Travel within the wizarding world was remarkably efficient.
Even for those who couldn't Apparate, the Floo Network connected by fireplaces and Floo Powder allowed witches and wizards to reach nearly any important location in Britain within minutes.
Because of that...
Not long after receiving the owl's letter, Lucius Malfoy arrived outside the Ministry of Magic.
With his pale complexion, pointed chin, and neatly combed platinum-blond hair, he carried himself with effortless elegance.
After registering both his identity and wand, he made his way toward the Minister's office.
As he walked, he replayed the letter's vague phrase—"a matter requiring discussion"—and let out a dismissive sneer.
There was no mystery at all. He could already guess what Fudge wanted.
It had to concern Hogwarts.
Lucius had no objection to that.
He wasn't truly opposed to Dumbledore. In fact, in many respects he trusted the Headmaster.
Otherwise, he never would have entrusted Draco to Hogwarts.
But...
The Malfoy family's influence had steadily declined over the past few years.
If opposing Dumbledore could earn him greater privileges and restore the family's prestige, then he was more than willing to cooperate.
Besides...
Lucius preferred the traditional pure-blood hierarchy.
Dumbledore's ideals of equality and love naturally placed them on opposite sides.
Lost in thought...
He considered what sort of political bargains he could strike as he stepped out of the lift and approached the Minister's office.
He knocked three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
"Come in."
The invitation came from inside.
For a brief moment, Lucius thought he detected an unpleasant smell.
Before he could examine the thought further, his hand had already turned the handle.
The door creaked open.
"Fudge," Lucius greeted with his trademark smile as he entered, cane in hand.
"I'm here. What was it you wanted to—"
His voice stopped.
Instantly. His expression froze.
Wait.
What... What is all this on the floor?
His thoughts stalled.
Blood?
Pieces of flesh?
No.
Impossible.
How could something like this exist inside the Minister's office?
His mind instinctively rejected the absurd conclusion.
Yet the overwhelming stench—more suited to a slaughterhouse than a government office—only made his heartbeat race faster.
What...
What happened here?
The sight drove every coherent thought from his mind.
Even looking at it hurt.
His stiff neck slowly turned as he took in the room. At the center of the radiating bloodstains stood a mangled figure.
His body was drenched in blood.
Large portions of flesh were missing.
He was slowly pouring healing potion over himself while enduring obvious pain.
...Is that Fudge?
Lucius rubbed his eyes.
He looked again. And again.
He simply couldn't believe what his own mind was telling him.
Swallowing hard, his gaze drifted toward the other side of the room.
There...
Bathed in sunlight streaming through the window... Sat a boy behind the Minister's desk.
His hands were folded neatly together. A faint smile rested upon his lips.
He looked almost radiant.
Dawn Richter.
Lucius' heart let out a silent scream. For one split second, his entire body sprang into motion.
His hand seized his wand. He turned to flee.
Unfortunately...
Before he could even finish casting Apparition... His wand spun out of his grasp and flew neatly into Dawn's waiting hand.
The Disarming Charm.
Lucius immediately abandoned that plan. He spun toward the door, preparing to shout for help.
His robes suddenly tightened.
Invisible force seized him by the throat.
The next instant he crashed into the floor, landing directly in a pool of blood and torn flesh.
His immaculate robes were instantly ruined.
Bang!
The office door slammed shut.
Along with every remaining shred of hope.
Slowly...
Lucius raised his head. Fear and uncertainty filled his eyes.
Even so...
He forced himself to produce a pale, polite smile.
Lucius knew exactly who Dawn Richter was.
The first time he'd heard the name...
Had been from one of Draco's letters home. The boy had written bitterly about being bullied.
Reading that letter had filled Lucius with fury.
A filthy Mudblood sympathizer... Had dared burn his son's robes clean off and hang him from the ceiling?
Who gave him such audacity?
The Malfoys would never swallow such humiliation.
In the end...
Concern over Dumbledore prevented him from acting directly.
But after the attack on the Boy Who Lived during Halloween... Lucius had happily joined those adding fuel to the fire.
The damage had been minor.
Still... Watching Dawn's reputation collapse had brought him genuine satisfaction.
He'd believed he'd taught the arrogant boy what pure-blood families were capable of.
Then...
Everything began spiraling completely out of control.
Dawn's actions became more outrageous with every passing month.
First came the public death notice targeting Murphy Avery.
By the time it was over...
The Avery family had nearly collapsed.
Then...
Despite newspapers reporting his death... Dawn somehow returned during Christmas.
He invaded Hogwarts. Dueled Dumbledore. And escaped unharmed.
Lucius had been utterly stunned.
Merlin's beard...
Were those newspapers actually telling the truth? Was any of this even possible?
Even Voldemort hadn't been this unbelievable at the same age.
Once Lucius realized Dawn never forgot a grudge... He began seeing unmistakable signs of another Dark Lord.
For months afterward...
He practically slept with one eye open.
He genuinely feared that one night someone would simply walk into Malfoy Manor...
And casually slaughter his family.
Now...
His nightmare had become reality.
Judging by the blood... The scattered flesh... The exposed bone... This promised to be even worse.
His vision darkened.
Resting one elbow on the Minister's desk, Dawn tilted his head.
Watching Lucius' face cycle through countless expressions, he found the spectacle surprisingly entertaining.
"Relax, Mr. Malfoy."
He casually twirled Lucius' wand between his fingers.
"If I intended to kill you... Why would I go through the trouble of inviting you all the way to the Ministry?"
Wiping a smear of blood from his cheek, Dawn smiled pleasantly.
Without drawing attention to it, he used Legilimency to skim a few of Lucius' surface thoughts.
The moment he realized the man had already progressed from wondering where his own body would be buried to planning how his wife and son might survive...
He knew this recruitment would proceed extremely smoothly.
Reality proved him correct.
The instant Dawn finished speaking, Lucius scrambled upright and bowed respectfully.
He didn't even bother cleaning the blood from his robes.
"What... what would you have me do?"
Dawn smiled without answering.
Instead, he produced a black-covered notebook from inside his robes and tossed it onto the desk.
Although Lucius had already demonstrated impressive good sense...
Dawn didn't mind making the man depend on him just a little more.
"Mr. Malfoy." He tapped the notebook lightly. "Do you remember this?"
Lucius looked down.
His heart skipped a beat. He recognized it immediately.
But...
Hadn't he secretly slipped that diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron? How had it ended up in Dawn Richter's possession?
Dawn didn't give him time to think. One sentence seized all of his attention.
"This... is one of Voldemort's Horcruxes."
Lucius froze.
Dawn continued calmly.
"I assume you know what a Horcrux is. It represents Tom's hope of immortality.:
"If he ever discovered you'd lost it..."
Dawn never finished the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Lucius' imagination eagerly supplied the rest. Cold sweat immediately covered his forehead.
Seeing the reaction, Dawn smiled.
Naturally, he neglected to mention that he intended to destroy Voldemort completely.
Instead, he extended a hand toward Lucius. "So... Mr. Malfoy. Would you like to work for me?"
Dawn intended to make use of collective consciousness.
That meant commanding people.
Influencing them.
Threatening every subordinate with violence simply wasn't practical.
So...
He decided to experiment with a more traditional approach.
Reward...
And punishment.
Unfortunately... His lack of experience showed.bHis invitation came across as awkwardly blunt.
Nothing like the polished charm Voldemort had once possessed.
Lucius wasn't persuaded in the slightest. He simply understood he had no alternative.
Glancing once toward the blood pooling across the floor, he immediately bowed.
"It would be my honor to serve you."
"Excellent."
Dawn grinned.
"Stand over there for now.vWe'll have another guest shortly."
Lucius obediently moved beside Fudge.
As he glanced at the Minister—the man responsible for luring him here—he couldn't help snorting.
Truthfully...
He wasn't nearly as angry as he appeared.
Having once followed Voldemort himself... Lucius understood exactly how these Dark Lord types operated.
Anything they wanted...
They took.
By any means necessary.
Even without Fudge's involvement... If Dawn had wanted his cooperation... He would simply have appeared at Malfoy Manor instead.
So Lucius blamed the Minister very little.
Fudge, however...
Found the comparison unbearable.
Why had Dawn greeted him with endless Cruciatus Curses... Yet treated Lucius to such a gentle conversation?
The man had published equally damaging accusations in the newspapers!
Fudge felt profoundly wronged.
Unfortunately... His wounds still ached. He didn't dare voice a single complaint.
He simply stood obediently beside Lucius.
Ten minutes later...
Knock.
Knock.
Another visitor arrived.
"Minister Fudge?"
"This is Gervase Greengrass. May I come in?"
After receiving permission, the office door opened. A handsome middle-aged wizard entered.
He wore elegant robes.
His features were refined.
Golden curls framed his face.
He was the current head of the Greengrass family.
The moment he saw the office... His reaction almost perfectly mirrored Lucius'.
Shock.
Terror.
An attempted escape.
Immediate failure.
Seconds later he too lay sprawled across the bloodstained floor.
Watching the scene unfold, Lucius felt considerably better.
After all...
The only thing worse than being dragged into disaster... Was being the only one dragged into disaster.
Conversation soon followed.
Dawn quickly discovered something.
Whatever else might be said about old pure-blood families... Their ability to assess a situation was second to none.
The moment Gervase heard Dawn had work for him... He bowed without hesitation.
He accepted immediately.
Compared with Fudge's earlier bargaining... The contrast couldn't have been greater.
Dawn found himself even more satisfied.
He launched his second attempt at balancing reward and punishment.
This time...
Instead of offering protection as he had with Lucius... He chose an entirely different approach.
"Mr. Greengrass. I know your family carries an ancient blood curse.
But don't concern yourself.
So long as you serve me faithfully... I'll remove the curse from your family."
He spoke with complete confidence.
Gervase blinked. He knew there was every possibility Dawn was making empty promises.
Even so...
His heart still stirred.
The Greengrass family had long suffered from a hereditary blood curse.
Although called a blood curse... It differed entirely from Nagini's or the Carter family's.
Its victims did not transform into beasts.
Instead...
Their vitality slowly faded. Illness consumed them. Most died tragically young.
Among the current generation... His younger daughter, Astoria, carried that curse.
If someone truly could save her...
Gervase drew a deep breath. Then bowed once again with unprecedented sincerity.
How much of that loyalty was genuine...
Only gods knew.
For now... Dawn didn't care.
Gathering the three men together...
Although he wished to experiment with rewarding loyalty as well as enforcing obedience...
He still chose the safer path.
An Unbreakable Vow.
Only afterward did he repeat his instructions one final time before clapping his hands.
"Good. That's everything."
"The task is yours. I don't care how you accomplish it. But I'd prefer to see results within one month."
With that...
He informed them that Rita Skeeter could be trusted.
Then he tossed Lucius' and Gervase's wands back to them.
Stretching lazily, he prepared to leave the Ministry.
Just then...
Someone spoke.
"My... lord."
Gervase clearly wasn't accustomed to the title.
After hesitating, he gathered enough courage to ask,
"My family's curse..."
Dawn tilted his head.
His narrowed crimson eyes silently examined the nervous man's face.
Only after sweat began dripping from Gervase's temples did Dawn finally smile.
Unfortunately...
The smile held no warmth whatsoever.
"Mr. Greengrass. What a shame. I thought you were one of the intelligent ones."
He tapped the desk lightly.
"In this world... What employee gets paid before doing any work?"
"If you expect a reward... You first need to earn it."
The words sounded remarkably like something a ruthless businessman would say.
Gervase lowered his head without another word.
"Oh."
"One more thing."
Just before leaving, Dawn remembered something else.
Turning toward Lucius, whose nerves immediately tightened, he said, "When you return home... Dispose of that house-elf called Dobby."
"I don't want him alive."
He remembered the meddlesome elf from the original story.
Individuality and freedom might sound admirable... But Dawn had absolutely no interest in leaving potential threats behind.
"Yes, my lord."
Lucius bowed immediately.
He had no idea why the order had been given.
Fortunately... Years spent under Voldemort had taught him an invaluable lesson.
Ask fewer questions.
Do more.
Smiling with satisfaction, Dawn glanced once more at the three very different expressions before him.
Without another word... Phoenix flames suddenly engulfed him.
An instant later...
He was gone.
Silence settled over the office.
The three men looked at one another for quite some time.
Finally...
Lucius broke the silence.
His voice came out hoarse. "Well... We're all still alive. Let's discuss what we're going to do next."
Fudge snorted, attempting to recover some shred of ministerial dignity.
Unfortunately...
The nervous way his eyes constantly darted around the room—clearly terrified Dawn might suddenly reappear—made the effort look more pathetic than authoritative.
As for Gervase...
He merely nodded quietly.
___________
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/BloodAncestor