Chapter 628: The Godmaking Plan!Although Lucius Malfoy was wearing an expression of clear disdain toward Draco, the portraits, ones that could easily be called grandfathe |
That sudden embrace made Draco, who knew exactly who it was, throw both hands up and shoot a pleading look at his father, who had just shut the door behind them.
Lucius Malfoy, however, pretended not to see it at all and showed absolutely no intention of rescuing him.
More than that, the very obvious sneer on his face made it perfectly clear that he was enjoying Draco’s predicament and was more than happy to see Narcissa act this way.
As for why, that was written plainly in the look Lucius gave him...
One glance was enough. Without a single word, the unspoken understanding between father and son made Draco realize the reason immediately.
So it was finally here.
That long overdue reckoning.
Draco had to admit that, after hiding all of this from everyone and doing those things on his own, he did feel somewhat guilty. Especially when he was faced with the worried eyes of people who genuinely cared about him, it was hard not to feel as though he could not quite stand straight.
He was not just Lucius and Narcissa’s weak point. To Draco, his parents were his as well.
Just as Draco instinctively shrank his neck a little, Narcissa seemed to remember something and abruptly let him go. Then she planted both hands firmly on her hips and glared at him, looking both heartbroken and dissatisfied.
Clearly, Narcissa, who had always doted on Draco, was genuinely angry that he had taken matters into his own hands...
How am I supposed to talk my way out of this... explain it, rather.
Noticing Draco’s distracted expression, Narcissa reached out irritably and pinched his ear. “Little Dragon, are you even listening? You had better give your father and me an explanation that satisfies us!”
“I... I know. Also, do not call me that.”
“Hmph.”
Who would have thought that Narcissa, known at banquets and among the nobility as an icy beauty, would be doing something so thoroughly unladylike at a moment like this?
Then, for some reason, Draco suddenly shot his father a strange look.
If there had been even the slightest magical fluctuation, one might have thought there was a tiger taking shape behind Narcissa...
As Narcissa’s fingers started pinching harder, Draco twitched at the corner of his mouth before quickly stepping back.
It did not hurt at all, but it was unbelievably embarrassing.
If Pansy and the others saw this, they would definitely laugh at him.
Well... Pansy might not, but Hermione definitely would not let a chance like this slip by.
And if one looked carefully, one would notice that every single portrait on the wall had turned its gaze away in unison.
As for Lucius Malfoy, who had walked into the room with them, he remained strangely silent, as though he were nothing more than a large decorative piece in the room.
Their reactions made it look as though none of them wanted to catch the attention of an angry Narcissa...
...
In truth, there was really not much to explain.
More precisely, with the Malfoy family’s reach and information network, there was almost nothing in the wizarding world that could truly be called a secret to them.
Never mind something involving Draco’s safety. There was no way they would not investigate it thoroughly...
So rather than wanting an explanation, what Narcissa really wanted from Draco was a guarantee.
A guarantee.
A promise that he would never act so recklessly again.
It was just that...
If he had not already accepted those followers, or if “Draco Constellation” had not truly been established yet, then perhaps Draco really could have behaved himself for a while during this period.
But now, he already carried responsibility on his back, along with the expectations of others.
It had not reached the point where he had no choice, but Draco also did not want to give up halfway through so casually.
“...”
“Little Dragon, you...”
Seeing that Draco said nothing, and understanding exactly what that silence meant, Narcissa felt both angry and pained, so much so that she did not know what to say.
Just as Narcissa was about to say more, Lucius, who had been silent for quite a while, finally interrupted the exchange.
“That is enough, Narcissa.”
“But...”
“Trust our child, Narcissa.”
After holding Lucius’s gaze for a long moment, and seeing the firmness and certainty in his eyes, Narcissa finally seemed to let something go, her shoulders slowly drooping.
She might always act as though she had no cares in the world in front of Draco, but as the mistress of the Malfoy family, there was no way she lacked decisiveness. She was certainly not just a beautiful ornament.
Once she had calmed down, Narcissa finally put away the worry on her face and took the initiative to move behind Lucius.
The moment Draco saw that, he understood that his mother’s turn was over.
And next...
It was the turn of the current head of the Malfoy family, Lucius Malfoy.
...
Narcissa stood there like a guard.
The portraits had opened their eyes again.
Those sharp gray eyes seemed almost capable of seeing straight into a person’s heart.
No one had arranged all this specifically to target Draco, and this certainly was not a place for interrogating criminals, but the pressure in the room still made him instinctively reach for the cane he carried with him...
Just as Draco thought he was about to be scolded, the first to speak was the largest and most magnificent portrait, the same one that had silenced everyone earlier.
“It seems things have been progressing very smoothly.”
“Mhm... that was thanks to everyone’s advice.”
“No. The one who made the decision was you. Right now, you are the head of the Malfoy family. Do not forget, we dead cannot interfere with the living.”
That was true.
If these elders had not held firmly to that rule, a great family like this might have fallen into complete chaos long ago.
Noticing Draco’s curious look, Lucius began to explain the plan concerning him.
“That is right. Just as you thought, the reason those reports are appearing all across the wizarding world is because it is part of our plan.”
“I more or less understand the reason...”
Lucius waved a hand, cutting Draco off. With his hands behind his back, he narrowed his eyes. “I know you can figure out why I am doing this. If you still could not understand after all this time, then that would truly disappoint me.”
Hearing that, Draco silently rolled his eyes.
The portraits, having secretly noticed that little gesture, all pressed their lips together in amusement.
In every possible way, this little troublemaker really did seem to love stirring things up, but that did not stop them from liking him...
With his back turned, Lucius did not notice Draco’s small movement. “So from now on, I will not stop you from going back to school.”
“So that means...”
“It means that in a few days, you will obediently return to Hogwarts and attend classes.”
That was not what they had agreed on before.
Unless...
Unless Father wanted him to do something at Hogwarts.
...
Although Lucius Malfoy was wearing an expression of clear disdain toward Draco, the portraits, ones that could easily be called grandfatherly, and among whom one was very likely Draco’s actual grandfather, all looked thoroughly satisfied.
Among them, the middle aged wizard who was clearly the most senior and the oldest, and who likewise bore the Malfoy surname, even gave Draco a nod of approval, looking as though he was only a step away from applauding.
If Draco knew this man’s true identity, he would probably be overwhelmed by the honor...
While Lucius was glaring at Draco, that surprisingly youthful looking middle aged wizard turned and scolded one of the nearby portraits. “Not honest at all. Since when did we Malfoys become so bad at expressing our feelings? You must be the one who taught him that, Sherfley!”
“...Father.”
“I do not want to hear your excuses!”
Lucius’s mouth twitched.
The atmosphere had been rather serious just moments ago, but with that “first generation” Malfoy cutting in to stir things up, the whole mood instantly turned strange and almost ridiculous. If an outsider saw it, they might have thought the family was putting on some kind of comic act.
Seeing that, Draco looked curiously toward the portrait dressed in a somewhat old fashioned, almost primitive style, only to discover that the man was secretly winking at him.
That tiny gesture was enough to make Draco understand that the man was deliberately causing trouble so Draco would not keep getting lectured.
Sure enough, Lucius, who had been about to continue reprimanding Draco and warning him, could only wave a hand helplessly and let out a sigh.
He was the current head of the family, yes, and he certainly did not need to obey every word of his deceased predecessors.
But when it came to that first Malfoy, whose status was undeniably special, every head of the family tended to show him a little more tolerance and a certain degree of respect. Lucius was no exception.
Besides, this was not truly an important matter...
In the end, Lucius pretended not to hear the quiet laughter Narcissa was trying to hide behind him and looked straight at Draco, the son who filled him with both pride and exasperation.
Lucius tapped the table irritably. “Do not make that face. I am not asking you to do anything in particular.”
“Not asking me to?” Draco was genuinely caught off guard.
Seeing the surprise in Draco’s eyes, something he had tried and failed to hide, Lucius gave a cold laugh, clearly aware of what his son was thinking.
“Hmph. I am not so incompetent that I need my own child to step in for me.”
“Then...”
“I will not stop you from doing what you have been doing. But you must understand this. In the wizarding world, strength is everything, and your stage lies in the future, not now.”
He seemed to have said everything, and yet somehow nothing at all. Draco could only nod, half understanding.
The only thing he was certain of was that his father no longer intended to interfere with his actions.
Just when Draco thought that was the end of it, his father’s deep, forceful voice rang out again...
“Show the wizarding world your worth. Prove your potential to everyone. Since Dumbledore has chosen Harry Potter, then you, Draco, will be the one to shatter that fantasy!”
Draco looked up at his father’s blazing gaze, then at the elders in the portraits, whose faces were filled with expectation and excitement, and suddenly understood what their eyes meant.
So this was it.
They had placed the future on him.
And this plan...was called creating a god.
...
Back in his room, the shock had still not quite faded from Draco’s face.
He had vaguely suspected as much before, but hearing it directly from his father, then facing all those expectant eyes in person, still hit him hard.
Responsibility. Pressure.
Even Draco, mature for his age and steady in the face of most things, could not calm himself completely right away.
For some reason, sitting on the bed, Draco suddenly had the urge to rub Pansy’s little head just to relax a bit...
“If Harry Potter is the one chosen by Dumbledore... then I am...”
Muttering under his breath, Draco raised a hand before his eyes and clenched it tightly, as though trying to seize hold of something.
There was an indescribable heat in those gleaming gray eyes, along with a restless eagerness.
He had no reason to shrink back from this responsibility, or run from it.
More importantly, he had absolutely no reason to lose to anyone.
“The only question is how to avoid the Dark Lord’s attention and attacks.”
Since they were sending him back to Hogwarts to continue attending school, then the issue of his safety would inevitably fall partly on his father and the others, and partly on whether his own strength was enough to handle whatever came...
Perhaps it was because of that performance that they had finally started believing in him.
The battle with the Death Eaters really had been the turning point that changed everything.
Was that supposed to count as blind luck?
Before he set out, Draco had never planned that many steps ahead, and there had only been a handful of wizards who even knew what he was doing...
Wait.
“Kreacher was acting strangely, and Lockhart seemed to know something too. Could it be that those two...”
Just as Draco frowned and turned the possibility over in his mind, a tapping sound and the beating of wings suddenly came from the window.
Knock knock.
Draco paused.
Looking more closely, he realized it was an owl from the Parkinson family.
And at a time like this, the only person likely to be writing to him was probably that adorable and clingy young Miss Parkinson.
But why would she suddenly send him a letter?
He got up.
Opened the window.
After skillfully feeding the plump owl first, Draco slowly opened the letter Pansy had sent...
Some time passed before Draco finally took out his wand and lightly tapped the letter in his hand.
A closer look revealed that the scented words on the page began to rearrange themselves under his control. Little by little, the contents turned into Draco’s own elegant cursive and the reply he wanted to send.
At last, he tied the finished letter to the owl’s leg. Only after watching it fly out through the window did Draco murmur to himself, “Looks like they have run into a problem over there.”
After reading what was in the letter, Draco finally understood why Pansy had looked as though she wanted to say something earlier, yet held herself back.
Especially just before leaving, that conflicted look on her face, like she wanted to speak and yet did not want to, had left Draco utterly puzzled.
Only now did he get his answer.
Draco had considered many possibilities, but the one thing he had never expected was that this matter was actually connected to Hermione...