228: Two Undercover Agents

"Lucius, why are you here?"

Just as the Death Eater spoke, the person in front suddenly shouted, "Get down!"

Almost brushing past their scalps, a dozen well-ordered spells shot across as they dropped to the ground in an instant.

The one who had just spoken instantly felt cold sweat soak his back, and Bieber looked equally terrified.

The security team was back!

"Run!"

Lucius roared. One unlucky Death Eater was a little slow in starting.

A flash of red light struck him, causing his entire body to curl up in agony, wailing in pain.

Lippy reached out, trying to pull him up, but another Stunning Spell hit the Death Eater, knocking him out cold.

At this point, no one dared to stop. They fled in complete disarray.

Finally escaping the Silverhand Manor's territory, Lucius found a wooden stump and anxiously said, "Put your hands on it."

The others obeyed immediately, their minds already in turmoil.

A pulling force emerged—the stump was a Portkey.

The very next second after they were whisked away, Tommy arrived with his team.

He cursed furiously, ordering everyone to search the area thoroughly. The security team, not daring to speak, quickly dispersed to carry out the search. 

Once the others had left, Tommy's expression changed. 

"Heh~ Lord Silverhand's plan was a success." 

He returned to Silverhand Manor, bringing along the stunned Death Eater. 

Inside the study. 

John was leisurely playing with his ring. Seeing Tommy return, he remarked with interest, "Your friend is quite clever." 

He was referring to Lippy—who had dared to venture into the dungeon on a risky mission and now had gone with the other death eaters. 

Tommy gave a wry smile. "My lord, Lippy might have discovered something." 

He feared John would blame Lippy. After all, their original goal was just to uncover the traitor, yet Lippy had ended up infiltrating the Death Eaters. 

John waved his hand dismissively, chuckling. "It's fine. The more people we plant among the Death Eaters, the better." 

Glancing at the unconscious Death Eater Tommy had brought, John said meaningfully, "There are no rules saying we can only fight defensively." 

He pulled a book from the shelf and opened it. The pages flipped rapidly, sheets flying out and sticking to the Death Eater one by one, wrapping him up like a mummy. 

A pulling force emerged from the book's blank cover, sucking the Death Eater inside. 

John shut the book, as if nothing had happened, and placed it back on the shelf.

Adjusting his collar, John spoke calmly, "Provide compensation for the injured. Draft the document, and I'll sign it." 

With that, he stepped into the fireplace. The blue flames swallowed him, and he vanished. 

Tommy shook his head helplessly—what a hands-off boss. 

But what could he do? He was stuck with a student as his employer. 

... 

The matter of the traitor was not over. 

Lucius sent word—he had successfully gained the Death Eaters' trust. 

Originally, he wasn't on their list of trusted members. Even in major operations like the rescue mission, the Death Eaters hadn't considered involving someone as high-ranking and traitorous as Lucius. 

Moreover, after the rescue, he was still met with suspicion. 

Bieber questioned his presence at the scene. Lucius sneered and replied, "With my current relationship with Johnny Silverhand, do you think he would still keep secrets from me?" 

Lucius spoke with frustration. "With Johnny Silverhand's cautious nature, after failing once, he wouldn't leave a second opportunity. I wanted to find the organization, yet all of you kept playing dumb!" 

His words left the surviving tall, thin Death Eater looking embarrassed—because, from the very beginning, they had never even considered Lucius. 

And between the lines of Lucius' words, one thing was clear—he had an unusual level of trust and camaraderie with Johnny Silverhand. 

That also explained why Lucius was able to open the dungeon door.

With this operation, Lucius had fully reintegrated into the Death Eater ranks.

Lippy had also successfully infiltrated, becoming one of Lucius' subordinates.

Unlike Lippy, who focused on gathering intelligence, Bieber was someone who truly wanted to stir up trouble.

Now that he had Lucius—a man of considerable standing in the wizarding world—supporting him, he decisively pledged allegiance.

As for the locksmith, Doug, who had died earlier?

Sorry, but Death Eaters didn't waste time mourning fallen comrades

...

The intelligence Lucius obtained was even more detailed than John had expected.

There were still plenty of Death Eaters loyal to Voldemort hiding in Knockturn Alley, which took John by surprise.

He had assumed Knockturn Alley was already under his control, but there were far more security gaps than he had anticipated.

Now that he had uncovered them, John immediately began working to close those gaps.

Lucius was to remain undercover while John relocated to continue strategizing elsewhere.

...

Hogwarts.

During this time, John remained busy at school as well.

He hadn't forgotten—there was still a master of Confundus Charms lurking within Hogwarts.

The mermaid incident seemed to have faded from memory with time.

Old Barty had been running around tirelessly, working to minimize its impact.

Fortunately, no lives were lost in the accident. However, the incident did bring an unexpected visitor from the Ministry of Magic.

Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

What was originally Barty's stage alone was now forcibly shared between two main actors.

Amelia Bones would be present for the third task, personally overseeing the Triwizard Tournament.

Even if Barty was displeased, he had no way to refuse.

…

Moody walked through the castle, his wooden leg thudding against the stone floor.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

In the quiet corridor, his footsteps stood out.

As he walked, Moody suddenly stopped.

"Come out." His magical eye locked onto the corner ahead. "Or would you prefer I invite you out myself?"

At his words, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

A pale face, black hair covering one eye, and golden irises peering through the strands, staring at Moody.

"Heinrich Edgar."

Moody didn't seem surprised. He opened his ornate flask and took a sip.

"Edgar, huh? That surname reeks of darkness." 

Moody's lips curled, making the scars on his face appear even more grotesque. 

In his gruff voice, he sneered, "You lot, skulking in the shadows where you belong—what makes you think you won't burn stepping into the light of Hogwarts?" 

As if trying to get a better look, Moody took a few steps forward, his normal eye fixed on the pale face before him. 

"You look like someone... A dead man—Adolph Edgar." After mentioning the name, Moody's expression twitched, disgust crawling across his face. 

"That lunatic, when he was about to be caught, ignited Fiendfyre and burned himself along with a group of Death Eaters. That disaster wiped out an entire village." 

Perhaps recalling the incident enraged him further, as Moody took another swig from his flask. 

The strong scent of alcohol reached Heinrich's nose, and for the first time, his cold expression shifted. 

"You shouldn't speak of him that way," Heinrich said, frowning. His voice was icy. "He died for his ideals." 

"Ideals?" Moody burst into harsh laughter, then spat with disdain, "You Edgars and your so-called light—you've thrown the entire wizarding world into chaos." 

"Grindelwald did it. Voldemort did it, too!" 

His voice rose into a roar. "I know what you're thinking—you want to follow in your foolish uncle's footsteps." 

"Let me tell you this—there has never been any light that could shine into the stubborn, wretched heart of an Edgar!"

Heinrich's expression twisted with anger as he reached out, grabbing for Moody's collar. 

"Mr. Edgar." 

A voice interrupted him mid-motion. Both Moody and Heinrich turned their heads. 

Snape was leaning casually against the doorway, gazing at them with his usual indifferent expression. 

"If you don't want to be late, you'd best head to the Potions classroom now." 

There was a sixth-year Potions class today. Heinrich halted his movements. 

As he passed Moody, he paused for a moment, gritting his teeth. "You shouldn't mock that light." 

Moody remained unimpressed. He had seen too many lunatics in his lifetime. 

Most of them were obsessed, fanatical. 

But without exception, they all ended up spending the rest of their days in Azkaban. 

After Heinrich left, Snape frowned and spoke in his unmistakably sardonic drawl. "Professor Moody, I hope you understand that Dumbledore brought you here to teach, not to throw around baseless accusations against students." 

"Severus, you think the same way, don't you?" Moody locked eyes with Snape, his magical eye whirling wildly. "You, of all people, should understand what kind of disaster the rise of a new Dark Lord would bring to the wizarding world. You were even willing to become a spy..."

"No, I don't... know," Snape said slowly, drawing out his words as he stared deeply at Moody. "And neither does Dumbledore... about this so-called 'third Dark Lord.'" 

Moody snorted through his nose but said nothing more, continuing on his way. 

Snape stepped into the classroom, and as he entered, the door slammed shut behind him with a heavy thud.

__________

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