An uninvited guest arrived at Malfoy Manor.
It was early morning, and the ever-present mist gave the manor an eerie, gloomy atmosphere.
"Lucius, this must be your son, isn't it?"
This was the first time Draco Malfoy had ever seen that man.
A face as sinister and cold as a snake's, and his own father could only force a smile.
Lucius said obsequiously, "Master, yes, this is my child."
After over a decade of comfort and routine, now confronted by the man who loomed like a shadow over his heart, Lucius couldn't help but reveal his fear.
Within Malfoy Manor, the Death Eaters had gathered.
Voldemort sat at the head of the room, and before him, three kneeling Death Eaters trembled with fear.
"If it weren't for my loyal Death Eater Lucius, I fear I wouldn't even have a place to rest right now."
Voldemort's cold, snake-like eyes made the room feel even colder.
He had wandered in hiding for a long time before finally finding Death Eaters still loyal to him.
Lucius Malfoy.
He looked at the three kneeling figures. "Tell me, why did you abandon your master?"
Fear made the three of them tremble uncontrollably.
If John were here, he would have recognized them — these were the same three who had once been summoned by Silverhand Johnny.
Shaking, they stammered, "Master, we were rooting out traitors among the Death Eaters."
"Traitors? Ha.. haa.. hahahaha!" As if he'd just heard a joke, Voldemort let out a chilling laugh.
Narcissa grabbed her son's hand, her eyes warning him not to move.
The other Death Eaters remained utterly silent. They had gathered at Malfoy Manor at the invitation of Lucius Malfoy.
After laughing his fill, Voldemort spoke coldly, "Then tell me — why didn't you come when I summoned you?"
"Master, they've been capturing Death Eaters and forcing them to use the Dark Mark to lure others in. We've fallen for it several times," one of them said fearfully.
They had been tricked too many times — there was always someone using the Dark Mark to deceive and capture Death Eaters.
They no longer dared to respond to the summons lightly, afraid it might be another trap.
"Someone has gathered a group of Death Eaters to do his bidding. There are many traitors among us."
As the ones truly loyal to Voldemort, they had tried to identify these traitors. They didn't dare to gather the Death Eaters en masse, so they could only watch helplessly as Death Eaters were hunted down one by one by the Constellation Society.
Voldemort hadn't expected to have such idiotic subordinates. Enraged, he hit one of them with a Cruciatus Curse.
"Arrgggggghhhhh—!!"
Listening to the man's agonized screams, he roared, "Fools! I can sense whether they are loyal to me or not!"
He was a master of Legilimency — such tricks were utterly useless against him.
What enraged him was that this—this flimsy excuse—had left him wandering outside for months.
It was the loyal Lucius who helped him reclaim the dignity of the Dark Lord.
Thinking of that, his gaze toward Lucius softened slightly.
"Even after my departure, Lucius continued to prepare for my return."
Lucius had gathered a team of Death Eaters to welcome Voldemort's comeback. Some of his actions had been far from minor.
"Master, I regret that I wasn't able to rescue your loyal Death Eaters," Lucius said, kneeling in guilt.
Voldemort, like a kindly father, helped him up and said, "The matter with Barty Crouch Jr. isn't your fault. The fact that you dared to break into that place for me, Lucius, I'm surprised."
Since his return, Voldemort had already lost three loyal subordinates.
For once, he made an effort to comfort Lucius. In the past, he'd always looked down on him the most.
His appreciative gaze swept over Lippy and Bieber, who were nominally under Lucius's command. Bieber puffed out his chest with pride, and Lippy wore an expression of fervent devotion.
"You even found me fresh blood, didn't you?"
Poor Bieber — Voldemort had already forgotten who he was.
He simply assumed Lucius had recruited a new Death Eater.
Lucius looked overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, while Voldemort, though appearing warm, quietly activated his Legilimency.
Fear flooded forth without resistance—Voldemort saw it all. He wasn't surprised; Lucius had always been like this.
He didn't detect anything else, nothing like Lucius betraying him.
That convinced Voldemort of Lucius's loyalty.
Draco looked at his father standing side by side with the enemy who had killed his friend. His eyes burned with fury.
Narcissa gently tugged at her son, quietly urging him to return to his room.
...
"He's already made contact. Tom Riddle, you're even more cautious than I expected."
It had been some time since they left the Order of the Phoenix, and tomorrow was the day of Harry's trial.
John glanced at the message from Draco Malfoy and tapped his badge to respond.
"Draco, don't be impulsive, don't resist, and above all—avoid meeting Voldemort if you can. I'll explain everything once we're back at school."
Message sent.
That Lucius would eventually come into contact with Voldemort didn't surprise John. In fact, he had orchestrated it.
Rather than having Voldemort hiding who-knows-where, John preferred keeping him active under surveillance.
The groundwork had already been laid long ago.
By casting a wide net and planting undercover agents within the Death Eaters, he had made them too afraid to gather in large numbers.
Using the Dark Mark, he had repeatedly deceived them, to the point that they no longer trusted it.
And Lucius took the opportunity to draw the Death Eaters into Malfoy Manor — a force Voldemort would never abandon.
To ensure the plan went smoothly, John had severed all contact with Lucius.
Learning Occlumency in just a few months to resist Voldemort's probing? That was completely unrealistic.
Lucius had voluntarily had all his memories sealed. He remembered nothing.
The current Lucius was no longer Johnny Silverhand's ally, but the former Death Eater Lucius of old.
Only when in contact with John would he recall everything. (A/N: Just like how Light Yagami remembers all his Kira days after the Death Note.)
"The greatness of a father's love," John murmured. He knew Lucius didn't want Draco to follow in his footsteps.
The only way to truly wipe the slate clean was to make Voldemort disappear.
Ending the call, John turned his gaze back to the basement.
A single drop of crimson blood, as fresh as if just drawn.
It came from the Sword of Silverwick — the blood of Sirius Black.
"A magic stronger than the Fidelius Charm… one born of legacy and bloodline."
With his wand pointed at the drop of blood, John focused intently. Under the gathering of magic, the blood transformed into an exquisite pendant, gleaming like finely crafted silverware.
John took the pendant. With this, he could locate the Order of the Phoenix.
One could say—it was the key to the front door of the Order.
"The Death Eaters are in position. The Order of the Phoenix is about to enter the stage."
Now, both sides were moving under John's control.
He had stepped from the foreground into the shadows.
In truth, he had a better way to track the Order—he could've had Percy join them.
But he didn't.
He hadn't done that because he didn't want to harm Percy's relationship with his family.
The conflict between him and Dumbledore wasn't something Percy should have to bear.
"That Dementor on Privet Drive… it seems Voldemort wasn't really wandering aimlessly as he claimed," John muttered, hanging the pendant around his neck.
Voldemort had likely made contact with the Dementors.
Dementors were extremely useful—and they posed a direct threat to the freedom of the Death Eaters still locked up in Azkaban.
Spinning his wand between his fingers, John murmured to himself, "In that case, let's turn all the Dementors into raw materials."
"I need a big enough cage… to lock them all up."
The replacement of the Dementors had always been part of old Barty's plan, but John had something more in mind.
They needed a pretext—one that wouldn't make it seem like the Dementors were replaced, but rather banished.
Creatures like Dementors, always on the verge of switching sides, had no reason to be kept around.
What was needed was a mistake—one big enough to drive the Dementors completely out of the Ministry's control.
That way, John could transfer them all into another kind of cage.
He had the black long-eared owl, Riddle, deliver a letter to old Barty as he tucked his spinning wand away.
He called for Tommy and said, "I need a new outfit."
Tommy asked, "Are you attending a banquet?"
"No," John's eyes curved as he smiled, clearly in a good mood. "I'm going to the Ministry of Magic."
He was looking forward to the Savior's trial—especially to seeing Dumbledore standing below, defending Harry.
At his word, Tommy contacted the Silverhand line's fashion shop. A tailor was rushed in to custom-make a new outfit just for Johnny Silverhand.
A robe in green and purple, form-fitting with gold watch-chain accents.
He slid a ring onto his left hand, rubbed it with his right, and smiled at the reflection in the mirror.
"Let's go. To the Ministry."
The silver mask slid onto his face. With a snap of his fingers, green flames flared in the fireplace.
Now, this is gonna be fun~ Heh~
John and Tommy stepped inside.
___________
Read 12 Chaps ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel