.
'You are the Knockturn Alley black market merchant who contacted me, right?' Lucius handed over a cloth bag, saying with no small amount of arrogance, 'These are the treasures I spent a full 6 hours collecting. Do you understand how high their quantity and value are?'
'If I were not in a hurry to sell them now, 2000 Galleons would not even buy a fraction of what is in here!'
Quirrell stared blankly at Lucius, whose face was covered, and shuddered. He could feel that Voldemort, on the back of his head, was almost incandescent with furious rage.
'I knew the Malfoy family could not be trusted! They have always been a bunch of contemptible weathercocks!!' Voldemort's cursing echoed incessantly in Quirrell's mind.
Suppressing his terrified emotions, Quirrell tremblingly took the bag from Lucius—which had clearly been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm—and began to check if Voldemort's desired item was among the many illegal goods.
'That is right… the item I need is in there,' Voldemort's voice, barely suppressing his monumental anger, echoed in Quirrell's mind.
Quirrell secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He handed the 2000 Galleons—which he had, quite literally, just dug out of someone's grave—to Lucius, and then left Malfoy Manor without looking back.
In a remote corner of Wiltshire, under Voldemort's guidance, Quirrell, with trembling hands, took out a blank diary with a black cover from the bag.
Voldemort's initial, explosive anger gradually disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by a profound sense of relief, and the sheer elation that followed such a narrow escape.
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