### Chapter 96: The World Is So Beautiful—Why Do Some People Always Want to Ruin It?
Lucius Malfoy returned home with a broad smile on his face.
His happiness was so infectious that even the house-elves could feel it.
Back in his study, he settled into his chair, leaned back, and closed his eyes to relax.
A faint smirk played on his lips as he began drafting an impeachment letter against Cornelius Fudge in his mind. The sooner Fudge was brought down, the sooner Lucius would receive his reward of 100 million New Magic Coins!
But suddenly, the Dark Mark on his hand began to burn, making him frown.
This is…
A summons from the Dark Lord!
Lucius gritted his teeth and answered Voldemort's call.
Whoosh!
The scene shifted to a field near Malfoy Manor. Beneath the scorching sun, two large trees stood side by side, providing shade for the creatures in the surrounding fields.
Naturally, this land also belonged to the Malfoys. More precisely, this extensive estate in Wiltshire had been granted to the family as a fiefdom back in the eleventh century.
By now, the farmhands had all returned home. No one was foolish enough to keep working beneath the blazing sun.
Lucius looked around beneath the trees but saw no sign of anyone.
"Lucius, my old friend. You look very happy."
The shrill voice rang out, and Lucius immediately broke into goosebumps. A chill shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
He hurriedly turned around. Before he could even catch sight of Voldemort, he bowed deeply.
"Dark Lord! Your summons reached me, and I have come to pay my respects!"
A black-and-white venomous snake poked its head out from a tree branch and spoke in a human voice.
"Enough of these meaningless formalities. I have something I need you to do."
Lucius thought bitterly, Weren't you the one who demanded that the Death Eaters kiss the hem of your robes? And now you call it a meaningless formality?
It was obvious that Voldemort was in poor condition.
Keeping those thoughts to himself, Lucius replied aloud, "Whatever the task may be, I, Lucius Malfoy, will do everything in my power to serve you, Dark Lord!"
Even if Voldemort was in terrible shape, Lucius would never dare openly defy him!
"Harry Potter. I need you to deal with Harry Potter!" Voldemort's voice was full of fury. "He ruined my plans for my return. I'll make him pay!"
"Yes, Dark Lord!"
For a long while, Lucius heard nothing more from Voldemort.
Puzzled, he raised his head and met the gaze of the black-and-white snake. Its eyes were vacant, as though it had no idea what was going on.
It seemed the Dark Lord had already departed.
Lucius sighed inwardly.
What a difference between father and daughter! If I had to choose whom to follow, I'd definitely choose Hydra over Voldemort!
"Harry Potter… How exactly am I supposed to deal with him?"
Lucius stroked his chin thoughtfully.
I'll ask Draco about Potter's situation at school later.
With a soft whoosh, Lucius vanished from beneath the trees.
The wind swept through the lush green wheat fields, rippling across them like fingers ruffling the smooth, neatly groomed fur along a hunting dog's back.
A small figure emerged from behind a tree. He clapped a hand over his mouth, his large eyes filled with fear and helplessness.
"Harry Potter! Master is going to hurt the great Harry Potter!"
The little creature began banging his head against the tree trunk.
"Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby! Dobby is trying to stop his master!"
He continued striking his head against the bark, tears streaming down his face as he muttered to himself.
"No, no! Harry Potter mustn't be hurt! Dobby has to save Harry Potter!"
Suddenly, he stopped.
"Dobby can't tell Harry Potter that his master wants to hurt him! But Dobby can find a way to stop Harry Potter from going to school!"
"Yes, yes! As long as Harry Potter doesn't go to school, Master won't be able to hurt him!"
…
…
"Audrey! Audrey! Audrey!"
Rick knocked persistently on his younger sister's bedroom door.
"Just tell me where you got the tank you gave Mr. Weasley, will you? I want to buy one for myself!"
The door swung open, revealing Audrey's thoroughly irritated face.
"Rick! You've interrupted my sleep! You're making your own lunch today!"
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Audrey's voice drifted faintly from inside.
"If you bother me again, I'm running away from home!"
Rick sighed and trudged back to his workspace, his head hanging low.
Fine! I'll write a song! A song about a younger sister who refuses to buy her older brother a tank!
But after taking just a couple of steps, he found himself laughing at his own ridiculous idea.
What am I even thinking?
All right, he'd go out for lunch today. He'd feel as though he'd lost a fortune if he missed a meal prepared by Momo.
…
Audrey lay back down on her bed and fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
Have I been using my brain too much lately?
She had been unusually sleepy these past few days, needing at least fifteen or sixteen hours of sleep every day.
But it didn't matter. This was the life she had always wanted. Being able to eat well and sleep peacefully was a blessing in itself!
Unfortunately, her peaceful rest lasted only a few minutes.
The door swung open again, and an immense force lifted Audrey off the bed and deposited her on the floor.
Her eyes flew open. She was like compressed natural gas meeting an open flame, ready to explode at any moment.
"Is this ever going to end?!"
She roared. Her hair floated wildly around her head, and a powerful shock wave swept through the room, sending gold coins scattering in every direction with a clatter. Valuable furniture and decorations toppled to the floor as well.
"This little girl certainly has a temper."
A familiar, aged voice sounded from the doorway.
Audrey stiffened.
She looked up sharply and saw Grindelwald standing outside her bedroom.
"Ah… Professor Grindelwald…"
She rose to her feet, and her pajamas instantly transformed into wizarding robes.
"All right, all right. What brings you here?"
Grindelwald chuckled.
"If I hadn't come, were you planning to sleep through your entire summer vacation?"
"Of course not!" Audrey muttered. "I'm going on tour in August!"
"Come now. You don't actually think my lessons ended after those two months last year, do you?"
Audrey pouted.
Wonderful. There goes my entire vacation.
She hated this sort of overwhelming power imbalance most of all. She couldn't beat these people in a fight, and she couldn't escape them either.
How frustrating!
Fortunately, Grindelwald's teaching style was relatively relaxed. As long as his students met their learning objectives, he was happy to let them rest.
With Audrey's talent, she could finish a lesson that would take an ordinary student an entire day in just one hour.
Before she could even agree to his arrangements, however, another voice came from the bottom of the stairs—a voice even older than Grindelwald's.
"And I'm here too. Sigh. Getting old is no fun. These stairs are terribly unfriendly to an old man…"
It was Nicolas Flamel.
Well, let us take a moment of silence for Audrey's lost summer vacation!
…
…
A suburb of London.
Inside an unremarkable two-story house, a dozen or so wizards were passing the time.
Some were playing Wizard's Chess, while others were playing Gobstones.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Dust from the wooden doorframe scattered into the air like sparrows startled from their nests.
A gaunt wizard dressed in Muggle clothing rushed inside.
"Great news! Great news! Lord Edmond is transferring us to the new bank as security guards! Ten Galleons a week!"
"Really?"
"Thank Merlin!"
Why thank Merlin? Shouldn't they be thanking Miss Astley?
"That's right! If Miss Astley hadn't taken us in, we'd probably have returned to Knockturn Alley and gone back to our old days of living without a proper roof over our heads!"
"Hmph! And following Bode Grey made your lives any better? You barely earned a Knut, and so many of your comrades died!"
"Heh. At least the organization had a catchy name!"
"That's right. Serpent's Fang… Now that's a good name!"
The skinny wizard suddenly spoke up.
"Miss Astley has been so kind and generous to us. Don't you think we ought to do something for her?"
"What do you have in mind?"
The skinny wizard—Jeff—replied, "There are things she can't do herself, but perhaps we can help her take care of them!"
"That's right! Jeff's got a point! We can help her deal with her enemies!"
"I heard from Lord Edmond that Cornelius Fudge has been obstructing Miss Astley's plans to establish the new bank…"
"You mean…?"
"Exactly what you think!"
"That's far too dangerous! He's the Minister for Magic!"
"Yeah! We shouldn't cause trouble for Miss Astley!"
"What are you all worried about? Lord Edmond said Fudge won't be Minister for much longer!"