At Hogwarts, the story begins with deconstructing Avada Kedavra.

In the dead of night in Wiltshire, a thick fog clung to the neat row of cedar hedges at Malfoy Manor.

The study was dimly lit, with only the occasional flickering green flame from the fireplace illuminating the walls.

The shelves displayed rare dark magic artifacts, enough to keep the Department of Magical Law Enforcement searching for days, exuding a stale and dangerous aura in the shadows.

With a "snap".

A thin creature with large, bat-like ears appeared in front of the dark desk.

It wore an old pillowcase with some unidentified stains, and the Malfoy family's silver crest was crookedly embroidered on its chest.

It was Dobby, a house-elf. Its eyes were filled with fear, its long, thin fingers were twisted together, and its whole body was trembling violently.

"Master... a letter from young master Draco... just delivered by the Black Owl."

Dobby's voice was high-pitched, and he held up a roll of parchment paper with the ink still wet.

Lucius Malfoy did not look up.

He was slowly rubbing the silver snake head on his cane with chamois leather.

Until the emerald-encrusted eyes of the snake's head could clearly reflect the Malfoy family's century-long glory,

He reached out and snatched the letter from Dobby's hand with disgust.

"Get into the corner," Lucius's voice was deep and smooth, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

"If you dare to make the slightest noise, I'll make you clean up the peacock droppings in the back garden until you're covered in parasites."

Dobby let out a weak whimper and then disappeared with a "bang".

Lucius unfolded the letter.

As his gaze shifted downwards, he unconsciously straightened up from his relaxed posture leaning back in his chair.

His gaze lingered on the letter, lost in thought.

In his letter, Draco described in great detail the fire in Hagrid's hut, the deformed Norwegian spinal dragon, and how Harry Potter, Weasley, and the Mudblood girl sneaked around in the dark of night.

Of course, there's also the part that infuriates Draco the most: how Dumbledore favored them, trying to cover up the truth with the clumsy excuse of "fire."

The most crucial information was highlighted by Draco in bold strokes:

"Late Saturday night, Astronomy Tower, Charlie Weasley's backup."

"Norwegian Spinosaurus...at Hogwarts."

Lucius put down the parchment and rubbed his chin.

This is the best thing Draco has done recently.

If he had acted like that brainless Crabbe and rushed to Professor McGonagall to complain on the spot, this would have at most become an internal disciplinary violation.

Albus Dumbledore had countless ways to make a guard's minor mistake disappear.

Just as he had done countless times throughout his half-century-long teaching career, he would lightly deduct a few points or impose a meaningless solitary confinement.

But now, the letter bypassed Hogwarts' Owl Shack and landed directly in Lucius's hands.

This is no longer a mischievous prank in school, but an explosive news story that the public is eager to hear.

"Albus, are you so old that you can't even keep an eye on a fire dragon? Or have you become so arrogant that you think the law must detour around your castle walls?"

Lucius muttered to himself, his voice lost in the crackling of the fireplace.

He astutely noticed the variable in the letter: Harry Potter.

If it were any other student, this would just be a normal accident.

But when it comes to the boy who miraculously survived, this matter has the potential to ignite a media frenzy that will likely be reported in The Daily Prophet.

If Potter were caught red-handed by the Ministry of Magic at the scene of an illegal dragon smuggling operation, a gap would appear in Dumbledore's carefully constructed independent kingdom of Hogwarts, allowing him to intervene.

But perhaps his weight alone is not enough.

Lucius stood up and paced back and forth on the expensive Persian carpet.

As a member of the Board of Trustees, he was all too aware of the current direction of the Ministry of Magic.

Cornelius Fudge, that coward, though outwardly treating Dumbledore with great courtesy.

But in private, Fudge was tormented by the anxiety of living in the shadow of the greatest white wizard of the century, and could not sleep at night.

Fudge needed an opportunity to assert his power, just as Lucius needed an opportunity to weaken Dumbledore's iron grip on the Board of Governors.

He sat back down at the table and pulled out a piece of parchment with a gold-stamped border.

If you report smuggling directly, you'll only get bogged down in endless wrangling and bureaucratic procedures.

The entry point he needs is procedural justice under the inspection team.

This would allow them to bypass Dumbledore's old guard and launch a surprise attack.

He first wrote a formal letter to the ministry.

Lucius was able to remain standing in any turbulent period because he never relied on brute force to oppress others; he preferred to create unsolvable predicaments and weave a net that his prey could not escape.

The first letter was addressed to the Department of Magical Creatures Control.

If sent directly to the head of the Department of Law Enforcement, that stubborn and conservative Burns would certainly follow procedure and report it to Dumbledore first, so that everything could be corrected before it happened.

But Chilton, the new deputy director of the Department of Magical Creatures Management and Control, is different.

As a newly appointed official, he urgently needed to demonstrate his achievements as a pledge of loyalty, yet he was also extremely protective of his reputation and afraid of any stain on his image.

This letter is the starting point of the process. Once Chilton receives a formal written complaint, if he dares to say he didn't receive the news and things escalate, it would be a serious breach of professional ethics.

Therefore, Chilton had no choice but to accept it and seize the opportunity to demonstrate his administrative abilities.

But Chilton is a seasoned bureaucrat, and he won't directly interfere in Hogwarts' affairs, because that could easily backfire.

Therefore, Lucius deliberately emphasized two key words on the parchment: "Level IV dangerous creature" and "access to minors".

In this way, the shrewd Chilton would, based on the department's unspoken rules, choose to confront the cross-departmental and improper use of magic offices.

And that rising "star" in the department,

Dolores Umbridge has always been known for his ruthless methods.

She was a hyena that would pounce on power and blood at the first sign of it.

"...As a member of the Board of Trustees, I am deeply saddened to learn that, due to the serious dereliction of duty by certain staff members, a Class IV dangerous creature, which is strictly prohibited from trade under Act 1709, is in a state of unsupervised existence... This is not only a blatant violation of international secrecy laws, but also an extreme disregard for the lives of underage wizards..."

After finishing this letter, he switched to a personal note.

He needs to secure Fudge's support to provide a safety net for the plan.

In his private letter to the minister, he avoided the dry legal texts and instead spoke of the authority of the rule of law in a tacit, friendly tone.

"...Connelly"

Finally, Lucius snapped his fingers, and Dobby reluctantly reappeared.

Dobby, come here.

The little elf moved closer with a look of surprise and uncertainty, its ears drooping.

"Send this letter to the department to the owl's hut at the mailroom. It should be on Director Chilton's desk by eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Also—"

Lucius took a Galleon bearing his family crest from the drawer.

"Give this to that junior clerk who works at the Daily Prophet."

Tell that greedy fellow there will be big news this weekend about the savior's predicament and the principal's oversight; if he wants to keep his column, make sure his stenographer's quill is always ready.

After finishing everything, he leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

Once this process is complete, the Department of Fantastic Beasts will seek law enforcement authorization out of cowardice, while Umbridge will take the initiative to take charge out of greed.

When these two forces converge in the Ministry of Magic's official procedures, this network of procedures possesses both the authorization to shelter members from the Department of Magical Creatures and the administrative oversight of the misuse of magic.

All of this was done with the tacit approval of Fouché, the minister who was eager to prove himself.

"The bureaucracy is like a clumsy monstrosity," Lucius whispered to the dying embers in the fireplace.

"You don't need to exert any effort to push it down. You just need to stand next to its ear and tell it where the fattest meat is, and it will smash through all the walls in its way on its own."

In this way, the Ministry of Magic would be forced to intervene due to procedural compliance, Umbridge would go mad from her power addiction, and Dumbledore would be forced to choose between protecting his beloved half-giant subordinate and upholding the dignity of magical law.

No matter which option the old man chooses, he will eventually find himself on the fire.

"Draco, you've finally learned to use weapons other than brooms."

Lucius waved his wand.

The fire in the fireplace went out, and darkness engulfed the study.

All sounds are silent,

He was the only one still silently calculating the spectacle that was about to unfold at the Astronomy Tower late Saturday night.