After a few words of advice from Draco, Lucius fell silent, looking ill at ease.
After that day's meeting at the Riddle House, he realised that his repeated defeats had made Voldemort want to kill him.
The only reason why they were not executed on the spot was because the Dark Lord had just suffered a crushing defeat at Knockturn Alley, and the Death Eaters were unstable and should not be disturbed.
Even so, Lord Voldemort had no intention of letting him off the hook. Having Draco carry out the assassination plan was his revenge!
Lucius did not need to think to know that it was an impossible task. How could his son Draco deal with an enemy that even the Dark Lord could not handle?
Lord Voldemort was simply trying to make him suffer a painful loss as a punishment, as well as to cause trouble for Ivan Hals.
Understanding this, Lucius disregarded his dignity and came to Hogwarts in the middle of the night to plead with Draco to spare his life…
"This is it," said Draco, leading Lucius to the front door.
The room was very dim, with only the light coming from the fireplace in the distance. A figure could be seen sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace.
Lucius took a deep breath, adjusted his robes, and hurried forward.
Hearing a noise at the door, Ivan slowly put down the Book of Hieroglyphs and turned to Lucius as he entered.
"It's been a while, Mr. Malfoy. Draco said you wanted to see me?"
Lucius was momentarily dazed as he looked at the wizard, who was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.
The last time he met Ivan Hals, he was just a talented young man, but in just two years, he had grown to the point where even he had to look up to him…
Lucius felt a pang of bitterness at the thought, but he did not forget that he was in need of a favour, so he kept his head down and spoke apologetically.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Sir…Hales. I've come to see you on an important matter…"
"Well, report to me?" Yvonne's smile widened, and she snapped her fingers to light the candles.
"Mister Malfoy, did I mishear you, or did you make a mistake? As a Death Eater, you should report to the Dark Lord about your duties."
"Actually, I don't work for the Dark Lord!" Lucius Malfoy hastily explained.
"I…or rather, we originally joined the Death Eaters to help the Dark Lord in order to create a better world of magic!
However, when the Dark Lord borrowed the power of pure-bloods like us to grow his influence, he became so dictatorial that he refused to go his own way, and bound everyone with violence and threats, using us as pawns in his quest to dominate the wizarding world…"
"A better wizarding world?" Yvonne said noncommittally. "It's the wizarding world that's better for pure-bloods, right?"
Lucius Malfoy looked embarrassed and said sheepishly, "Anyway, we didn't really want to work for the Dark Lord, we were forced to, if possible, try to get out of his control."
Ivan stared at Lucius, who was groveling, and sneered.
"Don't make it sound so good, Lucius! Last year at the Quidditch World Cup, you invited your old friends to hunt Muggles, didn't you?
It's clear that you miss being a Death Eater! The only reason you're rebelling now is because you couldn't get things done and angered Lord Voldemort, so you're looking for a replacement."
"If you chose to betray Voldemort today, how do I know that you will not choose to betray me in the future…"
"After all, we've had our fair share of run-ins…" Ivan's voice grew colder.
"No, you misunderstand me, Sir Harls. I swear, or make a magical pact, that the Malfoys will always be loyal to you!" Lucius Malfoy begged eagerly.
Ivan smiled at Lucius's words, but did not respond.
Lucius's so-called oath was one that he could not trust, and even magical contracts had loopholes that he could not see through.
Sensing Ivan's disregard for him, Lucius said anxiously, "Perhaps you have misunderstood my earlier offensive actions, but please give me a chance, and I will make amends!"
This piqued Ivan's interest, and he wondered what Lucius would offer in exchange for his understanding.
Lucius gritted his teeth. "Seven hundred thousand Galleons! What do you say?"
Seven… seven hundred thousand Galleons?!
His generosity stunned Ivan, who wondered if he had misheard.
'That's rich, isn't it?'
Ivan couldn't help but feel his teeth ache. For some reason, he had the urge to raid the entire Sacred Twenty-Eight Clans. How much money could he possibly get out of this?
Lucius was secretly relieved to see Ivan's reaction. He had given all the money in the family he could to ensure the Malfoy family's survival…
Although the Malfoy family was not badly hurt by the massive loss of blood, it took them at least a decade or two to recover.
However, it would be worth it if he could buy her protection.
In fact, Lucius had already looked into it before coming here.
The wizarding market has not been doing well lately, and with the need to bribe officials to deal with the Ministry of Magic, the House of Hales is bound to be in financial trouble, and this is the perfect time for him to help!
However, to Lucius's surprise, Ivan's expression quickly returned to normal, without the wild joy he had expected.
Ivan sat back down and leaned against the soft back of the chair. "I appreciate your sincerity, but unfortunately, Galleons mean nothing to me…" he said with disgust.
Lucius looked at Ivan in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant. That was seven hundred thousand Galleons. Even if his estimate was wrong and the finances of Knockturn Alley were in good condition, it was still a large sum of money that would sway anyone.
Ivan made no attempt to explain himself, merely brushing his hand across the dark stone of the fireplace, causing complicated magical inscriptions to appear on the alchemy contraption, which was concealed by his robes.
The next moment, a golden light began to spread rapidly along the stone tiles where Ivan touched them.
As Lucius and Draco watched, in just ten seconds, the dark fireplace turned a brilliant golden colour…