Draco was stunned by the sight of the glittering fireplace.
Even Lucius, who had seen it all, was stunned for a long time before he finally came to his senses and reached out to touch the golden bricks.
His years of experience with money told him this was real gold!
But… how was that possible?
Lucius couldn't hide his shock. He would much rather believe it was the result of Transfiguration, but Ivan was so skilled in magic that even Lucius couldn't tell…
"Nicole Flamel was my teacher…" Ivan explained, breaking Lucius Malfoy's reverie.
Although he needed the 700,000 Galleons for military expenses and to reduce the depletion of the Philosopher's Stone's magic, he did not want Lucius to think too highly of this so-called money that he would not be able to do without it…
"Nicole Flamel… the touch of stone into gold… the Stone…" Lucius muttered to himself, his face drained of colour as he realised he had lost the most important bargaining chip he had.
Just as Lucius Malfoy was losing his mind, Ivan spoke up. "Didn't you say you had important information for me? Lucius?"
Lucius Malfoy snapped out of his daze and remembered he had another bargaining chip.
"Yes, I recently received word that the Dark Lord is planning a major operation within the month, and that the Aurors stationed at Azkaban will have a shift change in fifteen days. Voldemort is planning to use this opportunity to rescue the Death Eaters from Azkaban when the defences are weak…"
Seizing his only chance, Lucius spilled everything he knew, including the names of several Ministry officials who had defected to the Death Eaters.
"Good, that information is useful," Ivan said, nodding in acknowledgement of Lucius's efforts.
The news of Lord Voldemort's attempt to rescue the Death Eaters had reached Ivan, and the Dementors guarding Azkaban made it clear that they would have a day off in fifteen days.
This holiday was not given by the Ministry of Magic, of course, but by Lord Voldemort, who sent them off to attack wizards and Muggles on their way to distract the Aurors.
When Ivan received this information, he was certain that Voldemort was using it as an opportunity to rescue the imprisoned Death Eaters, as was his earlier plan against the Ministry.
Now that Lucius Malfoy was involved, there might be some changes to the plan.
"I have an errand for you, Lucius," Ivan said after a moment.
"If you please, Sir Harls, anything I can do, anything at all!" Lucius replied fervently.
"Very well, then! I want you to find out exactly when Lord Voldemort is going to strike, and find a way to get ahead of him in fifteen days' time and free all the Death Eaters who have been locked up in Azkaban. I want you to lead them into chaos and swear to the entire wizarding community that the Dark Lord has returned…" Ivan enunciated each word carefully.
"What?" Lucius stared at Ivan in shock, wondering if he had misheard.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Ivan asked, his voice thick with displeasure.
"No, I heard you loud and clear, Sir Harls…" Lucius shook his head quickly, then hesitated. "It's just that… the Death Eaters may not want to believe me. After all, I once betrayed the Dark Lord in their eyes."
"Don't worry, there will be another Lord Voldemort willing to work with you…" Ivan said casually, tapping his hand on the arm of the sofa.
Another Lord Voldemort?
Lucius's eyes narrowed at the absurdity of it. Were there two Dark Lords in the world? And one of them was willing to cooperate?
Wait… this doesn't seem completely impossible!
Lucius recovered quickly from his momentary shock.
He suddenly remembered that he had paid a large sum of money to buy the memories of several Knockturn Alley wizards and had seen Ivan cut off Voldemort's hand!
As long as the other party casually cut off some flesh and blood tissue to make a Polyjuice Potion, they could create a second Voldemort out of thin air!
Given Ivan's level of magic, pretending to be Lord Voldemort wouldn't give him away…
Lucius felt his head spin at the thought. This was the craziest plan he had ever heard in his life!
However, because of their madness, the Death Eaters would never have imagined that someone would dare impersonate Lord Voldemort and snatch them away from Azkaban on the appointed day!
Lucius swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Can you tell me why you want to release the Death Eaters early?"
"Fudge has been Minister for Magic long enough, and retirement would be wise," Ivan said with a sneer.
'Retired? Retired, I suppose?'
Lucius muttered to himself, understanding some of Ivan's thoughts.
For the past six months, Fudge claimed that Lord Voldemort did not exist, prompting the Daily Prophet to trumpet this claim.
The news of Lord Voldemort's sudden prison break and the destruction of Diagon Alley by the escaped Death Eaters would no doubt turn into a resounding slap across Fudge's face, sending him flying from his post as Minister for Magic.
In addition, Lucius did not think Ivan would spare any of the Death Eaters who had escaped, as they would most likely be "timely" caught and killed by Aurors and a large number of "warm-hearted masses."
The legendary Dark Lord was also said to be outnumbered, and would flee in panic after displaying his full strength…
This impressive record of defeating the Dark Lord would eventually be used by Ivan's chosen candidates as an important part of his campaign for Minister for Magic.
Lucius shuddered. The young wizard in front of him was bold enough to plot against both Voldemort and the Ministry of Magic. He could not have imagined such boldness!
Most importantly, such a well-thought-out plan could not have been conceived on the fly, and twenty days would not have been enough to complete the preparatory work.
This meant that Ivan Hals knew about this and had been preparing for it.
There must be another mole in the Death Eaters' camp besides himself!
"What do you think of the plan, Lucius?" Ivan asked.
Lucius considered the offer for a moment, then said solemnly, "Seventy percent is a good bet! However, there are two problems that need to be solved."
"First, there are too few of us. The Dark Lord can't bring just me!"
Lucius stole a glance at Ivan, as if to ask him how many Death Eaters he had working for him, and how many of them would be involved if the plan went ahead.
Ivan, however, did not respond. He just looked at him with interest, as if expecting a solution.
Lucius relented. "I'm not the only Death Eater who wants to escape the Dark Lord's control. There are many others who want to rebel, and I know Gibbon, Crabbe, Goyle, and Gagson well enough to try to convince or control them."