"..."
"...clap clap clap."
William raised his hand and applauded for the touching father-son moment. He couldn't help but wipe away the nonexistent tears from the corner of his eye, "Very well, our organization needs such excellent, young talent."
Following his lead, the surrounding Death Eaters also began to clap one after another.
Amidst the continuous applause, Draco quickly stood before the flames holding Lucius. Watching the blue flames blaze high before him, higher than himself, the boy chose to close his eyes and stepped forward directly.
"Buzz—"
A piercing buzzing sound woke the boy up. He opened his eyes somewhat dazed, only to find himself standing on the other side of the door sometime later.
"Cough, cough, very good, you did well."
Lucius looked somewhat lonesome, his gaze falling on Malfoy's arm, where a deep blue flame pattern had just formed.
"Dad..."
"I'll explain when we get back."
Looking at William's back, Lucius lowered his voice, interrupting his son's multitude of questions. Then he cast a reassuring glance towards Narcissa not far beyond the flames—as they had made it this far, they should continue to take it step by step.
Although he still didn't understand the Dark Lord's definition of betrayal, it was now clear that the family wouldn't face any problems, which meant bribing the Ministry of Magic to avoid imprisonment wasn't considered betrayal in Voldemort's eyes.
Obviously, Lucius wasn't the only one who realized this soon enough; a group of wealthy individuals stood up, successively passing through the flames.
And with one Brave's attempt, the rest of the Death Eaters soon discovered that even reporting a few colleagues wasn't considered betrayal, so they began to cross the flames one after another, proceeding smoothly, and everyone believed things would continue this way until...
"Ahhhhh—"
The desolate screaming on the brink of collapse drew everyone's attention; having just crossed the fire circle, Little Avery turned to ashes amidst the screams.
"..."
"Looks like someone had ulterior motives."
William nodded, as his voice silenced the surrounding whispers instantly.
"The loyal test of Magic Flame," heh, pure nonsense. William didn't have such a thing on hand. He didn't even know if such a flame existed in this world, and the fire burning on the ground was merely Illusion Magic. What actually tested them was the Dream Magic William structured for them.
Of course, this dream wasn't some crisis scenario to see if Trial Takers would sacrifice themselves to save others, that played-out plot. Let alone the fact that every single Death Eater present was selfish, a standard old Slytherin; it would be lucky if these beasts didn't join the killing and burning side.
If William actually created such a dream, probably none would survive exiting the door.
Besides, in William's view, each person before him was marked with the death penalty. Allowing them to stay was only to squeeze out their remaining worth and perhaps grant Voldemort, who might revive, some lively spirits.
Thus, William formulated a Dream Magic scenario for passing the test, observing if those present would choose to leave Great Britain or attempt to escape his control after departing—
After all, his identity as the Dark Lord was still confidential, and this cover must not be leaked to Dumbledore, that old man, considering if he knew, there'd probably be a heap of trouble and at least the plan for giving Voldemort a "big surprise" would undoubtedly be ruined.
Yet, he was quite busy, not able to monitor these dangerous individuals twenty-four-seven.
Thus, for precaution, those severely engaged in illegal activities in the dreams or attempting to escape his control in the dream would be burnt to death. No need to stay around wasting air, still harming humanity.
However, Little Avery was a bit special just now; he seemed to have realized William was a knock-off. In the dream, he secretly went to the Albanian forest to seek the original Voldemort, though returned fruitless—well, it's best to eliminate him anyway.
Soon, the screening ended, apart from the four who were burned, the remaining Death Eaters were those preferring to safeguard themselves.
"Master."
After tidying up, Lucius Malfoy stood before William, requesting the next step of instruction. Being the earliest aware of Voldemort's revival news, he naturally had to seize the chance to further expand his "trusted minister" advantage. But since his son got dragged into it, he now had to proceed quietly...
"You have a good son."
"Ah...yes."
"I think he suits Slytherin well, don't you agree?"
"I...I understand."
Lucius' gaze dimmed slightly, completely caught off guard that even with such secrecy, William knew about Draco's transfer—instinctively he checked his wrist, the deep blue flame seemed to flicker lightly.
"That's good."
William nodded. He hadn't obtained that info through surveillance but rather from the dream where Lucius rushed home immediately to arrange Draco's transfer—although it wasn't to escape himself, so a few admonitions would do.
"So, Master, what should we do next..."
Malfoy's inquiry drew everyone's attention, and William's expression sank lightly, "Until I inform you of the plan's success, nobody should stir any trouble. I know your conduct, so if any of you attract the Ministry of Magic's attention or fall into their hands..."
William suddenly curled his lips into a smile; a deep blue flame ignited in his palm and was extinguished casually, "Rest assured, you won't go to Azkaban."
As his words fell, his figure disappeared, and everyone present felt a strange sense of dread, almost simultaneously and subconsciously rolling up their sleeves; the deep blue flame was indeed flickering, its fine thread extending along the veins upward till it "choked" at everyone's hearts...
...
"Finally, it's done..."
Sitting behind the desk, William started grading the summer homework assigned to Kabuda today—aside from some grammatical errors, the completion of this Magic History paper concerning the second Goblin Rebellion is almost better than most fourth-year students at Hogwarts...
This again raised William's concerns about Hogwarts' educational issues, no wonder the Magic Realm was declining year by year.
However, the record of Magic History still deviates somewhat from reality...as to how he knows?
Come on, guess who ended the second Goblin Rebellion in history?
Seeing himself appear in history books was quite an amusing sensation for William. But experience aside, this fall he's entering sixth grade, and a sixth grade without any exams will be the most leisurely year in these three...
Not acceptable, he needs to find something to keep busy.
William pulled open the drawer beside him, rummaged for a moment, then drew out a small booklet titled aptly 'Achievement.'
Opening to the last page...
236. Raise a Fire Dragon in Hogwarts Castle - Complete √
237. Steal Dumbledore's Phoenix - Complete √
238. ...
...