Harry Potter and the Great Old Ones

Chapter 505: Driving the tiger away from the mountain
The slender figure, or rather Narcissa, walked directly into a small living room, which felt like a dimly lit, soft-walled prison cell.
In mental hospitals or prisons, there are rooms with padded walls to prevent inmates from harming themselves, and several walls are lined with books, most of which have old black or brown leather covers.

A candle-lit lamp hung from the ceiling, casting a dim circle of light. Within this circle, a worn-out sofa, an old armchair, and a rickety table were crammed together.

The place had a desolate and deserted feel to it, as if no one usually lived there. Snape gestured for Narcissa to sit on the sofa.

Narcissa took off her cloak and tossed it aside. She slowly sat down on the old sofa, her eyes fixed on her pale, trembling hands crossed on her knees. Despite her nervousness, she kept her posture straight. Clearly, no matter how anxious she was inside, she had to maintain her composure on the surface.

"So, what can I do for you?" Snape asked slowly as he sat down in the armchair opposite Narcissa.

"Is there...is there no one else here?" Narcissa asked softly.

"Of course not. Oh, right, the insect's tail is here, but we don't include pests in our calculations, do we?"

He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him, and with a bang, a hidden door opened, revealing a narrow staircase where a small man stood dumbfounded.

"As you probably already know, Wormtail, we have guests," Snape said lazily.

The man hunched over as he descended the last few steps and entered the room.

He had a pair of small, watery eyes, a pointed nose, and an unnatural, fake smile plastered on his face.

He touched his right hand with his left hand, which looked as if he were wearing a shiny white glove.

“Narcissa! Long time no see!” he said in a squeaking voice. “How charming, how—”

“If you’d like, Wormtail will bring us drinks,” Snape interrupted impatiently, “and then he’ll go back to his own bedroom.”

Peter Pettigrew dodged as if Snape had thrown something at him.

“I am not your servant!” he said, avoiding Snape’s gaze, in an angry yet cowardly squeak, like a giant rat.

"Really? I thought the Dark Lord had placed you here to help me," Snape said sarcastically.

“Help, yes—but not by bringing you drinks, nor by cleaning your room!” Peter Pettigrew said angrily.

“Wormtail, I didn’t expect you to crave even more dangerous missions,” Snape said in a slick tone. “That’s easy: I can go talk to the Dark Lord—”

"If I wanted to, I would tell him myself!"

“Of course you can,” Snape said with a sneer. “For now, you’d better bring us drinks. A little bit of elf wine will do.”

Peter Pettigrew hesitated for a moment, seemingly wanting to argue further, but he turned around and went out through another hidden door.

Narcissa heard banging sounds and the clinking of glasses.

A few seconds later, Peter Pettigrew returned, carrying a dirty wine bottle and two glasses on a tray.

He placed the tray on the rickety table, then quickly left, slamming the door hidden by the book shut behind him.

Snape poured Narcissa a glass, and Narcissa mumbled a "thank you."

Then Snape poured himself another glass.

"A toast to the Dark Lord," Snape said, raising his cup and drinking it down in one gulp.

"A toast to the Dark Lord." Narcissa also drank it all in one gulp.

Snape refilled her glass.

Narcissa took the second glass of wine, exhaled, and said, "Severus, I'm so sorry to bother you like this, but I had to see you. I think only you can help me—"

Snape raised a hand to stop her, then pointed his wand at the hidden door in the stairwell again. A loud bang followed by a scream, then the sound of Wormtail hastily fleeing upstairs.

“I’m sorry,” Snape said, “he’s developed a habit of eavesdropping lately, and I really don’t understand what he’s doing… Where were you, Narcissa?”

Narcissa took a deep breath, her face trembling, and hesitated. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she asked:
“The Dark Lord…” Narcissa took another deep breath, “How is his health?”

More than a week ago, news that Voldemort's Ministry of Magic had failed in its hunt for Harry Potter and that he had been seriously injured by Tyrell, the boy who had long since died, had become common knowledge thanks to extensive coverage in the Daily Prophet and other media outlets.

If it weren't for Voldemort's escape and return, and the ruthless reorganization by the detestable woman he brought back, the entire Death Eater group would likely have quickly fallen apart.

However, because Lucius Malfoy provided incorrect advice during the previous Ministry of Magic battle, and Draco Malfoy failed to complete the task assigned to him by the Dark Lord last semester, the entire Malfoy family—

Narcissa and Draco, the widow and orphan, were also targeted by Voldemort and subsequently ostracized from the core of the Death Eaters.

Fortunately, thanks to Cornelius Fudge and Tierra's rebellious actions, Narcissa quickly saw an opportunity to make the Malfoy family great again. She had already conspired with many other pure-blood nobles who were dissatisfied with Cornelius Fudge's new policies. She now desperately needed to see the Dark Lord and present their plans to him.

If their plan could gain the approval, praise, support, or even assistance of their master, Narcissa could not only save her husband, but also revitalize the Malfoy family, not only re-enter the inner circle of the Death Eaters, but also regain her place among the upper echelons of the wizarding world.

“He’s in good health, no need for you to worry,” Snape said casually.

“I want to see him,” Narcissa said timidly. “I, I, I mean I want to see the great Dark Lord.”

"You request an audience with the Dark Lord?" Snape's sallow face finally showed an expression other than disgust and blankness.

"You want me to take you to see the Dark Lord?" Snape confirmed Narcissa's request again.

“Yes, Snape, I… I have very important information to give to the Dark Lord,” Narcissa pleaded with a resentful look in her eyes. “Please help me this time, for Lucius’s sake, it’s really important to me.”

“Why don’t you go yourself?” Snape asked. “Although the Dark Lord is angry with the Malfoys, he hasn’t forbidden you from meeting with him.”

“I don’t want to run into that stupid woman,” Narcissa said viciously, then took a deep breath to calm herself down and said, “I don’t want that stupid woman Umbridge to interfere with the plan I’m offering to my master.”

Snape slowly rose from his rocking chair and calmly took a few steps in the small living room.

Under Narcissa's tense gaze, Snape stopped and slowly uttered a word that made Narcissa breathe a sigh of relief: "Good!"

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, on the top floor of Hogwarts Castle.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, please inform everyone tomorrow that all faculty and staff who remain at Hogwarts during the summer vacation must leave Hogwarts to attend Cornelius Fudge's inauguration ceremony." In the dead of night, Tyrell's firm yet urgent voice suddenly broke into Dumbledore's dream, startling the centenarian awake.

"Oh?" Dumbledore sat up abruptly in bed, looked around blankly, then sat up with a sigh, rubbed his brow wearily, made himself a cup of coffee, stirred it, and walked to his desk to sit down.

“This is the second time.” Dumbledore took a sip of coffee. “This is the second time you’ve woken a centenarian in the middle of the night. Tell me, what is it?”

The next moment, Tyra appeared out of nowhere as if she were a phantom, from a simple outline, simple colors, a semi-transparent figure, to a fully solidified and visible human form, appearing in Dumbledore's office.

But Tyrell didn't answer Dumbledore's question. Instead, she calmly sat down opposite him and waved at the tea cabinet by Dumbledore's window.

A package of tea that looked very expensive floated out of the tea cabinet. It opened itself, and the tea leaves flew out on their own, pouring into boiling water to make a pot of steaming, clear black tea. The tea then slowly floated between Dumbledore and Tierra.

"Don't drink coffee all the time." Tierra poured herself a full cup of tea, then poured one for Dumbledore. "Coffee is bad for your health, tea is good for you."

After saying that, Tyella started drinking by herself.

“I think,” Dumbledore said, rubbing the bulging veins on his forehead, “that waking a 116-year-old man from his sleep in the middle of the night has already damaged his health.”

"So get to the point!" Dumbledore couldn't help but say.

For the past six months, due to the ascension ceremony, Nicolas Flamel has been living at Hogwarts, so Dumbledore has been able to occasionally get a few sips of the elixir of immortality.

This relieved Dumbledore's backache and leg pain, and he could climb eight flights of stairs without getting out of breath. Naturally, his temper also became much stronger. Therefore, being woken up in the middle of the night while he was sound asleep caused Dumbledore to suddenly become grumpy.

"Heh heh." Tierra continued calmly sipping her tea. "How can you be sure you're awake? How do you know you're not still dreaming?"

After saying that, Tierra took another sip of tea.

Dumbledore paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and then picked up his coffee and took a large gulp—

Not only was it not hot, but it also had no smell, and there was no aroma of tea in the air.

"It's just to let you get used to what it's like to be woken up in the middle of the night," Tierra said with a smile, taking another sip of tea.

"You—" Dumbledore was about to say something when suddenly, an extremely piercing scream rang out.

This was a cry that Dumbledore was extremely familiar with, but at this moment, it sounded incredibly jarring and terrifying to him.

The entire principal's office—

No, the whole world began to shake violently, and Dumbledore felt as if he were in some kind of violently shaking vortex. Then he felt a strong sense of falling, and then—

The headmaster's office in the eight-story tower of Hogwarts.

After Phoenix Fox screamed a few times, Dumbledore reluctantly sat up in bed.

Upon seeing Dumbledore wake up, Fawkes the phoenix stopped its loud chirping, tilted its head to look at Dumbledore, as if waiting for him to wake up from his long slumber.

“I’m awake now. What is it, Fox?” Dumbledore stood up and asked.

“Ah, ahhhhh, ah, ahhhhh, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,” Phoenix Fox said.

"Snape wants to see me? And it's urgent?" Dumbledore paused, quickly sat up in bed, quickly dressed, and then sat down at the headmaster's desk—

At this moment, Dumbledore was stunned.

Because on his principal's desk sat a strong cup of coffee, a pot of black tea, and two delicate teacups filled with black tea.

The aroma of tea and coffee mingling in the air above his desk made Dumbledore feel a little more awake.

He pulled out a chair, slowly sat down in his seat, and then nodded to Phoenix Fox.

Fox seemed to understand Dumbledore's meaning, let out an "Ah—" and disappeared from Dumbledore's office.

When Fox reappeared, it was accompanied by a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and greasy hair.

It was Professor Snape.

Snape looked a little tired, but his expression remained somber and serious.

"It's so late, Severus, what's so important that you need to do this?" Dumbledore tried to appear more alert.

"At Cornelius Fudge's inauguration tomorrow, a group of pure-blood families will unite with most of the Death Eaters, as well as the dark wizards who have been roaming Knockturn Alley for years, to oppose Cornelius Fudge's appointment as Grand Secretary of the Magical Union," Snape said rapidly. "They have already used spells and potions to completely control the Muggle army that Cornelius Fudge brought in. If necessary, they will use violence to overthrow or even kill Cornelius Fudge. Furthermore, they have already united with a considerable number of Ministry of Magic officials to oppose Cornelius Fudge's new reforms."

“I already know that. Although I never imagined they would team up with the Death Eaters, with Tierra present, they're unlikely to succeed,” Dumbledore said. “Anything else?”

“Once Tyrell and you appear at Cornelius Fudge’s inauguration ceremony, Voldemort will immediately force his way through Hogwarts’ defenses. He seems to want to take the Gryffindor sword and something hidden in one of Hogwarts’ secret chambers,” Snape added.

This time, Dumbledore finally showed a slight look of surprise on his face, and then he suddenly realized.

He seemed to have glimpsed the full extent of Tierra's conspiracy.

With the earnings from October combined with previous earnings, my author level will officially upgrade to Level 3 after November's payout. To thank everyone for their support and love, and as compensation for the frequent breaks in updates, I will try my best to update more than 4000 words every day starting in November.

Although I can't be sure how long this momentum will last, I will do my best.

Thank you again for your support and love.

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(End of this chapter)