Chapter 624: Fleur Delacour, After So Long Apart Although he badly wanted to confirm his suspicions with his father, there simply seemed to be no chance to do so.Ever sin |
Was Lucius Malfoy the one behind all this?
Before digging into that question, there was something they had to understand first.
If there was anyone who least wanted Draco to be put in danger, Lucius Malfoy would definitely be one of them.
After all, for Draco’s sake, so he could live in peace, this proud aristocrat who always seemed cold and merciless had risen up against Voldemort without a moment’s hesitation or the slightest second thought.
Clearly, in any world, a father’s love was something immense.
Even with the brutal Dark Lord as his enemy, even knowing there would be little to gain from it, Lucius still stepped forward.
Pansy and Astoria, who were both very close to Draco, knew that better than anyone.
So after hearing Fleur’s words, their first reaction was not surprise or curiosity.
It was complete disbelief and suspicion.
Wouldn’t that only benefit the enemies hiding in the dark, along with the people who wanted to take advantage of this and study him?
“Are you sure you didn’t get it wrong?”
“How could it possibly be Mr. Malfoy? Right, Granger...”
Then Pansy instinctively turned her head, wanting to ask someone who was not here, only to remember that Hermione, who was usually the one with the sharpest insight in matters like this, could not be here today for various reasons.
And for some reason, as she looked at Draco, a hesitant expression suddenly appeared on her face.
It was the look of someone who wanted to say something, yet was struggling over whether to keep it to herself.
Draco, however, was not paying attention to Pansy, so he let it pass for the time being.
“Given our current relationship with the Ministry of Magic, this really could be a joint effort.”
“Draco, are you saying this was something our side asked for?”
“But what good does that do? At least for Draco... wait!”
Astoria did not have Hermione’s brilliant, quick turning mind, but she was only a few years younger and was hardly lacking in that regard. It did not take her long to vaguely grasp the advantage behind this.
More precisely, that very advantage was the reason so many wizards from different places had gathered here.
What was the one thing most likely to attract these wizards and make them willing to throw in their lot with someone?
Profound magic?
Or wealth great enough to rival a nation?
No. For powerful wizards who had strength but no real standing, what they needed more was someone worth following, someone who could also provide those things.
And what they valued, what they were willing to stake their future on, was the Malfoy family’s potential and future.
The best example was the half-blood Veela standing right in front of them.
Noticing Astoria’s gaze, Fleur gave her an interested look. Though Astoria still looked young, there was a calm maturity about her.
“Greengrass... even where I come from, that is a very famous magical family.”
Compared with Parkinson, who always looked at her like she was some wicked woman, and Granger, whose identity was merely that of a Muggle, Fleur had never paid much attention to this Greengrass girl.
Now, though, it seemed that the girls who could stay by Draco’s side were not just pretty ornaments.
“It seems Miss Greengrass has figured it out as well. That’s right. If we hadn’t seen this report and the shocking results written in it, we would never have believed your side could gain anything from a battle between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.”
“So... you’re really that sure we can defeat the Dark Lord, or even surpass Dumbledore?”
“It’s just a bet.”
Fleur let out a soft laugh and shrugged.
“Besides, Mr. Malfoy is offering quite a lot.”
Although Fleur Delacour spoke lightly, looking completely at ease as though all of this were nothing more than an exchange of interests and a game of give and take, neither Pansy, who acted unconcerned, nor Astoria, who had listened quietly the whole time, believed for a second that this was Fleur Delacour’s real motive.
The two girls exchanged a knowing look.
Other wizards might be here for that reason, but this half-blood Veela definitely had other intentions.
...
Fleur’s explanation made the real purpose hidden behind the report perfectly clear.
This was not just some crude display of power. It was not a way of telling the whole magical world how brazen the Death Eaters had become. It certainly was not about saying how important broomstick practice and talent were.
It was a banner.
Setting everyone else’s thoughts aside, Draco had more or less figured out what his father intended.
He set down the newspaper, narrowed his eyes, and murmured, “Just like what Dumbledore has always been doing?”
“Dumbledore? Why bring him up all of a sudden?”
“Draco, did you think of something?”
Always?
What exactly had Dumbledore been doing all this time?
Fighting the Death Eaters?
Or guarding against Voldemort’s possible return?
Those might both be true, but neither was what Draco meant.
The first one to understand was not Astoria, nor Fleur Delacour, despite being older than everyone else there, but their dear Miss Parkinson.
“You mean... Potter!”
Yes.
What Draco was going through now was actually very similar to Harry Potter’s situation.
The savior who defeated Voldemort.
Harry Potter, who saved the wizarding world.
Even now, people still said Harry Potter was the student Dumbledore valued most.
And the source of all that was simply the halo created by Voldemort’s defeat, something no one really knew the truth of, only its outcome.
In fact, any wizard capable of thinking clearly could see the many doubts in that story.
At the time, Harry Potter probably could not even walk yet, so how could he possibly have defeated the mighty Dark Lord himself?
By comparison, Draco’s achievements were solid and real, things people could actually examine for themselves. At least they could see the process instead of merely imagining it.
In other words, it was far more shocking.
“A new savior... no, that’s not it. Mr. Malfoy probably wants you to become...”
Pansy did not finish the sentence. She only blinked nervously.
She did not know why. Even though she was standing so close to him.
But somehow, as the guess in her heart slowly took shape, Draco’s future began to feel like something she could no longer imagine.
...
Although he badly wanted to confirm his suspicions with his father, there simply seemed to be no chance to do so.
Ever since arriving here, Draco had felt as if his own parents had forgotten all about him. He had not seen them even once, nor exchanged a single word with them.
Even the scolding he had expected never came, even though they should have had plenty to say.
Honestly, if he had not occasionally seen a few familiar faces around, Draco might have thought he had come to the wrong place rather than Lucius Malfoy’s base of operations.
And that situation continued until Hogwarts was only a few days away from reopening. Even after Pansy and the others had already been taken home by their parents a few days earlier, Draco still had not received any word on what was supposed to happen with him.
Compared to the period of house arrest back at Malfoy Manor, this way of handling things actually irritated Draco even more.
“Was this done on purpose? They really saw right through me.”
For someone like Draco, who was used to having everything under control, this feeling of being completely helpless, like being blind with his eyes open, and only being able to learn about the outside world through other people, really was the worst kind of torment.
And from what Draco knew, this arrangement was very likely his mother’s doing.
Once Narcissa was truly angry, even Lucius would not dare say much.
At the same time, Draco had to admit that what he had done before really had been a little too reckless. The result had turned out well, but now that he thought about it, being left like this as punishment was already fairly mild.
Just as Draco was staring out the window and thinking to himself, that soft, pleasant scent and that lovely voice appeared at his side. Sudden, but not surprising.
“It looks like Mr. Malfoy and the others were furious with you. Fair enough. If it were Gabrielle, I would have smacked her little backside raw.”
It was Fleur Delacour, with the silver hair anyone would envy.
Apparently, she had heard every word of his muttering just now.
For some reason, ever since coming here, Draco kept “coincidentally” running into this half-blood Veela from time to time.
Did she not have anything better to do?
“It’s you again.”
The word again was used very precisely there.
The moment Fleur heard it, her rather proud and lofty expression turned awkward at once, as if something had suddenly crossed her mind.
Her cheeks flushed red. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed because her little trick had been seen through, or mildly annoyed because Draco wasn’t showing her even the slightest courtesy.
Worth mentioning was that when Fleur blushed, her charm seemed to become even more striking.
Turning her head away, Fleur bit down lightly and said, “Your way of saying that is extremely rude, but I will let it go this time. I came to see you about something important.”
“So it was not important before?”
“......”
Choked speechless by that reply, Fleur could only roll her eyes at him.
Draco’s tone had been calm and flat from beginning to end, but for some reason, the things he said always made her especially annoyed.
After taking a deep breath, she asked, “So what are you planning to do next?”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard about your... organization.”
Draco paused for a moment, then turned to look at Fleur Delacour, who was idly playing with her hair.
That organization?
He almost did not realize what she meant, but after a few seconds, he understood.
He did not think it was something that needed to be kept secret, and he did not think it could stay hidden from anyone who truly wanted to investigate it. Still, it was not something he should have been hearing from her.
In the end, the members of that organization were just a group of little wizards who had not even graduated yet. In the eyes of most wizards, they were not capable of making much of a stir.
Even if what Draco had done not long ago had shocked the entire magical world.
Unless the Fleur Delacour standing in front of him had taken an enormous interest in the organization he had created, enough that she actually wanted to join.
Did she really believe he could turn that potential into something real?
But the question was, would Pansy and the others agree?
Draco shook his head.
There was no need to ask. He already knew that was impossible.
Although Draco usually acted as if he did not care about things like that, he could still tell just how much Pansy disliked Fleur.
At the very least, every single time Fleur showed up, Pansy looked ready to bristle.
And compared with the Fleur Delacour before him, Pansy and the others were obviously far more important.
Thinking that, Draco deliberately pretended not to understand what she meant. He turned back toward the window and shrugged.
“Nothing much. You can think of it as preparing for the future.”
“If it were anyone else, I might actually believe that.”
Fleur pursed her lips in open disbelief. She did not buy that explanation at all, especially not coming from Draco.
Other people might not realize it, but Fleur, who had once experienced Draco’s strength up close, could see that there was something special about him.
So she did not believe that an organization centered around Draco could really be that simple.
She blinked those large eyes that seemed almost able to speak.
It was not as though Fleur had never met exceptional wizards before.
Not to mention that there had always been countless wizards trying to draw her attention in all sorts of ways. To be precise, their numbers had never really diminished.
And yet, for some reason, Fleur simply could not help being drawn to Draco.
Even though his attitude toward her was always cold, and even though he had adorable girls like Parkinson at his side, she still could not control her thoughts or her actions.
Pressing hard against her slightly heated chest, Fleur murmured in a voice only she could hear, “Perhaps this really is the curse of the Veela?”
According to legend, Veela possessed astonishing charm. Any man who saw them would fall into obsession and madness.
Because of that, Veela had inevitably come to be seen as unfaithful female spirits who delighted in bewitching men.
But in truth, they did not fall in love easily.
Yet once they did...
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