Chapter 331 After the Celebration Banquet
After the party, Della left the drunken flattery among the adults where Maggie could participate, and walked towards the room alone. On the way, she thought about Lucius Malfoy's attitude and felt a little unhappy. It was one thing for her to look down on the fence-sitter at hand, but it was another thing to be discriminated against by the hidden social rules.
We have to praise Maggie for this. As a man who truly holds power, he has done a pretty good job in gender equality. Although his respect is only reserved for people of value or personality, in competitive relationships, he is indeed able to completely ignore the influence of gender factors.
Perhaps it's because Uncle Malfoy doesn't have a sister or daughter that he speaks and acts so inappropriately.
Della couldn't tell whether she was being kind or sarcastic as she argued for him in her heart, and she also felt a little disappointed with Draco for not reacting at all to what had happened tonight.
I am really too naive. Naivety is not a bad character, but the environment I am in now is not friendly to naivety.
Moreover, naive people have a characteristic. They will take it for granted that some cruel behaviors that are actually necessary are cruel, and will feel dissatisfied and sad because of this. In most cases, they will not listen to any explanation.
Honestly, Draco is actually quite similar to his self-perceived nemesis Harry in this respect.
......
Forget it. No matter what, it will be four months later. Let's talk about it then. Judging from Lucius's choice, he might actually be living a good life in four months. Voldemort will pretend to reward his loyal subordinates during the turbulent times.
Well, I don’t know whether Trevor has received any instructions from Voldemort.
Della returned to the room and thought about this matter that had no follow-up. She was concerned about the progress of the matter and did not care who Voldemort would look for in Country Y. After all, the most important thing was that Trevor needed to win trust.
Like today's banquet, Trevor was actually invited, but he didn't come. This action was a show in front of Voldemort. They had used countless small shows before to show Trevor's role and "gradually lost loyalty."
Voldemort was an arrogant, even conceited man, and he would have no problem using Legilimency on Trevor, especially. Della and Maggie both believed that adding some tricks related to plunder and victory would be exactly what he wanted.
After returning to the room, Della subconsciously walked to the small round window to see if she could see Sadolin's leap. She stared at the lake water rolling in the night breeze for four or five minutes, but she didn't see it. Maybe Sadolin had already gone to her lover, or maybe the two of them postponed their meeting because of the large crowds at the party. Anyway, love can always wait.
After a not-so-long wait, Della sat back at her desk. This time, she did not read a book, but took out a few letters written in sloppy French. Alonso Weiss, her professor at the Beauxbatons Institute, wrote to her to briefly introduce several new projects and asked her if she had any interest or time to go to the Beauxbatons Institute again.
Della would also send Professor Weiss the latest silver letter and save her contact information in advance, but Hogwarts refused to access the silver letter network, so they could only communicate by writing letters.
The delayed transmission of real letters was convenient for Della at this time, because it gave her more time to hesitate. Della actually wanted to go. Her research career in Beauxbatons was also one of the few happy times when she didn't have to think about too many trivial matters. She was also very interested in alchemy and the challenges related to it.
Let's put it this way. Della, who now possesses countless wealth, has a separate small account at Gringotts in Country F, which is used to deposit the allowance she received during her time at Beauxbatons and the patent fees of Yinxin at the time. In addition, the dividends from the airship project will also be deposited into the account every year. She has not used the money in this account since she left Country F.
The money in this account was nothing compared to her current wealth, and it was originally opened for convenience, but the further she was away from Beauxbatons and her research career, the more it carried the purity of that period of time that fascinated her.
What fascinated Della the most was the meaning of "another possibility of Della Riddle" vaguely revealed in that period of life. To be a little arrogant, Della knew her talents and abilities, and she could shine in many fields, but what she yearned for most at the moment was alchemy.
It's a pity that the time has not come yet for her to freely choose her future. Her current hesitation is just an attempt to delay the pain that will follow the rejection.
Dong-Dong-
There was a knock on the door. Della subconsciously put away the letter first, then looked at the watch which was almost ten o'clock, with no expression on her face. On the one hand, she didn't like being disturbed, but on the other hand, she felt that it was not a bad thing to have something interrupt her bad mood, so she simply waved her wand and opened the door.
Unlike Maggie, who can let people into the room with just a "come in", the door lock has a practical use for her.
Behind the door was Theodore. Della turned around and looked at him from a few meters away. Her brows knitted unconsciously. "It's so late. What's the matter, Theodore?"
As she spoke, she stood up, and the teapot floated up as Della waved her magic wand, and the tea leaves jumped into the open teapot. The tea was brewed while she was talking, and when Theodore sat on the sofa beside her at Della's invitation, the teapot and teacups fell on the coffee table in front of them.
As an aside, if Harry had knocked on the door like this last time, he would have been given a cup of hot tea.
"There is a letter to my father from Trevor Ewing," Theodore looked at Della, the melancholy in his eyes was obvious, but he did not talk about his regrets, but directly stated the facts. He handed the envelope to Della, "He invited my father to meet old friends."
Della perked up. She took the letter from the envelope that had obviously been carefully opened and even the wax seal was still intact. She read it quickly and asked about the strangeness revealed by the overly intact envelope, "Has Mr. Nott seen this letter?"
"No, although it was sent to my father, I stole the letter when I saw the name Trevor Ewing," Theodore said calmly, without any embarrassment in backstabbing his father. "I know that senior dropped out of school for some strange reason the year you left. My father also mentioned him to me after Christmas of that year."
There was more polite nonsense in the letter, which was very much like Trevor's usual bland flattery. He took some time to write some clichés about Voldemort's once prosperous career, and finally invited old Nott to meet alone, hinting that an old friend would be there.
"Why did you intercept this letter?" Della looked up at him after reading the letter.
"Trev Ewing has never been a middleman, which I find very strange. I originally wanted to see if he would have any private conversation with my father," Theodore looked into Della's eyes, serious yet secretly greedy. He cherished the rare glances that Della gave him. "After reading the letter, the loyalty I offered made me unable to turn a blind eye to some things."
Theodore's gaze made Della feel a little uncomfortable, but she was not afraid of being stared at, so she endured the discomfort and carefully identified him, using some Legilimency.
The use of Legilimency here does not mean that the person does not trust Theodore, but rather that he does not trust Maggie, the snake that is now acting on its own will.
She now suspected that there was something else behind the "designated old friend of Voldemort" that Trevor had reported earlier. Otherwise, why did it have to be the Nott family? And why did Theodore snatch it away?
Theodore's memory was impeccable. He had already started to help his father read some of the letters, and he did suddenly hide the letter under old Nott's nose.
Theodore's impeccable performance only illustrates his loyalty, but cannot prove Maggie's innocence.
But Theodore's proven innocence and loyalty were enough for this conversation.
"Very good, Theodore, very good." Della avoided Theodore's sight by folding the letter and putting it back into the envelope. She made up her mind, "Let Mr. Nott go meet his old master. I believe he must have missed the past very much during this period."
Theodore frowned, his dark eyes moving. He asked Della, "Why? Although I don't want to say this, Riddle, I want to make it clear again that my father is very inclined towards the Dark Lord."
"Forget what you said last time?" Della smiled at him, "You blamed me for mistaking your personal loyalty for Nott's."
"So this letter," Della raised the letter in her hand and handed it to Theodore, "is enough for you to deliver it to me."
"But my father--" Theodore took the letter back, still hesitant.
"It doesn't matter. You've earned his forgiveness from me," Della said gently. "This is very beneficial to your family. When your father comes back from his first visit to his old master, you'll know how beneficial it will be soon."
"..." Theodore stared at Della and was silent for a few seconds. Then a faint smile appeared on his face, which had been cold for a long time. "I know, Riddle."
"You deserve it, Theodore," Della said with a sigh, lowering her eyes, "and you deserve more."
At this moment, the comparison between the two families and the two boys probably really achieved Maggie's purpose. Della briefly felt in her heart, "If Lucius was more...if Draco was more..."
She knew that if she looked carefully, she would be able to find Maggie's hand in the affairs of the Malfoys and the Notts, but their respective choices were not forced by Maggie, right?
She would go to Maggie to ask for an explanation, but there would be no turning back after what happened tonight.
This result, ironically, fulfilled Maggie's purpose.
It was horrible, her little snake knew her so well.