Fear...
That long-lost, almost forgotten fear surged back into the woman's bones as she looked at her husband, tortured near to silence by the Crucio Curse. Narcissa Malfoy felt a sense of unreality; ten minutes ago, they were still...
No time to think, or rather, she couldn't think. The woman nearly crawled on hands and knees to the boy in front of her, trembling as her lips touched the soles of his shoes...
"Bang—"
... Watching the woman he had kicked flying away, William stood up, then disdainfully wiped his boots on Malfoy.
Tsk, never mind that he's not interested in older women, but molesting a minor means going to Azkaban, doesn't she know that?
This year happens to be his third time turning fifteen, still a standard legal minor.
"...Master, master, please forgive me..." Lucius lay on the ground like a dying dog, struggling to get up. He had no time to look at the woman who had been kicked away, his head bowed low, his disheveled pale blond hair falling, covering his fear-filled blood-red eyes.
"Huh... Forgive you?"
William didn't bother imitating Voldemort's tone—
First of all, this person is taboo in the entire magical realm; William has no idea how he usually talks to these Death Eaters.
Secondly, what's the difference anyway? Can you expect someone just tortured to the brink of insanity to have any discernment? If he doesn't lose control of his bladder, it counts as maturity. William knows all too well the power of his Crucio Curse.
Besides, he doesn't actually want to be Voldemort.
Caressing the magic wand in his hand, William squinted his eyes dangerously... Time to extract information, and as for whether or not to kill afterward...
Depend on his mood?
Isn't it said that the Dark Lord kills when in a bad mood?
Just right, so is he—if he doesn't kill, he's in a bad mood (bushi).
"Master, I... I did this all to preserve power. After you disappeared, the Ministry of Magic launched a purge; we... we had to play weak for now... only, only this way can we support your return... successful..."
The man's words were somewhat incoherent, saliva dripping from his pale blond hair onto the carpet, leaving a foul-smelling stain.
"For what? For your betrayal of me?" William raised his magic wand.
"No, master—" Seeing this, Narcissa crawled back over.
"Crucio."
"Ahhhhh——"
...The woman's screams were even more piercingly sharp.
William lowered his wand expressionlessly—it's said that Dark Arts need evil intentions to reach full power, but with his mastery of Ancient Magic, he doesn't need such emotional aids to amplify the curse's malevolence to its maximum.
He sat on the chair brought by Fenrir, his heavy boots pressing on the man's head, "Continue, Malfoy, I'm giving you a chance."
"I, I... I..." The man's body shook more and more violently, Lucius didn't know whether he was scared or angry... But what good is anger, he unclenched his fists and spoke with a tone abjectly humble, "Master, you told me before that this notebook would be an essential part of the plan. Until last year, I heard about your return to Hogwarts, I was overjoyed, so I immediately planned to send it over, hoping to assist you..."
As one of the main members of the Hogwarts school board, Lucius Malfoy knew a lot of insider details, such as a certain "missing" former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but he hadn't anticipated the Dark Lord's return being so swift...
"So your plan was successful?" William raised his eyebrows slightly, last year?
It seems the Dark Lord's return isn't just tabloid gossip? Well, given that it's hardly surprising Voldemort would be the final boss in the novel "Harry Potter," it seems... Lucius did save his own skin...
Though William's strategy has always been to underestimate his enemies, he also gives due attention to them in tactics, something that those poachers who died under his wand knew full well. Since that so-called Dark Lord is bound to return to wreak havoc, then...
"Yes, master, the plan was successful. After the attack, almost all the board members are putting pressure on Dumbledore, the old undead bastard is about to step down, and then, the whole of Hogwarts will be...no, no, it will be yours—"
Lucius raised his head, managing to squeeze a barely presentable smile on his grimacing face.
"Is that so? But I've just gained Dumbledore's trust...you're putting me in a tough spot..." Picking up the diary on the floor, William dragged out his words, even an idiot would understand he's unhappy.
"Master, I didn't know your plan..." Lucius's head bowed once more.
"But, ignorance is no sin. Since you acted unwittingly..."
William has roughly sorted it out by now, this diary is something Voldemort entrusted to this Malfoy. Yet this bumbling fool has no idea what the diary does, only that it can create chaos at Hogwarts—naturally, the attack this year, he took as his own achievement.
"Master..." Hope emerged in Malfoy's eyes.
"Keep my current identity secret, don't let anyone know, not even those with you—" William took a deep breath, having finalized a plan, "I am now a student at Hogwarts. You don't know me, understood?"
"Yes, yes, master..." Lucius nodded quickly.
"Also, this one here belongs to your family, right?" William waved his hand, Fenrir stiffly opened the suitcase he held, pulling out a tightly bound little elf.
"...Yes, yes master, if it interfered with your plan, I'll punish..."
"Give it a piece of clothing."
"Yes, master, I'll just...ah?"
"Don't understand?"
"Yes, yes..."
Lucius hurriedly pulled off his tie, stuffing it into Dobby's protruding hand, the little elf's eyes were almost overflowing with tears.
"Good, put it back." Before it could cry out, Fenrir had placed it back in the suitcase.
"...Finally, extend your arm." Pondering for a moment, William realized the final flaw—Fenrir had told him that the Death Eaters all bore an irremovable mark on their arms.
Irremovable?
What a joke.
Under William's watchful gaze, Lucius trembled as he extended his left arm. At the edge of his rolled-up sleeve, a shallow red mark wasn't very obvious, yet the twisted, sprawling skull design sent chills even upon a single glance.
"...What atrocious taste?" William muttered under his breath.
"Wha-what?" Lucius hadn't heard clearly.
"Imprint." William didn't respond; instead, he pressed his wand to the Dark Mark. In the next moment, the light red mark disappeared, replaced by a fiery blue pattern—
...
Albania, deep in the forest.
"Hiss..."
An Erumpent's near-rotting corpse lay silent as a pure black python raised its head, dazedly staring at the sky, its pitch-black tongue tasting the air for a moment—
The next moment, the python seemed to sense something, its jaws opened wide, and its silent roar caused the entire forest to tremble.