Chapter 337: The Death of Lucius

Hearing John's question, everyone turned to look at Harry.

Harry frowned, speaking with some hesitation.

"I... I'm not sure if it counts as a gain..."

"Just ten minutes ago, my scar suddenly started hurting, and an image of Voldemort flashed through my mind."

"Aside from seeing you all confronting Voldemort, a few other images flashed by as well."

After John and his group set off, Harry had been standing by at the Order of the Phoenix.

Ready at any moment to see if he could pick up Voldemort's thoughts.

From morning until night, he had been so bored he nearly fell asleep.

Until just now, while he was resting with his head on the table.

His scar, which hadn't reacted in a long time, suddenly began to ache.

Along with it came something else.

Voldemort's endless rage.

He felt as if he saw a burning land, with John, Professor Moody, and the others standing in the midst of it.

Then, a series of images flashed by like a film reel.

He saw dark lake water inside a cave...

A ring lying alone amidst ruins...

Then the figures of Lucius and Bellatrix appeared...

And finally, a giant python coiled around a tree...

After hearing Harry's description, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Because none of these images seemed to be of any use.

The cave image was likely the hiding place of the locket.

The ring was the Gaunt family ring.

Lucius and Bellatrix were likely the two people entrusted with safeguarding the Horcruxes.

The final giant python was Nagini.

But they had already analyzed most of this information previously.

The only thing of value was confirming that Voldemort had indeed entrusted one of the Horcruxes to Bellatrix.

And that the snake was indeed one of the Horcruxes.

And that was it.

Furthermore, the most important point remained: there was still not a single clue regarding the seventh Horcrux Dumbledore had mentioned.

"Are there no more images regarding Bellatrix?"

Sirius asked, unwilling to give up.

Harry shook his head; he had only seen Voldemort seemingly handing something to Bellatrix.

At this point, Professor Moody spoke up.

"I imagine Voldemort had already considered this possibility."

"He didn't hide all the Horcruxes in places he knew of, precisely to prevent anyone from peeking into his thoughts."

"He proactively handed the Horcruxes to Lucius and Bellatrix, hoping they would hide them in places even he didn't know."

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

Although they had anticipated that this operation might be a wasted effort.

A sense of disappointment still welled up inside.

Of course, the reliable adults didn't show such emotions.

"The goal is clear now."

"Find Bellatrix, capture her."

"That is the only thing we can do right now."

"Leave Nagini for Dumbledore to handle."

"We'll talk about the rest later."

Professor Moody said slowly.

Professor Lupin spoke up at the right moment.

"And search every possible location where Bellatrix might hide items."

Sirius also spoke: "That's right. One thing is certain about Bellatrix: she deeply worships and adores Voldemort."

"She would never just find any random place to put something Voldemort gave her."

"We can start by prioritizing a search of her private locations."

With just a few sentences, the three of them pulled Harry and the others back from their confusion and disappointment.

It was indeed impossible to solve all problems with a single operation.

But at least it gave them a clear goal and direction for action.

The arrangements were quickly put in place.

Of course, there was nothing left for John to do.

If there were, Professor Moody would have dragged him away.

Afterward, John followed the children to the second-floor living room to sit and share what they had seen and heard today.

Hermione kept worrying about his injuries.

Fortunately, after cleaning up, aside from a few minor scrapes on his face, no external injuries were visible.

"Malfoy betrayed him?"

Hearing John share the situation, Harry tilted his head in confusion.

"Uh-huh, Draco and his mother had been following us since morning."

"At first, I thought they were sent by Voldemort, daring to follow us so brazenly."

"But after capturing a Death Eater for questioning, he said they were there to catch them."

"I don't know if that was a trap set by Voldemort or what, but later I saw Draco and his mother fleeing together, with no intention of finding Voldemort at all."

John slowly told them about Draco and Narcissa.

Regarding this matter, Tonks said she would go to the Ministry of Magic tomorrow to find someone to investigate, and incidentally look for Lucius.

Actually, it would be simpler to just ask Professor Snape directly.

But thinking there would be news soon, John wasn't in a hurry.

"If they really have broken away from the Death Eaters and fled abroad, then we won't have to see that annoying brat Draco ever again."

Ron, listening to this news, was happy at first.

After all, he and Harry had had more than their fair share of conflicts with Draco's group.

Harry was quite happy about it too, but also felt a bit indignant.

He felt it was letting Draco off too easily to let him run away like that.

He should have been sent to Azkaban.

Because he believed that Katie being controlled by the Imperius Curse and accidentally touching the cursed necklace last semester was all orchestrated by Draco.

At this moment, Hermione spoke up.

"If they have the Dark Mark on them, they shouldn't be able to escape."

She had studied the Death Eaters' Dark Mark.

It was a magically linked brand; once Voldemort summoned them, the mark would burn and heat up, simultaneously providing Voldemort with precise tracking.

"That's even better; they'll have a hard time if they get caught by Voldemort."

Ron still grinned, while Ginny showed a rare trace of worry.

"If they are caught by Voldemort, I'm afraid it won't just be a hard time, but something worse than death..."

Once these words were out, even Ron, who had been gloating, fell silent.

Because even though Draco was their enemy, as upright and kind people, they still couldn't bear to see those inhumane tortures and torments.

This was the fundamental difference between them and Voldemort.

"Don't think too much; they chose their own path, and they know the consequences."

"If you really can't bear to watch, then solve Voldemort sooner; that's the best way."

Looking at the few who were feeling sentimental, or perhaps feeling a sense of 'fox mourning the death of the hare,' John said slowly.

He didn't care much about the fate of Draco and Narcissa.

What he cared about more now was whether bringing another Horcrux to Voldemort next time would force out a clue to the seventh Horcrux.

They still had two chances.

It was just that facing Voldemort directly this time nearly wiped him out, so he needed to do more preparation next time.

Regarding John's words, they also tacitly nodded; there was indeed no need to be sentimental here.

Afterward, they didn't chat too late, because Hermione, after hearing John describe the battle, was anxious for John to go back and rest quickly.

She didn't want John to be overworked at such a young age; they still had a future to live together.

John had no choice but to obey helplessly and go back to sleep obediently.

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

Tonks, who went to the Ministry of Magic to investigate the Malfoys, suddenly sent back a piece of news.

Lucius was dead.

He died inside the Ministry of Magic. ===== CHAPTER 338 =====