Lucius's Dilemma

Chapter 40 Lucius's Dilemma

"The Malfoy family once sided with Voldemort, so even though we're both pure-blood Slytherin families, our relationship isn't good, and we rarely interact. And even without that connection, we probably wouldn't get along—while gossiping behind someone's back is unseemly, it must be said that this family hasn't done many decent things in its history..."

"Their estate mainly cultivates various herbs and magical woods. Although the overall quality is not as good as the Hogwarts greenhouses or the Ollivander family's, it is still a unique strength..."

Two days later at Shafik Manor, Baron, dressed in a well-tailored suit, was quietly explaining the general situation of the Malfoy family to Avada. The Shafik couple were also sitting upright in the living room, with old Charlie and another house-elf whom Avada did not recognize standing beside them. Although the two families had never had much contact, their relationship was not bad either. Moreover, the other party had come with a business opportunity, so they should be treated with respect.

Finally, the doorbell rang. Old Charlie waved his hand, and the two doors swung open, revealing three figures behind them:

The middle-aged man at the head of the group was thin and pale, with long, light blond hair. He held a cane decorated with a snake's head and had a slight smile on his lips. This was Lucius Malfoy. To his right stood the tall Narcissa Malfoy, and the blond child with slicked-back hair that Narcissa was holding was naturally Draco Malfoy.

Avada sighed inwardly: the Malfoys were now dressed solemnly, behaved impeccably, and wore pleasant, gentle smiles, completely unlike the repulsive figures from the original story. Even Draco Malfoy stood properly, not moving, but simply observing his surroundings with curiosity.

This made him feel somewhat absurd: in the original story, Lucius even gave Dumbledore the cold shoulder and sometimes tripped him up—at that time, Voldemort had not yet been resurrected.

While feeling sentimental, he stood up with the Shafik family, but instead of going to greet them like they did, he took a couple of steps forward.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Malfoy, it has been a long time—when was the last time we met?" Mr. Shafik smiled and stepped forward to shake hands with Lucius.

"The last time we met... was in the courtroom. I was facing charges from Death Eaters then, and you were a member of the jury, ultimately proving my innocence."

Lucius responded gently, a look of reminiscence on his face: "Even now, I don't want to recall that time: being controlled by the Imperius Curse, living in a daze all day, with maddening voices whispering in my ear every moment. And when I finally came to my senses, I was surrounded by Aurors, pointing their wands at me, calling me a Death Eater..."

"Oh, sorry, I got a little carried away. Let me introduce you, this is my wife, Narcissa Malfoy; this is my son..."

He patted Draco on the back, gesturing for him to come forward: "Draco Malfoy, you're starting your Hogwarts year... Draco, say hello to Mr. Shafik."

"Hello, Mr. Shafik!" Draco bowed somewhat stiffly, but his tone was very respectful.

"Good boy."

Mr. Shafik patted him on the shoulder and turned to look at his wife and son: "This is my wife, Joan Shafik, and this is my son, Baron..."

"This Baron is the top student in the grade, you should really learn from him."

Lucius said something to Draco, which earned him a lot of time in return for saying "thank you, thank you."

"This is Ken, Baron's friend at Hogwarts. He's been visiting my house these past few days and will be coming with us to Diagon Alley." Mr. Shafik then turned and beckoned to Avada, inviting him to come forward and greet the Malfoys.

"Ken?"

After Avada greeted him, Lucius looked puzzled: "Only one name?"

"It's best not to inquire about his real name, Mr. Malfoy."

Mr. Shafik's expression immediately turned serious, while Mrs. Shafik and Baron behind him lowered their heads—afraid of being seen suppressing their laughter.

"Why is that?" Lucius asked.

"His name is a taboo, a taboo that even Dumbledore avoids."

Mr. Shafik frowned, his voice low as if afraid of disturbing something: "This name once caused a bloodbath in the wizarding world. Dumbledore personally oversaw Ken's admission process and strictly concealed his real name after he enrolled... Believe me, Mr. Malfoy, you don't want to hear that name."

"Nobody wants to hear that name."

Avada: ...

He pondered these words for a long time, then was surprised to find that not a single word was false. Mr. Shafik had perfectly upheld the noble virtue of honesty.

Lucius gave Avada a deep look, said nothing more, and continued chatting and laughing freely with Mr. Shafik.

Little did he know, his palms were already covered in cold sweat.

He knew very well that both Dumbledore and the Shafik family in front of him were notoriously stubborn, and there was almost nothing that would make them feel uneasy—they could even casually mention the Dark Lord's name without a care!

A name that once stirred up bloodshed in the wizarding world, a name that Dumbledore feared, a name no one wanted to hear...

No wonder...

Lucius thought to himself, "I never expected that besides Harry Potter, Hogwarts would have another one like this..."

"I wonder when that person had offspring?"

"So, Ken, which college are you from?" Lucius leaned down and asked kindly, his voice very soft.

"...Hufflepuff".

"Hufflepuff?" Lucius was quite surprised—this was somewhat different from what he had imagined, but after thinking about it, he realized it made sense.

"Yes, that's it. Dumbledore must have orchestrated his life from childhood to adulthood, altering his personality to erase as much of that person's influence as possible..."

"So it's Hufflepuff, hmm, a nice house..." Lucius racked his brains trying to recall Gryffindor before finally praising Hufflepuff: "So, do you think the academic pressure at Hogwarts is high? Do you encounter any difficulties?"

"Uh...it's alright, they're all pretty simple."

Avada observed Lucius's mental energy shifting along a curve of "shock - understanding - shock - understanding - probing," and combined this with Mr. Shafik's honest words, he could roughly guess what Lucius was thinking.

Mr. Shafik had informed him beforehand, and Avada also thought that this mysterious and somewhat pointed statement would save him a lot of trouble—at least Lucius would definitely warn his son not to mess with him, so that the ill-tempered Draco Malfoy wouldn't cause him any trouble at school.

As for who Lucius might associate with, whether it's Grindelwald or someone else... let him guess.

Ken almost got first place in his year.

Mr. Shafik said with a smile, "He only unfortunately answered one question wrong in the astronomy exam, losing one point; otherwise, he would have tied for first place with Baron."

"Just as I thought. It seems he inherited that person's talent. No wonder Dumbledore values ​​him so much..."

Lucius became even more certain of his guess, and then smiled kindly, "That's amazing, and I'm also very happy that Draco has two such outstanding seniors after enrolling—Draco, you should learn from Baron and Ken in the future."

"Okay, Dad."

Draco nodded, completely bewildered. Although he knew that being first in the grade and almost first in the grade was remarkable, he still felt that his father's behavior just now was a bit strange.

For example, he usually looked down on Hufflepuff, but just now he surprisingly praised him a few times; and for example, he seemed a little nervous when he asked "Ken" a question earlier...

Who exactly is he? Could he be even more prestigious than the Malfoy family?

"Well then, Mr. Malfoy, it's about time. Shall we go to Diagon Alley together now? I can show you the display of the new brooms."

Mr. Shafik asked with a smile, and Lucius nodded in agreement: "I can't wait."

(End of this chapter)