Chapter 658: The Election Begins, the Origin of Magic

"Lippi gave us quite the surprise."

John opened a bottle of soda.

Ariana, who had been sitting on the sofa watching television, immediately turned her gaze toward him.

She stared fixedly at John. John looked at the soda, then at his little sister.

"No. You’ve already had three bottles."

John refused her without hesitation.

Ariana pouted unhappily.

Ever since Watson discovered that Ariana liked soda, he had practically bought out every shop nearby.

Naturally, this led to Ariana drinking it nonstop.

Eventually, the Wick family held its first family meeting over the issue of Ariana’s soda intake.

By an overwhelming vote of six to two, they decided to limit how much soda Ariana could drink each day.

Watson, the other dissenting vote, was also restricted to three bottles a day.

What?

Where did the Wick family get six votes in favour?

According to John, the owls and the dog had voting rights too.

Because of that, Ariana had developed a grudge against Kiki.

She wouldn’t forgive it even when it tried to make peace!

John was still thinking about what Barty Crouch Sr. had told him.

He hadn’t expected Lippi to cause such a huge commotion.

It was one thing to retrieve the ring, but she had also turned the corpse and the Polish Ministry of Magic upside down.

"Barty Crouch Sr. plans to wait until the election to expose the conspiracy."

John raised an eyebrow and said thoughtfully, "It seems a little too easy."

Everything had gone far too smoothly.

John’s instincts told him there was something suspicious about it.

"I need to remind Barty Crouch Sr. to be more careful."

He set down his soda, opened a passage, and stepped through.

The moment he left, Ariana’s teddy bear crept suspiciously toward the refrigerator.

It climbed up, braced itself against the edge, and kicked hard.

The refrigerator door swung open.

Ariana said slyly, "The teddy bear opened it. It has nothing to do with Ariana."

She looked inside and saw that every bottle of soda had been numbered. If even one went missing, they would notice immediately.

Ariana’s mouth drooped in frustration as she closed the door.

Just as she was about to return to the television, she saw her old man come back.

Like father, like daughter, Watson sneaked inside.

Moving on tiptoe, he silently mouthed, "Ariana, where are your mother and brother?"

Ariana replied, "Mum went to the beauty salon, and Brother went out."

"Then I can relax."

Watson breathed a sigh of relief.

He was carrying an insulated case that looked like the sort of thing laboratories used to transport medicine.

He approached Ariana mysteriously, glancing left and right like a thief.

Under Ariana’s curious gaze, he solemnly opened the case.

A wave of cold air spilled out. Inside were piles of ice and bottles of soda.

Ariana’s eyes lit up.

"Soda party." Watson declared grandly, "We’ve got every flavour!"

"No one’s here to stop us today!"

Ariana looked at him with admiration, sending Watson’s vanity soaring.

With a generous wave of his hand, he declared that they would drink to their hearts’ content today.

After all, no one else was home. Father and daughter could indulge without restraint.

There was just one thing they had forgotten.

Humans weren’t the only ones in the house.

Two owls and one dog were silently watching Watson’s shameless behaviour.

...

Silverhand Manor.

Riddle flew down and landed in front of John. John reached out and stroked its head.

He had written a letter to Barty Crouch Sr., warning him to be cautious.

"Send the Star Disciples with him."

John added another layer of protection. The Star Disciples had always remained hidden in various places.

With them accompanying him...

With them accompanying him, it would be much more reassuring.

"Don’t let anyone intercept him along the way."

John stroked Riddle and sent it off to deliver the letter.

Once everything was taken care of, he turned his attention to the person who had come to Silverhand Manor.

"You’ve made your decision?"

From the second floor, he looked down at Theodore below.

"I have," Theodore said respectfully. "The decayed Nott is dead. I will follow you and become the new Nott."

John was not surprised by his choice.

From the moment Theodore went to Azkaban, every move he made had been under John’s watch.

And Theodore had already acted on his decision.

He had chosen to put an end to his father’s endless imprisonment.

One death marked both the end of the old Nott and the mercy granted by the King.

"Barty Crouch Sr. will be going to this election. You’ll accompany him."

John said calmly, "You need to become familiar with all of this. What you’ll face in the future won’t be the child’s play of Hogwarts."

"I understand." Theodore nodded.

"From now on, you’re an Star Disciples." John slowly walked downstairs. "You can learn a great deal from them."

"How to use killing curses, how to interrogate, how to infiltrate, and how to escape."

He stopped in front of Theodore and looked at his former friend.

"You’ll struggle in the mud. Either you’ll sink into it and drown, or you’ll fight your way out and transform."

"As you are now, you can’t support the new Nott family."

"Blood and fire can turn you into a qualified head of the family."

John raised a hand and placed it on Theodore’s shoulder, then asked calmly, "Do you remember those words?"

"For eternal glory."

Theodore raised his head, fanaticism burning in his eyes.

Yes.

For eternal glory.

At that end-of-year feast in their first year, the young and immature King had stood surrounded by Slytherins, raised his cup, and shouted those words.

And glory had become a trap Slytherin could never escape.

They pursued power and glory.

Theodore was one of those believers.

Just like Voldemort once had, John’s followers now spread across the entire wizarding world.

For glory, and even more so, to restore the glory of House Nott.

Theodore would offer up his life.

"The election is about to begin."

John looked toward the beautifully planted garden outside.

The gardener was carefully tending the plants.

Barty Crouch Jr. was gradually becoming less cold.

Perhaps it was because Barty Crouch Sr. had continued patiently showing him the care of a loving father, or perhaps because Barty Crouch Jr. had finally realised that his father no longer needed the image of a heroic parent.

Barty Crouch Jr. began, little by little, to accept some of the fatherly affection Barty Crouch Sr. offered him.

It was something he had once longed for.

Barty Crouch Jr. still said that he hated him.

Yet he had started calling him "Father."

Perhaps his old rebelliousness had simply been retaliation for his father’s neglect, and the changed Barty Crouch Sr. had finally learned to show a softer side.

John walked over to Barty Crouch Jr. and glanced at how skilfully he worked with one hand.

"You’re used to it now."

Barty Crouch Jr. paused. "It’s still inconvenient sometimes."

John shook his head. "I meant your father. You’re starting to get used to having him around."

Barty Crouch Jr. did not know what to say. He simply continued clearing away the weeds.

"Find a chance to have a proper talk with him," John said. "He’ll be happier about that than becoming President of the International Confederation of Wizards."

Silence was still Barty Crouch Jr.’s only response.

John did not say anything more and left.

Barty Crouch Jr. put down the shovel and looked up at the sky.

"The weather’s nice," he murmured.

Back when he lived in the Crouch household, he had never had the chance to see a sky like this.

It was the sort of sky he used to see above the Quidditch pitch.

...

The election began.

It was being held at the birthplace of magic.

Green mountains rose in the distance, their peaks seeming almost to meet the sky.

A vast staircase stretched upward toward the clouds, with a magnificent castle visible at its summit.

A figure stepped onto the grounds and raised his head toward the place shrouded in clouds and mist.

This was where the first Dark Lord had once met his defeat.

And now, he had set foot here again.

Inge reached out and touched the weathered stone bricks.

____

o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel