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Chapter 896: A Good-faith Advice
🕑 Added 2023-10-28 21:19:09 +0000 UTC"Alarmist!" Lucius approached Evan, and his lips moved slightly.
His face showed an uncontrollable fleeting flash of panic, and then returned to the previous indifference.
"Really? You think so?" said Evan calmly, everything was under his control. "It’s just a good-faith piece of advice, Mr. Malfoy. Time will tell, but I’m afraid it’ll be too late by then..."
This time, Lucius didn't speak anymore, his gray eyes fixed on Evan.
He still didn't understand the deeper meaning of Evan’s words. Why was this boy sure that Voldemort would attack Draco?
But there was one thing he had to admit. Because of the diary, he had indeed offended Voldemort.
He still remembered that it was a night eighteen years ago when Voldemort suddenly came to his family’s mansion by himself, met him secretly, gave him the ordinary-looking diary, and told him that it was The Dark Lord’s highest trust in him.
Lucius was overjoyed by the supreme trust of the Dark Lord. That was exactly what he’d been dreaming of.
With this trust, he could bring the power of the family to the top and restore the glory of the Malfoys.
But soon, this trust became worthless with Voldemort's failure to escape, and the diary became a hot potato. Lucius didn't know what it was, but if it were discovered by the Ministry of Magic...
He had dealt with a lot of things related to Voldemort at the time, hesitated again and again, but kept the diary.
In the following thirteen years, Lucius came to believe that Voldemort would never return!
And the study of that diary also made him feel scared. He had some guesses about it, but he didn't dare to tell the result, and he didn't even dare to think about the evil words. The diary brought him infinite fear.
Finally, he decided to transfer the diary and pass the trouble on to Dumbledore.
Lucius devised a conspiracy for this, not only to get rid of the trouble as he wished, but also to drive Dumbledore from Hogwarts, cleanse the school of all the Mudblood students, and frame everything against the annoying Weasleys.
It was killing four birds with one stone, but things did not develop in the direction he had anticipated.
It was not until Voldemort's resurrection that he realized that he had made a huge mistake...
He should have kept that diary forever. It was Voldemort's trust in him.
Now, he had thrown it away with his own hands.
Evan was right. With his knowledge of the Dark Lord, Voldemort would not bypass him easily.
There was still some fluke in his heart, and Voldemort might consider his unwavering loyalty...
But would that be really the case? Would Voldemort really forgive him?
Lucius was very uncertain, and he suddenly didn't want to stay here. He decided to go back and find out what the diary really was, and restore it before the Dark Lord asked for it.
He had to repair the diary at any cost...
"If you want help, you know what to do!" said Evan softly.
"Humph!" Lucius snorted coldly.
He understood what Evan meant. This boy was really bold, trying to persuade him to defect. He was not that stupid.
If Evan knew he was going to repair the Horcrux, he would definitely tell him that he was stupid.
"Baffling, I have no idea what you're talking about." Lucius's voice returned to normal.
"Lucius, stay away from Evan!" Mr. Weasley frowned, standing between them.
"Ah, Arthur Weasley, what are you doing here?" Lucius returned to his former glib tone.
He had that look of contempt, as though he had just noticed that Mr. Weasley was here.
"I work here," said Mr. Weasley shortly.
“Not here, surely?” said Mr. Malfoy, raising his eyebrows and glancing toward the door over Mr. Weasley’s shoulder. “I thought you were up on the second floor... Don’t you do something that involves sneaking Muggle artifacts home and bewitching them?”
“No,” said Mr. Weasley curtly, clenching his fists.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Harry asked Lucius Malfoy.
“I don’t think private matters between myself and the Minister are any concern of yours, Potter,” said Malfoy, smoothing the front of his robes. The gentle clinking of what sounded like a full pocket of gold could be distinctly heard.
“Really, just because you are Dumbledore’s favorite boy, you must not expect the same indulgence from the rest of us... Shall we go up to your office, then, Minister?” he said, looking deeply at Evan.
“Certainly,” said Fudge, turning his back on Evan, Harry and Mr. Weasley. “This way, Lucius."
They strode off together, talking in low voices.
Mr. Weasley waited until they disappeared into the lift before he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Evan, what did you tell him just now?" Mr. Weasley asked, turning to look at them.
"Nothing, just a little more trouble to him and his master, and it may not work."
That being said, Malfoy's betrayal was only a matter of time.
Giving Lucius a little hope might help Voldemort and the Death Eaters’ internal disintegration.
"I don't know what you want to do, but you’d better be careful..."
"I really don’t understand. Why wasn’t Lucius Malfoy waiting outside Fudge’s office if they’ve got business to do together?" Harry glanced at Evan and burst out furiously. "What was he doing down here?"
“Trying to sneak down to the courtroom, if you ask me,” said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely agitated as he glanced over his shoulder as though making sure they could not be overheard. “Trying to find out whether you’d been expelled or not, in addition to the outcome of Evan’s inquiry. I’ll leave a note for Dumbledore when I send you back; he ought to know Malfoy’s been talking to Fudge again."
“What private business have they got together anyway?"
“Gold, I expect,” said Mr. Weasley angrily. “Malfoy’s been giving generously to all sorts of things for years... Gets him in with the right people … then he can ask favors … delay laws he doesn’t want passed … Oh, he’s very well connected, Lucius Malfoy ... even the fall of You-Know-Who did not have much impact on him..."
The lift arrived; it was empty except for a flock of memos that flapped around Mr. Weasley’s head.
He pressed the button for the Atrium and the doors clanged shut; he waved the memos away irritably.
"That's right!" Harry seemed to have thought of something, and said slowly, "if Fudge is meeting Death Eaters like Malfoy, how do we know they haven’t put the Imperius Curse on him? He’s behaving really like..."
