"You, you!" Umbridge stretched out a thick finger, pointing at Lucius and Harry, her eyes filled with disbelief.
After seeing Lucius's reaction to Harry, how could she not understand that Lucius was actually Harry Potter's subordinate?
But how was that possible?
The Minister for Magic himself had betrayed pure-bloods and the Ministry, choosing to submit to Harry Potter?
"You must be joking!" Umbridge shrieked, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Malfoy, you, you actually betrayed the glory of pure blood and reduced yourself to Harry Potter's servant?"
Her face turned bright red. Her signature pink hat tilted to one side as she thrashed around violently, and a few sparse strands of hair fell loose from her carefully arranged bun, leaving her looking utterly disheveled.
"Have you forgotten the Malfoy family's ancestral teachings? Have you forgotten our devotion to pure-blood supremacy? Or has this Mudblood-loving lapdog put you under the Imperius Curse?"
Lucius remained silent. He merely lowered his head slightly, showing his obedience to Harry, and Umbridge's fury reached its peak.
Like a maddened beast, she rushed at Lucius, screaming, "I will expose you! I will let the entire wizarding world know what a traitor you are!
"You will be cast out from the ranks of the pure-blood families! Your name will become a disgrace in magical history!"
However, Lucius only glanced at her contemptuously, stepped aside to avoid her lunge, and said coldly, "You foolish woman. You know nothing of my lord's greatness. In the future, my lord will become the king of the new world, while you deserve only to live as a maggot in a latrine."
Lucius's words made Umbridge even more furious and humiliated. She turned toward Harry, her expression twisting until it was almost savage.
"You think you can escape punishment, Potter?
"You think these petty tricks are enough to overturn the order of the Ministry? Enough to change the rules of this world?
"You are too naive! The Ministry will not let you go, and neither will the pure-blood families!"
Her voice grew hoarse from overexcitement, every word squeezed out through clenched teeth.
Harry ignored her and looked at her coldly, as if watching a clown entertain itself.
Suddenly, Umbridge seemed to think of something, and a strange smile appeared on her face.
"But perhaps this is an opportunity, an opportunity for me to climb to the peak of power.
"As long as I expose your conspiracy and bring you to justice, I can become the hero of the Ministry, the true person in power..."
Greed and madness glittered in her eyes, as if she could already see herself sitting on the highest throne of authority in the Ministry.
The woman had begun hypnotizing herself, imagining a wonderful future.
The absurdity of reality had driven her mad, but Lucius did not care about any of that. He waved his hand, and several tall Death Eaters appeared from the shadows. They wore masks, and their bearing was cold.
"Lock her inside," Lucius ordered coldly.
Reality quickly snapped Umbridge back to her senses. Her eyes widened in terror. She tried to resist, screaming and cursing in a long, shrill stream, but the Death Eaters showed no mercy. They seized her and dragged her toward the dark cage she herself had chosen.
"No! You cannot do this to me! I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic! I..."
Umbridge's voice gradually disappeared into the depths of the cage, leaving only her desperate cries echoing through the empty room.
Harry watched it all without the slightest expression. Then he turned to Lucius and said, "Let's go. There is still a lot to do."
Lucius nodded and followed behind Harry. Their figures gradually vanished into the darkness, leaving only the tightly shut cage door and Umbridge's hopeless screams from within.
After leaving the prison, Harry and Lucius entered a room where Dumbledore was already waiting.
Dumbledore looked at Harry, his gaze grave.
"Harry, is everything ready? This operation is extremely risky. We can only succeed. Failure is not an option."
Harry nodded. "Don't worry, Professor Dumbledore. Everything is ready. All that remains is for Voldemort to appear."
Dumbledore nodded as well, though his gaze on Harry was rather strange.
He had never imagined that one day, he would take part in a scheme against Voldemort.
According to Harry's plan, after Harry and Dumbledore were captured, Voldemort would be guided by the Death Eaters under Harry's control and launch a full assault on the Ministry.
Without him, Dumbledore, or Hogwarts assisting the Ministry, it was not necessarily Voldemort's match.
At that time, Voldemort would force the Ministry into complete desperation. Then Lucius, as Minister, would issue a proposal to introduce Muggle technological weapons to deal with Voldemort.
At a moment of absolute crisis, Dumbledore did not believe any Ministry official would reject that proposal.
Harry did not immediately guide Voldemort into attacking the Ministry. First, he returned to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts and met with the members of Kamar-Taj.
At this point, there was no longer any need to hide things, so Harry laid out his entire plan.
The twins were stunned at first, but they soon became excited.
"Controlled chaos?" Fred raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers. "Isn't that the essence of most of our inventions? Create trouble, but never get anyone killed!"
George patted Harry on the shoulder. "As long as you can guarantee there won't be too many casualties, we're in."
Fred added, "As long as the risk is controllable, using a disruptive method to break the wizarding world's prejudices is exactly the kind of thing we're good at."
Ron and Hermione had known Harry's plan for a while, but in order to guide the others in Kamar-Taj, Ron still pretended not to know and hesitated.
"No one's really going to die? Then fine, I agree. If Dad sees Muggle weapons defeat Voldemort, he might start shouting from excitement."
Hermione analyzed the situation rationally. "I'll join as well. I came from the Muggle world to begin with, so I have no prejudice against Muggle creations. Besides, as long as the plan remains controllable, there is no doubt that after introducing Muggle technology, wizards will become even stronger."
Under Harry's deliberate guidance, the atmosphere inside the Room of Requirement gradually shifted from "whether this can work" to "how to make it work better."
In the end, everyone decided that Kamar-Taj would also join the final battle. However, they would appear as saviors while wielding technological creations.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.
During this week, Harry used the Lending System to command the Death Eaters hiding beside Voldemort, having them subtly guide Voldemort toward attacking the Ministry through their conversations.
In a dark, damp room, Yaxley stood in the shadows, his voice like rusted iron scraping together.
"Master, did you hear it? The bells of the Ministry.
"They are celebrating. Celebrating the fact that they locked the Boy Who Lived and Dumbledore in the Ministry's cells.
"Those fools think that by locking away the Order of the Phoenix's two alpha wolves, they can rest easy.
"They have withdrawn the defenses leading to the Department of Mysteries and assigned half their Aurors to guard the cells, all to prevent two unarmed prisoners from escaping.
"Right now, most of their strength is focused on imprisoning Harry Potter and Dumbledore. This is our perfect chance to attack the Ministry!"
From another corner, Avery said viciously, "Master, do you still remember how they mocked us last year?
"Now the entire Ministry is celebrating. No one believes you will appear at this moment. Isn't this the perfect time to defeat the Ministry?"
"Shut up. I know." Voldemort's voice suddenly turned sharp. "Tell the useless fools outside that at midnight, the Dark Mark will light up the sky over the wizarding world. Let the idiots at the Ministry know that the great Dark Lord has returned!"
The midnight bell had only just finished ringing when a burst of green fire suddenly exploded over London.
The Dark Mark hung above the Ministry's dome like a rotting eye, staring down at everything below.
Large numbers of Death Eaters and Dementors instantly appeared inside the Ministry through various methods and launched their attack.
The wizards working overtime had not even had time to raise their wands before the sudden assault struck them, and they fell into darkness.
Everyone thought those wizards had died. But what even Voldemort, the leader of the assault, did not realize was that those wizards had only entered a state of suspended animation. They were not truly dead.
This was the magic array Harry, Dumbledore, and Violette had arranged together, powerful enough to envelop the entire Ministry.
This magic array had only two effects. Any living creature within it could not die, and would only temporarily enter suspended animation.
It was precisely because of this array that Harry had the confidence to stabilize the intense battlefield and control the number of casualties.
For a time, the entire Ministry descended into chaos. Only screams and the sparks of clashing wands rose and fell through the darkness.
How could the wizards inside the Ministry possibly be a match for Death Eaters who specialized in battle and Dark magic? They were quickly routed, and their scattered resistance had no effect at all.
Minister for Magic Lucius Malfoy stood on the second-floor balcony, watching the collapse below. He showed no anger whatsoever. Instead, the corners of his mouth lifted into a sincere smile.
He had deliberately removed the three defensive spells leading to the Department of Mysteries, allowing Avery to lead a team of Death Eaters straight in.
The clerks clutching documents and trembling in fear soon became sacrifices under the Killing Curse. Green light spread through the corridors like a plague, "killing" everything the Death Eaters laid eyes on.
However, Lucius also knew he could not allow the Ministry to collapse completely. Otherwise, it would be meaningless for him to propose the introduction of technological creations from the Muggle world.
So under his leadership, many Ministry officials jointly cast Protego, connecting their spells into a golden barrier that temporarily blocked the Death Eaters' charge.
But under the Death Eaters' fierce assault, the golden barrier emitted an ear-piercing hum. Its surface was quickly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, only to rapidly heal again through the efforts of the Ministry officials.
With the help of the golden barrier, they finally reached the Ministry's core area. This place possessed many permanent defensive enchantments, allowing it to effectively resist the Death Eaters' attacks.
But the Death Eaters had the help of Voldemort, a master of Dark magic. Even the magical barriers the Ministry had reinforced for hundreds of years could not hold out for too long.
As a result, many Ministry officials fell into confusion, and some of them even began trying to find ways to escape.
It was at that moment that Lucius suddenly addressed everyone.
"Look at me!"
His voice spread through the chaotic hall through an Amplifying Charm. The witches and wizards trapped in fear and despair raised their heads one after another, their faces still streaked with tears and terror.
The faint, habitual smile Lucius usually wore had long since vanished, leaving only an almost cruel calm.
"Avery's team has already broken into the Department of Mysteries. After some time, they will break through the defenses.
"When that happens, we will have no second path except death."
A burst of suppressed sobbing broke out in the crowd. Facing Voldemort, none of them were his match. Fear and despair completely enveloped them.
Lucius looked around, his stern gaze filled with contempt, and said coldly, "Our magic before the Dark Lord's Dark magic is like a candle fighting a hurricane.
"Therefore, I propose that in extraordinary times, we must use extraordinary methods. The technological creations of the Muggle world also possess great power. We can introduce technological weapons from the Muggle world to deal with Voldemort.
"This is our only option right now. Otherwise, we can only wait quietly for death to descend.
"Believe me, escaping is not the solution. I was once a Death Eater myself. I know Voldemort has far too many ways to find enemies hiding in the dark. Lily and James are perfect examples!"
An elderly official trembled as he retorted, "B-but Muggle things? Those lumps of iron cannot even withstand a proper spell."
"Better than dying here right now!" Lucius cut him off sharply. "I know you look down on Muggle technology, but those iron tubes that spit fire and those iron balls that explode can tear open Dark magic defenses. They can make a Death Eater's Shield Charm shatter like paper!"
He took a step forward. Outside the golden barrier, the Death Eaters' wild laughter and the thunder of clashing spells rang out, and the cracks in the barrier spread even farther.
"In my capacity as Minister for Magic, I make this proposal." Lucius's voice pierced through all the noise like a cold blade stabbing into everyone's ears. "We immediately introduce weapons from the Muggle world and quickly teach our Aurors how to shoot those lumps of iron. Vote now. Raise your wands if you agree!"
After a brief, deathly silence, the first wand rose shakily. Then came the second, the third, until the entire hall was lit by countless points of faint light.
Lucius looked at those pure-blood wizards who had once sneered at Muggles now choosing compromise, and an almost imperceptible trace of mockery flashed through his eyes before it was covered by solemnity again.
"Good." He turned to the secretary behind him and said sharply, "Connect the emergency line to the Muggle Prime Minister. Tell them the wizarding world needs to borrow their weapons.
"And one more thing. We must release Harry Potter and Dumbledore. They will help us stop the Dark Lord's attack!"
"Wait. Perhaps we can have Dumbledore and Harry Potter fight Voldemort. Perhaps they can defeat Voldemort, and then we will not need to introduce Muggle technological weapons!" one Ministry official said, thinking himself clever.
But soon, he was forced back by the mocking gazes of the other Ministry officials.
Idiot. He had not even thought about what Harry Potter and Dumbledore had recently been planning.
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