"Speaking of Death Eaters," Mr. Weasley mused thoughtfully, "I actually heard people at the Ministry mention something like this..."
Everyone turned their curious gazes toward Mr. Weasley.
Without deliberately keeping them in suspense, he continued, "There seems to have been another prison break at Azkaban recently—a large-scale one, at that. This rumor has been circulating within the Auror Office, though it hasn't been officially confirmed."
Harry looked at Sirius with some confusion. "Just how many Death Eaters are locked up in Azkaban anyway?"
Under Sirius's careful guidance, Harry was no longer the clueless boy who knew nothing about the common knowledge of the wizarding world.
At the very least, he didn't ask a foolish question like "What is a Death Eater?"
Sirius's expression turned solemn.
"If no Death Eaters have been tortured to death by the Dementors during the time since I escaped..." He let out a soft, slow sigh. "From what I know, there should be at least fifty or sixty of them."
Azkaban's exterior looked like a massive fortress constructed of black stone.
At the time, Sirius had been in a rush to break out and couldn't possibly count the exact number of Death Eaters floor by floor.
However, having spent over a decade languishing inside Azkaban, he certainly had a clearer idea than anyone else regarding the number of surviving Death Eaters.
The figure he offered was likely quite close to the truth.
"Fifty or sixty ruthless Death Eaters out there preparing to cause trouble, and the Ministry of Magic hasn't taken a single precaution," Kyle said, a strange expression on his face. "Fudge is truly something else."
"Now that you mention it," Amos Diggory—who also worked at the Ministry—nodded in strong agreement, "that is indeed Minister Fudge's signature style."
Keeping a lid on bad news just to ensure the smooth execution of the Quidditch World Cup was precisely the kind of foolish thing Fudge would do.
Well, isn't that fantastic? The tournament went smoothly, but only hours after celebrating, the campsite blew up into smithereens.
The short-tempered Charlie slammed his palm angrily against the table. "How could Fudge do something like this!"
Kyle's gaze drifted toward Dumbledore, who was sitting quietly to the side. "Dad, if I remember correctly, Fudge managed to get into that position entirely because you supported him in the first place."
The tent fell dead silent in an instant.
Kyle dared to roast Dumbledore, but they certainly didn't.
If anyone accidentally burst out laughing right now and ended up holding a grudge from Dumbledore, they'd be completely done for.
Although Dumbledore wasn't that kind of petty person, they didn't dare push their luck either, so everyone struggled terribly to hold it in.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Dumbledore raised a fist intending to give Kyle a light wallop, but the already-wiser Kyle performed a swift slide straight behind Grindelwald.
Can't hit me, can you? Eheheh.
Dumbledore's face turned dark, but he eventually retracted his hand in silence.
When he withdrew his gaze from Kyle, everyone immediately shifted their eyes away from the drama.
"I'm so sleepy, Fred."
"Yeah, yeah, it's gonna be dawn in a few hours."
The two brothers, George and Fred, walked out arm in arm.
With those two jokers taking the lead, everyone else scrambled to find all sorts of excuses to flee from the scope of Dumbledore's wrath.
Because everyone's original tents had been destroyed in the Death Eaters' attack, they ended up sleeping in Kyle's family's tent.
Kyle's tent was spacious enough—even accommodating several times more people would be an absolute breeze.
Kyle: My house is actually pretty big.jpg
Once the crowd dispersed, Kyle naturally couldn't wait to return to his room.
Konan and Hermione were both still fast asleep.
Due to the wildness earlier in the evening, the two of them were completely exhausted, sleeping exceptionally deeply.
In addition, it was thanks to the barrier Kyle had set up in the room before leaving, which eliminated external interference and was still functioning at full effect.
Even if the world outside was shattering and the earth cracking, it wouldn't affect the two girls within the barrier.
Their sleeping postures had changed somewhat compared to when Kyle left. Originally, there was a space reserved for Kyle between them, but now that spot had been squeezed out of existence by the two of them.
Perhaps they had each mistook the person beside them for Kyle during their sleep, gradually leaning closer until they ended up hugging each other tight—a scene that looked suspiciously full of Yuri vibes.
Looking at the two girls holding each other tightly, Kyle scratched his hair in utter helplessness.
Don't tell me I have to sleep on the sofa tonight?
No way, man. He had barely completed his transformation from a boy into a man, and before half an hour had even passed, he was already reduced to sleeping on the couch.
In the end, Kyle chose not to disturb the exhausted pair. Quietly pulling out a fresh blanket from the wardrobe, he settled down to sleep on the sofa.
Meanwhile, at Malfoy Manor, in the second-floor conference room.
At this moment, Snape was acting much like Cornelius Fudge when he first learned that his personal vault had been cleaned out completely—performing a dramatic rendition of "The Wrath of Professor Snape" right in the manor's hall.
Overhearing from outside the conference room, young Malfoy listened to the roaring of his father and Professor Snape, his heart trembling with utter fear.
Separated by a door, and with the two speaking unclearly due to excessive rage, Draco couldn't hear clearly what was actually being said inside, only able to vaguely catch a few disjointed lines:
"He's even more stingy with oil than a thief!"
"Seventy thousand Death Eaters coming to the camp to drag race!"
After listening for a long time, Draco still couldn't make heads or tails of what they were talking about.
Right at that moment, the front door downstairs creaked open. Accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps, Narcissa ran upstairs from below in a rush.
Draco, who was leaning against the door eavesdropping, was startled. By the time he reacted, it was already too late to hide.
His mother had never allowed him to get involved with these desperate Death Eaters. Normally, an act of eavesdropping like this would definitely earn him a severe scolding from her.
Oddly enough, Narcissa merely glared at him today before brushing past him straight into the conference room.
A moment later, the continuously roaring conference hall suddenly went quiet. Immediately after, the Death Eaters who had just been getting scolded like dogs filed out one after another, eager expressions hanging on their faces.
"What's going on..." Looking at the joy on their faces, Draco was somewhat puzzled.
Weren't these people just getting chewed out by Professor Snape like grandbrats a moment ago? Why did they suddenly switch to this kind of expression?
A hand gently rested on Draco's shoulder. Draco looked up, only to see his father's solemn expression.
"Draco, make sure you show utmost respect in a moment, understand?"
Draco was still somewhat mystified, but moments later, he understood.
Numerous Death Eaters lined up neatly in two rows along the path outside the door, standing on either side of the walkway.
Three figures slowly emerged at the end of the path. As they gradually drew closer, Draco clearly saw that the person leading in the middle was holding a curled-up infant in his arms.
No, that was not an infant.
Draco had never seen anything that looked less like a baby than this creature.
It had no hair on its body; instead, it was covered in layers upon layers of scales. Its skin presented a bizarre, dark reddish hue as if injured, and its arms and legs were thin and soft.
Its face was a flat, serpentine face with a pair of gleaming red eyes resting upon it.
Draco suddenly realized with sheer terror that it was...
Voldemort!
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