When Cynthia and Marvolio arrived at the estate with Jeff, Tver wasn't even out of bed yet. He'd decided to sleep in.
By the time he finally wandered downstairs, the two had already been chatting with Brenda and Mills for quite a while. The table was covered with pastries and tea.
"You silly boy, your friends have been here forever and you're still taking your sweet time."
Brenda shot her yawning son an exasperated look.
Next to the bold, Dawlish-like Marvolio, Cynthia seemed a bit reserved.
"It's alright, ma'am," she said quickly. "Tver hardly ever gets a break—let him rest."
"We don't get to rest," Marvolio grumbled. "Running around doing whatever someone tells us to do. And he gets to sleep in?"
Tver ignored him, rolled his eyes, and went straight to get breakfast, leaving the four of them chatting.
Aside from dealing with Lockhart, Brenda and Mills had no idea what else he'd asked Cynthia and Marvolio to do—let alone that their beloved son was planning to overturn the Secrecy Act. But Cynthia and Marvolio were smart enough not to bring any of that up. If the new generation's plan to overturn the act collapsed because their parents objected, that would be a joke.
Which was why Tver felt comfortable letting them field Brenda and Mills' questions. And once Brenda learned Cynthia worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, her curiosity about the Ministry only grew. She wanted nothing more than for Tver to quit Hogwarts immediately and find a safer job.
To shut down that idea, Tver quickly pulled Cynthia and Marvolio into the study for a private talk.
"Marvolio, you go first. If you don't move soon, I'm going to end up dealing with Lockhart myself." Tver sighed, dropping into a chair.
Marvolio stopped eyeing the bookshelves. A flourishing pure-blood family really was on a different level. No wonder his own horizons had been so narrow—he could blame his upbringing for that.
"Honestly? It's a bit difficult," he said with a shrug.
Tver gave him a surprised look. This was the former Dark Lord—how could this possibly be giving him trouble? Was Lockhart really that capable?
"It's mainly his fans," Marvolio said, clearly annoyed. "When I told my operatives we might investigate Lockhart, nearly all of them pushed back."
"It's not because they like him. They're just terrified of his massive fanbase. Especially since you can't tell which high-ranking officials—or their families—might be Lockhart fans."
"Then investigate on your own. Follow the trail in his books, check each place one by one. You'll find something." Tver instructed carelessly.
The locations in Lockhart's books spanned the entire world; chasing them all down would be exhausting. Not that Marvolio, in his current state, could actually get tired, Tver thought with satisfaction.
Cynthia covered her mouth and laughed. "He's swamped right now. Half the toughest cases in the Auror Office have been dumped on him. He doesn't have that kind of spare time."
"What about the other half?" Tver asked.
"They'll wait until he finishes the half he already has!"
Their back-and-forth left Marvolio completely helpless.
"Fine, fine. I'll go myself."
"I've already found a few victims, but their memories are badly damaged. Most of the evidence is gone."
Tver had expected that. Memory damage from a Memory Charm—he'd done plenty of research through Neville, gathering all kinds of experience, some useful, some questionable. His Memory Charm itself might not be anything extraordinary, but when it came to treating its aftereffects, he doubted even the healers at St. Mungo's were better.
He pulled out a small notebook and tossed it to Marvolio. It was filled with his notes on the charm.
While Marvolio examined the material, Cynthia eagerly began reporting on her assignment.
Lucius Malfoy has already learned about the three attacks at Hogwarts and is using his position as a school governor to make a fuss, trying to interfere in Hogwarts' teaching affairs. He was only pushed back by Dumbledore for the moment, so now he's trying to rally support from the Ministry of Magic and the other governors.
Tver looked completely unsurprised. That was exactly what Malfoy did in the original storyline. Since the attacks were still happening, it wasn't hard to understand why he'd make these moves.
What he didn't realize was just how terrifying this looked to Cynthia and Marvolio. Tver had practically predicted Lucius's every step with perfect accuracy—Lockhart included.
During the summer, Marvolio had been with Tver almost every day, yet he still had no idea how Tver—back when he hadn't even met Lockhart—had immediately pegged him as a fraud. Even Grindelwald, with his prophetic talent, couldn't predict things this precisely!
Truly worthy of the man I follow.
Truly worthy of the man who has me utterly in his grasp.
The two of them exchanged a look, instantly understanding what the other was thinking. Tver, meanwhile, stared at them in confusion.
"What about the other governors?"
Cynthia straightened her expression and answered seriously, "Malfoy has pressured them. Almost all of the governors are ready to support his temporary suspension of Dumbledore."
"Almost?"
"Yes. There's one exception—Madam Diana Shafiq," Cynthia replied, her tone a little odd. "She absolutely refuses to side with Malfoy."
Marvolio silently mouthed: But—
"But Madam Shafiq once agreed with some of Professor Grindelwald's ideas. We might be able to win her over."
Marvolio lifted his hands. "Her work is always so meticulous."
"Why do you think I trust her so much?" Tver said with a soft laugh. "I'll leave it to you."
He really did need the support of a governor who could influence Hogwarts.
Cynthia's face flushed slightly at the teasing, but she still nodded with determination.
"And after that, we cooperate with Malfoy to remove Dumbledore?"
"No, no, no." Tver flashed a wicked grin, sending a shiver down Marvolio's spine—it was the same smile he wore when he was studying Horcruxes.
"You—and the Ministry—must look like you're fighting him tooth and nail. Push Lucius to invest more and more, until he's forced into a position where he looks like he's acting under pressure, reluctantly following through."
"Tsk tsk tsk, you're going to ruin Malfoy," Marvolio said, shaking his head.
He and Cynthia immediately understood Tver's real intention. The goal was to make Lucius appear domineering and overaggressive. If he succeeded, great. But if he failed, the more forceful he had acted at the start, the harsher the backlash would be.
Both of them thought back to the arrangements Tver had made earlier. They couldn't help but grin just as wickedly.
Instead of worrying about whether Lucius would succeed, they were already thinking about how to deal with the Malfoy family once they were abandoned by everyone.