Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying

Chapter 865: Chapter 236: One of Us?

The expected scene did not occur; the expressions of the Death Eaters froze on their faces.

Ants did not crawl up to his ankle to gnaw at his flesh, crabs retracted their sharp pincers as he walked by, and mantises gazed at him without attacking.

The leopard lying on the ground was incomplete, its sole remaining eye glimmering with red light. Yet when Braun reached out to touch its broken spine, it emitted a low, almost whimpering sound, as if it was communicating with him in a way only the two of them could understand.

Among the Death Eaters, some dropped their magic wands, some dug their nails deeply into their palms, and others uttered strange ”ho ho” noises as if strangled.

Their gazes frantically shifted between Braun and Vid, even Voldemort slightly widened his eyes.

—Why don’t the poppets attack this guy?

Could there be some unknown relationship between them?

Or is there some tacit understanding between Dumbledore and Grindelwald...

[No wonder...]

Voldemort suddenly felt he had seen through some truth of the world.

No wonder, after Grindelwald’s escape, he frequently attacked Muggles, yet Dumbledore did not exert himself to deal with Grindelwald as he once did... Surely these two had reached some agreement, maybe after their last fierce battle...

Even among the gray-robed wizards, a subtle commotion arose, with only Lucius Malfoy bowing his head deeply, feeling a sense of ”being the only sober one while everyone else was drunk”.

...

He recalled sneaking out of the monastery earlier, yet before he found an opportunity to Apparate, he had just looked back to see if anyone was chasing him when suddenly he was knocked down by a Petrification Spell.

Afterwards, the brown-haired youth led the gray-robed wizards over.

He first kicked the petrified wizard: ”Death Eater?”

After pulling down the hood, he evidently recognized Lucius’s identity and said with some surprise, ”Malfoy? I didn’t expect it to be you who ran out...”

A gray robe found a note on Lucius, handing it to Braun. The young man glanced at it, then looked at the monastery that seemed to squeeze out from the air, suddenly revealing a smile.

”So that’s what it is... you’re carrying a note that can expose an address, who do you plan to give it to?”

The gray-robed wizard had already lifted the Petrification Spell from Lucius, but with a dozen magic wands pointed at him, he dared not even attempt to raise his wand.

Lucius was not someone who would keep secrets at all costs, yet he thought of Voldemort’s relationship with Grindelwald, then Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindelwald...

Cold sweat broke out on the man’s forehead, he was speechless, his eyes frantically darted around, pondering words in his mind.

Then the young man seemed not to need an answer from his mouth, pondering with his chin for a while before suddenly saying:

”Hmm... could it be Dumbledore? Eh? I seem to have guessed right!”

Lucius’s heart sank heavily, he subconsciously touched his face, not knowing what expression he had revealed that the other party directly guessed the truth.

However, the subsequent developments were not as he imagined—the brown-haired youth did not cast a Killing Curse but instead showed the note to others before putting it back into Lucius’s pocket, then patted it.

”Don’t worry, I’m not the petty type.” He laughed easily, ”You can still deliver it to where it should go, but not now... When I’m talking to your former master, I don’t want to be disturbed, understand?”

”Former master,” that term, how unpleasant...

But as a prisoner, Lucius dared not protest, he could only manage a stiff smile, nodding and saying, ”I understand, I’ll rip up the note, I won’t contact anyone...”

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the brown-haired youth showed an unhappy expression.

”How could that work? Do you realize how much external criticism Dumbledore will face if he’s inactive during this incident?”

In a ghost-like expression from Lucius, the youth shook his head and sighed, ”Foolish people... always demanding too much from good people, and too little from bad people. So I’d rather be a villain than a saint.”

He patted Lucius’s shoulder earnestly and said, ”Just do as I say. Rest assured, I’m not speaking in riddles... wait for my signal, got it?”

Lucius: ”...”

His neck rustily nodded twice, like a marionette.

...

At this moment, Lucius stood among the crowd, watching the young man walk calmly among the poppets, reflecting on his previous words, with a growing sense of intense information.

He lowered his head, the sliding hood obscured the complicated expression that flashed in his eyes.

When Braun’s gaze swept over, the Adam’s apple of this Pure-Blood Noble rolled difficultly, as if swallowing a prickly truth.

Meanwhile, at the church entrance, Vid watched Braun’s approach without blinking, his round face devoid of extra expressions.

Actually, the fingers hidden in his sleeves were cold, his mind tightened.

The thorny gazes wrapping around him were irrelevant, even Voldemort’s threats were unimportant, what mattered was...

Why don’t my poppets attack this man?

Even if they don’t attack, which might be due to some past agreement... but why would they allow him to approach me when I’m so weak?

Vid had secretly issued several commands, yet the poppets remained vigilant against the Death Eaters and the Witch Pure Party members, ignoring the man walking past them.

Vid’s thoughts were chaotic, even doubting the so-called ”his own poppets”.

Just then, the cloak suddenly fell upon him.

”Don’t worry...”

The cloak seemed to understand the child’s momentary fear, explained in an exceptionally gentle tone, ”This is one of our own!”

—One of our own?

Vid sneered inwardly.

Without his permission, simply allowing a highly threatening man to approach him, are these poppets... really fully loyal to him?

Having turned into a weak child, except for his parents, no one else should be allowed near! Even if it were his parents...

While his heart grew cold, Braun approached slowly, gracefully bowing: ”Good evening, young sir.”

Vid bit his lip until it turned white. He lifted his head, his immature voice carrying an incongruous sternness, directly asking: ”Why can you control my poppets?”

Inside and outside the Flow Mirror, everyone awaited Braun’s response.

Braun smiled, bent over with hands on his knees, looking at Vid with a grin, ”I didn’t control them... just introduced myself as a friend in their enemy recognition system.”

Vid’s eyes widened instantly, a faint sense of relief mingled with disappointment in his alchemical skills.

Watching the other, he tentatively asked: ”What kind of magic is this?”