Thunder rumbled through the heavy clouds, and a cold wind swept over Goyle, making his entire body tremble.
"Goyle? Why are you still here? Everyone else has gone to carry out their mission."
Behind him, Lucius Malfoy's voice sounded almost amused, yet it carried a chilling menace that froze Goyle to the bone.
"M–Malfoy? Why are you still here? Didn't everyone already leave?" Goyle stammered. As he tried to turn around, a wand pressed firmly against his back.
"Don't move, Goyle. For the sake of our many years of friendship, I hope you'll behave."
"You… what are you doing?" Goyle said slowly. "You shouldn't still be here. You clearly picked up a Portkey!"
"Me?" Lucius Malfoy replied coldly. "I'm here to ask why you, the traitor, didn't follow the others."
"You've got the nerve to accuse me?" Goyle shouted. "You didn't go either! You were the first one to take a Portkey! You actually sent everyone else to their deaths?"
"That's right," Lucius said, his smile vanishing and twisting into something horrifying. "I intended for them to die. Including you."
"You're insane!" Goyle shouted, cold sweat pouring down his face. "You won't escape the Dark Lord's punishment! You'll die, and so will the entire Malfoy family!"
"Heh," Lucius laughed softly, his expression sickly. "Isn't the Malfoy family down to just me and my wife now? What future could a family like that possibly have?"
Hearing the venom in Lucius's voice, Goyle shuddered.
"Calm down, Malfoy. Just calm down."
He looked like a terrified, witless fat man, but his right hand remained steady as it quietly reached into his robes, slowly drawing out his wand.
"Expelliarmus!"
A flash of red light sent Goyle flying backward. His wand spun out of his hand and skidded across the floor.
Lucius might have looked unhinged, but he hadn't lost his reason. His first move was to disarm Goyle.
Goyle writhed on the ground, clutching his chest in pain.
"Malfoy! Don't do this! We can talk!"
"Of course," Lucius said, staring down at him. "No need to rush toward death, Goyle. We still have accounts to settle."
His gaze burned into Goyle.
"Why? Why didn't you stand with me and pressure Dumbledore after Draco died?"
"Wasn't… wasn't you enough?" Goyle argued weakly. "If even you couldn't make him yield, what difference would I have made?"
"Ridiculous!" Lucius snarled. "You were afraid. You didn't dare oppose Dumbledore, did you? You coward!"
"Cruciatus!"
A sickly green curse struck Goyle, and unbearable pain tore a scream from his throat.
Consumed by rage, Lucius unleashed the Cruciatus Curse. Killing Goyle outright wasn't enough. He needed to make him suffer.
"Ahhh—! Malfoy, stop!" Goyle screamed. "I lost my son too! I'm innocent! We should have been allies!"
"No," Lucius laughed madly. "I don't need allies like you. You're a Death Eater, and Death Eaters are exactly who I intend to kill!"
"Cruciatus!"
The screaming grew even more shrill, and Lucius laughed harder.
Under the relentless torture, Goyle was soon reduced to a broken shell. His eyes went dull, as though his soul had been torn away.
That was the power of the Cruciatus Curse. It could break even the strongest will. And Goyle had never been strong-willed to begin with.
Having expended a great deal of magic, Lucius staggered forward, breathing heavily. He looked down at Goyle's empty body and grinned viciously.
"Don't worry. You're just the beginning. Plenty more will follow you down the road to death."
He raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Green light flashed, and a life ended.
But this was only the appetizer. The true slaughter was just beginning.
...
Deep within the Forbidden Forest, beside a swamp, Leonard quietly retreated behind a massive boulder and peeked out, watching in silence.
The place where the botanical garden once stood now looked completely empty, as if nothing had ever been there.
In reality, the area surrounding the predetermined Portkey coordinates was already packed with invisible plants, lying in wait like predators.
Leonard's face was slightly pale, not from fear, but from exhaustion. He had nearly drained himself dry.
He had cast a powerful Disillusionment Charm, making the entire botanical garden vanish.
This was all to ensure the ambush went smoothly. Leonard had no intention of chasing Death Eaters all over the Forbidden Forest.
That would have been a terrible idea.
The forest was home to many intelligent beings. Being discovered would cause endless trouble.
And hunting Death Eaters was dangerous in its own right. Every single one of them could cast Unforgivable Curses. A careless moment, and it would be an Avada Kedavra to the face.
That was also why Leonard hadn't allowed Midgard to join in. No matter how strong she was, a single Killing Curse would still end her. Leonard, at least, could reflect one straight back.
Suddenly, the target area distorted.
The next moment, werewolf wizards appeared.
Because the Portkeys had been taken at different times and in the strict order set by Lucius, the arrivals came in waves.
The first wave was made up of werewolf wizards.
"Huh? That's strange," one of them said, looking around. "Where's Malfoy? And where is this place?"
The first person to take a Portkey hadn't appeared ahead of them.
And this area didn't look anything like a coastline.
Everyone knew Azkaban was an island. To reach it, you had to take a boat.
But there wasn't even a hint of the sea nearby. How were they supposed to sail?
What they didn't know was that this was a complete deception. Lucius's Portkeys never led here. They pointed to another location entirely, one still within Malfoy Manor.
And this wasn't a transfer point to Azkaban.
This was a death ground.
The final stop of their lives.
As the werewolves glanced around in confusion, Leonard watched them from the shadows. These were the ones who had betrayed him, betrayed Midgard, and betrayed their own kind.
A flash of bloodlust crossed his eyes.
Their blood would wash away their sins.
"Begin," Leonard said with a smile. "My good children."
In the next instant, the Whomping Willow treants hidden beneath the Disillusionment Charm raised their massive fists and brought them crashing down toward the werewolves' heads.