Chapter 156：

Sighing, John received the letter from Tang Mi.

Things about the banquet have been arranged, and we can go there tomorrow night.

John wrote him a letter back.

When I went downstairs, I heard my parents talking about where to travel.

Since two people went there, Mrs. Wick wanted to go to the United States.

Watson Wick was quite critical of this. He felt that he could examine the local customs and customs where he lived a good life.

Elder brother-in-law Seryozha also joined in, saying that he would go to his parents' house.

Alexei objected, saying it would be better to go to Assanna. He heard that by swimming in the holy river there, one could collect the periodic table of elements.

Several people talked to each other, as if they were the ones traveling.

In the end, Mrs. Wick suppressed everyone because the United States was going to hold a fashion week, and everyone's objections were ineffective.

"John, where are you going?" Mrs. Wick was still reasonable and knew how to ask her son who was traveling with her.

John said casually: "I can do either, and America is not bad either."

What he was thinking was that it seemed that the intern employee Jin went to school in Ilvermorny.

And Ilvermorny also has some connections with Hogwarts. The founder is a descendant of Salazar Slytherin.

As a Slytherin, it makes sense to go and take a look, right?

After hearing that John was okay, Mrs. Wick simply determined the target.

She went to pack her luggage happily and put her travel time on the day after tomorrow.

I just missed the banquet time with John, and I have to say that mother and son are connected.

Provided that Mrs. Wick didn't call a group of rich women from the beauty salon to go shopping together. Anyway, John had already seen Watson there, taking the bill and starting to calculate whether he would have to eat pasta from next month.

Middle-aged and old men can’t afford to be hurt.

…

The next day.

The Bent-Horned Snorlax was thrown into the closet. This creature, like Boggart, likes such dark places.

Walking into the basement, John used the Floo network to appear directly in the office.

He established a channel independent of the Ministry of Magic's Floo Network system.

He even wanted to establish an exclusive floo network belonging to Johnny Silverhand's system, but this idea was temporarily suppressed.

Shortly after appearing in the office, John heard a knock on the door.

Tang Mi opened the door and came in. He looked respectful and said, "Sir, Lucius is here."

John waved his hand to indicate that he knew.

Not long after Tang Mi left, Lucius walked in, but his face looked a little bad.

"Lucius, my friend, does it embarrass you to come to my banquet?" John asked in a deep voice.

Lucius' expression showed some panic. He turned around and stuck his head out to look around, making sure there was no one before closing the door.

He walked towards John, unable to hide his nervousness.

"Lord Johnny Silverhand, it, it's reacting." Lucius rolled up his left sleeve, and a mark on it made him feel a slight pain.

Hearing this, John raised his hand to interrupt him, put down his Heart of Silence and activated the Silence Barrier, signaling Lucius to continue.

Lucius suppressed the panic in his eyes and said: "Since yesterday, the Dark Mark has been reacting. This is the Death Eaters summoning me. They want to let me go back."

As he spoke, Lucius couldn't help but plead: "Sir, you have to help me this time."

Lucius knew that the other party knew his identity, so after he received the call, he immediately came to look for Johnny Silverhand.

In his opinion, the only one who can help him is the other party.

After getting help from Johnny Silverhand, he not only returned to the position of Hogwarts school director, but also increased Malfoy's prestige.

Compared with being frightened around the Dark Lord before, he prefers being in Johnny Silverhand's lineup.

After listening to what he said, John said calmly: "Don't panic, Lucius, if you believe me, I hope you will respond to the Death Eaters' call."

These words made Lucius's heart sink. Is Johnny Silverhand going to give up on him?

John could feel the change in his mood and knew what the other person was thinking. He shook his head and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I'm not giving up on you, but letting you look for opportunities with the Death Eaters."

"Opportunity?" Lucius looked stunned.

John said meaningfully: "This is an opportunity to completely remove your identity as a Death Eater. I can erase this mark for you, but you need to use it to return to the ranks of Death Eaters first."

Lucius understood, this was to make him an undercover agent.

Thinking that he could get rid of his identity as a Death Eater, Lucius agreed.

…

Chapter 177 Banquet and Big Shots

With the assets John now owns, it is very easy to buy a manor or something.

Shafiq's original manor was renamed Silver Hand Manor.

Some ‘big shots’ that you don’t usually see enter the manor, and they all have an invitation in their hands.

Standing at the door were members of the Silver Hand security team. Some of them were retired Aurors, and some were full-time Dark Wizards.

Without exception, these people are elites.

Those who came to attend the appointment were also secretly shocked. This power could win against any pure-blood family.

No wonder Shafiq was kicked out in despair. The people who came here included pure-blood families, officials from the Ministry of Magic, and wizards from foreign countries.

Potion Master Damo Alex was dressed in a noble, blue robe, with a modified cane, and the Merlin First Class Medal on his chest was particularly conspicuous.

Lucius Malfoy came with John, wearing a black velvet dress and a gemstone ring the size of a dove egg on his left hand.

Everyone who sees this scene will start to re-examine Lucius Malfoy.

But the eyes of more people followed the movement of the silver mask, and many people showed flattering smiles on their faces, and their flattery was very obvious.

"I am very happy that you can come to my banquet." The silver ring and alexandrite on his left hand shined under the light.

Johnny Silverhand opened his mouth, and everyone kept their mouths shut in tacit agreement.

Barty Crouch was among them, staring at Lucius.

"Among the people who have arrived, there are officials, some people who have made mistakes in the past, and scholars from academia. They are an indispensable part of the magic world that is driven by gears."

As John looked over, under the light, officials from the Ministry of Magic, potion masters, and former Death Eaters... they all coexisted harmoniously in this manor.

Pure blood, mixed blood, Muggles, werewolves.

Perhaps they should have been hostile, but they were able to come here because of the prestige of the King of Knockturn Alley, and also because of the generosity of Lord Johnny Silverhand.

The speech ended generously, and John’s last words were: “Let us respect the world, which brings us together.

To our friends, we help each other achieve success when we need it most.

Respect the worries and setbacks in the future. We may die, but as long as they don’t kill us, they will eventually make us stronger. "

Raise the wine glass high, the contents in the glass will exude a mellow aroma.

After drinking a glass of wine, John walked down the platform wisely.

This banquet, in addition to gathering one's own strength, is also to allow these people to have more intersections of interests.

Magic officials will discuss with scholars, dark wizards will clink glasses with former enemies, and potion masters will negotiate with material dealers.

Every clink of glasses and every laugh will make this interest group stronger.

And at the center of them is the man named Johnny Silverhand.

As long as Johnny Silverhand exists, these relationships are unbreakable.

Only Johnny Silverhand can gather these people.

The new head of the Auror Office, Piers Thicknesse, came to John with a wine glass.

"Your Excellency, please allow me to clink glasses with you."

As expected of someone who had been praised by John for his ability to dance, Pierce knew very well how he got into this position of real power and respectfully clinked glasses with John.

"Auror defense funds need to be used to purchase a batch of striker equipment." He was really good at being a man. The funds Pierce had just obtained from here were sent back to John.

John was very satisfied with his little brother, nodded, and said meaningfully: "I will give you a discount, and I will only give it to you."

Pierce was extremely surprised when he heard this, and quickly brought up another glass of wine.

He drank too quickly, and an abnormal blush appeared on his face. Just when he was about to drink another glass, John held his hand and said: "Don't be greedy for good wine. There are many people here. You shouldn't let yourself drink." drunk."

Being reminded, Pierce suddenly understood, thanked him repeatedly, lowered his posture, took the wine glass, and went to find other people.

Tang Mi walked to John and whispered: "Sir, old Batty is waiting for you in the room."

John put down his wine glass, declined the invitation of a scholar, and walked into the study room that originally belonged to Sean Shafiq.

Barty Crouch Sr. was already waiting here. He was sitting on the sofa, his short gray hair carefully combed, and his expression showed some worry.

Seeing John come in, he subconsciously stood up and was pushed down by John.

"Barty, my friend." John sat behind the desk, stroking the ring on his left hand with his right hand, and asked, "You look very bad. Is there anything bothering you?"

Barty Crouch Sr. struggled, but after seeing everything that happened today, the reluctance he felt in his heart surged up again.

He stood up and walked to the desk. With some unknown emotions, he said bitterly: "Sir, I made a mistake."

"I was very close to that position, but because of Quanzi..."

He closed his eyes in pain and recalled the day when Voldemort fell.

As the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he is responsible for trying the crimes of Death Eaters.

It was that day that he found out that his son was actually a Death Eater. He had been extremely proud of him, but that day made him completely fall into the abyss.

Even if he sent his son to Azkaban with integrity, he would still be criticized and miss the position of Minister of Magic.

It was that one mistake that made me make the same mistake again and again.

He lowered his head and said in a low voice and hoarsely: "I made an extremely wrong decision. My wife, she begged me to save her son. For this, she was willing to sacrifice herself, so I..."

Through the visit, his wife used a compound potion to switch identities with Barty Crouch Jr.

Soon after, his wife died in Azkaban. Everyone only thought that Barty Crouch Jr. was dead. No one knew that he had actually escaped from prison.

Old Batty confessed all this. John listened carefully and said with deep eyes: "My friend, I am flattered by your honesty. In return for your honesty, what do you want me to do for you?"

Old Batty didn't confess all this for no reason, there must be a reason, and John could guess the reason.

"I want to fight for it again, Your Excellency." Old Batty raised his head, his eyes showing fighting spirit and unwillingness.

The position he had once missed was brought back into contention due to the case of Peter Pettigrew.

This time he didn't want to miss it, he wanted to fight again, and the key person was John, the Lord Johnny Silverhand in front of him.

For this reason, he will face this person with the most sincerity.

John heard his thoughts and smiled.

"I'm very happy, old Barty, I've been waiting for you."

John stood up and walked out, held old Barty's hand, and said seriously: "My friend, I will provide you with a space enough to display your fists."

Old Batty was very moved. He knew that besides himself, there were actually people who could compete for this position.

When John said this, he was showing off his cards and supporting himself.

"The Triwizard Tournament is a good turning point. Old Barty, I will help you, because we are friends, not by blood but connected by bones."

Approaching old Batty's ear, John whispered: "I can see that you love your son, but at this critical moment, he is the most important thing."

Old Batty lost his competitiveness because of his son, so he naturally knew the meaning of this sentence.

If anyone knew that Barty Sr. had a Death Eater son, it would probably become the next scandal.