Chapter 579 Branding
Old Malfoy stretched out his right hand tremblingly, his pampered thick arm was covered with a thin layer of sweat because of fear, on the thick hair was attached a film that seemed to be a mixture of sweat and oil, which looked oily against the surrounding firelight Shiny and nauseating.
"What are you going to do?" Tom changed his posture, raised his legs, put his chin with one hand, and asked with a smile, "You stretched out your hand, do you want me to kiss the back of your hand?"
Old Malfoy buried his head deeply, not daring to say a word. He thought of the most popular legend in their small circle recently, about some terrible magic that once existed only in legend but has recently come to light again, about Bo The ancestor that Kim Burke has boasted countless times-about the character who can define a "dark wizard" by himself-the despicable Haibo, who has chains more terrible than the Imperius Curse, He can make any free and dignified soul a loyal dog who obeys him alone, so is he also going to be a slave for eternity?
The bloody nails dug deep into the ground, and were cut bloody by the broken glass and gravel on the ground. Old Malfoy, who has studied black magic, of course understood what this meant, but he also understood that a person who can What does a wizard who plays himself like a clown represent? What does a wizard who can't even pull out his wand to resist? In the choice between dignity and life, he quickly chose the continuation of the family .
This unexpected mentality reversal almost made the Legilimency master sitting above laugh out loud. Just like what Tom saw, old Malfoy only hesitated for less than a second before choosing the continuation of the bloodline— —In order to keep the noble Malfoy family alive, he chose to bear the burden of humiliation, not to mention, there is nothing wrong with relying on the strong, after all, the world of wizards is much more barbaric than Muggles.
Looking at the old Malfoy who found a high-sounding excuse for himself, Tom finally couldn't help it, and let out a laugh that resounded through the sky in the alley. Stomach, raised hand and waved, people returned to their work just now.
Old Malfoy crawled deeper, but the outstretched arm was raised more firmly, as if it was an honorable oath.
"You... have obtained everything from me, Minister."
Old Malfoy quickly brought in a character of his own design.
"So what are you doing with your arm up?" said Tom. "Honestly, it reminds me of the German Muggle salute, and I hate it."
Old Malfoy froze, he didn't know whether he should withdraw his hand, and muttered, "Please... leave a mark of magic."
"Do you know what kind of scariest branding is? Malfoy, take a needle with paint and get a pattern that looks like a snake coming out of a skull? That looks so stupid," Tom moved the person under his buttocks Move the angle to make yourself sit more comfortably, and asked, "What kind of imprint do you think I should leave?"
"The bond of the soul, the contract of magic... I think you may have mastered that legendary magic."
"Hehe, tangible branding is always the last thing that brings loyalty, Malfoy," Tom shook his head, "I want you to express loyalty because you want to be loyal to me, not because I coerce you, do you understand?"
"I'm... 100% loyal to you."
"Hehe," Tom thought about Richie's tone of voice, imitating his accent and said, "Your huddling together for warmth is really too low-level, coercing, luring, forcing, or using black magic to restrain your servants. Capsules of poison implanted in their hearts...these are pediatrics, do you know what the scariest branding is?"
"The most terrifying brand..." Old Malfoy's research stared wide-eyed. It turned out that this Rich really knew that kind of magic.
"I know, in your heart, I, Nobby Rich, have always been a good kid who knows the general, but do you know what I'm going to say?" Tom smiled, looking at Malfoy who was crawling under his feet , leaned into his ear, and said softly, "You think I'm going to refute you? No, I want to tell you, I, Nobby Rich, really know the general... Good boy, I know that people like you There is more than one maggot who likes to hug to keep warm, and the person who came here with you wants to show off his power to educate me and show me kindness—"
He paused, patted the alternative "sofa" under his buttocks, and said in a gentle tone he had never had before, but this kind of gentleness did not make people feel like a spring breeze like Nelson, but made the old Malfoy who was lying on the ground feel As if falling into an ice cave, he didn't dare to breathe out, and used all his strength to control his trembling jaw, so as not to make any strange noises that might annoy Tom when his teeth collided.
All the people he had met in his not-so-short life appeared in front of old Malfoy like a revolving lantern. He knew that the minister in front of him was not Rich, but it was difficult for him to match him with anyone in his memory—those None of the ambitious and imposing characters have the same temperament as Rich at the moment.
"Who? Who is it?" He even came to a conclusion that he found ridiculous. "This person is Nobby Rich. At least he has fooled everyone. How is that possible?"
"—These people who tried to see me in a mess may be just the tip of your iceberg, but I want to do what you want and take care of the overall situation." Tom looked at the sloped side alley with collapsed walls, and said for a moment of silence, "The Minister of Magic will no longer hold them accountable. In order to avoid the tsunami caused by the iceberg collapse, and to avoid the emptiness of the Ministry of Magic like the Magical Congress of the United States, they will be forgiven in a limited way. You know what this means to you. what?"
"They? To me?" Old Malfoy's brow was sweating, and he thought of a possibility that made his hair stand on end.
"This means you, you betrayed your pure-blood covenant, you betrayed Nurmengard who sought cooperation from you, you betrayed the prisoners who escaped from Azkaban, you betrayed the... …Shafiq and his stool, you betrayed everyone you could, do you think you have somewhere else to go, anyone to lean on? You are a betrayer in the eyes of every ally you have ever been For the sake of monopolizing what should belong to them, you are a hateful traitor who wags his tail at a Muggle-born minister, you will drag out everything you know, and you have cut off your retreat, your allies They'll hate you, hate you for ruining their plans, hate you for betraying their secrets, hate you for setting a trap for them and being the only one to walk out of Diagon Alley."
Tom's speech became faster and faster, piercing old Malfoy's eardrum like a brain-piercing voice.
"I... thank you, people like me deserve this kind of torture."
"It was never me who tortured you, Malfoy, it was you," Tom stood up and passed in front of the old Malfoy, "you betrayed your allies, you hurt your clan, you set the magic The double trap of the Ministry of Magic and the Alley, you have already colluded with me to settle all this, rest assured, their actions in the Ministry of Magic will be fruitless... How ridiculous, someone saw a man wearing a Strangers in Nelson's ring? If that was really Nelson, he wouldn't leave home what you want."
Old Malfoy was still holding his arm, but apart from that arm, the strength in his whole body was getting weaker and weaker, so weak that he couldn't even maintain the crawling movement, and could only watch the minister's leather shoes go away.
"You used your ingenuity to wipe out all the prisoners here, and once and for all to solve the hidden danger of dementors for Britain. You are really a great hero. The "Daily Prophet" will report on your great deeds in endless pages. Everything that Britain has done, those people who think they are extremely smart have been brushed around by your smart head, are you happy?" Tom's voice floated faintly in Old Malfoy's ears, "I really feel for you Happy, but how can the hero's cause stop? You will bite those cowardly fish that slip through like the wildest hyena, you will do everything you can to grow the power around Nobby Rich, you will overthrow all People in front, because you have no choice, you are my thing, Malfoy, and I, Nobby Rich, to you who are all enemies, I am the only choice for you to go all the way to the dark, I am your last hope."
Old Malfoy's face was buried in the sand, his heart was peeled away layer by layer by Tom, and his strength was also drained. His posture had changed from crawling to prone, but that arm was still firmly held high, The sun shines on the sweat covering the forearm, as if there is really a brand that has just been engraved and is dripping blood.
"And hope is the deepest imprint in this world."
The footsteps were getting farther and farther away, and the ground covered by old Malfoy's face was also wet with tears and sweat. Only he knew what he had just experienced.
"Hey, Paul!" Tom called to the Auror who was carrying the wounded, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I'll go to the Ministry to check, and the finishing work here will be handed over to Mr. Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" Paul asked suspiciously. Could it be that old Malfoy took the minister's soul just now while he was leaving? Thinking of this, he threw the stretcher on the ground, rolled up his sleeves and walked towards Old Malfoy.
"Don't be so impulsive," Tom stopped the angry Paul, took the roster in Paul's arms, removed a piece of paper, signed his name and stuffed it back, and said with a smile, "He has done a lot for us, including oblique The anti-apparition spell in the alley belongs to his loyalty, don't worry, he will do it dutifully."
"Really...really?" Paul still didn't believe it.
"You stare at him, take a good look, no one can do better than Mr. Malfoy," Tom picked up the stretcher that Paul had just dropped from the ground, after seeing the face of the moaning man on the stretcher clearly , Tom almost threw it down again, "Damn it... I'll take this Aibo to St. Mungo's, you protect the Muggles here."
"yes!"
Paul stood at attention, and after Tom walked away, he quickly ran to Old Malfoy, held the back of his head, and said sharply, "I warn you, Malfoy—"
"Help me up," old Malfoy let him hold him, and after rubbing on the ground for a while, he said weakly, "Let me handle everything here."
"You better be like you say you are."
"Of course... what else can I do?" Old Malfoy got up under Paul's rough pull, his right arm was still stiff, he sighed, and said softly, "Let the people in the memory cancellation office leave."
"Are you crazy? What happens here if—"
"If the memories of these Muggles are really erased, the crisis of news of this accident will be beyond the Ministry of Magic's ability to solve, believe me," Malfoy snatched Tom's signature from Paul's arms, and carefully spread out Stuffed it in his pocket and said, "Do as I say, I know what they want."
Paul hesitated for a moment, and finally called for someone to do something.
"Send all the injured to St. Mungo's, and they must be cured. Yes, including Muggles, it should be that special attention should be paid to Muggles... The dead and witnesses should be compensated accordingly, don't be stingy," said Old Malfoy Giving orders to more and more people, "Yes, using Galleons, not enough money? Don't worry, I will make a list for you later. I know how much money each family can deduct. That's right, including Malfoy, let's start with the Malfoy family."
"Choose some people for public interrogation and execution. Common people like to watch this. The British have the same hobbies as the French in this regard. We must express our determination to abolish the "Secrecy Act,"" continued to adapt to this new identity. Deepening, the old Malfoy's order became fierce, his right hand curled up and opened unconsciously, as if feeling uncomfortable for some invisible brand, "In order to make up for the loss and express our regret, we can implement two Those proposals passed a month ago... No, no one will stop us this time."
Reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic arrived one after another, and the previous stagnation no longer existed. Some officials who arrived late looked at old Malfoy with incomprehensible eyes, trying to communicate with him with their eyes, but his eyes did not fall at all. to them.
"By the way, your...is your name Paul?" Old Malfoy stopped the Auror who was staring at him, and whispered, "Is there any danger around?"
"It's settled," Paul said without hiding the suspicion in his eyes, "a reporter who claimed to work for the Daily Prophet, The Times, and The Quibbler came to see you."
"Let him wait a while," Old Malfoy pulled Paul beside him, lowering his voice, "I don't know how many Aurors are left, but since the Minister trusts you... I will give you a list, you Get someone you trust to keep an eye on them."
"You are such a strange person," Paul nodded, and turned to leave. "Go and treat your dragon plague and syphilis when you have time. Remember to bring your son. The Minister really didn't lie to you."