Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 105 104. The Malfoys and their relatives
There is no doubt that this was a conspiracy and frame-up. The house-elf with a problem in his brain held on to the idea of not letting himself return to Hogwarts until the very end. He didn't say the reason, didn't explain, and didn't even consider what he would do in the future if he didn't return to Hogwarts.

Harry was almost amused. He never expected Dobby to go to such an extent.

All this is just because it wants to protect Harry Potter, so Harry Potter has to do what it says?
Judging from the various situations that have been shown so far, Harry can believe that Dobby has good intentions towards him, but Dobby is definitely an outlier among the house-elves. Although he looks crazy, he is quite smart and even knows how to use the regulations of the Ministry of Magic to achieve his own goals.

It's a pity that its intelligence is limited. It doesn't seem to have thought that such a low-level frame-up would be easily exposed. The most important thing is that Harry already knows its name.

I have saved the letter. What is more important right now is that I broke into Malfoy Manor without permission... According to the laws of wizards, this kind of behavior can really be sentenced.

There was no real fight.

Although Lucius Malfoy's nerves were stretched to the limit for a moment and he activated various defensive measures in his mansion, he was still very restrained - Harry couldn't tell whether Lucius Malfoy's restraint was due to the phoenix on his shoulder or the scar on his head.

Harry was not an unreasonable person. He had just broken into someone else's home. Of course, he would not do anything out of line... Of course, it would be another matter if Lucius Malfoy wanted to take the opportunity to kill him and restore the glory of the Death Eaters.

The most important thing was the words that Draco Malfoy shouted when he rushed out of the mansion gate with excitement on his face - "Teacher! Are you visiting my home?"

Draco probably broke free from his mother's grip and rushed out, because Harry also saw a woman in a brown dress hurriedly following him out, and then protected Draco behind her... Perhaps they thought the manor was invaded, and the two of them were going to hide.

And with Draco's excited and joyful shouts, it was hard for things to go in a worse direction.

Then everything returned to normal, the statues that had stood up sat back in their original positions, the surging lawn quickly flattened down, the white peacocks continued to pace around the manor, and Harry - Harry walked into the mansion as a guest of the Malfoy family.

Harry once heard from Snape about his opinion of the Malfoy family. In Snape's words, that family had always hated Muggles and was proud of their bloodline; they were arrogant but knew how to judge the situation... and they were also very rich and good at winning people's hearts with their family's money.

It is basically the same as what Snape said. The interior of Malfoy's mansion can be described as luxurious, but it does not give visitors the impression of a nouveau riche. The heavy traces left over from history are well integrated with the mansion.

The ceiling of the hall is so high that you can hardly see the top, and there is a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the middle. If you look closely, you can see many sparkling gems inlaid on the lamp stand. The interior of the entire mansion is almost in this style. It neither makes visitors feel tacky nor makes people feel contemptuous. It even has a subtle sense of deterrence.

To be honest, this feeling was quite strange. Harry already knew that the man in front of him, who was introducing the glorious history of the Malfoy family to him in a proud tone, was a Death Eater eleven years ago - and maybe even now. If nothing unexpected happened, Lucius Malfoy still had the mark left by Voldemort on his arm.

"Septimus Malfoy," Lucius Malfoy leisurely introduced the murals on the wall to Harry, "He had a great influence on the Ministry of Magic at the time... perhaps more than just influence."

He smiled reservedly, and Harry could probably understand Lucius's smile - it was obvious that the man meant that the Malfoy family even controlled the Ministry of Magic at that time.

The walls of this long corridor were covered with ancient portraits. The characters in the paintings were wearing gorgeous wizard robes. They stared at Harry with cold eyes and talked to each other from time to time.

There were many precious magical items placed in the decorative display cabinets. Harry saw a snake-shaped ring inlaid with emeralds, a discolored wand with cracks on the surface, and even a phoenix tail feather, which made Fawkes cry softly.

Without mentioning anything about Dobby, Harry just said that he asked Fawkes to take him around and unexpectedly ended up at Malfoy Manor.

It can be seen that Lucius Malfoy actually did not believe what Harry said, but because of Draco's enthusiastic attitude, he still chose to entertain Harry with a very high standard.

Although he scolded Draco for his unstable attitude, Harry still saw Lucius' love for Draco from his attitude - the same was true for Malfoy's mother Narcissa.

After Harry thought about it carefully, he was not surprised, because from Draco's attitude before he was taught a lesson at the beginning of the school year, it was obvious that he was a child spoiled by his family.

Lucius Malfoy even prepared a sumptuous dinner to entertain Harry.

"I hope you won't feel restrained and can enjoy it all, Harry." Lucius showed a fake smile on the other side of the whole ebony dining table. "After all, if we trace back to our ancestors, our two families are still related."

There was a gleam of surprise in Lucius's grey eyes, because he did not see even a trace of panic in the young child opposite him - especially after seeing the background of the Malfoy family and receiving such a grand reception, a twelve-year-old child should never be so calm.

For children of this age, being treated as an adult and entertained is exciting enough, not to mention all the other details, big and small.

"Of course, thank you for your hospitality, Uncle Lucius." Harry nodded slightly. "Compared to the Muggle society, the wizarding society is indeed too small, and wizarding families are becoming increasingly rare."

Harry's subtext was actually that it was very normal for wizards to want to have some connection with each other and there was no need to bring it up specifically. Although it was a sentence to distance oneself, Lucius' eyes lit up because it actually demonstrated Harry's mental level.

Lucius knew very well the environment in which this boy who survived a catastrophe had lived over the years, his mean Muggle relatives, and the long-term bullying he had experienced while growing up. Logically, such a child should not be so calm when he saw the various magical things that belonged only to wizards in Malfoy Manor. That was definitely something that the boy could never have imagined in his dreams.

The long table was made of luxurious wood, and was placed with silver cutlery and crystal wine glasses. Each piece of cutlery could even be taken out individually as a collection. It was engraved with delicate snake patterns, and the ceiling was covered with a huge layer of magical mist. Occasionally, a few magical creatures could be seen flying through the clouds.

Even Fox got a bowl of delicious food made from various rare herbs.

——But the boy didn’t show any shock or intoxication.

It was as if he had seen more, even better things, and there was even a hint of judgment in his eyes.

Well, the Malfoy family's collections and decorations are indeed very good, but they are still far behind those blood elves in Silvermoon City who have ostentation and luxury engraved in their bones.

I have to say that those beautiful female blood elves are really... ahem!
Harry regained his composure.

"Is this... rose silver?" Harry picked up the fork in front of him and looked at it. "It is indeed rose silver. This matte texture reminds me of the notes of the Venetian alchemist Grimaldi - 'Only by tempering with dragon flames can the metal lose its glitz and leave only the warmth of blood.'"

"...I didn't expect you to have such extraordinary insight." Lucius straightened his back and almost couldn't help but snort, "Good vision."

It feels so good - Harry's words seemed to have hit the spot that made Lucius so happy that even the fake smile on his face disappeared, turning into a real, reserved smile.

"There are indeed many unexpected and valuable books in the Hogwarts library, but unfortunately there are not many records of Grimaldi's research results," Harry said with regret. In fact, there are not many books related to the specific practical content of alchemy in the entire Hogwarts library, and there are less than five books in total. This makes Harry look forward to the invitation from the great alchemist Nicolas Flamel.

He needs more knowledge.

"That's why I said your vision is admirable, Harry." Lucius raised his eyebrows and said, "Grimaldi's manuscript has long been lost, and the Malfoy family is just lucky enough to have preserved the fragments... Of course, if you don't mind, you can go to the study to take a look after dinner."

"Thank you for your generosity, Uncle Lucius," Harry expressed his sincere gratitude.

Lucius not only got information from the Daily Prophet, he also had other more covert channels for obtaining information. The most important thing was that there was a fanatical admirer of Harry Potter by his side - his son Draco Malfoy.

To be honest, when Draco Malfoy came home just after the holiday and kept calling Harry and mentor and saying "I want to follow the mentor to revive the elements of this world", although he didn't say anything openly, Lucius's scalp was tingling - Narcissa, on the other hand, looked at her son with a doting look on her face as he excitedly talked about these things beside her. To her, Draco was the best no matter what he did.

Draco's enthusiasm even had the opposite effect on Lucius, making him feel that Rita Skeeter's recent report might actually have some truth to it... Dumbledore was secretly controlling everything, whether it was things in the school or those... elements?
But today, right now, Lucius has completely given up his previous thoughts.

During the entire dinner, if he closed his eyes, Lucius felt that he was not talking to a child at all, but to a magic master with rich experience and powerful strength.

He was neither humble nor arrogant, had far-sighted insights, and behaved in a measured manner. Even the words he spoke were not those boring and unoriginal compliments, but he directly pointed out the key points. This was what made Lucius and Narcissa secretly proud of - in the past, when they received many shallow guests, they had laughed in their hearts at these people's lack of knowledge.

"Try this dish again, Harry." Narcissa's attitude had become enthusiastic. She gestured to Harry, "Roasted white pigeon with dragon's blood sauce. This is a special recipe that only the Malfoy family has. The taste is very special. You will like it."

There was a faint smell of blood, but it was not pungent or disgusting. Instead, it was like swallowing a mouthful of fire, warm and cozy, and even the pigeon meat became more tender.

"...It's really good," Harry said after taking a bite, "It makes me nostalgic."

A smell of orc food.

"Thank you very much for taking care of Draco at school, Harry." Narcissa suddenly looked very touched, with tears in her eyes. "He has grown up, before Lucius and I noticed. Oh..."

"...I performed the two spells you taught me, mentor." Draco patted his mother on the back and said to Harry with an embarrassed look on his face, "It was the rock arrow and stoneskin. They were all very surprised."

To be precise, it should be a shock rather than a surprise, especially when Draco inserted a totem into the ground and turned his garden upside down.

"And your earth element," Harry added, and then said, "In fact, I didn't teach you much. Your growth comes from your own experiences."

"I won't lose, mentor." Knowing what Harry was talking about, Draco gritted his teeth and said, "I will let those idiots know how powerful we shamans are. In front of us, they must bow their stupid heads."

"That's a great ambition, Draco." Lucius suddenly clapped his hands gently, "But before you truly succeed, it's best for these words to only exist in your own heart."

"I'm sorry, father," Draco said seriously, "I will."

Lucius nodded and did not continue speaking. He was just secretly relieved.

Although Draco didn't want his parents to know what he had experienced at school, as Snape's friend, how could Lucius not know about his son's life at school?

He was indeed angry at the beginning, and he even wanted to attack the families that hurt his children at all costs, but he was finally stopped by Snape.

Afterwards, when news of Draco's changes and growth was continuously passed back home through Snape, Lucius and Narcissa felt nothing but relief besides feeling sorry for their son.

This is also the reason why Harry was given a grand reception by the Malfoy family after he came uninvited today, because Draco's growth and the strength he used to fight back were due to the Shaman Club and to Harry Potter.

I have to say it again, it was really hard for Lucius to imagine this at first.

After dinner, Lucius invited Harry to the study on the pretext of fulfilling his promise to take Harry to see Grimaldi's notebook, but Harry knew it was just an excuse.

"Thank you very much for your influence on Draco, Harry," Lucius said seriously after sitting down in the study, "You have helped the Malfoy family to have an excellent heir."

"He is my apprentice," Harry nodded slightly and said, "Maybe this sounds ridiculous to you, but Draco has learned my unique magic, and this cannot be changed. The shaman's precepts will accompany him throughout his life."

"Of course, I have no objection to this." Lucius once again put on the fake smile he had when the two first met. "In fact, I have recently heard some... rumors, which are circulated among many pure-blood nobles... and some very prestigious old wizards."

"Frazino Wildsmith?" Harry was acutely aware of what Lucius was trying to say.

"That's right," Lucius nodded. "Although it hasn't been officially announced to the outside world, the Glimpse Potion has indeed allowed many people to see scenes they have never seen before... It shouldn't take a few months for your name to be heard in the wizarding world again. I guess you'll at least get an Order of Merlin, First Class."

"So, what you want to know is whether I discovered the element myself, or whether Dumbledore discovered it but put the blame on me?" Harry was very clear about the behavior of people like Lucius. After all, the reputation of the Malfoy family in the wizarding world clearly showed this.

Much like the goblins, everything is based on gold (profit) as the top priority.

"I admire your directness, Harry," Lucius said with a fake smile, "and I think there may be a brighter future between us - maybe you don't know yet, you haven't lost all your relatives, I mean... you still have a godfather alive."

There was a brief pause, and Lucius observed Harry's expression, but he immediately realized that Harry had already known the news, because there was no shock on his face.

"Sirius Black, Sirius, is your godfather," Lucius continued, "perhaps you already know where he is now, but what I want to say is that Sirius is actually Narcissa's cousin - which means that I am indeed your cousin."

In just a few words, Lucius had put himself in the same position as Vernon, not a Muggle uncle, but a magical uncle.

(End of this chapter)