Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 790 Children Born at Easter

"During the Easter holidays, and off-campus, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor actually wants to put me in detention..."

Loren stood in the corner of the lawn, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

Although he didn't explicitly mention the inheritance of werewolf disease, his carefully crafted wording did have a touch of morbid humor, revealing a desire to see a good show, and he succeeded.

Lupin was furious, but fortunately Tonks was in a good mood after hearing that his son had inherited the disguise of Magus, and he promptly dissuaded a professor who was trying to settle a personal score.

During the rest of the party, Lupin and Tonks prepared a feast, Harry and Ginny looked after the baby, and Loren had nothing to do but greet the guests with Hermione.

In fact, the closest group of friends had already visited on the day the child was born, such as Tonks' parents, several colleagues from Hogwarts, and the Blacks. This time, the invitations were extended to people who were unable to come due to time constraints or whose relationships were not yet close enough, including colleagues from the Ministry of Magic and colleagues from the Order of the Phoenix...

Not many people accepted the invitation; the main ones were Kingsley Shackler, Mad-Eye Moody, and others.

Loren and Hermione only greeted a few wizards they happened to recognize before Tonks came out of the kitchen. The rest of the greetings and hospitality were left to the lady of the house. As for the master of the house, his past wandering experiences had honed his culinary skills, so he would be in charge of preparing the main meal for the banquet.

The aroma in the kitchen gradually intensified, and the invited wizards gradually arrived in the courtyard.

"Tonks! Remus! Ephias and Dedalow couldn't make it, but they asked me to convey their greetings and say they'll visit another day!"

The speaker was Emily Vance, a beautiful witch, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and an Auror of the Ministry of Magic. She had previously infiltrated the Prime Minister's residence with Kingsley Shackles and later participated in the battle at New York Airport.

"Da, da..."

As Mad-Eye Moody approached with his cane, he looked even older. His once-sparse hair was now completely white, a piece of flesh was missing from his nose, and his loose skin and wrinkles had somehow diminished his ferocity. Since Voldemort's downfall, there had been very few reports of him having neurotic episodes.

Mad-Eyes glanced at the trash can a few times as he entered, then looked away and slowly walked inside.

"A healthy kid, huh?"

Moody's voice was still rough, but not as loud as before. He stood a distance away from the crib, seemingly afraid that his face would frighten the child.

"Yes, his name is Teddy."

Harry chuckled inwardly. He was clearly affectionate and caring towards the child, yet he was putting on a stern face. He wondered who he was pretending for.

He remained outwardly calm, but secretly glanced at his expression: "Loren has already seen it and said that some traits are inherited through magic, and Teddy just happened to inherit that kind of magic."

"..."

Moody frowned immediately, narrowing his asymmetrical eyes as he stared at the demonic eye, which gleamed with a ghostly blue light, and twirled his cane repeatedly.

Harry wasn't sure if his Magic Eye could see through it, so he decided to reveal the truth: "He's in good health and doesn't have werewolf disease. Loren said he inherited Tonks's Disguise Magus."

"She has the potential to become an Auror!"

Moody glanced at him sideways, turned around, and limped away: "I knew it, I told you long ago... This ability could be a huge help if used properly, but Tonks is just a fresh graduate..."

No wonder Loren likes to play pranks, it's really funny.

Harry watched him leave with a smile, and began to calculate in his mind how many more times he could play.

Who else is coming next?

Ginny, who was standing next to her, fell silent.

Is this how Hermione usually feels?

"..."

Laughter echoed in the room. Bertha Jorkins and Percy Weasley had also arrived, both dressed in the Ministry of Magic's standard wizarding robes. It seemed they had been on duty at the Ministry during the Easter holidays and had just returned from the Ministry. There was another round of congratulations and greetings.

Harry heard the sound and immediately came out to greet them. The guests who arrived later were led into the nursery by him with great enthusiasm. In order to repeatedly satisfy his perverse pleasure, he even said that he was worried about disturbing the children's rest, and led them in one by one.

Tonks fell silent for a moment.

His enthusiastic and positive demeanor made him look like his child.

Standing at the doorway, you could still hear Harry muttering to himself, "You know his parents are a bit special; some of their traits are inherited through magic..."

They even know how to optimize the dialogue, it's quite professional...

Loren couldn't help but smile.

Upon approaching Hermione, they found the girl intently listening to news of a change in leadership within the Ministry of Magic.

Because of the lingering symptoms of the Oblivion Curse, Jorgins rotated between departments. Other colleagues and superiors treated her like a fool, and she didn't hide many of her secrets. Later, she unwittingly became the assistant to the minister.

As her memories gradually returned, the recurring memories from the past decade or so became her work experience, and the unknown secrets within them became her qualifications. With the help of the Ministry of Magic's internal investigation, she has been promoted to a genuine senior deputy minister.

If the Ministry of Magic hadn't purged and dismissed those corrupt officials, the secrets she had accumulated would have been enough to sustain her for decades. She might even have had a chance to succeed Minister Burns after his retirement, if she put in the effort…

Because of Mr. Crouch, who wandered aimlessly for many years in a state of mental confusion, and then benefited from his past misfortunes after regaining his senses, even the wizards who knew the inside story were somewhat moved—

It was as if they had both endured the suffering inflicted by Crouch and received Crouch's political resources.

Percy succeeded him as assistant minister because of his previous outstanding performance. He has not officially taken office yet, but is rotating between departments as an ordinary employee, because his minister superior has not yet taken office.

"All matters are gradually coming to an end, and Ms. Burns is expected to take office before the Auror office recruits new staff."

"You'd better make a good impression on Ms. Burns, Percy. Maybe in a few years you'll be promoted to deputy minister, or at least recommended to Wizengamo."

"Thank you for your advice, Bertha. I will try my best."

"..."

Johansson remained silent. He had originally intended to tease Percy, but instead, his words were taken as advice and he received sincere thanks. His expression was complicated for a moment.

"All right……"

It would be better for the Ministry of Magic to have more people like you who are serious about their work than to have those pure-blood parasites occupying positions.

Joggins shook his head and smiled, then casually glanced over and saw Loren in a corner not far away. He was waving at them, as if signaling someone to come over. Looking around, it seemed to be her.

"Loren, Hermione, it's been a long time."

"Miss Johansson, I need to speak with you."

"What is it?" Jorgins asked, somewhat puzzled.

"About a business deal."

Loren smiled.

……

London, St. Mungo's Hospital for the Magical Injuries and Wounds, closed ward, intensive care room.

A witch is preparing to give birth.

Although it is a magical injury hospital with a total of 100 therapists on duty at the moment, the hospital's senior management is still uneasy and anxious. They have assigned senior therapists from various departments to stay outside the wards on standby, ready to deal with any emergencies.

Outside the ward, Scrimgeour's Auror squad, personally led by him, was on standby at any moment.

These Aurors are all veteran Aurors who participated in both Wizarding Wars. They have witnessed the tragedies of Death Eaters harming innocent people more than once, and some of their relatives were even killed by Voldemort himself. After the Ministry of Magic's internal investigation was completed, these veteran Aurors should have retired and enjoyed their old age normally, but they are all gathered here today.

Their faces were somewhat aged, but their eyes were filled with unwavering determination and ruthlessness.

For these Aurors, it had been a long time since they had carried out such a mission, and this might be the last time, but they had been told to keep the details secret and were willing to stay here.

The same was true for Scrinker; this was his last mission as minister.

Lucius and Narcissa glanced at the group of Aurors and then at the cold-faced Scrimgeour. They exchanged a look, clenched their hands, and held their breath, their hearts pounding in their chests.

Inside the room, the healer witch in charge of the delivery was equally uneasy. Her hand holding the wand began to sweat. The ethics of a healer made her restrain the slight trembling impulse. It was only because they had worked in the hospital for many years that a younger healer who had only been there for two years would probably have resigned immediately.

After a period of care and attention, the therapists learned the pregnant woman's identity: the last Death Eater awaiting trial—Bellatrix Lestrange.

While all the Death Eaters were under Voldemort's close control, she roamed freely. All the Death Eaters were arrested and tried at the airport, but she escaped alone until an inside informant exposed her whereabouts, leading to her arrest. Her trial was delayed due to her pregnancy.

To this day, it remains impossible to confirm who the child's father is.

Everyone had the same suspicion, but no one dared to mention it.

"My water broke!"

A panicked female voice rang out, and the ward immediately sprang into action.

The Aurors were on high alert, with healers constantly monitoring the pregnant woman and fetus. Assistants were also present, casting revealing spells and testing magic. If any unusual signs appeared, a dozen wizards would act simultaneously to contain the crisis in time…

We will spare no expense for this.

Half an hour later.

A clear cry came from the ward, and the stone door that had sealed the ward began to loosen. After the therapists who had participated in the delivery filed away under the leadership of their superiors, the attending witch, covered in sweat, revealed her face, wiped her forehead with a handkerchief, and showed a relaxed smile.

"Mother and daughter are safe and sound, with no abnormalities."

"call……"

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts finally settling down.

The director of St. Mungo's Hospital turned to the hospital's patron, the representative sent by the Ministry of Magic, and smiled: "Mr. Malfoy, Minister Scrimgeour, the rest is up to you. Our healers will be waiting outside at any time."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Scrimgeour nodded expressionlessly and said to the Malfoys, "Let's go inside and see the children."

"..."

They passed through the sealed doorway made of massive stones and entered a spacious, empty room. On either side were closed medicine cabinets. There were no windows in the ward, and an indescribable smell still lingered in the air. Crystal bubbles filled with candles floated on the ceiling, looking like giant soap bubbles.

In the deepest part of the room, a mother and daughter lay quietly on the hospital bed.

The Hellfire Potion put the two to sleep. Bellatrix lay on her side in the middle of the bed, wearing a loose, white hospital gown, holding her newborn baby in her arms. Both of them looked incredibly peaceful.

The child was curled up in his mother's arms, with a peaceful expression. He was a very beautiful child. Most newborn babies are wrinkled and have reddish skin, but this child was well-developed. His skin was not wrinkled and had a delicate pink color. There was sparse lanugo on his head.

Bellatrix was a tall witch. In Scrimgeour's memory, she was always a mad witch. Her imprisonment in Azkaban had made her cheeks sunken, her appearance emaciated, her eyelids heavy, the whites of her eyes protruding, and she always had messy, greasy hair.

Narcissa stopped by the bedside, watching the person on the bed move her lips. Several months of recuperation in the ward seemed to have brought her sister back to normal.

She had jet-black, glossy hair, and her clothes were neat. The swelling from pregnancy made her cheeks fuller again. Her skin wasn't fair, but her features were beautiful, and the maternal instinct lingering in her eyes seemed to add a touch of gentleness.

A dark light flickered in Lucius's eyes as he rapidly weighed the pros and cons.

Scrimgeour's expression was cold: "The Auror squad will escort her back to the Ministry of Magic with me. Today is Sunday, and the public trial will be held tomorrow morning in the Tenth Trial Chamber. You will take the child into your care and she is prohibited from leaving the country without permission. She will need to return to St. Mungo's for a secret check-up every year."

"Mr. Scrimgeour..."

Narcissa opened her mouth, but couldn't voice those naive thoughts; she could only make some trivial requests: "Could she see him when she's sober?"

Scrimgeour shook his head: "We can't be sure she won't use any secret methods on the child after she regains consciousness. After all, the strangeness of dark magic is far beyond our imagination. As you know, no one can be sure whether the child's birth is related to Voldemort or whether there is some inexplicable dark magic involved."

"Even seeing him is impossible..." Narcissa said sadly.

Scrimgeour gazed at the baby on the bed: "The current solution is the result of Dumbledore's best efforts. The original agreement between Wissengamo and the British was deportation, a permanent ban on ever setting foot in England."

Narcissa was about to say something more when Lucius pressed her arm, shook his head at her, and said softly, "That's it, we have no objections."

"The Ministry of Magic has classified the relevant information files as top secret, and all those in St. Mungo's who know about it will keep it confidential. His mother's sins will not affect his life, which is already the best treatment we can give him."

"Then his identity..."

"It's up to you. You can declare them as orphans you've adopted, or you can treat them as your children. The Ministry of Magic will not interfere with the specific conditions of raising them."

"He's too special; it would be better if he had normal parents. We're too old..."

Lucius paused briefly: "Consider him Draco's child, and I've named him—"

"Delphia Malfoy".

(End of this chapter)