Chapter 233: The Vanished Death Eaters

"You know, Donald's uncle is a press tycoon; would he really publish such news without verifying it?" Zhang Qiu said thoughtfully. "He might have vetted it, or even specifically edited it so that Hermione could tell at a glance it was a leak from Neville."

"Is this really okay?" Harry said, feeling perplexed. "We're always coldly laying out plans, analyzing everything that happens, when I should just be friends with Hermione."

"Luo En is the same. I've never considered before whether he's my friend or my knight," Harry said, a trace of loss in his tone.

"He's happy to be your knight, so you two are friends regardless," Zhang Qiu comforted him. "It's nothing."

"Have I become too deeply entrenched in the role of a chess player?" Harry looked up at Zhang Qiu. "I only think about who can be responsible for which part, but I haven't used the identity of a friend to care about them."

"A chess player's friends can only be other chess players," Zhang Qiu said coldly. "It's just that Hermione hasn't grown up yet."

"But—" Harry suddenly stopped. He realized that since the time travel ended, his relationship with Neville had improved significantly, and his relationship with Zhang Qiu had naturally begun.

He could even understand Ma Erfu, could deal with him more easily, could command the once-rebellious Jin Ni as if she were an extension of his own arm, could chat and laugh with the Doctor, and could trade blows with Lei Na Ta. Yet, it seemed he could no longer speak to Hermione as he once did.

How long has it been since I spoke to Di An or Xi Mo? How long has it been since I went to Haige's for tea? Harry thought, feeling a bit belated. What do I take Se De Li Ke for? How do I interact with Ai Li Na or Duo Na—I go to them when I need them, and ignore them completely when I don't. Does anyone know all the secrets and thoughts swirling in my mind? No. I leave room for maneuver with everyone, even Zhang Qiu; she doesn't know about Xiao Ba Di...

"I seem to be becoming more and more like Deng Buliduo," Harry said softly.

"But that's a good thing," Zhang Qiu patted his shoulder. "You need to become like Deng Buliduo."

Harry was speechless. Indeed, if it weren't for Tang Mu and his ambitions, Harry could certainly be an innocent child, making friends with everyone. But since the situation was as it was, and he happened not to be stupid, he didn't want to dump all the pressure on Deng Buliduo and be a carefree middle school student himself.

Deng Buliduo was already tired enough, Harry thought. He had to manipulate Si Nei Pu to play a game of chess against Tang Mu, and he still had to ponder Tang Mu's thoughts to formulate the details of the final part of the plan. But all Harry had to do was win the first two rounds as beautifully as possible, which he had already done.

Harry's mindset relaxed again. He took Zhang Qiu's hand and said, "Let's go. Don't keep Tang Nade waiting."

"Harry, I have to congratulate you," Tang Nade said as soon as they met, giving him a big hug. "You won beautifully, but did you really use that Chinese spell?"

"Not at all. It was Tang Nade who helped me," Harry had nothing to hide from his godfather.

"Him again?" Tang Nade looked displeased. "I really don't know what the White House is doing. Why do these Muggle affairs have to involve us wizards? Luo Dao Fu Si is already enough of a headache for me."

"What did you say? Luo Dao Fu Si?" Harry remembered the name. He was the husband of Bei La Te Li Ke Si, or more accurately, the husband of the Dark Lord's mistress. He was the one who should have been trusted, yet he was nowhere to be found.

"Yes. I only recently discovered that Luo Dao Fu Si isn't dead," Tang Nade stroked his chin. "Andong Ning hasn't come to find me for a long time either. They must be gathering strength elsewhere, doing it behind my back. They might have already started to suspect me."

"Are you okay?" Harry became nervous all of a sudden.

"It's fine. My prestige in the faction is very high, and they wouldn't dare move against me now. Two-thirds of these Death Eaters obey me personally," Tang Nade said proudly. "I have them responsible for foreign trade in Moxi, living honestly, and gradually changing their views."

"Oh?" Harry was curious about how Tang Nade taught them.

"In the past, they tortured Muggles to gain a sense of superiority as wizards, but now," Tang Nade laughed, "they wear new clothes and buy new brooms in front of their colleagues to gain a sense of superiority as wealthy people."

"That's a virtuous process," Harry evaluated. "If Death Eaters envy those who have made money through hard work, they will want to come and work too."

"But this atmosphere isn't good," Zhang Qiu reminded him. "People who gather around you because of money will also betray you because of money."

"It doesn't matter. I have connections in Moxi; that's the secret to my making money, and it's unique," Tang Nade said dismissively. "And I'm appointing some werewolves to join my core team. Werewolves have nowhere else to go but Moxi; they are absolutely loyal."

Harry felt Tang Nade was a bit arrogant and complacent, but he didn't find it convenient to advise him. Perhaps he could write a letter to Lu Ping later.

"Back to Luo Dao Fu Si, I'm investigating him, along with his brother La Ba Si Tan. I originally received news that they died in the Great Breakout, but Qiao Ni Ying Ge Li Shi told me that he retrieved the complete list of escapees, and those two should have left safely," Tang Nade said with a solemn expression. "However, when I started investigating, there wasn't a trace of them anywhere in the British Isles."

"This means they are carrying out a deeply buried, secret mission—so secret that they erased all traces of themselves from the moment of the Great Breakout. Those two are the Dark Lord's true killing blow," Tang Nade said. "But how could two black wizards with no family or friends accomplish this? I suspect they must have received help from foreign forces."

"So you went to investigate Tang Nade and the White House, suspecting these matters were related to Cold War games?" Harry naturally smoothed out Tang Nade's train of thought.

"Yes. What I can be sure of is that they are carefully, subtly planting pieces and laying out plans in the Wizarding World, but I have no idea what their goal is. I feel that wizards and Muggles have nothing to do with each other; what significance could they have in caring so much about the British Wizarding War?" Tang Nade's tone was filled with confusion and a trace of helplessness.

"Tang Nade's involvement with Harry should just be his personal behavior," Zhang Qiu shrugged. "He's just a pure prankster. If you try to study him, you'll only understand him less the more you study."

"You'd be better off changing your approach," Harry suggested. "If you can't find Luo Dao Fu Si himself, think about who else he could win over."

"I've already checked. On the vampire side, I supported someone named De Na Xiu Si; on the giant side, I found Haige's brother; I even went to ask the goblins," Tang Nade said, then suddenly laughed. "They converted the ownerless Vault 76 into a shelter, preparing to hide inside once the war starts."

"That's really strange. He couldn't be lobbying house-elves, could he?" Harry scratched his head.

"Alright, don't worry about this. I'll continue investigating," Tang Nade patted Harry's head. "Don't forget, I'm mainly here today to congratulate you on your good results."

"Oh, right, Mr. Black," Zhang Qiu suddenly remembered something. "Please accept this."

Tang Nade looked suspiciously at the paper package Zhang Qiu handed him, which contained some roasted chicken legs and slices of French bread.

"What is this?"

"This is important content for divination. Please eat a chicken leg; it will do me a huge favor," Zhang Qiu said, putting her hands together in a plea.

"Fine. I originally wanted to ask, do you want to go to Moxi to play this weekend?" Tang Nade bit into a piece of chicken. "Those conspiracies can be investigated slowly. I think you need to relax, Harry."

"Invite a few more people. Lu Ping said he could host a dance for you all," Tang Nade suddenly stopped chewing. "When were these chicken legs from?"

"Yesterday noon," Zhang Qiu shrugged.

"I'd certainly be happy to go play, but don't host another dance... Oh, right, hosting a dance is just right," Harry clapped his hands. "This way, Luo En and Hermione can make up for their regrets."

"If it's to make up for regrets, then I won't be polite," Zhang Qiu directed. "Follow my arrangements when the time comes, and I still need to get some Polyjuice Potion."

Before lunch, Tang Nade had a bout of diarrhea, while Harry and Zhang Qiu went around contacting everyone, gathering those willing to go to Moxi to attend the reenacted dance.

Luo En did a good job of soothing Hermione; her mood stabilized, and when she agreed to Luo En's invitation, she even showed a bright smile. Fu Rong and Se De Li Ke were very happy to have another round, and they were also very curious about the land of werewolves, happily deciding to attend. Ai Li Na originally didn't want to come because she didn't have new clothes and felt the dance wouldn't be fresh, but she was persuaded by Zhang Qiu and prepared to attend with a pile of Polyjuice Potion.

Duo Na, of course, didn't intend to miss out on this fun opportunity, and relying on the fact that there were no acquaintances in Moxi, she and Zhang Qiu secretly went into Xiao Ba Di's office and found a few hairs from his coat.

That evening, in the ballroom of the Presidential Palace in Moxi, the werewolves, who had received their first paychecks, wore beautiful formal attire and danced gracefully to the music, celebrating their peaceful and tranquil lives.

Harry and Ai Li Na let Zhang Qiu manipulate them. After Zhang Qiu danced a song with Se De Li Ke, she drank the potion and turned into Pa Wa Di to dance with Harry again. Ai Li Na drank Luo En's potion, and Zhang Qiu named herself Pa De Ma before dancing with her. Harry didn't object to this; Pa Wa Di and Pa De Ma were twin sisters, and one person's hair was enough for the potion.

Duo Na mischievously prepared to have Harry turn into Xiao Ba Di. Harry held a somewhat indifferent attitude and went to the restroom to take a small sip of the Polyjuice Potion. It was sweet and spicy. He thought, perhaps Xiao Ba Di wasn't too bad after all.

However, after a transformation, he realized something was wrong: appearing in the mirror was a girl with prominent features and long, golden hair.