Black smoke rising straight into the sky.
Firelight blazing beyond the green hills.
Even without seeing it in person, even without being there yourself, one glance at the scene was enough to understand what kind of fate had befallen that wizarding village.
Simply put, something terrible had happened.
And the ones responsible seemed to be those black robed wizards steadily drawing closer from below.
Judging by their numbers and the scale of their formation, they seemed even more concerned with that black tower, or rather, with a certain wizard inside it...
"So I was exposed...? No, I do not think I was their target. It seems I merely happened to step right into the middle of this encirclement."
"Exactly. Even I did not expect the moment for using the Two way mirror to arrive so soon. I thought I would not need it this quickly~"
"So..."
"No no no. Why do you think I knew you were here? The Dark Lord probably did not know at first either, but the moment you appeared, your whereabouts were already exposed."
As though he knew exactly what Draco was about to ask, Lockhart immediately waved a hand and cut him off, leaving him no room for false hope.
And as he said that, there was a cold note of mockery on Lockhart's face, though it was impossible to tell whether he was sneering at Dumbledore for failing to notice Voldemort's movements, mocking those useless Ministry officials, or simply laughing at Draco's rotten luck.
Whatever the case, Lockhart's words made one thing very clear to Draco.
There were no reinforcements coming, no allies waiting in the wings. At least, not in time to matter...
And beyond that, Draco caught the key point hidden in it all.
Fixing the Lockhart in the mirror with a sharp, appraising gaze, Draco suddenly spoke.
"The wizard leading them is not the Dark Lord, is he?"
"...."
That tone of certainty made Lockhart pause in surprise. Then he broke into a wide grin, and the unhidden heat in his eyes made Draco distinctly uncomfortable.
Lockhart did not answer right away. Instead, he covered half his face with one hand and began muttering to himself in a strange, unsettling way. "No... no, not yet. A little longer... I have to wait a little longer..."
"....."
If Pansy and the others had been there, they would undoubtedly have gotten chills from seeing Lockhart like this. Even Draco could not help frowning.
To be honest, this was not the first time Lockhart had shown him this side of himself.
Only now was very much not the time for it...
Just as Draco was about to cut off the communication between them, one sentence from Lockhart made his hand pause.
"The one leading them is Barty Crouch Jr."
"It is him?!"
"I imagine he is very eager to see you. After all, you very nearly ruined the Dark Lord's plan."
Although Lockhart had acted like a bystander from the beginning, it was obvious enough that he had no wish to see Draco die here, or fall into the Dark Lord's hands. That was why he had gone out of his way to warn him.
Only, his goodwill clearly had its limits.
"Well then, do not disappoint me. I do hope we will meet again, dear Mr. Malfoy."
With that, Lockhart once again placed his top hat against his chest, and the image in the Two way mirror, which had been perfectly clear just a moment ago, blurred in an instant. The voice on the other side died away with it.
Clearly, Lockhart had cut the call from his end.
Seeing that, Draco put the mirror away without a trace of reluctance and turned his gaze toward the black robed wizards drawing ever closer.
From here, he still could not tell which one among them was Barty Crouch Jr.
But even with that distance still between them, Draco could already feel the malice rolling off those wizards in thick waves...
Just as Lockhart had warned.
The ones coming were not here with good intentions.
...
Though it was a little late, the others inside the black tower had begun to realize that something was wrong as well.
The first to rush up to the top floor and appear before Draco was the always headstrong Ginny Weasley. She too had sensed that something was off...
"What on earth is happening? Why is the magic so unstable?!"
Her first reaction was not to grab Draco by the collar and demand answers. Instead, she stretched her neck and stared toward the direction of home.
It seemed she had not yet noticed the group of black robed wizards below. The reason she realized something was wrong was probably only that thunder like explosion from before, along with the rolling black smoke and distant firelight that had stirred unease in her.
At that, Draco gave her a reminder.
"Have you not noticed the wizards down there?"
"Down there... what is that?!"
"Obviously those are the dark wizards who attacked the village. The Death Eaters you lot are always talking about."
"You mean Death Eaters?!"
Although she had never lived through the first wizarding war, the moment she heard the name Death Eaters, and realized who stood behind them, Ginny instantly understood how serious this was.
But after the initial shock, another strong feeling rose in her.
Suspicion.
"How do you know who they are? And are you not being a little too calm?"
Suspicion on her face.
Guardedness in her eyes.
Draco found it faintly amusing, but at the same time he also had to acknowledge the girl's sharp instincts. The fact that she had calmed herself so quickly and immediately spotted the problem proved that Ginny was not just some hot blooded Gryffindor fool.
Though... in some ways, she still was not all that bright.
"If I were working with them, why would I bother telling you who they really are?"
"Uh..."
"In any case, if you do not believe me, then stay here. Perhaps Dumbledore's side will arrive in time to save you before you are dragged off."
That blunt remark left Ginny completely speechless.
Meanwhile, Luna, who had been standing there silently and who had apparently come up at some point without anyone noticing, gently tugged at her friend's sleeve, as if reminding her of something.
"I... I did not mean that... hey, wait for us! Hurry, Luna. We need to warn Mr. Lovegood."
As Draco disappeared around the turn in the staircase, Ginny chased after him with an anxious expression.
As for Luna, whose presence had been so faint all along, she did not move at once. Instead, she fixed her eyes on the black robed figures, now close enough to be seen clearly...
Black robes.
Wands.
And the Dark Mark exploding into the sky like fireworks.
Well, there was no need to doubt their identity anymore.
These wizards were indeed Voldemort's followers. The dark wizards known as Death Eaters.