Once Dumbledore received the message from the insider informant via the Patronus, the entire Order of the Phoenix sprang into action. The Phoenix Patronus he had summoned earlier accurately delivered orders for the meeting to the key members of the Order of the Phoenix.
At that moment, Hogwarts was already in a state of chaos. The news published in the "Daily Prophet" spread quickly throughout the school, and all the students learned that Azkaban had been attacked.
Public opinion exploded, and no one paid any more attention to the Christmas Ball.
Hogwarts students and wizards from other parts of the British magical world were plunged into panic.
"How is this possible, how could someone break through Azkaban's defenses? It's Azkaban, after all!" Many young wizards couldn't believe the truth of that news. In their understanding, Azkaban was the most difficult place to escape from; only Sirius Black had managed to do so in hundreds of years. How could a mass breakout happen in a place like that?
Although, if it was attacked...
"Did he do it? After all, the dark wizards have been very active in the last six months..." Some suspected Voldemort. The news was too incredible! Azkaban had been attacked! If they had to look for a dark wizard capable of attacking Azkaban, these young wizards with not much experience...
"They should have sentenced those dark wizards to death; after all, they committed such heinous crimes." Some Muggle-born young wizards were filled with indignation and believed it was a flaw in the judicial system. If they had hanged all the dark wizards from the beginning, there wouldn't be so many problems now.
But there were more people who refuted that. Even the Muggle world was about to abolish the death penalty, let alone the wizarding world. In fact, the wizarding world had already completely abolished the death penalty; even for heinous crimes, the only sentence was to be sent to Azkaban.
The topic quickly shifted, and students began accusing and arguing with each other in the Great Hall.
Despite the chaos in the school, the teachers who normally maintained order didn't have time to intervene. In front of Professor McGonagall, a Patronus phoenix appeared, and in front of Snape, who had just returned to Hogwarts, one also appeared.
Likewise, Moody, Lupin, Mr. Weasley, Tonks... they all saw the Patronus phoenix sent by Dumbledore.
Dumbledore's Patronus phoenix revealed his plan, and these members of the Order of the Phoenix didn't hesitate to put it into action.
However, Snape received an additional message: the order to leak information about the operation to the Death Eater side.
As Snape watched the Patronus phoenix fade before his eyes, he felt a slight twitch at the corners of his mouth. Dumbledore didn't leave evidence of his orders, making him look like a Death Eater spy infiltrated into the Order of the Phoenix.
Snape felt powerless. What left him even more speechless was that his identity as a Death Eater infiltrated into the Order of the Phoenix was true.
So, a complex relationship was formed. The members of the Order of the Phoenix believed he was one of them, while the Death Eaters believed he was a Death Eater spy infiltrated into the Order of the Phoenix. In reality, he wanted the Death Eaters to believe that he had been infiltrated into the Order of the Phoenix.
This relationship was so complicated that it would even confuse the members of the Wizengamot during the trial.
Although he complained inwardly, Snape conveyed the information as ordered.
Dumbledore's plan could be summed up in one word: "intimidation." He intended to make Voldemort believe that Azkaban, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Ministry of Magic would launch a joint attack against his followers.
In Dumbledore's judgment, Tom Riddle would probably choose to withdraw and avoid direct conflict. This way, he could give an explanation to all the wizards in the UK and maintain peace. At the same time, it would also make neutral wizards in the magical world lean toward his side.
In case Riddle chose not to withdraw and decided to confront the Order of the Phoenix at Malfoy Manor, Dumbledore would simply use Apparition to appear there.
Either way, from the battle with Voldemort in Azkaban, Dumbledore's side already had an absolute advantage. Well, in fact, since Tom and Dumbledore had worked together to infiltrate their spies among Voldemort's followers, they already had the advantage.
The reason Dumbledore remained cautious was that he didn't want to cause too many casualties and, at the same time, he wanted to completely eliminate Voldemort. In his opinion, leaving Voldemort as an evil spirit was not an option. If he was going to fight, he had to eliminate him completely from the world.
While Hogwarts gradually descended into chaos, the atmosphere at Malfoy Manor was equally somber, as if someone had died.
"Is this information true?" Voldemort was seated in his chair, twirling his wand in his hand.
"It's true, my lord," Barty Crouch Jr. quickly responded. "This is the information Sirius just transmitted."
Yaxley, by his side, added a remark, "The Auror office at the Ministry of Magic is also in motion; several Aurors seem to have left the Ministry in a hurry. As for Azkaban, we haven't been able to obtain any information."
By saying this, Yaxley had almost confirmed that the Ministry was joining forces with the Order of the Phoenix.
It's true! Dumbledore has also communicated with the Minister of Magic, Bones. Bones has decided to organize a search at Malfoy Manor with the Aurors.
Organizing an action against the Death Eaters in a Ministry of Magic already infiltrated by them will surely leak information. Bones' orders practically arrived at the Auror office and Malfoy Manor simultaneously.
But this is exactly what Dumbledore wanted.
The Death Eaters were stunned by this news and panicked. Neither the Order of the Phoenix nor the Death Eaters were prepared for a confrontation! The allies that Voldemort planned to contact, like the giants, werewolves, and the Japanese Ministry of Magic, aren't even ready!
"Speak up and voice your thoughts!" Seeing that his subordinates were silent and fearful, Voldemort's eyes gleamed with a red light, and he decided that his followers should express their opinions first.
"Where else can we go?" protested a dark-haired Death Eater, "We might as well stay here and fight the members of the Order of the Phoenix!"
"Stop talking nonsense, Dolohov," Barty Crouch Jr. responded ruthlessly, "You don't even have a wand!"
The wizard they were referring to is Antonin Dolohov, one of Voldemort's earliest Death Eaters and one of his most loyal former followers. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban for the brutal murder of Fabian and Gideon Prewett but was recently rescued by Voldemort from the prison. Among the Death Eaters present, only Barty Crouch Jr., with his high position among them, dares to reprimand him mercilessly.
Antonin Dolohov, whose hands are stained with both magical and Muggle blood, has a pale and twisted face, and one can tell just by looking at him that he is skilled in dark magic. He is a large man with a bony structure, though his time in Azkaban has left him thin.
At that moment, after being publicly challenged, Dolohov's eyes gleamed with anger, but due to Barty Crouch Jr.'s position, he had to swallow his pride. Besides, Barty was right; the Death Eaters newly rescued by Voldemort were in poor condition, and all of them had their wands confiscated.
He simply sat in his place, muttering and complaining under his breath.
Most people ignored him, as deep down, nobody really wanted to fight to the death against the wizards of the Order of the Phoenix. At this moment, the members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived too quickly and made decisions too boldly. The Death Eaters weren't even prepared for a confrontation.
"If Regulus were still alive, it would be better, then we could go to the Black Ancestral Mansion..." A Death Eater sighed.
Exactly! Regulus Black, heir to the Black family and one of Voldemort's most trusted followers. But sadly, he died young, sacrificing his life for Voldemort's grand purpose. If he were alive, all the Death Eaters present could take refuge in the ancient Black family residence.
Bellatrix Lestrange, sitting at the head of the table, snorted in disgust, feeling a bit resentful: she too was part of the Black family, but the Black family inheritance had nothing to do with her. Finally, all the rich Black family heritage, along with the ancestral Black Mansion, fell into the hands of her despicable traitorous cousin.
However, her fellow Death Eaters' words inspired her. Although she didn't have access to the Black Mansion, she did have the right to enter the Lestrange Mansion.
"You can consider taking refuge in the Lestrange Mansion; it has been abandoned for a long time, and we don't know if it's still habitable."
"Even I know that, now is not the time to discuss, members of the Order of the Phoenix can appear at any moment." Even Lucius, sitting at the end of the table, made his comments.
Listening to the discussions of his followers, Voldemort finally made a decision.
"Everyone will move to the Lestrange Mansion and be prepared for a counterattack."
Upon hearing that Voldemort had made a firm decision, the Death Eaters stopped arguing. They all stood up and prepared to pack and follow Bellatrix to the Lestrange Mansion with their colleagues.
However, Voldemort did not join his followers in this action. He remained seated in his place, as if he were contemplating something.
"Dumbledore is about to come with the elite forces of the Order of the Phoenix, the Dementors from Azkaban, and the Ministry of Magic Aurors. It's a powerful army..."
Before making his decision, Voldemort calculated the power gap between both sides. He realized that if the war started, he had a high chance of losing since Dumbledore would restrain him, and the other Death Eaters wouldn't be a match for the combined Dementors, Aurors, and Order of the Phoenix members.
Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Voldemort decided to retreat first.
But the more powerful the attack, the weaker the defense. Dumbledore, how much strength have you left at Hogwarts?
Let me see!
Voldemort got up and looked at his followers in panic, with a disdainful look: what a group of useless individuals!
However, now he could only make do with this group.
He hoped that once the Death Eaters rescued from Azkaban recovered, their combat level would improve. He consoled himself with that idea.
Then, he turned into a black mist and voluntarily left the place.
He believed that when news of the attack on Hogwarts arrived, Dumbledore's side would fall into panic. At that time, the Death Eaters could counterattack and turn the tide of the battle.
Voldemort had already planned everything and knew that the moment Dumbledore entered Malfoy Manor, he was going to lose!
While the Death Eaters prepared to withdraw, Lucius Malfoy, the owner of Malfoy Manor, looked very unpleasant. When Voldemort made the decision to withdraw, he was completely paralyzed.
The other Death Eaters could flee, but his mansion couldn't escape!
Suddenly, Lucius realized that the hard work of generations of the Malfoy family would probably be lost in his hands. At this moment, he felt especially fortunate to have extended the olive branch to Dumbledore through Dobby in advance. With Dumbledore as a witness, he was sure he wouldn't lose his last card.
Thinking of this, Lucius was no longer so anxious. He got up calmly, picked up some valuable items, and stuffed them in his bag, following Bellatrix's directions to retreat along with his fellow Death Eaters to the Lestrange Mansion.
His actions were swift, and within a few minutes, the grand Malfoy Manor was deserted.
By this time, the members of the Order of the Phoenix had already gathered.
As they were getting ready to leave, Kingsley's Patronus appeared again and handed them a new address.
Professor McGonagall looked at the Patronus and showed a confident smile. "Albus has prepared everything. We just need to execute the plan. Now, let's all go together to the Lestrange Mansion."
...
"What are you doing?" Dawlish looked at the restless Dementors with an alert expression.
After the attack on Azkaban, the Ministry of Magic showed surprising efficiency and quickly deployed a team of elite Aurors to support the Dementors here. The leader of this team was Dawlish, who had recently been awarded the Order of Merlin.
Dawlish had been having a lot of luck lately.
Having been sidelined before, his brave performance in the World Cup final brought him back to the center of power. When the time came, he was assigned an important mission and stationed at Azkaban. The team under his command consisted of ten Aurors and beaters.
However, his luck seemed to have run out here, as today the Dementors suddenly became restless without warning. They flew one after another in the air, spinning wildly, making both the Aurors and the beaters stationed here nervous.
His former colleague, Naya, approached Dawlish and whispered to him that he should be prepared. After two attacks in a short period, it was understandable that the Dementors were emotionally unstable.
They were commonly