HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

West listened patiently to their hushed discussion below, his knuckles tapping lightly on the ebony wooden table. The continuous, dull tapping sound put considerable psychological pressure on the heads of the family.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at Malfoy, who remained aloof, and gradually fell silent. The patriarch of the Nott family gritted his teeth and said, "How can you prove the Horcruxes are real?"

West lifted his eyelids. "Are you pretending to be blind? Can't you see the changes in him?"

Old Nott's face suddenly turned pale, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He thought of the gradually distorted appearance of the Earth Demon.

During that period, Voldemort became increasingly suspicious and distrustful of everyone, turning cold and cruel, even using the Cruciatus Curse on subordinates he disliked.

This does indeed fit the characteristics of a Horcrux splitting—because of the incompleteness of his soul, Voldemort gradually lost his humanity, and the "human" part of his body gradually decreased.

Lucius naturally recalled it as well. His father had once been Voldemort's loyal subordinate, but later advised him not to let the Malfoy family get involved in this mess again.

He remembered Draco and decided to help West, "His Horcrux petrified my son when he was in second year."

Lucius gave a sarcastic smile, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced men. "You think he'll let us go just because we're purebloods—wishful thinking. Look at him, he's still alive, but we, his subordinates, have ignored him for over a decade. Do you think he'll hold a grudge against us?"

The heads of the families were not easily fooled. They knew, of course, that Malfoy's words were not entirely credible, but they were afraid of the worst-case scenario.

"Sigh, if you don't think about yourself, think about the children too, hmm?" West sighed.

The heads of the families felt a chill run down their spines.

The head of the Parkinson family spoke first, a forced smile on his lips, "Your Excellency, we Parkinsons are vassals of the Somerset family, so naturally we will follow you unconditionally..."

Old Crabbe suddenly asked, "What will we gain if we follow you?" He looked intently at West.

West's smile faded as he looked at him. "What do you expect to gain?" He repeated old Gore's words, "You'd be better off asking yourself, Crabbe, what right do you have to negotiate with me?"

"I offer protection to your bloodline, ensuring your families can safely navigate the post-war period, so that you won't be granted permanent residency in Azkaban or a Dementor's kiss simply because you're Death Eaters."

"Don't be nervous," West continued, seeing old Crabbe's face growing paler and paler. "You'll agree—otherwise, I can't guarantee you'll leave here safely."

With a wave of the lightning-struck wooden wand, a powerful and chilling aura of dark magic poured out, enveloping those present who harbored resentment.

Snape was somewhat stunned. This was the first time he had seen West so aggressive, a stark contrast to the usually spoiled and mischievous young man. The jarring sense of dissonance was overwhelming.

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Old Gore quickly stepped in to smooth things over, "Everyone, calm down, calm down—by the way, we still don't know who these two gentlemen are?"

He cleverly shifted the conversation to the two young men sitting opposite him.

The two men hadn't uttered a single word since the meeting began. One young man watched them talk with a smile on his face, while the other young man's entire attention was on the smiling young man, seemingly indifferent to the conversation.

Unfortunately, the anti-aging agent just happened to have lost its effectiveness.

The two handsome young men in front of Old Gao suddenly transformed into real people.

Dumbledore laughed, his white beard twitching. "Surprise."

The Somerset family has joined forces with the Order of the Phoenix. It's an undeniable fact.

To be frank, everyone present except West was once a student of Hogwarts. For Hogwarts students, there was always a period when Dumbledore was seen as omnipotent. Even if some looked down on Dumbledore, they subconsciously relied on him.

This is the human instinct to love strength.

The greatest and most powerful white wizard of this century, during his heyday, even Voldemort had to give him a wide berth.

Their focus on Dumbledore caused them to overlook those around him. Grindelwald glanced at them expressionlessly, then turned back to look at Dumbledore.

Old Gore stood there speechless, mouth agape; old Crabbe sat there, pale-faced and dazed; old Nott looked deep in thought.

"Well then—" West picked up a contract, "who goes first?" As he said this, the contract floated to the Malfoys first.

Lucius let out a soft breath, picked up the contract, read through its contents, and after confirming there were no problems, signed his name. Narcissa followed.

Lucius stamped the Malfoy ring between their names, leaving a seal bearing the Malfoy family crest.

The contract then flew to the other people, who signed it one after another.

The contract takes effect immediately.

One after another, ink serpents formed from magic slithered out of the Somerset family crest and crawled onto their arms. To everyone's horror, the ink serpents opened their blood-red maws and actually sucked the Dark Mark into their bellies.

Lucius raised his arm in disbelief, holding only a black snake that twisted its body and gradually transformed into the Somerset family crest.

What kind of contract is this? Several people stared wide-eyed.

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. The consequences of the Dark Curse seemed to far exceed his expectations.

Snape glanced instinctively at his arm, which was covered by his sleeve, and a chill ran down his spine. He remembered that when he opened his eyes that morning, West was sitting by his bedside, holding his hand, and only slowly letting go when he opened his eyes.

Snape scolded West, but didn't think much of it, assuming West was just having another episode. Now it seems—

Snape rolled up his sleeves, revealing a patch of pale skin underneath. There was nothing there.

With a wave of his wand, Westeron's mark of the Somerset family transformed into the Dark Mark, exactly as it appeared.

"The contract is in effect. If it is broken, the bloodline will be severed, and death will be certain," West said.

A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed across the clear sky outside the window, its pale light illuminating West's eyes clearly.

Those snake-like pupils gleamed with a terrifying, eerie light; anyone targeted was about to become an inescapable prey.

The heads of the family recalled an old rumor—that the Somerset family had serpent blood. Old Goyle shuddered.

"I will help you conceal today's memories so that Voldemort cannot access them during Legilimency," West said. "I want you to return to Voldemort's side and deliver my messages."

The group left Somerset Manor looking dazed.