Chapter 166: Gathering at the Malfoy House
Since the morning, wizards dressed in formal attire have entered Malfoy Manor one after another. Every time someone comes, the wind created by their robes makes the graceful white roses in the garden sway, and fragrant dew drops continue to fall to the ground in the process.
However, until the evening moisture condensed on the petals again, the person they most wanted to see - Severus Snape - had not arrived at Malfoy Manor.
"He took such an early advantage, but he refused to even send a letter!" Lucius, who was sitting at the head seat at the long table, looked up at the clock on the wall that pointed to six o'clock, and said angrily to the long table full of people below.
"Snape was just as cunning during the trial ten years ago. He didn't even have to say much, Dumbledore would stand up for him!" Bro Avery, who, like Lucius, claimed to have escaped the trial by being under the Imperius Curse, slammed the table, and his orange curly hair swayed.
"But we are not completely without any capital, are we, Lucius?" At the corner of the long table, a skinny black-haired man opened his creepy big eyes and gave the owner of the manor a sinister smile. All the bones on his face protruded at this time. This was Dag Rochier who had just been released from Azkaban.
In order to avenge her parents who were brutally killed by Death Eaters, the former star interrogator Xavier Nanney framed many Death Eaters who had not been tried at the time. Dag Rochir was one of them. He had been imprisoned in Azkaban for three years.
During the three years he was imprisoned, the reputation he had worked so hard to build disappeared completely, his wife left him with their two daughters, and his family property was inherited by his younger brother, whom he had always looked down upon.
Now even if he was invited to Malfoy Manor, he could only sit in the corner like a stray dog.
"What do you mean, Dag?" Everyone else at the long table looked at Lucius at this time, which made him frown.
"I know that Miss Riddle kissed your son on Valentine's Day this year." Dag Rochel glanced at the big Crabbe and the big Goyle who suddenly straightened their bodies at the long table with a half-smile, and then added in a long tone, "And it happened in public. This is what my good nephew told me."
"Your good son gave Miss Riddle roses on Valentine's Day, and Miss Riddle kissed him at the time. According to custom, they are already lovers," Dag continued to speak to his former colleagues in that slow, mantra-like tone. "As far as I know, Miss Riddle has never done this with other opposite sex. I think this is much more valuable than Snape."
"But she hasn't told Draco anything," Lucius decisively refused after discussing with Narcissa. "Besides, we can only try to find an intermediary to help us copy the letter and deliver it. Do you want to let the children's private love letters be seen by others?"
"Isn't separation more painful?" Dag's eyes opened wider, and the loose skin on his face slumped down due to his eyelids being too tight. "I can't believe that you just watched Kai being driven out of Country Y by my good brother."
"It was your father-in-law who came to take her back to Country F. Can you bear to let the three of them, mother and daughter, live under someone else's roof?" Old Nott, who had been silent in front of the table, spoke. His son Theodore was the same age as Lucius' son, but he was almost old enough to be Lucius' father.
"Stop making excuses for your hypocrisy!" Dag slammed the table and stood up. He would never do such a vulgar thing in the past, but the three years in Azkaban had worn away his rationality. After regaining his freedom, he lost everything again and could no longer maintain his previous demeanor.
"Bang-"
Narcissa opened the door at this moment. She was dressed in slim and well-fitting clothes as usual. She looked at Dag Rochir, raised her chin slightly, and said in a polite and distant voice, "It's time for dinner."
A row of house-elves wearing pillowcases came in, pushing a dining cart. Dag Rochiel looked at Narcissa and sneered. He turned to look at old Nott and said, "Good man, please remember to send my persistent and annoying nephew home."
Without waiting for old Nott's agreement, Dag stood up and walked out the door. When he came to Narcissa's side, he said sinisterly, "And even if I am poor, I won't beg for a meal in such a shabby host's house."
"The Malfoys prefer to entertain discerning guests." Narcissa had a cold face and was not moved at all. She directed the trembling house-elves to place the sumptuous meal on the long table in an orderly manner.
And Dag Rochir's persistent and annoying nephew, Falcardo Rochir, was flirting with Draco in his room.
"Draco, please forgive my curiosity, what are you doing now?" Falkado asked impatiently after just a few words of daily life. Hearing his question, Theodore Nott, who was casually flipping through a book on the windowsill, paused, and even Goyle and Crabbe, who had been eating all the time, stopped swallowing.
"Are you here to laugh at me?" Draco, sitting at the desk, opened his gray eyes wide, stretched his neck and questioned Falcardo, who was two years older than him, "Are you here to laugh at me, a fool who can't even tell what my girlfriend is?"
"No, no, of course not," Falcardo immediately waved his hands to deny it. He quickly added, "We can all see that she really likes you. I think she has her own reasons—"
"What's the problem?!" Draco interrupted Fakto rudely. He threw the things on the table down with a chaotic clinking sound.
This noise made Fakado Rochier stop talking. He frowned in embarrassment and muttered "I'm sorry" under his breath.
He actually didn't want to get involved in this mess, but his uncle who had just been released from Azkaban forced him to come. Falkado's father inherited the Rochiel family when his brother was in prison, but that uncle had transferred away a lot of wealth when he was in power - their family was almost left with an empty shell.
"Oh, my good nephew, I have always remembered you. Our relatives always said that I only had two daughters and the Rochiel family lacked a male heir." Dag's sinister voice still resonated in his ears. "Now you are the male heir. Are you happy? Ha, go and try to get the Dark Lord's son-in-law to do something. Maybe I can slip something out of my fingers for you."
Thinking about the family's barely-balanced financial situation, Fakado could only grit his teeth. Looking at Draco, whose eyes were red with anger, he decided to open his mouth and ask again.
"咚咚-"
There was a knock on the door, and old Nott opened the door. He first looked at his son, nodded slightly to him, and then turned to look at Fakado, "Your uncle asked me to take you back, little Rochelle."
"I understand. Thank you, Uncle Nott." Falkado responded immediately. Although he was still a little frustrated, he felt more relieved. He said goodbye to Draco and followed Theodore Nott to old Nott.
After sending Fakado home, old Nott asked Theodore on the way if he had found out anything today.
"Draco has no idea about Della's identity. This may be a good thing or a bad thing, father." Theodore raised his eyes, recalling Draco's overly irritable behavior. "Riddle did not take Malfoy into her consideration, but in that case, she would be purely focusing on Draco."
"Lucius suggested today that we find a few people to try to send the letter over first. He said that he has found a wizard from Country F who is willing to help us pass the letter to Riddle," said Old Nott. "In fact, I have also found a messenger, and I think I am not the only one who has done this."
"But she told me that wavering loyalty is cheap," Theodore pursed his lips and looked up at his father, "Let them do what they want, father, don't let our loyalty become even less worth mentioning in front of the Dark Lord."
"You..." Old Nott's eyebrows, which were stained with white marks, moved upwards as his eyes widened. He looked at his son with a determined face, hesitated for a while, and finally agreed with him, "Okay, but Theodore, I hope you can understand that every decision has consequences."
"I know, Father, I've always known it," said Theodore.