The thick stack of information that Rita found is still in the Order of the Phoenix.

A group of people died in June this year.

But the group that died were not the only ones in the Ministry of Magic. There were too many people in the files who were Death Eaters and also worked in the Ministry of Magic.

"At least there are almost none among the Aurors. Kingsley is a trustworthy partner." Dumbledore tapped the table, and a long line of honey water fell into his mouth. "Scrimgeour is also, although he has no intention of joining the Order of the Phoenix."

"Thank God, I finally know that the Ministry of Magic is ruled by the Aurors." Harry waved his hand and took a sip of his drink.

"Are you suspecting Pierce?" Dumbledore finally reacted and looked at him in surprise.

Harry nodded.

"Why? Although Pierce has never had much presence, he was part of the resistance against Voldemort more than ten years ago. He is an upright man." Dumbledore asked, "He doesn't seem like someone who would go along with the Death Eaters."

"Professor Dumbledore, I don't trust anyone in the Ministry of Magic now." Harry shook his head, "This is not normal."

"There was no magical presence near the Leaky Cauldron when we arrived."

"But you said that Apparition was blocked here."

"The Death Eaters are not strong enough to do that."

Although the people from the Ministry of Magic are useless, we have to admit that they have done a perfect job in monitoring.

"Maybe it was an official, but it could also be him. This has nothing to do with me. Professor, please pay attention to it." Harry put down the cup and changed the subject. "Tom was cut by me with a snake bone sword. Although the venom of the basilisk is extremely deadly, that is Tom. I don't think he will die so easily."

"Of course. The materials for removing the basilisk venom are very fixed. I will ask Rita to keep an eye on it. We should be able to catch the Death Eaters soon."

"You guys need to speed up on that thing."

Dumbledore let out a heavy breath.

Horcrux!

The most troublesome thing is that, up to now, even with the participation of Mundungus, no useful clues have been found.

"Harry, have you got any idea?" he frowned.

Harry tapped the table. "I suspect there is a Horcrux in Hogwarts."

Dumbledore was startled: "Isn't that a misunderstanding caused by what we thought was Sirius?"

Sirius tilted his head while drinking, and his eyes became sharp.

Is it about yourself?

"That's what I thought at first," Harry said.

"But it's too abnormal. Outsiders broke into the castle, pets got lost, and werewolves attacked..."

At this point, he paused for a moment and said, "From the results, all the Death Eaters' plans revolve around Hogwarts, but the Gringotts incident suddenly popped up."

"Of course, these can all be said to be Death Eaters covering up their tracks."

"But Barty Crouch Jr. hasn't shown up, and that's making me uneasy."

Sirius interrupted: "Perhaps Barty Crouch Jr. is really dead?"

Harry and Dumbledore's speculations have always confirmed that Barty Crouch Jr. is alive, but no one from the Order of the Phoenix has seen him in person, whether last year, during the Triwizard Tournament, or this time.

There is no trace of this person ever existing.

Is he really still alive?

Sirius doubted this fact.

Harry looked at him, said nothing, but shook his head slowly.

"There are places in the castle that we haven't explored." Dumbledore frowned.

"Go back and ask Mr. Gryffindor?" Harry waved his wand and refilled his cup. "Maybe he will have some ideas."

The Sorting Hat poked its head out: "Godric has seen the Marauder's Map. He doesn't know more than you do."

Both Dumbledore and Harry turned their eyes to him.

The Sorting Hat pointed its tip and said, "The castle belongs to Salazar. Rowena and Helga participated in some of the design. As for Godric, he was busy clearing out some dangerous creatures around the castle. There was a dragon living next to Hogwarts at that time."

"Then we'll have to go look for it ourselves," Harry sighed.

Dumbledore nodded.

They sipped their wine dully and analyzed what had happened today one by one.

At this moment, in Hogsmeade, in the right corner, Draco Malfoy was pacing back and forth in the snow anxiously.

He chose not to go home for Christmas.

He hadn't been back home at Christmas since second grade - ever since his father went to prison, the luxurious mansion no longer felt like home.

But just now, his mother sent an owl to ask him to come out of Hogwarts, and wanted to meet him at the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade.

The notes are hasty and flustered.

This made him feel very uneasy.

The wind and snow were cold, but he walked around here for half an hour and didn't feel cold at all. At least the temperature outside was not as cold as he felt inside.

"Draco, Draco." Someone called his name.

It was a male voice, somewhat strange, yet somewhat familiar.

Draco slowly turned around and looked in the direction of the voice, incredulous and unbelievable: "Dad?"

Lucius walked out from the shadows, wearing a half-worn bearskin cloak, with a few new scars on his face, and a sense of embarrassment all over his body: "It's me."

"You're not in Azkaban?" Draco clenched his wand, took a deep breath, and his tone became calm.

"We broke out of prison," Lucius answered him. "I remember that magazine called The Quibbler reported it."

"I don't read those crazy magazines." Draco shook his head and stared at his father. "So you called me out and wanted to meet me?"

Lucius nodded. He noticed the injuries on his son's body and the patched robes. "Have you been suffering a bit during this time?"

"Some little tricks." Draco waved his hand, his tone calm, "Dad, what do you want from me?"

Lucius paused, then stamped his feet several times: "The master has resurrected."

Owner?

Dark Lord?

Draco frowned.

"The master wants you to become a Death Eater as well." Lucius took a deep breath and uttered the words with difficulty.

"Me? A Death Eater?" Draco gripped his wand tighter. "I'm just a fifth-year wizard. Does the Dark Lord need me?"

Lucius shook his head: "I don't want to either, but this is the master's order."

He...had no way of disobeying an order from Voldemort.

"Dad, what happened today?" Draco asked. "I noticed that Potter was not in the castle all day today. Dumbledore also left in the middle of the party. I'm afraid the resurrection of the Dark Lord is not going so smoothly."

Lucius's expression turned even uglier. He nodded with difficulty and recounted what happened today objectively.

"Potter is so strong?" Draco exclaimed.

Lucius shook his head: "It was just that the master was careless for a moment. He didn't know that Potter knew swordsmanship, and no one had told him about it. Besides, the master had just been resurrected, and his magic power had not yet returned to its peak state."

"Neither do I..."

"But these are the Master's orders."

Draco shook his head decisively: "Sorry, Dad, I will not become a Death Eater."

"So you're going to stand on Potter's side?" Lucius' tone was serious, but his eyes and the corners of his mouth were visibly relaxed.

Draco shook his head: "No, there's no way I could be friends with Scarhead."

Lucius stared at his son in amazement.

Draco took out his wand and pointed it at his father: "Groups are unreliable, Dad. This is the biggest truth I have learned in the past two years."

"For some reason, they will hold you in their hands and regard you as a leader."

"They may also abandon you for some other reason, throw you into a mud pit, and step on you hard."

"Only if you have strength can you have everything."

"What others give us is just a mirage."

"To receive recognition from the Dark Lord, to become the youngest and newest Death Eater, to become the leader of Slytherin again..."

"Or become what Potter and his friends call 'turn over a new leaf' and fight for 'justice'."

“Everything I have is a gift from them.”

"Whether it's the Dark Lord or Potter, to me, there is no difference between them."

"I don't want to receive 'favors' from anyone else anymore. I want to be just me."

Lucius looked at him.

There is a complex and strange feeling in my heart, like a spider stepping on it, making my heart itchy, and at the same time forming a thick cocoon to wrap up my old and rotten heart.

Two years.

He had only been in Azkaban for two years, and his son had grown to a point where he felt unfamiliar with him, and had grown to the type of person he had always hoped his son would become.

"So you are going to disobey the Dark Lord and also disobey me as your father?" The words that came out of his mouth were not sincere and were completely opposite to what he felt in his heart.

"Never disobeyed." Draco shook his head, "I just choose my own path."

"Come on, Father."

"I've grown a lot in the past two years. Don't you want to see it?"

Expelliarmus!

Lucius attacked suddenly, and the spell shot out, heading towards Draco.

Draco, who had been attacked by surprise for the past few years, reacted quickly, dodging spells and throwing out the Weasley brothers' fireworks.

Just a few minutes later.

The hasty fight ended.

Draco held his own wand and his father's wand, stood upright in the snow, and looked at his father calmly.

Lucius's bearskin coat fell to the ground, leaving him in only a thin shirt, revealing the scars on his arms left by torture, as well as the fresh scars on his arms left by Malfoy's cutting curse.

"Draco Malfoy." Lucius picked up his coat and put it back on. "I will tell the master about your disobedience."

"Pray to stay in Hogwarts for a long time. As soon as you leave Hogwarts, the master will give you the greatest punishment."

"I really hope..."

"I can see that you are still so stubborn after seeing this. Don't cry and go to Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and the Order of the Phoenix for help after your master takes revenge on you."

Draco Malfoy, being a man, watched his father walk away cursing.