Lucius's expression grew even more solemn.
"I cannot say."
"But I hope you can trust me." Lucius's gaze was sincere.
"Staying in our tent tonight is absolutely the safest choice."
Charlie chuckled.
"No need to worry, Mr. Malfoy." He patted Lucius on the shoulder.
"If there really is any danger, I can protect myself."
After saying this, Charlie turned and left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Lucius stood where he was, watching Charlie's back, his fingers clenching unconsciously.
"Father, what exactly happened?" Draco asked, lowering his voice.
"Let's go." Lucius did not answer, only leading Draco quickly toward the direction of the tent.
After returning to the tent, Lucius told Draco to stay in the room and not come out, then stood alone by the window; the burning sensation in his left arm was becoming increasingly intense.
His expression was unreadable.
He had thought the Dark Lord had fallen completely, so the year before last, he had gotten rid of the diary the Dark Lord had entrusted him to keep. To be precise, he had stuffed it into the book pile of the Weasley family's youngest daughter, and it had eventually ended up in Dumbledore's hands.
That diary was the Dark Lord's secret, and because the Ministry of Magic was scrutinizing Dark Arts items at the time, Lucius had decisively gotten rid of it.
But now, the Dark Lord had returned.
What should he do if the diary was brought up?
On the other side, Charlie mingled into the crowd, completely disregarding Lucius's warning.
He could roughly guess that this matter was related to Lord Voldemort.
When Lucius learned there was danger, his first reaction wasn't to tell the Ministry of Magic to organize a response, but to tell him to hide.
This indicated that Lucius was likely involved as well.
And Ron had said that Lucius used to be a Death Eater.
A curve appeared at the corner of Charlie's mouth.
As early as his first year, Charlie had already crossed paths with Lord Voldemort.
If there was a real chance to run into him tonight, Charlie wouldn't mind sending him on his way and letting him die again.
...
On the other side, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished watching the match and returned to the tent to rest under Mrs. Weasley's urging.
Although Ron protested wildly, wanting to play a bit longer, he had to yield under Mrs. Weasley's iron fist.
The boys went back to the boys' side, and the girls went back to the girls' side.
Time reached the late night, and snoring could already be heard in the tent.
Suddenly, cries for help erupted outside, and it sounded like total chaos.
Mr. Weasley rushed into the tent, loudly waking the children.
"Get up! Everyone get up!"
Harry jumped out of bed, and before he could react to what was happening, Mr. Weasley threw some clothes on him and dragged him outside.
Ron and The Twins also ran out of the tent.
Once outside, Harry froze.
At the edge of the distant woods, flames soared into the sky; countless Wizards were running and fleeing, with screams ringing out one after another.
A group of people wearing hooded robes and masks were holding their wands, marching through the fire while laughing maniacally.
Above the marching group, the Muggle caretaker Roberts and his family of four were suspended in mid-air by a Spell.
Their bodies were twisted into various strange positions, and a little girl was screaming in despair.
"You all run into the woods, as far away as possible!" Mr. Weasley's voice was deep.
"Dad, aren't you coming with us..."
"I need to go help the Ministry maintain order." Mr. Weasley interrupted Ron.
"Fred, George, protect your younger brother and sister!"
After saying this, Mr. Weasley rushed toward the direction of the riot.
Harry and the others turned and ran toward the woods.
All around were panicked Wizards; tents were being knocked over, and flames were spreading through the campsite.
People were constantly joining the marching group.
"Hurry!"
Hermione held Ginny's hand, and the two followed behind Harry and Ron.
Just as they were about to run into the woods, a black shadow suddenly rushed out from the side, blocking their path.
It was a person wearing a silver mask; their face could not be seen under the hood.
He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry and the others.
"Look who it is?" The masked person's voice was full of malice.
The masked person's wand pointed at Hermione.
"mudblood." His voice was full of disgust.
Fred immediately stepped forward, blocking in front of Hermione.
"You've got the wrong person! She's a friend of the Weasley family!"
"Weasley?" The masked person let out a sneer.
"Scum among the pure-bloods, daring to call themselves pure-blood Wizards."
He shook the wand in his hand.
"We have already investigated clearly: Miss Granger, Muggle-born, prospective fourth-year student at Hogwarts."
Hermione's face instantly turned pale.
Fred and George exchanged a glance, and both raised their wands almost simultaneously.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Two spells shot out at the same time.
"Protego!"
The masked person waved his wand lightly, and a barrier blocked all the attacks.
Immediately after, he struck back, and two red lights hit The Twins precisely.
Fred and George fell to the ground in response.
"Fred! George!" Ginny screamed.
"For the sake of pure-blood, I didn't use a lethal blow." The masked person withdrew his wand and pointed it at Hermione again.
"Hand her over, and you can leave."
Ron took a step forward, and Harry also raised his wand to block in front; his hand was shaking, but he did not retreat.
Seeing this, Hermione's previous panic gradually dissipated, and a surge of courage welled up in her heart.
She raised her wand; even if she died, she would definitely make the enemy lose a piece of flesh!
The masked person raised his wand.
"In that case—"
Before the voice had faded, a calm voice came from the side.
"Sectumsempra."
An invisible ripple sliced through the air.
The masked person's body suddenly froze.
The next second, his body snapped in two at the waist; his upper body and lower body separated, and blood gushed out.
The mask fell to the ground, revealing a twisted face, with an expression of disbelief still lingering in his eyes.
Screams rang out.
Harry and the others froze in place, their minds blank.
Hermione turned her head sharply, looking in the direction the voice came from.
Charlie stood not far away, holding his wand.
The firelight reflected on his face, as indifferent as if he had stepped on a bug.
He had been waiting in this patch of woods for the so-called danger to appear, because it was too chaotic in the crowd, and he would be swept along, unable to see the situation clearly.
He hadn't expected to run into Hermione and the others.
"Charlie!" Hermione shouted in surprise.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, but Fred and George were knocked out."
Charlie stepped forward to check on their condition.
"It's fine, they have thick skin; they're just knocked out, nothing serious."
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