The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 29 Subjugation

The night was as thick as solidified ink, pressing heavily on the ancient spires and jagged gargoyles of the main castle at Malfoy Manor.

The hall inside the castle was quiet at the moment, and Lucius could clearly hear the short, disordered sounds he made with each breath he took.

He stood motionless, but his mind was racing beneath the surface of stillness.

Why?

The executioner had just killed their elite thugs in the factory district the night before, severing their reach toward the Chamber of Commerce and clearly conveying his firm stance of refusal.

In the latter half of the night, however, he appeared like a ghost, penetrating the layers of protective magic that had been built up over generations at Malfoy Manor. He sat leisurely in front of him and casually announced that he would transfer ownership of the house-elves in the factory to him.

"Your Excellency..." Lucius kept his head bowed, his gaze fixed on the other man's unremarkable black leather boots. His posture was respectful, but his voice was dry, like a rusty gear turning, "I... don't quite understand..."

He carefully chose his words, "You just made your stance clear in the factory area... But now... Lucius is foolish, please enlighten me."

Lynch toyed with the cards in his hand again: "Those house-elves will only belong to you in name only."

He paused, then continued, "When Reggie told me you were planning to take control of the Chamber of Commerce, my initial plan was simply to kick you out."

But then I thought about it carefully, and realized that the Chamber of Commerce has grown to its current size thanks to the support of your ancient, pure-blooded families.

Your funds, connections, and channels are all things I still need.

Kicking you out is only a temporary relief; what I need is for your strength to still be of use to me!

Therefore, I need someone to help me integrate this force.

Lucius, you're a smart man. I chose you to be this person. Can you do it?

Lucius Malfoy swallowed hard. "Then... Lord Reggie?"

Lynch replied, "Reggie is still the de facto controller of the Chamber of Commerce, but on the surface, you will be the one who rivals him in the upper echelons of the Chamber."

"But... Your Excellency, with Lord Reggie standing behind you, no one dares to defy the great hangman, nor will anyone dare to offend the embodiment of your will."

Lucius cautiously raised his questions.

Lin Qi chuckled: "That's why we're nominally transferring ownership of the house-elves to you."

At this moment, the remaining members of the so-called "Twenty-Eight Sacred Families" should still be in a state of panic.

Go and gather them, and tell them that the hangman in the factory district is fake, an imposter hired by Reggie.

They were all scammed.

And you, Lucius Malfoy, with your exceptional wisdom and skill, exposed Reggie's elaborate lies and made a deal with him, acquiring ownership of the house-elves.

You should take advantage of their panic and use this as an opportunity to seize control of your interest group!

Do you understand?

Lucius readily agreed, stating that based on his understanding of the accomplices and his own abilities, it was indeed a feasible plan.

But then, a thought flashed through his mind in a split second.

The wizard in front of me made me claim that he was a fake.

Could he really be a fake?

He just said that he originally intended to kick them out of the game.

Why would a gallows officer be so kind to a former Death Eater?

He'd rather come knocking on your door and hang you in mid-air!

Wait... In the intelligence I just received, besides the thick fog that covered several blocks, it also mentioned that the factory sent someone to contact the Ministry of Magic.

Why would they send someone to contact the Ministry of Magic?

Should we send someone from the Ministry of Magic to collect the body?

Doubt slowly rose in Lucius's mind.

Just then, he heard the sound of claws hitting the window frame, and a small striped owl scurried into the hall through the owl drop window.

The owl loosened its claws, and a letter sealed with sealing wax slowly drifted down and landed in Lucius's hand.

Lynch did not stop the letter from falling into Lucius's hands.

Although it's unclear why Reggie didn't intercept the owl, it's already late at night, and at this hour, the only letters Lucius can receive are likely more information about the recent factory incident.

So he raised his hand, gesturing elegantly to Lucius: "It looks like you have an important letter. Please feel free to read it."

Lucius bowed to the hangman in gratitude as he opened the envelope.

Inside was only a single sheet of paper with a very simple message: Just now, the Ministry of Magic received thirty-two thugs who attacked the Stone Tower Merchant Guild factory, and these men will face charges of multiple serious offenses.

Lynch was right; the letter did indeed contain information about what had happened at the factory not long ago, information that he and Reggie had no intention of concealing.

But he was not a god after all, and he did not expect that because of the change in his behavior, Lucius had begun to doubt whether he was really the hangman.

So when Lucius Malfoy received this letter, his attention was entirely focused on the last line.

He faces multiple serious charges!

Only living people can be prosecuted!

not dead!

None of the thugs we sent out died!

Those who execute by hanging never leave survivors!

The hangman in front of you is a fake!

Reggie! How dare you!

Humiliation... This is the greatest humiliation ever suffered by the Malfoy family!

Thinking of this, Lucius's evil intentions were aroused, and anger rose in his heart.

It's a fake!

He sat arrogantly in front of me, while I could only stand there like a dog, meek and submissive!

Anger momentarily clouded his judgment.

Lucius slowly touched the handle of the cane he was carrying.

He has his own magic wand hidden inside his cane. He can pull it out by simply turning the handle, and then he can teach this shameless clown a lesson!

But before he could draw his wand, an irresistible suction force appeared out of nowhere.

Lucius felt his hand go empty as the black snake-headed staff seemed to come alive, breaking free of his grasp with a low whooshing sound and flying forward like lightning.

Lucius looked up sharply and saw a hand wearing a black glove firmly grasping it.

"What do you want to do, Lucius..."

Lynch examined the exquisite walking stick in his hand.

The staff head is carved into the shape of a ferocious venomous snake's head, with two emeralds set as the snake's eyes. The snake's head is carved with extreme detail, and the scale patterns are clearly visible.

As if he had discovered something, he grasped the snake's head on the cane, then turned the handle half a turn to the right. With a crisp "click" of the metal buckle, a small gap popped open at the connection between the snake's head and the cane.

Lynch exclaimed "Ah!" and let out a soft exclamation, then pulled a wand from the hollow cavity of the wand.

He held the wand up to his eyes and examined it. "Fourteen inches, ebony shaft, heartstring core, a very well-maintained wand. It's clear you take good care of it."

Lynch looked at Lucius.

He was kneeling on the floor, trembling.

Lin Qi reached out and beckoned, and the letter flew into his hand.

After reading the contents of the letter, Lynch understood the reason for Lucius's sudden change.

"You think I'm an imposter, right? That's why you want to attack me."

Lucius pressed his head against the floor and shouted, "Your Excellency! You've misunderstood! I didn't intend to do anything! Your Excellency! Please believe me! I will definitely accomplish what you asked me to do! Your Excellency! Please forgive me!"

Lynch's voice remained calm: "You've misunderstood me, Lucius."

As a male wizard, it's perfectly understandable that you might want to pick up your wand for a sense of security when you're nervous.

Here, take it and do what you want.

He flicked his finger, and Lucius's wand flew out.

The wand fell to the ground with a "thud," bounced once, and finally landed in front of Lucius's head.

Lucius looked up and saw the wand within reach.

His throat bobbed, and involuntarily, his fingers trembled as he reached for the wand in front of him.

Just then, the faces of Narcissa and Draco flashed through his mind.

Lucius clenched his fist tightly.

He slammed his head against the marble floor and shouted, "Your Excellency! Lucius has no such intentions!"

"Is that so?" The hangman's words reached his ears, a hint of disappointment lurking in his calm voice. "But I have a thought."

Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy's body was pulled into the air.

He felt several ropes binding his limbs and neck, then pulling him desperately in five directions, stretching him into a starfish shape in the air.

The tension from the invisible rope gradually increased.

Lucius felt the cartilage in his Adam's apple being squeezed and deformed by this powerful force, his breathing passage abruptly shut off, his chest felt suffocated and uncomfortable, as if it were filled with molten iron, his lungs bulged in vain, but he couldn't find a single breath of air to enter.

The neck bones were being pulled by an invisible force, producing a faint, teeth-grinding "clucking" sound.

The light in front of me quickly blurred, my vision was squeezed and narrowed by an invisible force, and then everything gradually fell into darkness.

With his last ounce of strength, Lucius managed to squeeze out a broken word from his throat: "Your... sir..."

The invisible rope vanished in an instant, and Lucius fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the marble floor.

He began to breathe laboriously and rapidly, and air began to re-enter his lungs.

The next instant, his body writhed in agony on the floor, coughing violently, tears and snot streaming uncontrollably down his face.

Lucius lay on the floor for a while, his consciousness in a state of confusion.

Until he vaguely sensed someone walking up to him.

The figure stood silently beside him, without uttering a word, letting time slip away amidst his pain.

It's him!

Lucius's heart skipped a beat as he realized who was standing next to him.

He struggled to open his eyes and saw the figure wearing a bird-beak mask standing next to him.

The figure threw something at him and said, "Keep this as a souvenir."

Remember to complete the tasks I assigned you.

From this day forward, you shall obey Reggie.

Lucius continued coughing uncontrollably, and his eyes involuntarily closed.

When he opened his eyes again, the figure had vanished.

He remained lying on the ground for a long time before he had the strength to get up.

Something fell off him.

It was a souvenir that the person who had just been hanged threw at him.

Lucius looked down and saw a wizard battle card issued by the Stone Tower Merchant Guild, number 003—Mist Executioner.

......

On the outskirts of the manor, Reggie saw a jet-black raven gliding toward him under the cover of night.

Just as it was about to fly to its side, the raven fell straight down from the sky as if it had been hit by an arrow.

Reggie quickly stepped forward, drew his wand, and hovered the raven in the air.

"What happened!" His usually flat voice suddenly became slightly trembling.

"Lucius Malfoy wanted to rebel. He received news that the thugs lying in ambush outside the factory were still alive and believed that I was an imposter. I had to use the Soul Reaper, which exceeded the safety limits."

Lynch's calm voice rang out from Raven.

"The backlash from the potion is quite strong; I need to disconnect from the Raven's Eye."

I cannot create a Portkey to return right now; I need you to send the Raven back to the vicinity of Hogwarts.

"No problem, I'll take the raven into the Forbidden Forest," Reggie replied.

"Hogsmeade is fine. I've noticed that since I was released, many of the ancient ground magic spells in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts have been activated. It's not safe for you to come."

Lynch's voice sounded somewhat distorted as he continued, "Lucius Malfoy's mental defenses have been breached. He will obey your orders. From now on, you need to proceed according to plan, having him integrate the power of the pure-blood families for our use. We must expand the trading company to every corner of the magical world, making it an indispensable and vital entity!"

"I understand!" Reggie replied crisply.

The raven folded its wings and gradually transformed back into the shape of a wooden carving.

Lynch's voice came last: "And Paris! Remember..."

Reggie pulled out a briefcase and stuffed the huge wooden raven sculpture he was holding into it.

After closing the box, he said, "Don't worry, I won't forget. You've been thinking about it for so long, I will definitely get it for you."

He then glanced back at Malfoy Manor in the night, and with a "snap" sound, he used Apparition to leave.

.......

Hogwarts, Forbidden Forest, inside the stone house.

Lin Qi suddenly opened his eyes.

He felt a surge of intense energy explode within his body, burning his magic power wildly. Then, this energy, carrying the burning magic power, suddenly rose from his body and rushed towards his brain.

Lin Qi's eyes sharpened.

He pressed his palms together in front of him, and then his fingers spread out like lotus flowers.

Lin Qi suddenly opened his mouth, and a cloud of crimson blood mist spurted out.

The moment the blood mist touched the air, it instantly ignited into a ball of flame.

Lynch's body suddenly slumped, but his eyes remained bright and sharp.

He raised his hand and wiped the blood from his lips with the pad of his thumb.

"It seems that potions are indeed not an effective way to keep Raven's Eye running in the long term."

He closed his eyes again to check his physical condition.

"This is bad..."