"Don't you really need me to go with you?"
Bella leaned against the door frame and turned her head to look at Narcissa, who used the compound potion to transform into Pansy. She frowned slightly, obviously not trusting her sister's execution ability.
Narcissa is too selfish, and almost all her thoughts are on her family.
"No, if you follow him, it will only make things worse."
Narcissa straightened her school uniform, reached out to pick up the birthday present on the table and stuffed it into the seamless stretch bag.
According to the information provided by Draco, today is Horace Slughorn's birthday, and Narcissa will approach him under the pretext of giving him a birthday present, and by the way, ask him to buy the Felicis Potion.
If Slughorn still refused to sell the Felicia Felix after Narcissa offered a high price, she would simply snatch the Felicia Felix from him.
In fact, Narcissa felt that she would have a higher chance of success by disguising herself as a member of the Slug Club to approach Slughorn, but their hair was hard to get, and Draco couldn't control his whereabouts.
Although the probability of the two meeting in the corridor is not high, they still need to avoid this embarrassing situation.
Bella reached out and grabbed Narcissa's hand, stuffed the only bottle of Felicity Potion into her hand, stared straight into Narcissa's eyes and said, "You must succeed. We have no other chance. Only when Dumbledore dies can Lucius come back to you!"
"I know."
Narcissa took a small sip of the measured dose and handed the rest of the Felicis back to Bella. She only needed two or three hours of luck.
"How does it feel?"
Bella looked Narcissa up and down, asking curiously. She had to make sure the Felicis was working first.
"Very good, I feel like everything I do now can be successful. Once we get a large amount of Felix Felicis from Slughorn, we will definitely be able to kill Dumbledore." Narcissa closed her eyes and felt the changes that the Felix Felicis brought to her. She was even more convinced that this thing would allow Draco to repair the Vanishing Cabinet and ensure that he would survive the next action.
"I have a feeling that as long as Draco uses the Felicis, he will be able to repair the Vanishing Cabinet tonight. I suggest you start gathering people to make preparations. Draco will contact you through the two-way mirror when the time comes."
Bella was a little surprised by Narcissa's change. She reached out to take the two-sided mirror, nodded and said, "Very good, I will inform Alecto and ask her to take people to Borgin's to cancel the lost cabinet. If everything goes well, we can sneak into Hogwarts tonight and kill Dumbledore."
"Wait for my good news."
After leaving the two-way mirror to Bella, Narcissa reached for the invisibility cloak that was resting on the chair and Apparated directly to the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade.
The most direct way to quietly invade Hogwarts is through the secret passage. It is said that there is more than one secret passage leading to the outside of the school. The one that Narcissa intends to use is the one that Snape provided: the secret passage from the Shrieking Shack to the Whomping Willow.
Perhaps due to the use of the Felicis Felix, Narcissa had a smooth journey and found the secret passage that Snape mentioned in the Shrieking Shack with almost no effort. It took her some time to pass through the tunnel and successfully exit from the entrance of the Whomping Willow.
She put on the invisibility cloak she had prepared in advance, quietly walked through the gravel path and came to the front of Hogwarts Castle. In a deserted place, she took off the invisibility cloak and stuffed it back into the traceless stretch bag, then walked directly into Hogwarts Castle as Pansy.
No students would pay special attention to Narcissa. Even if she happened to meet an acquaintance, she could handle it easily. The Felicity Potion made Narcissa an excellent actor. She came to Slughorn's Potions Office almost without any obstacles, with a piece of pineapple candied fruit bought from Honeydukes candy store in her hand.
She took a deep breath, reached out and knocked on the wooden door three times.
"Who is it? At this time?"
Slughorn was wearing a green velvet dressing gown and a nightcap of the same color, and he still looked sleepy. When he rubbed his eyes and looked at Pansy, his expression was a little surprised.
"Parkinson?" he muttered. "What do you want from me? I usually get up very late on Sundays."
Narcissa smiled as she handed over her gift and said quickly, "Happy birthday, Professor."
"Oh, thank you." Slughorn took his favorite pineapple candied fruit and looked at Parkinson puzzledly. They didn't have much friendship.
"My father wants to do a business with you and buy some precious potions from the professor. Can I go in and talk?" Narcissa asked expectantly.
"Buying potions from me?"
After hearing this, Slughorn looked a little stunned, but he was soon relieved and had some guesses in his mind.
"Felix Felix is the magical potion you took out in your first class. My father hopes to purchase some from the professor." Under the urging of the Felix Felix, Narcissa quickly stated her purpose, not leaving Slughorn any time to react. "You probably don't know how much Felix Felix is produced and sold now. It is said that it is sold for hundreds or thousands of Galleons. My father hopes to buy some just in case."
"You want to buy some Felicis?"
Slughorn was not too surprised; he had also heard of the Felicis.
"Yes, the Zabini and Belby families also want some. I believe you must have heard about Mr. Damocles' unfortunate experience. They believe that using the Felix Felicis when necessary may help us avoid a disaster. In my father's words, Galleons are not as important as safety." Narcissa lied without blinking. "Perhaps, the price may not be as exaggerated as the outside world, but it will definitely satisfy you."
"Of course, if you are willing to help brew it, we would be happy to pay a deposit in advance." Narcissa's series of Galleon attacks really made Slughorn dizzy.
"Well... if you want, I can spend some time to make it for you." Slughorn agreed. If they didn't spend Galleons to buy the Felicity Potion, he wouldn't mind being the one who came with the flow, and he could also earn a lot of money, which was much higher than the salary offered by Hogwarts.
"I think my father will be very happy." Narcissa was quite satisfied with the result. She took out the Galleons she brought from her pocket and put them on the table. "Of course, you also know that it takes half a year to brew the Felicis. If you still have some Felicis left, I hope you can sell some to us first. This part of the Galleons is the deposit, and the rest will be given after the goods are delivered."
"this… "
Slughorn stared at the belt of Galleons and knew that what the other party had just said must be true. After all, he even brought Galleons with him, which showed his sincerity.
"Any questions, Professor?"
Slughorn's hesitation gave Narcissa a bad feeling.
"My stock of Felicis was bought up by Dumbledore not long ago. You know he's the headmaster..." Slughorn was quite helpless about this, feeling that he had made a loss when he sold it.
"Sold out?" Narcissa's expression suddenly fell.
"Don't worry. I'll write a letter and ask someone to help me purchase the materials for the Felixir. We should be able to start brewing it before the end of the month," Professor Slughorn comforted.
At this moment, the expression on Professor Slughorn's face suddenly froze, as if he had been cast under a full-body binding spell.
In fact, Slughorn was indeed cursed by someone, and the person who cast the curse was Miss Pansy Parkinson in front of him. He couldn't understand why the other party did this, was it because she heard that the Felixir was bought by Dumbledore
But... why
After Slughorn said he didn't have Felicia Ralph, Narcissa felt that Slughorn was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.
If this adventure did not yield the Felicia Richard, it would be a wasted trip, which Narcissa could not tolerate, so she decided to adopt plan B.
How can we pry open Slughorn's mouth and get the Felicis Felicis from him in a short time
Snape's solution.
So, instead of using the Cruciatus Curse to torture Slughorn, Narcissa took a simpler approach: Veritaserum.
Slughorn watched as Miss Pansy Parkinson pried his mouth open and poured three drops of Veritaserum into it.
The next moment, Slughorn's consciousness began to become hazy, and a feeling of uncontrolled thinking appeared. He vaguely heard a voice asking: "Where did you hide the Felixir?"
"In the wooden box in the right-hand drawer of the desk," Slughorn replied in a dispassionate tone.
Narcissa was overjoyed and trotted over, only to find that the drawer was locked with a spell and could not be opened even with the unlocking spell.
"Where's the key to the drawer?" she asked irritably.
"In the right pocket of my cloak." Slughorn did not hide it, and he could not hide it. At this moment, his eyes were dull and his mind was blank. He could only answer the other party's question reflexively.
When Narcissa found the key, opened the desk drawer, and took out the wooden box that Slughorn mentioned, and opened it in front of her, the expression on her face suddenly froze, because there was only one small bottle of Felixir left in the wooden box.
"Where's the rest of the Felicis?" asked Narcissa sharply.
"It has been sold to Dumbledore. He is the headmaster and the price he offered was not low. I could not refuse it." Slughorn said, "The remaining bottle is for myself."
“Damn it, damn it!”
How could Narcissa not be angry? They had put so much effort into it, but they only got a bottle of Felicis Felix, which meant that the next plan would be ruined.
As for the bottle of Felicis Flox in his hand, it would naturally be left to Draco.
When Narcissa erased part of Slughorn's memory and was about to leave, there was a knock on the door.
Narcissa's face looked very unhappy. When she was about to approach the door and look for an opportunity to knock the intruder unconscious, she suddenly had a bad premonition.
Someone had made a hole in the wooden door, and a stunning spell flew directly towards Narcissa. Fortunately, the warning from the Felicity Potion allowed her to successfully avoid the sneak attack.
The wooden door suddenly opened, and Narcissa saw something flying towards her, which exploded when hit by her spell.
It was a bottle of wine. When the wine spilled on the ground, a figure suddenly appeared and launched a fierce attack on her.
Narcissa blocked several spells, blasting a big hole in the cabinet and sofa next to her.
The two sides were in a stalemate.
Narcissa knew she had to leave, the sound of fighting would surely attract others.
If she was stuck here, she would be doomed. She had to leave before others arrived.
However, Harry Potter was more difficult to deal with than she had expected. This guy, like an elite Auror, could easily block her attack, which made Narcissa feel very bad. Fortunately, Narcissa had taken the Felix Felicis potion and quickly thought of a way to escape.
She put on an invisibility cloak and used a smoke spell to release a large amount of fog from the tip of her wand. After the smoke obscured the vision of both parties, she quickly made a noise to attract the other party's attention, and then left the Potions Office while the other party was distracted.
Before Narcissa walked too far, she felt the smoke being blown away by a gust of wind. Fortunately, she was wearing an invisibility cloak, so Potter couldn't find her for a while.
She knew she had to leave.
Following the route prepared in advance, she met Gole who was waiting in a hidden secret passage.
"Pansy?"
Goyle was startled by Narcissa who appeared out of nowhere.
"Hand it over to Draco secretly. This thing is very important and cannot be lost."
Narcissa handed the Felicis potion she got from Slughorn to Goyle as planned, and quickly reminded him, "Give it to Draco as soon as possible. Don't let anyone else know about this. He will tell you the reason."
After handing the Felicis to Goyle, Narcissa rushed into the secret passage. She had to leave before the commotion spread completely in the castle.
As for when to take action, I believe that after taking the Felicis, Draco will be able to make the most correct judgment.
The process of leaving the school went smoothly without any obstruction as everyone was attracted by the commotion just now.
Narcissa used a branch to quiet the Whomping Willow, lowered her head and went into the tunnel, soon leaving the confines of Hogwarts.
When Narcissa was about to come out of the tunnel, she was startled to find someone standing outside the trapdoor.
"It's me."
Avery reached over and pulled Narcissa out through the trapdoor.
"Avery, why are you here?"
"I placed Dementors in the mountain stronghold outside Hogwarts, and Bella asked me to come pick you up." Avery grumbled softly as he looked at the trapdoor Narcissa had come out of, "I didn't expect there was a tunnel leading to Hogwarts here."
Narcissa glanced at Avery secretly, feeling that something was wrong, and then she heard Avery ask, "Did you get the Felicis?"
"Yes, but not much," said Narcissa.
"Is it okay for you to go back by yourself? I think Bella must be very unhappy. I don't want to offend that girl."
After the two of them walked out of the Shrieking Shack, Avery immediately looked around and made sure that there was no problem before turning back to Narcissa and said, "I still have to stay and continue to deal with the Dementors. And the whole plan had better not be delayed too long. Appeasing the Dementors is not an easy job."
"Draco should be able to repair the Vanishing Cabinet soon," Narcissa forced a smile and said soothingly, "Tonight at the earliest."
"That's great." Avery's tone seemed a little happier. "Then I'll be leaving first!"
"goodbye."
Just as Narcissa was about to Apparate, she suddenly froze in place, an inexplicable fear spreading in her heart.
The next moment, Narcissa felt Avery reaching into her pockets, but seemed to find nothing. She even used the Summoning Charm, but no Felicia Felix flew out of Narcissa's pocket. Perhaps there was no such thing as Felicia Felix from the beginning.
"Damn it, didn't you say you got the Felicia Felix?" Avery's voice sounded exasperated. "Where's the Felicia Felix you stole? Where's the damn Felicia Felix?"
As he spoke, Avery, as if to vent his anger, slapped Narcissa twice and knocked her to the ground. As if he was still not satisfied, he kicked her hard.
Avery stunned Narcissa, she simply couldn't understand what was going on
Did Avery betray them, or was he under the Imperius Curse
Only these two possibilities can explain Avery's current actions.
Betrayal is a very distant word for any Death Eater, because betrayal means death.
Then there is only one possibility left, Avery is under the Imperius Curse.
An unspeakable fear completely engulfed Narcissa. She simply could not imagine how the assassination of Dumbledore would turn out.
Thinking of her son Draco, Narcissa was completely desperate. She tried desperately to break free from the spell and tell Draco to give up. However, even after taking the Felicity Potion, she was still unable to get rid of the curse on her body. An inexplicable drowsiness instantly surged into her heart.
Narcissa was knocked unconscious by a Stunning Spell.
Looking at the unconscious Narcissa, Avery fell into a brief silence.
Then, he seemed to remember something and took out a candy from his pocket. After opening the wrapper, he found a capsule the size of a thumbnail. Avery opened Narcissa's mouth, broke the capsule, and let the liquid inside flow into her mouth.
Pansy's original face changed again, becoming indescribably strange. This was the sequelae caused by using the compound potion twice in a row. What was worse was that this sequelae was like Hermione turning into a cat, and it could not be recovered with the passage of time.
"What am I going to do with you!" Avery muttered.
There were two solutions in his mind: completely erase the woman's memory, throw her abroad to let her fend for herself, or let her be food for the Dementors.
Avery did not hesitate for long, and finally chose the latter, because it was simpler and there would be no trouble. He raised his wand to change Narcissa's clothes, and dragged her away in an Apparition.
In the mountains near Hogwarts, even though it is already spring, the temperature here is still so cold that people can't help shivering.
There are a considerable number of Dementors lurking in this mountainous area.
Avery threw the man he was dragging to the Dementors, just like any other dark wizard who would use Dementors to capture their prey.
"Don't let the Dementors eat too much, otherwise it will be difficult for us to get them to obey our orders and participate in the next operation." Avery said to the dark wizard beside him.
In order to get the Dementors to join the next action, the Death Eaters also paid a price. They would actively provide some Muggles as rations and allow the Dementors to suck away the souls of these Muggles. Then the Muggles whose souls were sucked away by the Dementors would be turned into Inferi and reused.