Malfoy's voice echoed through the house.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged glances. They were no longer as resistant as they had been at first.
After all, there probably wasn't anyone more eager to find Professor Fawley than Malfoy.
"We can work together, but only on one condition. You cannot reveal anything you learn here to anyone!" Hermione said sternly.
Malfoy raised his brows in surprise.
Judging from her attitude, this incident seemed far more serious than he had imagined.
Not only that, Hermione also gave Harry and Ron a warning look.
"That goes for you two as well. Until we confirm the truth or catch the real culprit, we cannot let this information get out. At least, not yet."
The two looked at each other.
"Hermione," Harry said thoughtfully, "do you suspect there's a mole?"
"I don't suspect it. I'm certain there is!"
Hermione walked to the window, carefully glanced out at the peaceful street, then drew the curtains.
"This person is powerful, but he is still only one person. There is no way he could gather a hundred thousand tons of Magic Fluid by himself in three days."
"Even if he could, the Magic Fluid would have to be stored in suitable locations all across the country to create the greatest threat. In other words, he must have a team helping him, or even an entire large organization!"
"And yet this organization, this person, managed to evade every informant in both the government and the Ministry of Magic. There wasn't a single trace of them before this."
"Of course," Hermione said, slowly turning back, "I don't suspect the people around me. But I do suspect the people around the people around me."
"So I would rather this person be Professor Fawley. At least then, we could still talk to him. But if it isn't him... then we're in serious trouble."
Suspecting Professor Fawley was already the best possible outcome.
Otherwise, they would be facing a powerful enemy with no attachment to them at all, and perhaps even a completely different set of beliefs.
Watching Hermione suddenly grow so serious, and seeing Harry and Ron fall silent, Malfoy had a strange feeling.
"Wait. So you haven't actually found any clues about Professor Fawley?!"
"More or less. But we do need to ask the professor for help."
Hermione smiled and winked at him.
Malfoy instantly rolled his eyes to the ceiling.
So you had no clues at all.
That was worse than him!
What a waste of a trip!
"Enough. My time is valuable. I am not wasting it with you for such a flimsy reason!"
With that, Malfoy turned to leave.
But to his surprise, Harry and Ron stepped in front of him with matching grins.
"Move," Malfoy said with a frown.
"Too late. We're partners now."
"We're still a little reluctant, but since we've already agreed, we won't let you leave. Cough, I mean, we won't abandon a comrade!"
Harry and Ron stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the only way out like a pair of old scoundrels.
Malfoy was so angry he laughed.
"How old are the two of you? Why are you still as unserious as you were when you were children?"
But the two of them just grinned and refused to move.
Malfoy had no choice but to turn back and glare at Hermione.
"Has the Prime Minister become this irrational as well?"
Hermione shrugged. "Logic tells me that under these circumstances, your assistance matters more."
Malfoy paused, his lips moving twice.
"Fine. Then tell me first. What exactly are you planning to do, and what kind of enemy has frightened you this badly?"
Only then did Hermione and the others tell him what had happened.
But the moment Malfoy finished listening, he said firmly, "It cannot be the professor. He has always been meticulous. If it were him, you would never still be standing here!"
"We know that, of course. That's why the most urgent task is to find the professor, or find this man who resembles him," Hermione said as if it were only natural.
Malfoy looked at them, hesitated for a moment, then took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket.
Under their curious gazes, he slowly unfolded it.
"Before I came here, I received this flyer. This is also why I was in such a hurry to find the professor."
The thin sheet of paper opened.
It was made up of a collage of images, with one line printed vertically down the center:
"Everyone is equal."
There was nothing strange about the words themselves.
But when they leaned closer and saw the contents of the images, a chill ran through them.
[A senator's wizard son tortured an ordinary child to death in the street.]
[Isolation regulations issued at an international conference sparked protests among ordinary people.]
[A court trial for a person whose improper use of magical devices caused major casualties.]
[Bankruptcies and mass unemployment caused by magical automation.]
And...
[The terrifying power of magic in war, nearly destroying an entire country.]
Every item on it was a vicious incident involving magic that had occurred over the past twenty years.
Harry's mind went into chaos. His eyes flickered, and he almost did not dare look at it anymore.
If not for this accident, he should have been having lunch with that senator today, attending an international conference, and then watching coldly, just like the people in the pictures, as ordinary people who broke the law stood trial...
Ron's face showed unbearable sympathy.
Only Hermione remained steady, her gaze firm, as if she meant to engrave every image into her mind.
"This flyer was only discovered this morning, and it is spreading among muggles at an alarming speed. The number is unknown, and so is the range. The Wizards' Confederation is already investigating."
"Most importantly, it's a Portkey. The technique is very complex, and we still haven't been able to trace the destination." Malfoy looked worried.
"I believe this incident may affect the whole world."
"Two things... could they have been done by the same person?" Ron guessed blankly.
The other three sank into thought. They could not give an answer, but vaguely, they all felt there was some connection between the two incidents.
"This kind of method does sound exactly like what Professor Fawley is best at," Harry said with a dry laugh.
"Whether it's the professor or not, we need to go and see first."
Malfoy was about to fold the flyer away.
Ron quickly stopped him. "What are you doing?"
"Handing the flyer over to the International Squad, of course."
"No. We have to go ourselves!"
Ron pressed down firmly on his hand.
Malfoy could not help rolling his eyes again.
"Can you Gryffindors calm down for once? We have thousands of elite wizards who can handle this. Why must you turn it into some reckless adventure?"
Before Malfoy could finish, the flyer suddenly erupted with a powerful, swirling suction.
His eyes widened. He wanted to throw the flyer away, but something like a hook seized him hard in the stomach and dragged him into the vortex.
Ron was pulled in with him.
Harry and Hermione were startled, and without the slightest hesitation, they grabbed Ron's hand.
Whoosh!
In just an instant, the room fell silent, as if no one had ever been there.