[Note: Read up to Chapter - 152 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
.
.
.
.
After watching Aris leave, Henry turned to face the group of pure-blood wizards still lingering in the living room. A cold, almost predatory gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Heino Barlotte," Henry began, his voice dripping with authority, "We have more than enough evidence to prove that the Barlotte family provided substantial financial backing to the Dark Lord during the First Wizarding War. Should your safety ever be in question, it's clear: the Shafiq family's interests come first."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the room, before continuing with a sharp edge to his tone.
"Little Avery, a former Death Eater, concealed numerous murders of Muggles during the Ministry of Magic's investigations. We've gathered the proof, and the Ministry will certainly agree—his death was justified. Mr. Shafiq deserves commendation for his actions."
"Moritz Crowley, another former Death Eater..." Henry trailed off, his words hanging in the air, heavy with implication.
"Malika Rozier..." he muttered, his voice thick with disdain.
The room fell into an uneasy silence as Henry's words sunk in.
One name after another spilled from Henry's lips, each one accompanied by a litany of crimes that only deepened Lucius' sense of dread. It quickly became clear that the boy had thought of everything.
With this information in hand, even if the Ministry of Magic were to uncover today's events, they would have no grounds to accuse him. The evidence was airtight. Not even Li Kun could receive an Order of Merlin for such a decisive purge of dark wizards. The sheer scale of it—eliminating so many dangerous individuals in such a short span—was enough to shake the entire wizarding world to its core.
"Henry, we're not late, are we?"
Just as Henry was finishing up the list of accusations against the pure-blood wizards in the room, a group of seven or eight wizards rushed in from outside. They wore black robes and the unmistakable badge of the Barton family on their chests, their faces etched with anxiety.
"Not too late, just right!" Henry replied, glancing at the newcomers as a smile appeared on his face.
Narciss Barton stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the scene with a growing look of shock. The other wizards shared his disbelief, their faces frozen in surprise at what they found before them. Clearly, this wasn't what they had expected to walk into.
"We didn't get any signal from you outside, so we hesitated to come in," Narciss explained, swallowing nervously. "When we saw the young master rush out, we feared something had gone wrong in here… What's happened?"
His gaze swept over the scene—several pure-blood wizards were sprawled on the ground, some of them with broken limbs, others unmoving. The sight was enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.
"You did all this?" Narciss asked, his voice tinged with disbelief as he looked at the aftermath of Aris's handiwork.
"It's not me, it's the young master!" Henry replied quickly, causing a stir among the members of the Barton family present. They exchanged confused glances.
"Master?"
"This is... unbelievable. Was this all done by the young master?"
"He's only... eleven years old, isn't he?"
"Merlin help us, are these wizards just standing around doing nothing?"
"They obviously drew their wands..." one of them murmured.
Narciss, processing the scene, quickly pieced together what had happened. His expression grew more and more intense as he took in the details.
"They were all defeated or killed in such a short time..." he said, his voice trembling. "It seems that several of them lost their ability to fight as soon as they pulled out their wands!"
He then paused, inspecting the room with a furrowed brow.
"There are signs of damage from large creatures... Could it have been the young master's pet? But what kind of pet would be big enough to cause this much destruction?"
"It looks like the whole wizarding world will be in an uproar tomorrow..."
The members of the Barton family murmured to each other, their expressions growing increasingly incredulous.
One by one, they turned their gazes to Henry, as if waiting for him to provide some kind of answer.
"Your guesses are all correct..." Henry nodded, then gestured to the pure-blood wizards sprawled on the ground. His voice was icy as he spoke, "But now is not the time for discussion."
"The young master has decreed that anyone involved in this plan must either surrender all their family property or face death."
"Now, we must follow the master's orders!"
The room fell silent as the words sank in. Shock rippled through the Barton family, and some of them hesitated, clearly uneasy. They were probably concerned about the gravity of the situation and how it would be perceived by the outside world—or worse, the Ministry of Magic.
After all, the pure-blood wizards in the room were all representatives of prestigious families, each with some level of influence within the Ministry of Magic. However, there were those whose expressions began to shift, excitement slowly replacing their initial hesitation. Clearly, the suppressed emotions they'd been holding in were finally being released.
But no matter their personal feelings, the task at hand was clear: they had to follow Aris's orders.
Under Henry's leadership, the other members of the Barton family got to work. One by one, they grabbed the pure-blood wizards who had been knocked down, tossing them around like mere chickens, and heaped them together in a pile.
Lucius watched the scene unfold, his silence betraying his helplessness. He dared not speak a word—especially with Narcissus standing beside him, eyes fixed on him like a hawk.
…
The next day, at Hogwarts.
The auditorium was quieter than usual.
Most of the little wizards who were heading home for Christmas had already left yesterday. The rest were either staying at school or, like Hermione, had intended to leave but were tied up with things to do.
"What should we do? Professor McGonagall is completely unresponsive. She won't tell us anything!" Harry frowned, clearly troubled.
"She didn't even tell us where Professor Dumbledore is. I thought they'd have known about Aris's situation by now and would have taken action!" Hermione's frustration was evident as she paced back and forth in front of the long table.
"A whole day's gone by. It'll be too late if we don't do something now!" Cho, who hadn't gone home yet, said, his expression heavy.
"How about we head to Diagon Alley first?" Harry suggested. "Didn't Hermione say that Flourish and Blotts is owned by the Shafiq family? The people there might know something, right?"
"That's right, we're going to Diagon Alley now!" Hermione said, jumping into action. She dashed to the Gryffindor common room to pack her things. She couldn't afford to waste any more time. Aris was in danger, and she had to do something!
"I'm coming too!" Cho stood up without hesitation.
"Actually, no news is probably the best news right now, isn't it?" Ronald suddenly interjected.
His comment made Hermione and Cho stop in their tracks, both of them turning to look at him. Harry and the others exchanged looks, their eyes narrowed in irritation.
"Isn't it? At least it means Aris is still safe!" Ronald added, trying to defend his point.
"If something had happened to the only heir of the Shafiq family, surely there'd be something in the Daily Prophet about it, right?"
"Well, that does make a bit of sense," Harry admitted with a sigh. "But still..."
"By the way," Harry added, his brow furrowed, "hasn't the paper arrived yet?"
"Not yet," Ronald replied. "But it should be here soon enough!"
Just then, the unmistakable hoot of an owl echoed through the auditorium.
"It's Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed, turning quickly to wave at the white owl swooping into the hall.
The owl zoomed straight toward him, dropped a newspaper onto the long table, and landed gracefully beside it. Harry gave the owl a gentle pat on the head, offered it some biscuits, and eagerly unwrapped the paper.
"Any news?" Hermione, Cho, and the others crowded around, their eyes fixed on the paper.
Ronald, who had been sitting next to Harry, turned his attention to the front page. Before he could fully read it, a moving photo caught his eye. The back figure seemed oddly familiar... It was a little boy...
"There's news about Aris!" Harry's voice rang out with a hint of excitement as he scanned the headline.
[The Only Heir of the Shafiq Family: Is He a Devil or a Hero?]
The front page of the Daily Prophet was entirely consumed by headlines about Aris, his small figure looming ominously in the accompanying photo. For some inexplicable reason, the image gave an unsettling sense of pressure, as if the weight of the entire situation was bearing down on the reader.
"Last night, a shocking tragedy occurred at Malfoy Manor," the article began, "where several pure-blood wizards were killed, and others were left seriously injured. Among the deceased was former Death Eater, Little Avery..."
"It's almost unbelievable that all of this was carried out by a boy who is only eleven years old. Yes, the very same boy we've been reading about in recent weeks—Aris Shafiq, the sole heir to the Shafiq family!"
"The cause of the incident remains unclear, but according to the latest reports from the Ministry of Magic, Aris Shafiq may face charges of murder and grievous bodily harm. Should he be convicted, it's likely he will spend the rest of his life in Azkaban. This newspaper will continue to follow the developments closely..."
As Harry quickly scanned the contents of the Daily Prophet, the expressions on the faces of the four young wizards were priceless.
Harry and Ronald exchanged wide-eyed glances, both utterly incredulous. They read the article again, as if they couldn't quite believe their eyes.
"Aris has killed someone and might end up in Azkaban?!" Ronald exclaimed, his face drained of colour.
"They must be mistaken. There's no way Aris could have killed anyone..." Harry murmured, still in shock, shaking his head furiously.
He turned to Hermione, searching for some reassurance, a sense of confirmation from the one person who always had an answer.
"Did you see this? Among the victims, there are former Death Eaters!" Hermione said, pacing back and forth, clearly troubled. "It must've been a massive fight last night! Aris... Aris can't be hurt, right?"
"And yet, they're still planning to throw him in Azkaban?" she added, her voice rising in frustration. "Why aren't they putting the ones responsible for all this in there instead?"
"It's unimaginable that these pure-blood wizards would gang up to bully an eleven-year-old boy. How utterly shameless..."
"They deserve it. Aris must've had no choice but to fight back!" Cho said, her voice filled with unwavering trust in Aris.
"So many pure-blood families have banded together, even bringing in those notorious Death Eaters, and in the end, they want to throw Aris in Azkaban. We need to find him as soon as possible. At least we can vouch for him during the trial..."
"I'm sure all the students and professors at Hogwarts would believe Aris didn't kill anyone on purpose!"
As the two girls voiced their concerns, Harry and Ronald exchanged a look before frowning.
"No matter what, the most important thing right now is to find Aris!"
"If he really gets locked up in Azkaban... that'll be the end of it all..." Ronald's voice trembled slightly, his tone laced with fear. "I remember my dad once telling me about something called Dementors in Azkaban... They're terrifying."
"That kind of monster specialises in draining the positive energy from wizards," Hermione continued, her voice trembling. "Wherever Dementors are, the whole world feels like it's plunged into darkness. It's as if all the happy memories and beliefs we hold dear fade away, leaving only deep despair... like falling into the darkest depths of hell..."
"If Aris were targeted by a creature like that... I can't even imagine!"
"And the worst part is the Dementor's Kiss. I've heard that if someone is kissed by a Dementor, their soul is sucked right out of them. Instant death."
"Enough!" Hermione cried out, spinning on her heel and storming off.
"We've got to go to Diagon Alley and find Aris!" Cho said, already heading towards the Ravenclaw tower.
Harry and Ronald exchanged a glance, then, without hesitation, turned toward the Gryffindor common room. Although they had planned to spend Christmas at Hogwarts, how could they possibly stay put in the face of such an emergency?
They'd even decided that if they couldn't get back, they'd just spend Christmas in Diagon Alley. After all, Harry had the money to rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron, no problem. As for how to explain things to Professor McGonagall... well, they'd say Ronald's parents had suddenly come back. That should do the trick, right? Well... at least they hoped so.
Meanwhile, over at Shafiq Castle, Aris was having his breakfast in the dining room. Ali was eating as well, with Snoopy and Dobby bustling around, each of them trying to outdo the other by bringing him more food. They were both so eager, it was almost like a competition, their eyes occasionally meeting with a glimmer of rivalry.
"Alright, you two..." Aris muttered, looking at the pair with a sigh. He hadn't expected Snoopy to be so disgruntled with Dobby. Really, it was just a gold galleon salary, wasn't it?
In the world of house-elves, the hierarchy of contempt was a strange thing indeed. Loyalty to their masters was their highest (and most easily controlled) honour.
This kind of loyalty meant that elves couldn't accept any rewards from their master. They were expected to give everything — even their lives — selflessly, without question. To do otherwise would be a shame, even among their own kind. Take Dobby, for instance. He had dared to ask Aris for a salary of just one gold galleon a month, and now, he was the most despised elf in all of Shafiq Castle.
"Master!" Snoopy's voice broke through Aris's thoughts, and the elf immediately lowered his head in submission.
Dobby, who had been watching the exchange, looked at Aris nervously, his eyes tinged with unease.
"Snoopy," Aris said, a glimmer of thought crossing his mind. "How about this? I'll pay you one galleon a month too. How does that sound?"
The reaction was instant. "No, no, no, Master! Please! Have I done something wrong?" Snoopy fell to the ground, his voice rising in panic, and to Aris's surprise, tears welled up in his eyes.
To Snoopy, the gold galleons weren't a reward — they were a punishment, an insult. He couldn't bear it, for an elf like him to receive a payment was unfathomable.
Snoopy couldn't help but wonder if Aris no longer wanted him, perhaps intending to send him away from the castle.
"Alright, get up," Aris said with a sigh, his tone softening. "I won't bring it up again. But remember, you can't bully Dobby. I brought him here, so he's part of the castle now. You two need to get along, understand?"
"Yes, Master!" Snoopy nodded vigorously, carefully rising to his feet.
On the side, Dobby's eyes were brimming with tears again. He wiped his face repeatedly, sniffling, his gaze fixed on Aris with deep respect and reverence.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the stairs behind them, followed by a voice, light and cheerful.
"Brother, am I late waking up?"
Aris turned with a smile lighting up his face. "Of course not!"
"Luna, come join us for breakfast!"
.
.
.
.
Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Note: Read up to Chapter - 152 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]