My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 370, Section 367: Losing Both Money and Power

"What is Fudge doing? Why is he impeaching Crouch?"

"The grounds for impeachment are that since Barty Crouch Jr. is a Death Eater, his father Barty Crouch may also be a puppet of Mystic. He requested that Crouch be temporarily removed from his post until the matter is clarified."

Three days after old John declared the United Company bankrupt, these pure-blood families, who had been nearly ruined and lost all their ancestral wealth, reunited.

There was still no good news this time; in fact, it was a series of bad news.

"What's going on with Fudge? Is he planning to attack us?"

Someone said in a deep voice, "Judging from the current situation, that is indeed the case. There has been a lot of activity in the Ministry of Magic these days. Fudge is constantly rotating and replacing positions. Most of our people have been promoted, but the promoted positions are all nominal. Almost all the departments with real power are in the hands of Fudge's own people."

"Old John and Fudge have teamed up!"

Some people have deduced this terrible fact.

If that's the case, then they've lost their last means of retaliation, and they've lost all say in the matter, both commercially and politically!

"If we lose both power and wealth, what will we have left in Britain?"

Someone, pale as a sheet, uttered the above words with immense embarrassment.

"What's left is just an empty title, and glory without any real strength to back it up?"

These people gathered here and discussed things pointlessly all afternoon without coming up with any valuable solutions.

They seemed to have reached their end. Under the dual blows of absolute capital and powerful politics, these ancient patriarchs were suppressed to the point of being powerless to fight back.

Malfoy didn't join their discussion; he just stood by, watching them argue, looking rather lost.

His eyes remained unfocused throughout, as if he were detached from these people, lost in thought.

The others did not notice Malfoy's unusual behavior and assumed that he was overwhelmed by the current situation and had lost all his energy.

After the pointless meeting, Malfoy returned home in a daze.

He wasn't really thinking about the loss of his property or the marginalization of the Ministry of Magic.

These things are nothing compared to the pain he felt from the tattoo on his arm last night.

The Dark Mark reacted, and all the Death Eaters knew exactly what that meant: only one person could summon them using this mark.

A man who once instilled fear in the entire British wizarding world, a man whose real name no wizard dared to utter.

This person is said to have died 14 years ago. At that time, Malfoy, who had the Dark Mark tattooed on his body, like many Death Eaters whose faith in their master was not so firm, lied that he was controlled by the Imperius Curse and that all the evil deeds he committed were not his true intention.

Of course, this wouldn't fool the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic; in fact, just three drops of Truth Potion would be enough to expose them.

But if they spend enough money and find the right connections, it would be easy for them to escape legal punishment with these flawed lies.

Malfoy had been smug about his decision more than once.

During the time when the Voidman controlled the entire wizarding world, he was the Dark Lord's staunch confidant, wielding immense power and influence in the British wizarding community, and using his Death Eater identity to obtain countless benefits.

After the fall of the mysterious man, he only spent half of the money he had received as a Death Eater to bribe the entire Ministry of Magic, clear his name, and transform himself back into a high-society figure in the wizarding world, a "noble" among wizards.

But if the Dark Lord hadn't died and had returned, then everything would have been different.

Malfoy's actions were blatant betrayal. The upheaval of his downfall would allow Voldemort to truly see who his loyal servants were and who were opportunists who would betray him at any moment.

What property, what power, compared to life, these are nothing.

The marks on Malfoy's arm had been burning for a whole day and hadn't stopped yet, which terrified him.

As soon as Lucius Malfoy returned home, the house-elf Dobby approached him timidly.

"Master, Lord, someone is coming."

Malfoy's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

"Who gave you permission to let others in! Did Narcissa give you that order?"

Dobby skillfully knelt down on the ground and repeatedly slammed his large head against it.

"It's Dobby's fault! Dobby didn't stop him from coming in! Dobby didn't know when he entered his master's house! He cast a spell on the mistress! Dobby couldn't beat him! Dobby is useless! Dobby is a useless, bad elf!"

Malfoy suddenly panicked; a terrible possibility had occurred to him!

He ignored Dobby, who was already bleeding from his head, and did not choose to run away. Instead, he hurriedly walked into the living room.

Sitting in the living room was a bald man with thinning, dull, and unkempt hair, covered in small patches.

He was fat and short, with a round face, a pointed nose, and a small section of his front teeth sticking out of his lips, making him look like a big fat rat.

Upon seeing the person's face, Malfoy breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression immediately turned even more unpleasant.

"Who are you?"

"Lucius Malfoy, do you still have any loyalty to your master?" Peter asked Malfoy with a sinister smile.

Malfoy's pupils contracted instantly, and his eye twitched noticeably, enough for Peter to see the shock in his heart.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Peter didn't say anything more. He stared at Malfoy, then lifted the sleeve of his robe, revealing the dark magic mark that was glowing with a faint green light.

"Has it been reminding you lately? You can feel it, the Dark Lord is back, every one of his servants can feel it!"

"I've already met with my master. Although he hasn't fully recovered his power yet, it won't be long before the Dark Lord, who strikes fear into the entire magical world, returns!"

Peter walked up to Malfoy, his height barely reaching Malfoy's chin, yet he exerted unparalleled pressure on the latter.

"Master is about to make a comeback and reclaim his rule over the entire magical world, but his servants no longer seem to share his ideals. Lucius Malfoy, have you truly chosen to betray your master?!"

(End of this chapter)