Fiendfyre came as swiftly as it vanished. If not for the burning pain in his lungs and the charred remains around him, Lucius might have thought it nothing more than a nightmare.
Such terrifying precision and control inspired genuine dread.
Lucius held his wife, who was still shaken, and soothed her for a while. Then he turned and left the study, returning shortly with a square object wrapped in dragon hide.
"Mr. Ranrok, this is what you requested," Lucius said respectfully as he presented the bundle. "Please take a look."
Ranrok reached out, accepted it, and opened the wrapping. Inside was a black-covered notebook. The cover seemed to be made from the hide of some unknown creature, while the pages within were yellowed parchment.
As Ranrok examined it, a faint silver glint flashed through his eyes. He then nodded.
"This time, I'll let it go. I'll forgive your first mistake," Ranrok said as he raised his head.
"But remember this well, Lord Malfoy. This is the first time, and it will also be the last. If I ever discover you withholding information again, you and your family will bid farewell to this world."
"Please rest assured, Mr. Ranrok. There will absolutely be no next time," Lucius replied, his tone impeccably deferential.
"That's for the best."
Ranrok rewrapped the notebook in dragon hide, tucked it into his robes, and turned to leave with Midgard, who had remained silent the entire time.
Watching the two of them depart, Lucius's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he said nothing.
He had originally wanted to mention that the werewolf wizards had been bleeding the Malfoy family dry lately, and to ask the two of them to show some mercy and give them room to breathe.
But looking at the scorched marks around him, and remembering how close he had come to being killed over a lapse in trust, Lucius found the words stuck in his throat.
"Carry on with business as usual from now on. Don't treat our Lord Malfoy like a fool. After all, he's one of our own…"
Ranrok's voice drifted back to Lucius's ears, making his heart jolt.
So it really had been Ranrok's order that drove the werewolf wizards to pressure the Malfoy family so relentlessly. The purpose had been to warn him against trying to be clever, and to force him to hand over that notebook.
Yet Lucius had failed to grasp Ranrok's intent and had even thought of going to Mr. Ranrok to complain.
He let out a sigh, feeling a dull ache of regret.
If he had realized this earlier, he wouldn't have had to pay such a steep price. Three prime shops in Diagon Alley, each worth a fortune.
"Lucius, this Ranrok is far too ruthless. Are we really going to follow him all the way down this path?" Narcissa asked, her voice trembling as she still hadn't recovered from the shock.
Lucius pulled his wife into his arms, his expression full of remorse. "This is my fault. I failed to understand Mr. Ranrok's intentions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have treated us like this. Don't worry. This should be the last time. As long as we remain loyal and don't harbor any second thoughts, Mr. Ranrok won't act against us like this again."
...
Knockturn Alley, werewolf territory.
Leonard and Midgard returned there. Midgard shot Marcus a look, and Marcus immediately understood. He took the initiative to leave the room and stand guard outside the door.
Only then did Midgard turn to Leonard. "Leonard, what exactly is that thing?"
Leonard removed the disguise from his face and coughed twice, easing the discomfort in his throat caused by deliberately speaking in a high-pitched voice.
"This is a Horcrux," Leonard said. He slipped on his dragon-hide gloves, unwrapped the bundle, and took out the notebook.
He had already confirmed it. This was Tom Riddle's diary. In his magical vision, the notebook was filled with nauseating, dark emerald streams of magical energy.
According to the original course of events, during this summer the Ministry would pass a new Muggle Protection Act, tightening restrictions on dark magical items.
Without Leonard's involvement, Lucius would have slipped this diary into the schoolbag of the youngest Weasley child, Ginny Weasley.
Lucius's true intention had been to use this Horcrux to kill Ginny Weasley.
However, with a number of pureblood families suddenly losing people, the Ministry had no energy at all to push through the new Muggle Protection Act at this time.
Nor did they dare. The pureblood families who had lost loved ones were now seething with rage. If the Ministry chose this moment to provoke them, the position of Minister of Magic would likely be replaced very quickly.
One should never underestimate the pureblood families. If they were willing to ignore the consequences, bringing down a Minister of Magic would be easy.
"A Horcrux?" Midgard had never heard of such a thing and looked at Leonard in confusion.
"A form of dark magic that allows someone to escape death," Leonard explained. "That's the Dark Lord's trump card."
Leonard only ever used Voldemort's name when he was acting as Ranrok. At all other times, he referred to him as the Dark Lord.
Ranrok could afford to draw Voldemort's attention. Leonard, on the other hand, had no intention of doing so.
"I still don't quite understand," Midgard said, watching Leonard carefully flip through the pages with his dragon-hide-gloved hand. "This thing called a Horcrux… is it really that powerful?"
"The Horcrux itself isn't powerful," Leonard replied. "What's powerful is the magic behind it. It may be evil, but its effectiveness is undeniable."
As he spoke, Leonard carefully wrapped Tom Riddle's diary again and kept it on his person.
"Then what use is it to you?" Midgard asked. "If it's so important to Voldemort, wouldn't it be better to destroy it outright?"
...
"That's true," Leonard admitted. "But this diary contains secrets. Secrets I need."
Hidden within Hogwarts was the Chamber of Secrets, and within it lurked a Basilisk.
Both the Chamber itself and the Basilisk were things Leonard cared about deeply.
However, opening the Chamber required Parseltongue. Leonard didn't want to get involved with Harry Potter. He would rather use Tom Riddle's diary to achieve his goal.
At worst, he could destroy the diary afterward. Whether it was basilisk venom or Fiendfyre, Leonard had ways to obtain both.
"Remember, this must remain confidential," Leonard reminded her. "Don't tell anyone about Horcruxes."
"Don't worry," Midgard nodded.
The two of them then chatted casually for a while, mainly discussing the future direction of the werewolves.
Leonard suggested either establishing their own publication or cooperating with an existing newspaper or magazine.
"What do we need that for?" Midgard asked, puzzled. "To make money selling books or newspapers?"
"This has nothing to do with money," Leonard said. "Even if it loses money, it's something that must be done."
"It's a channel to make our voices heard. Think about it. You could publish articles in the paper or magazine explaining that werewolves aren't actually that dangerous. People might not believe it at first, but over time it will influence how some of them think and help improve the situation for werewolves."