"What choice do you think Lucius will make?"
In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore looked at Severus and asked softly.
Severus put down the teacup that had been specially modified by Nicolas during the day.
It now felt completely weightless, lighter than a feather.
"Based on my understanding of him, he doesn't have the courage or audacity to defy Voldemort, especially when the safety of his wife and child cannot be guaranteed."
"But by the same token, he has also realized that, given what you now know, he absolutely cannot complete the task Voldemort assigned him within a week."
"So, I suspect he will ultimately pack up as quickly as possible and flee Britain with his family, escaping Europe."
Severus raised his wand and waved it at the teacup. The next moment, the entire cup became transparent and invisible, devoid of both weight and color.
Unless someone physically touched it, no one would be able to detect its presence.
"Nicolas has improved it wonderfully! Once we've dealt with those Death Eaters, we can head straight to America to make preparations."
Severus lifted the Disillusionment Charm from the teacup, restoring it to its original appearance.
Dumbledore flipped through a few letters on his desk and said,
"This is entrapment."
"But the Wizarding World has never explicitly forbidden entrapment, has it?" Severus shrugged. "By the time Nott has contacted those people and they're ready to break into Azkaban, Kingsley will already be prepared on the island, ready to arrest them on the spot."
Dumbledore, of course, wasn't concerned about procedural justice regarding opportunistic Death Eaters breaking the law.
His mood had been quite good lately, arguably better than any day in the past twenty or thirty years.
He hardly needed to worry about anything. Severus had devised solutions for all the problems himself and was on the verge of resolving them completely.
This past month had been the most carefree one for Dumbledore.
"When do you think they will make their move?"
"Voldemort gave Lucius a week to find the unicorn. Nott and the others won't act later than that deadline."
As he put the teacup away, Severus chuckled softly.
"They're probably gathered together discussing the plan right now."
"Azkaban may seem impregnable, but in reality, those who wanted to rescue people from this prison in the past never had the connections and power that we, gathered here, possess!"
At the Nott residence, old Nott had gathered everyone except Lucius.
Since parting ways with Severus in Diagon Alley, he had begun separately contacting the Carrows, the Selwyns, the Goyles, and other pure-blood families.
Regarding the plan to help their Master by breaking into Azkaban, these individuals were tempted internally, yet remained cautious due to the prison's fearsome reputation.
Thus, on this very night, old Nott summoned them all to discuss specific strategies.
In response to his words, someone still looked worried and said,
"But it's still Azkaban. No one has ever escaped from that prison before, let alone a large-scale breakout operation."
"Sirius Black escaped from it, and Barty Crouch Jr., whose whereabouts are still unknown, also escaped from it!"
Old Nott was the eldest among them, yet he displayed none of the conservatism expected of an old man. Instead, he was full of drive.
"If we don't even dare to think about it, then we shouldn't consider doing it at all!"
"We have numerous contacts within the Ministry, including those who once reached out to us during Master's peak, offering to be informants inside, wanting to serve Master!"
"And now Master has returned! We can reconnect with these people. Individually, they might not have significant influence within the Ministry to help us complete the breakout, but if we gather enough of them, it becomes entirely different!"
Amidst old Nott's words, the first to respond were those who had originally followed Barty and had only recently made contact through the Carrow siblings.
"This is an order from Master, correct? It's not something we should be hesitating about here! Since Master commands us to do this, why are we discussing whether to do it? We should be discussing how to do it!"
"Right! Master has just returned. We can't let him see only Snape and Malfoy accomplishing things while we have no achievements to our name! We must break into Azkaban! Besides, as Nott said, with our Ministry connections, the success rate of this plan is high!"
"And since Master has already devised such a plan, it means he is prepared to announce his return to everyone! We, who carry out this deed, will be his vanguard! We will have the greatest merit!"
These individuals had stirred up the atmosphere. The pure-bloods present were also internally restless.
After Severus brought Voldemort back, it seemed only Lucius and Severus were the ones getting things done.
While these others truly didn't want to involve themselves in risky affairs, but since their Master had returned, what risk was breaking into Azkaban?
"What if this fails?"
The speaker was Selwyn. He hadn't been completely swept away by the fervor. Before any action, he always considered the consequences of failure.
"Most people sitting here are prominent figures in the Wizarding World. If we fail and our identities are exposed, our reputations in the Wizarding World will be utterly ruined, and we will have no explanation for Master."
In response, old Nott simply left the room. When he returned, he was wearing an old but clearly well-maintained iron mask!
"Eight years. Even though eight years have passed, you shouldn't have discarded these, should you?"
"If we encounter danger during this trip to Azkaban, our priority must be self-preservation!"
"Stop hesitating! As Bruno said earlier, this is an order from Master! Master won't seek our opinions. The only thing we can do is execute this task well!"
Old Nott's final words served as the deciding factor.
At that moment, no one objected further. Instead, they began carefully discussing what reliable contacts each of them had within the Ministry, and what method they should use to reach Azkaban.
The meeting lasted until the early hours of the morning. Finally, they settled on a timeframe.
"Master demanded Malfoy handle the unicorn matter within a week. Our action cannot be later than that deadline!"
"But liaising and negotiating with those people in the Ministry also requires time."
"Five days. Five days is enough! Don't contact unreliable ones. Only reach out to those who can play a key role and are trustworthy!"
Only three days had passed, but Lucius had visibly become haggard and thinner.
He had barely eaten over these three days, sitting in his study all day long. He hadn't even noticed that Draco had been spending most of his time away from home, going to the Weasleys' to play with Harry and Ron.
Narcissa had asked him many times, worried about what was wrong, but Lucius said nothing, only comforting her that he would resolve everything.
But if a whole night hadn't yielded any solution, what difference would extending the period to three days make?
Just as the deadline Voldemort had set for him to bring back the unicorn blood drew nearer, and his nerves were stretched tighter, he encountered Draco returning via the Floo network today.
"Where have you been all these days!" Lucius's voice was somewhat stern. He was acutely aware that the British Wizarding World, while seemingly calm on the surface, was already swirling with undercurrents.
Old Nott and the others' breakout plans hadn't been hidden from him, and he had learned two days ago that they were planning something.
But Lucius had no faith in their plan whatsoever.
There was a traitor among them!
And they were completely unaware. Dumbledore seemed to know everything about their activities. This Azkaban breakout attempt would surely end up causing a huge scandal.
Therefore, during this period, Lucius did not want Draco running around outside at all.
Draco was somewhat frightened by his father's appearance. He had never seen his father look so disheveled before.
"I... I went to play with friends..."
"The Goyles and the Crabbes? You went to see them?" In Lucius's impression, the only children Draco was usually close to were from those two families.
But Draco shook his head. He looked hesitant, unsure whether to tell Lucius the truth.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, lowered his head in shame, and admitted,
"I went to the Weasleys'. I was playing with the Dursley-Weasley."
"Dursley?" Hearing this surname initially confused Lucius, as it wasn't from any pure-blood family he knew.
"It's Snape's student, Dudley Dursley," Draco explained quietly.
"Dudley Dursley? That Muggle who beat you up at our house before?"
"He's not a Muggle, he can use magic. Snape taught him." Draco corrected his father. "And he didn't beat me up then, we fought each other! I hit him too! Later in Albania, he even acted as my follower!"
Lucius, of course, knew his son's character better than anyone.
What truly shocked Lucius was that his son, whom he had raised for nine years, had completely changed after just one month away with Severus.
According to the Malfoy Family's longstanding upbringing, both blood traitors like the Weasleys and individuals of dubious origin like Dursley were to be despised.
Lucius stared at Draco, softened his tone, and asked,
"Why aren't you playing with the Goyles and Crabbes anymore? Why go to the Weasleys'?"
Draco just pursed his lips and began his usual bragging.
"I'm bored with Goyle and Crabbe. But Dudley and Ron are different, aren't they? They're country bumpkins! I just have to mention those parties and places you've taken me to, and they've never seen anything like it! I can easily win their admiration."
"And honestly, the lives of these commoners are quite interesting. It was the first time I learned that gardens can suddenly have gnomes! And the Weasleys' attic actually has a ghoul hiding in it! We even went to the river to fish for Grindylows..."
Once he started talking, Draco chattered incessantly to Lucius about what activities he had been doing with Harry and Ron at the Burrow over the past few days.
His later words contradicted his earlier claim that he had easily won their admiration.
However, Lucius didn't interrupt him. He just listened quietly as Draco talked nonstop for over ten minutes.
Finally, even Draco belatedly realized he might have said too much. He scratched his cheek sheepishly, momentarily at a loss for what else to say to Lucius.
Lucius didn't seem to want him to say anything more. He just patted Draco on the head and then said to him softly,
"Go find your mother."
Draco stuck out his tongue and scampered off towards the second floor.
At that moment, Lucius seemed to have made a decision. His face contorted fiercely, and then he strode resolutely out of the house.
Half an hour later, in the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore looked somewhat surprised at Lucius's sudden visit.
"I thought you wouldn't dare to see me again after our last meeting."
"You already know, don't you? They're planning to break into Azkaban!" Without any hesitation, the moment they met, Lucius panted, getting straight to the point.
Dumbledore smiled slightly, spread his hands, and said with feigned surprise,
"That is truly astonishing news."
But Lucius just stared fixedly at him.
"I don't care who your informant is. But if you help me get Narcissa and Draco away, out of Britain, out of Europe! Send them somewhere no one can find them, and guarantee their well-being and safety! Then I will be your spy!"
The portraits of the headmasters on the wall, who usually regarded Lucius with contempt, now began whispering among themselves in surprise.
The smile gradually faded from Dumbledore's face. He looked calmly at Lucius and said softly,
"It seems you are somewhat braver than your friend predicted."
"He thought that under my intimidation, you would simply flee with your wife and son, never to return to Britain."
"He didn't expect that you yourself would be willing to stay."