The dozens of wands Lucius had placed on the ground all flew towards Gary.
"Expelliarmus!" Narcissa was meticulous; seeing Lord Voldemort and Lucius's attention shift behind Gary, she kept a close eye on Gary to prevent any sudden moves.
Now, seeing Gary trying to collect all the wands on the ground, she shot an Expelliarmus.
"Careful!" Lily and Alfrina, who were crouching on the ground, stood up and blocked in front of Gary, using their bodies to shield him from the Expelliarmus.
Dozens of wands successfully fell into Gary's hands, while Lily and Alfrina were struck by the Expelliarmus and sent flying five or six meters, collapsing unconscious on the ground.
"Bastard!" Lord Voldemort turned around and discovered that the Expelliarmus had been cast by Bonaparte.
He couldn't bear the cruel sight of a child about to be killed by his comrades using Avada Kedavra, so he forcefully snatched a wand from a Death Eater to attack Lord Voldemort.
However, his magic skills were truly unimpressive; the Expelliarmus he cast had no power and was directly blocked by Lucius.
The surrounding Death Eaters, in Lord Voldemort's presence, dared not use Avada Kedavra without his permission, only hitting him with a few Crucios.
Mr. Bonaparte endured three Crucios, his face twitching, feeling an intense pain throughout his muscles.
He gritted his teeth and tackled another Death Eater before he could no longer control his body, lying on the ground, clutching his chest and groaning.
...
The advance team rushed to the open space in front of the church but did not see the black-hooded figures or the hostages; only one person stood there.
His platinum-blonde hair was neatly combed back, and a lifelike peacock was embroidered on his precious and luxurious white robes.
He held a silver cane in his left hand, its head carved with a silver snake, and a wand in his right hand.
One person faced twenty members of the advance team.
"Abraxas Malfoy?" The American Auror exclaimed in surprise, "What are you doing?"
"Your efficiency is truly low; you made me wait so long, but thankfully you've finally arrived," Abraxas said with a stern expression, raising his wand towards the crowd.
"You deliberately left a wisp of magic on the alchemy array?" Steve immediately understood, "To lure us here?"
"Precisely," Abraxas looked into the distance, "Tom should have finished by now…" He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Expelliarmus!" Being played for fools naturally angered everyone.
Apolline said no more nonsense and immediately launched her attack.
Abraxas leaned on his cane with his left hand, moving quite slowly; he barely managed to block two spells before his wand was disarmed by Steve.
He gave a bitter smile, letting their spells hit his body.
He spat out blood, stumbled back two steps, and slowly fell to the ground.
"Where are they exactly?" The American Auror was furious; their Congress Chief was still in their hands, his fate unknown.
"Cough, cough…" Abraxas coughed out two mouthfuls of blood, his eyes unfocused, "Didn't I say you came too late…?"
He pulled up the sleeve of his robe; his left arm had no Dark Mark, only a string of purple pustules that looked particularly gruesome on his pale arm.
"Dragon Pox?" Steve immediately protected the advance team members and retreated two steps.
Dragon Pox, an infectious disease, had once ravaged the magical communities of Europe and the United States, with a very high contagiousness and fatality rate, so naturally, no one dared to approach further.
[]
"Exactly… I wasn't going to live much longer anyway…" Abraxas coughed out two more mouthfuls of blood, "Dying like this is quite good; I suppose this counts as atonement…"
His pupils had already begun to dilate.
"Tom…" He slowly uttered the name, mixed with a bit of bloody foam.
How wonderful school days were, Abraxas thought.
Tom and he sat by the Black Lake, enjoying the evening breeze, studying Dark Arts.
Sometimes, they'd research History of Magic essays in the Library, bathed in the brilliant afternoon sun.
When he started in first year, he knew Tom would achieve great things in the future, even though he had never seen the surname "Riddle" in any Pure-blood genealogies.
He helped Tom deal with many students who discriminated against his bloodline and provided him with much assistance in academics and life.
Tom and he quickly became friends.
Tom was excellent; from first year, he dominated all of Hogwarts' exams, and his humble and studious nature made him very popular among teachers.
He loved Dark Arts and Transfiguration, always speaking of them with great enthusiasm; he enjoyed sitting on the common room sofa with himself, lost in thought; he also loved to show off his unique Parseltongue.
From sixth year onwards, Tom became a different person.
After the summer holiday, his ambition began to swell, and he started organizing small groups to secretly research horrifying forbidden Dark Arts.
He initially didn't want to join, but unable to resist Tom's persistent persuasion, he joined this organization, which called itself the "Death Eaters."
After graduation, he followed Tom across the land.
There were some things he didn't want to do, but seeing the worry on Tom's face, he always couldn't bear it, using his wand to kill one Wizard after another who stood in Tom's path.
When did Tom start to change? His face changed appearance; his originally handsome, elegant, and dashing face became pale and distorted, and his gentle, beautiful black eyes turned blood red.
He started not allowing himself to call him by his name in front of other Death Eaters, replacing it with "Voldemort" and "Lord."
When he humiliatingly knelt to kiss the hem of his robe, he probably no longer considered him the close friend he could confide in.
Abraxas wanted to withdraw; Lucius had just been born and needed care, and at the same time, he was tired of Tom's volatile temper.
He asked Tom to leave; that was the first time Tom used the Crucio on him, a sensation he still remembered to this day.
He ultimately didn't dare to leave; Tom knew all about his family, and Tom's enraged face when he suggested leaving made him firmly believe that if he withdrew, his family would surely suffer.
Exhausted, he contracted Dragon Pox.
The Malfoy family's immense wealth could not protect his body, and after a brief delay in the illness's progression, he finally couldn't hold on any longer.
Before his death, he still wanted to make some contribution to Tom; he tricked the advance team members into this church to buy time for his plan.
He coaxed Lucius, telling him he would be back soon; he could see the excitement and joy on his son's face, a genuine happiness at being able to contribute to his master.
He hoped Tom would be kinder to Lucius, considering all the great services he had rendered over the years…
How he wished he could go back to the past, Tom… Tom… Tom.
He closed his eyes, and the snake-headed cane fell to the ground, emitting a clear, pleasant sound, as if bidding him farewell.