HP - Shadow Monarch - Chapter 123 - The Dark Side of the Magical World 01.

[Chapter Size: 1900 Words.]
Third Person POV

London.

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“What’s going on here…” A frustrated voice muttered while reading the daily newspaper.

“Is something wrong, Father?” His son asked, entering the room just as Abraxas Malfoy sat in the kitchen with a house-elf—a new addition after he lost Dobby at the auction house—looking quite frustrated by the strange news.

“The sick ones… they went to the Blacks’ house. I don’t understand what they’re planning, but it doesn’t seem good when we don’t know anything about it.” Abraxas spoke without lifting his eyes from the paper.

“The sick ones...? Really? What would they want with the Blacks at the mansion?” Lucius asked, equally puzzled.

“I don’t know… but we should investigate… I’ve been speaking with Astraea for some time now. It’s time to formalize your engagement with the youngest granddaughter.” He referred to Narcissa, the youngest of the Black sisters.

“I see…” Despite his frustrations over his fiancée ignoring him all year, he still had to follow the family’s wishes and would accept his marriage to Narcissa as his father desired.

“Why are the sick ones so active all of a sudden, Father?” Lucius asked, glancing at the newspaper beside him.

“I don’t know… but they’re acting very strange… I encountered Severus Snape at Gringotts…” Abraxas mentioned this for the first time.

“Snape? Did you manage to catch him?” Lucius asked immediately.

“No… the bank manager… would you believe that Snape was protected by him?” His father said, while Lucius’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Snape, why? Snape shouldn’t even have a bank account… he’s a poor wretch and practically starving!” Lucius couldn’t believe it, still recalling how Snape often couldn’t afford things at school, so much so that Lucius would lend him money out of pity, even though the young wizard always repaid him eventually.

“I don’t know… Snape is very different from the last time I saw him. As you mentioned, and given his reputation for angering many purebloods… it’s true that he’s changed quite a bit… he didn’t even look at me with wary eyes anymore, and the manager told me he was a valued client, even more so than our privileged family—can you believe that?” Abraxas said with some frustration.

“That’s…” Lucius murmured.

“I don’t know what’s going on between Snape and the sick ones, a half-blood who came out of nowhere and became someone they’re defending above the great pureblood families, but we’d better investigate, and I’ll find out. I’ll deal with him myself…” Abraxas said in a serious tone. “It’s a shame that Steve won’t cooperate; after all, no one knows where Snape is, according to my sources. He left his father’s house and disappeared…” He commented before his gaze shifted back to his son.

“The Dark Lord will want answers, and we need to be ready for his questions. You should try to gather as much information as possible from the Black family. I’ll also be visiting them soon and will see Astraea Black to find out what’s going on.” Abraxas spoke in a stern tone as Lucius nodded in agreement with his father’s words.

Lucius could only agree with his father, beginning his day while he prepared to meet some young wizards eager to have a pureblood gathering to discuss matters. Nott would also attend, though he’d been tortured at Hogwarts, and no one knew by whom… though the thought of Snape crossed Lucius’s mind, sending a chill through him as he imagined Snape casting an unforgivable curse even against prominent families. But the fact that an Auror had confronted him made Lucius reconsider, realizing that perhaps Snape wasn’t that person after all.

Elsewhere, in a mansion in a small town in the English countryside, a large secluded house remained hidden, invisible to any Muggle who might wonder what went on within.

Inside that mansion was a large pureblood family, one not widely known due to their low-profile lifestyle but still very significant among the great families and strong supporters of Lord Voldemort. This family was also extreme in its practices, often performing horrible acts on Muggles; even residents of that town disappeared frequently.

"Do it..." a middle-aged man said sternly.

"But..." A young voice hesitated.

"I told you to do it. Don’t make me repeat myself," the voice commanded again.

"I... I can’t," the young man finally replied.

Carlos Norton looked at his son with disappointment. "What do you plan to achieve in life acting this way?" he asked, his tone displeased.

"But Father... I don’t think it’s fair..." The boy, Patrick Norton, replied in a frightened tone. In front of him was a young woman, bound, looking at him with tears in her eyes as she sat in a corner of the house. His father had kidnapped a few Muggles, planning to execute them for his own sick amusement.

Patrick had always hated this, and today his father had asked him to simply kill one of them while he watched.

"Fair...? You are a Norton. Don’t forget that," he said, and before the boy could react, his father raised his wand and cast an Unforgivable Curse on the young woman. She let out a scream of terror before falling dead.

"See? What’s so hard about killing these pigs?" he said as the boy stared, frozen, at the scene. His father was cruel beyond measure.

"I don’t want this..." Patrick finally managed, looking at the young woman who lay there, dead, her face frozen in terror, defenseless against his father’s attack as she died.

"You have no choice. You are my only son, and I don’t care about your feelings… just act like a dark wizard as the Dark Lord demands. There’s no place for the weak, and I won’t let you ruin this family with your compassion." He spoke as he pointed his wand at his own son.

"Father..." Patrick had always known his father was cruel, but now... this was beyond anything he could have imagined. In the next moment, his father cast a Cruciatus Curse on him.

"AHHHHH!!!" the 17-year-old cried out, shocked, screaming in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Did you really think I’d go easy on you, you fool?" his father said as Patrick looked up at him in terror.

"You need to understand pain; this will make you a proper dark wizard." He raised his wand again. "Crucio!!" he cast another spell.

"AHHHH!!! Please. Father!" Patrick had never imagined himself in a situation like this.

"You’ve disgraced our family too many times this year, Patrick. I’ve heard countless stories of you being bested by a half-blood at Hogwarts—it was humiliating for me… letting that Severus Snape put you beneath him… that is unforgivable. Crucio!!" For the first time, he used such a curse on his own son, filled with rage.

"It wasn’t my fault! I did everything I could!" Patrick cried out, writhing in agony.

"I don’t care. You failed me, you failed your family, and you even failed to kill a simple Muggle! Crucio!!!" Once more, he unleashed a green ray of pain as, in that warehouse, Carlos Norton continued casting the worst kind of suffering upon his son, aiming to teach him to be a true dark wizard and pureblood.

Only after some time did Carlos leave the warehouse alone, heading back toward the mansion. "My lord... we received this letter today," a man appeared, handing him a note.

"Let’s see what we have here..." he said, going to his study and sitting down to read the message.

"So they still haven’t found anything about the one who killed your men..." Norton was infuriated about the death of four of his henchmen, sent to kill Severus Snape, but it had been a total failure, as the bodies were found strewn across the remains of a bus.

He didn’t know who it was, and they wondered who could have done it. Was it the Ministry itself? Another Death Eater? Snape himself? A rival or enemy family? There were so many questions and no answers, while someone was out there killing members of the Norton organization. He hoped to find them soon, to exact revenge soon.

He moved his arm toward the table, tapping three times as a signal, and soon the door opened, with his butler immediately entering the room. The man wore formal attire, maintaining a strict demeanor and bowing his head to his master.

“You called for me, my lord?” he asked, responding to the three-tap signal. Since the Nortons did not have a house-elf, they had to resort to other, more economical methods.

“Yes. I want you to issue this execution order. Pass it on to all our men. I also intend to summon the Mercenary Guild of Wizards, the Hidden Mark. I’ll offer a generous reward to whoever brings me that boy’s head,” he said calmly.

“It will be done, my lord…” The butler nodded, taking everything he needed and leaving the room to head to the owlery.

“With this, I believe most of our problems can be resolved. And when we finally find that Severus Snape, I’ll personally torture him like never before, so he becomes an example of what happens to those who cross the Norton family.” He spoke with the hope of avenging those who had dishonored the Norton name.

His son had been severely humiliated throughout the year, with Severus Snape constantly attacking him and sending him to the infirmary. Carlos had immediately learned about it and sent a letter demanding an answer from him regarding Snape, as people were even discussing it outside Hogwarts and at some of England’s aristocratic magical gatherings.

Carlos Norton believed that his son should torture and kill all his enemies, but the reality was that he had become a punching bag, especially for a half-blood. This infuriated him so much that he decided to make his son into a man as soon as the holidays began; it was why he arranged that test for him to eliminate the Muggle girl. However, his son proved an even greater disappointment when, instead of reacting, he only allowed himself to be beaten.

“Now, I don’t care who comes first: Snape or whoever really killed my men,” he murmured, determined, as he planned to offer a handsome sum to hire a mercenary guild of wizards from outside the country, as it would be illegal to use one within England.

“Soon, I’ll have your head, half-blood, and I’ll show the entire magical community what happens to a fool who dares challenge the Norton family,” he said, his voice cold and resolute.