Lucius Malfoy's expression was solemn, and a sharp cold wind seemed to have frozen his throat. He looked like he had to make a great effort to open his tightly closed lips. He said woodenly: "Very brave... Della... I mean that little wizard."

Felix looked at his face carefully.

The wind began to blow again, and the black shadows of the trees swayed in the open space between the two. After a moment of silence, Lucius said softly: "I know a little information. The Malfoy family is always well-informed..." "

...About a few months ago, during the summer vacation...one night, the Dark Mark on the arm suddenly woke up from its slumber. This has not happened in more than ten years...Some people were very panicked. They came to me to confide in this matter, and I...comforted them."

Felix looked at Lucius with interest. So, he had known about Voldemort's abnormality for a long time? He must have been frightened for a long time...Is the Quidditch World Cup a collective catharsis of those Death Eaters who lied about being cast under the Imperius Curse to escape punishment?

So, when he offered the olive branch, Lucius took it?

"The Dark Mark on the arm?" Felix asked, "I remember it only appeared above the victim's house, as a symbol of the evil of the Death Eaters?"

Lucius shuddered. When he met those calm blue eyes, he couldn't help but recall what happened in the Quidditch World Cup. It was this man in front of him who played tricks on hundreds of wizards with absolute advantage... His magic seemed to have no limit, crossing a long distance and piercing the chest of the person next to him... Every time he woke up from a nightmare, he would think of a question, what if the owner of these blue eyes wanted to deal with him?

His posture became more humble, and his body seemed to be shorter.

He whispered, "This is a secret. The Dark Lord marks loyal believers as a means of contacting them... And those believers will also be treated differently by the Dark Lord and be given the privilege of summoning the Dark Lord."

Felix nodded, this made sense. In the wizarding world, there are few means of keeping in touch at all times, mainly because wizards are too mobile. Apparition and Floo powder solve most of the distance problems.

But when the war breaks out, the demand for instant communication and intelligence transmission among wizards increases dramatically, and each camp adopts different means. As far as he knows, the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic always act collectively, striving to gain an advantage locally; the Order of the Phoenix uses the Patronus to transmit messages; as for the Death Eaters, he had never known before...

So they use the Dark Mark?

"So, every Death Eater has a brand on his arm?"

"Not really... It's those 'loyal' believers," Lucius emphasized what he had just said.

"How should I understand the word 'loyalty'?"

"...The Dark Lord only cares about useful people." Lucius lowered his head uneasily, making it difficult to see his rapidly moving gray eyes, "Those who are highly skilled, have status, are rich, or have special abilities...such as Severus Snape."

He quickly raised his head and glanced at Felix, who was staring at him expressionlessly, so he quickly lowered his head again.

"Severus?" Felix repeated slowly.

"Yes...yes, when he was in school, he showed extraordinary talent in potions, far surpassing me and any member of the Potions Club at the time. The Dark Lord valued his talent and did not always let him participate in the action, but provided precious potions in the rear...Later, when Slughorn retired, Hogwarts was in urgent need of a Potions professor, so the Dark Lord arranged for him to enter the school to find out Dumbledore's every move." Felix

nodded slightly. He knew that Dumbledore had vouched for Severus after the war, proving that he was his undercover. But the question now is, who came first, the Death Eaters or the Order of the Phoenix?

His intuition told him that there was an astonishing secret hidden in this.

"When did Severus join the Death Eaters?"

"At a gathering before graduation, the Dark Lord personally summoned him."

After a long silence, Felix said, "We are off topic. Apart from that time, has there been any abnormality with the Dark Mark since then?"

"There have been several times... intermittent burning sensations..."

"Yeah." Felix said, "Just like the signal of Muggle electrical appliances is bad?"

Lucius was stunned for a moment and said, "You are right, Mr. Hep." He knew what Muggle electrical appliances were and what bad signals meant.

"Then, there is one more thing left. Let me see what the Dark Mark on your arm looks like..."

Lucius raised his head suddenly. In the previous conversation, he had always avoided mentioning Death Eaters and avoided associating himself with that word. But now he had to make a choice.

"Lucius...?"

After a moment of hesitation, he tremblingly lifted up his sleeves. On the inside of his left forearm, there was a light red pattern that looked like a birthmark. It looks very blurry, making it impossible to distinguish its specific appearance. If it were placed somewhere else, someone would definitely believe that it was an early symptom of dragon pox.

Felix repeatedly compared it with the information in his mind, and finally saw some familiar shadows from some unique shapes.

"Under normal circumstances... in the era when the Dark Lord was in power, it was bright red, like blood. After the disappearance of the Dark Lord, the mark faded, but now the faded mark has begun to become obvious again. We also suspected that he was preparing for his return..."

Lucius turned his head away and said.

"So, have you decided to choose a side?" Felix looked at him with a smile.

Lucius' thin lips moved, but he didn't speak.

"Just kidding, of course you can please both sides and bet on both sides like you always do. No one can predict what will happen in the future, but, Lucius, I am different from Voldemort. I value some people enough and I hope we can reach a consensus on this."

"Maybe one of your news can save the life of someone I know. I am looking forward to it and express my respect to you in advance." Felix straightened up and said in a cold tone: "Remember these words firmly in your heart, so that the thunder will not fall on you."

"If there comes a day when the Dark Lord returns..." Lucius said with difficulty under tremendous pressure, "Of course, of course I am willing... willing..."

"Willing for what?"

"...Contribute to the cause of justice, Mr. Hep."

Felix smiled with satisfaction: "Look at the bright side, maybe he will never come back, and you just made a blank check."

"Oh, by the way," his tone became relaxed again, "I saw a broker walk into Malfoy Manor. Does he work for the Malfoy family? I'm very interested in this... It seems that you have your own set of rules, without adding some extra, unnecessary magic..."

...

The clouds covered the moon, and Lucius Malfoy stood quietly, with the image of Felix Hep disappearing silently in his mind, just like he did in the Quidditch World Cup, without any sign at all.

He breathed a sigh of relief. What happened today was thrilling. Even if he got some promises, he didn't feel safer. He trembled when he thought about doing things under the Dark Lord's nose. No one knew the horror of the Dark Lord better than him. Fortunately, he only needed to reveal some insignificant news. He used this reason to convince himself.

At this moment, he hoped that the Dark Lord's return plan would fail more than anyone else, but people like him would never pin their future on illusory "hopes".

As long as he was careful, he would get a ticket to the future.

No matter who loses or who wins!

After a while, he cursed in a low voice. I'll write to Draco when I get home and ask him to come home for Christmas. It's time to teach him a lesson. He just keeps fighting with Potter at school and always loses...