Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 60 Malfoy Manor

On Christmas Eve, only 12 teachers and students remained in Hogwarts Castle. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick set up the teachers' table in the center of the Great Hall for dinner with Mr. Filch, Ginny, two new students, and a fifth-year Slytherin student who was forced to stay at school to study for his OWLs exams.

Without his family by his side, Ron initially didn't want to attend the Christmas dinner after losing Harry. (Percy went to his girlfriend's house for Christmas, and Fred and George went to Hogsmeade Village.) But if he didn't go, where else could he eat such a delicious meal?

"Merry Christmas! I was just thinking that Ginny might be too lonely without her family. Welcome, Ron, please have a seat."

Seeing Ron's somewhat surprised expression, Professor Dumbledore explained again:

"There are very few students staying on campus this year, so using the college's long tables would seem a bit silly, so..."

“I don’t feel lonely, Principal.”

Ginny, who was sitting next to Professor McGonagall, suddenly spoke up. It seemed that she did not want to change seats to sit with her brother.

As a result, Ron, who didn't want to sit next to the teachers or too close to the Slytherin seniors, had no choice but to sit down next to the freshmen.

Seeing Ron finally seated, Dumbledore gleefully took a silver-wrapped gift from the gift box, opened it, and handed it to Snape, saying:

"Look! Firecrackers!"

Snape, his dark face taut with a hint of respect, reluctantly tugged at the cloth, and then:

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, a plume of pink smoke shot out from the firecrackers, gathering on Snape's head to form a deep red, pointed witch's hat, topped with a vulture specimen gnawed bald by termites.

"puff!"

Ron Boggart, recalling Neville, burst out laughing, which naturally earned him all of Snape's hatred instantly.

"Don't provoke Professor Snape when his upper lip is curled up in anger."

Harry's advice echoed in Ron's mind at just the right moment. He suppressed a laugh and buried his head in his plate. Snape took several deep breaths, then took off his hat and pushed it towards Dumbledore, who immediately swapped his own dark and light blue wizard hat for it.

"A little joke from Joko's Joke Shop, cheer up Severus, this is also the students' way of showing their appreciation for their teacher. Alright, everyone, enjoy your meal!"

As the headmaster finished speaking, the sound of the auditorium door opening came again. It was Professor Trelawney, dressed in a festive outfit studded with metallic sequins!

Dumbledore stood up again to welcome him and said:

"Sybil, your appearance is both unexpected and delightful!"

Professor Trillion wore her magnifying glasses as usual, but her outfit… even the most euphemistic way of describing it made her look like a rare species of mantis from the rainforest—a thorny flower mantis. This made Ron, who had barely managed to suppress his laughter, feel like he was about to burst out laughing again.

“I was just doing a divination with smoke, Headmaster. The result was astonishing; I saw myself going to the Great Hall for a meal. Traditionally, prophets with clairvoyance are supposed to be in solitude far from the mortal world, but since fate has given me this hint, I rushed down from the tower immediately.”

"Of course, of course...we happen to have one chair left."

Professor Trelawney counted them around with her big eyes, then said with a satisfied expression:

"Great, there are only twelve people. You know, whenever thirteen people eat together, the first person to stand up will always be the first to die."

“We’d take the risk even if it were thirteen men, Sybil.”

Professor McGonagall showed a slight displeasure. For a moment, she even had the idea of ​​calling Hagrid, who was busy in the Forbidden Forest, to come and have dinner.

"Hurry up and take a seat, or the turkey will get cold!"

She continued.

However, to Professor McGonagall's surprise, Professor Trelawney was only quiet for a short while. When she recalled that Professor Lupin had not yet appeared at the table, her expression immediately turned as if she had been struck by lightning.

"Oh my god, Principal, do you know where Professor Lu Ping is?"

"Oh, Professor Lupin..."

Dumbledore put a piece of honey-soaked ham in his mouth and said:

"I think the poor man is sick again. What bad luck, it's Christmas. Did you get him his medicine, Severus?"

Professor Snape hesitated for a moment before nodding. He did not choose to reveal that Lupin had actually been drinking the wolfsbane potion prepared by Potter this month.

Professor McGonagall, on the other side, feigned a puzzled expression and asked:

“I thought you had already predicted Professor Lupin’s illness, Sybil.”

"Of course I know."

Professor Trelawney looked at Professor McGonagall with a cold expression and said:

“In fact, a qualified prophet usually doesn’t flaunt their omniscience. We pretend to be without a third eye to avoid making other ordinary wizards nervous. But if you’re really curious about what I tested you on, Minerva, I think I can share some of the future I foresaw…”

At this point, she switched to the ethereal tone she often used in her divination classes:

"Professor Lupin won't be staying at this school for long. Next semester, he will leave us for some reason, in a hasty manner."

I have my doubts.

Dumbledore brought the conversation between Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney to a perfect close, his voice sounding so light and cheerful.

“Hogwarts School should be the safest place in the world, and Professor Lupin is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here. I can hardly imagine what imminent danger he might encounter… Oh, by the way, Ron, Drake, you guys should try these little sausages, they taste absolutely delicious.”

……

Meanwhile, at Malfoy Manor, far from Hogwarts Castle, Harry was preparing to enjoy the Iberian ham that Lucius had prepared.

“Mr. Potter, have a try. This grade of ham is best enjoyed on its own with wine.”

Lucius tentatively entered the tunnel.

"Well, I think right now, my guardians and Hogwarts teachers can't control me."

Upon hearing Harry's attitude, Lucius quickly gestured to the newly acquired house-elf:

"Donnie?"

The female elf named Donnie, wearing a cleaner pillowcase than Dobby had, carefully approached Harry and poured him a glass of red wine.

"La Romanee-Conti"

Lucius continued, after uttering a phrase in rather fluent French:

"As you said before, Muggles do indeed have outstanding talents in certain areas. Take the wines from the Burgundy region of France, for example. Many wizard owners of top Bordeaux vineyards express their highest respect for them."

Harry didn't know anything about wine, so he instinctively turned to Mo Ran for help. The problem was, Mo Ran, who had grown up in poverty, had never drunk red wine before. He had only heard of "Lafite" from various kinds of literature and film, and he didn't know anything about "Romanée-Conti."

How am I supposed to drink this?

"Well, take a sniff first, then take a small sip... You're currently intimidating Lucius with your powerful magic, so it doesn't matter if you don't understand the taste."

Harry nodded silently to himself and then did as Mo Ran said. As fate would have it, Harry, who had only intended to take a casual sip, found himself experiencing the delightful sensation that Romanée-Conti brought, from the inside out.

The liquid, slightly cooler than the temperature of the mouth, begins to flow from the tip of the tongue, releasing its wonderful flavor in the mouth before slowly sliding into the esophagus.

Harry picked up his glass in surprise and looked at it, then, as Lucius had instructed, picked up a piece of ham and put it in his mouth.

Like the melting aroma of milk, complemented by just the right amount of saltiness, it brings a perfect end to the lingering aftertaste of red wine.

Unlike the feeling of feasting in the Hogwarts banquet hall, the exquisite taste of eating in small bites is indeed unique.

Lucius Malfoy originally intended to salvage some prestige for his family through these trivial "aristocratic habits," but he never imagined that the Potter family's genes inherently possessed nobility no less than that of the Twenty-Eight Holy Families.

"This is really good, so good it's almost unbelievable."

After Harry gave his fair assessment, he asked:

"Is it because of these drinks and food that you decided to cooperate with me?"

"of course not."

Lucius was a shrewd businessman. After witnessing Mr. Potter's composure, he immediately abandoned his petty schemes that had nothing to do with real interests.

"Your magic last time was so amazing that it made me understand the power that wizards can possess... Speaking of which, I have to thank you. Actually, there are many things in Malfoy Manor that are too old. It was thanks to that opportunity that I had the idea of ​​renovating and decorating."

Harry and Moran almost simultaneously labeled Lucius a "cunning old fox." They had only used the Ancient Flame to give him a warning last time. And, as they remembered, they had restored all the magically affected items before leaving.

"You're not thinking of putting some renovation costs in the contract to negotiate with me, are you?"

At Moran's behest, Harry gave Lucius a nudge, which startled the latter, who quickly waved his hand and said:

"How could that be, Mr. Potter? You must be joking. I was simply listening to what you said. Speaking of which, today is Christmas, and I can't just treat you to a meal when you come to my house. A proper gift would be a more direct way to express the Malfoy family's attitude."

Lucius didn't summon Donnie, nor did he ask Narcissa and Draco to leave. He simply took a pocket watch from the inner pocket of his robe.

“Mr. Potter, your future and ambitions are limitless. With the Malfoy family’s capabilities, this is probably the only thing that can help you besides business. If you can accept it without holding a grudge, then from today onwards, I, Lucius Malfoy, as the current head of the Malfoy family, swear to completely abandon my loyalty to the Dark Lord and join the ranks of Harry Potter’s supporters.”

"what?"

Harry, who almost cried out, and Mo Ran, who was equally shocked, started arguing in the live stream.

"What is he talking about? Did you go to see him again during the summer vacation?"

"No? We were busy with shampoo and company matters during the summer vacation."

"Then why has he suddenly become like this?"

“I don’t know either. It’s so strange. And even if either of us tried to pressure him a second time, with our current capabilities, how could we possibly make him so readily abandon his loyalty to Voldemort?”

"You mean he's faking his surrender?"

"That's possible, but it doesn't make sense. After all, given the Malfoy family's status, even if they refuse to cooperate with us, we can't just take action against them directly."