[197] The Cloak and the Dagger

Malfoy Manor.

"I thought you were going to stay in that awful place until school starts."

The moment Hall appeared at Malfoy Manor, he saw Draco, arms crossed, chin held high, looking at him with an air of superiority.

Hall immediately smiled.

Draco's little face tightened even more.

"Romania isn't some awful place. It's quite interesting." Hall walked through Malfoy Manor with the ease of someone returning home. Passing through the porch, through the large garden, through the main hall, and then to where the Malfoy family usually stayed.

A complete afternoon tea set had already been arranged on the lawn. Hall settled into the soft chair, picked up a dessert, took a bite, and nodded in satisfaction.

"This must be Mrs. Narcissa's cooking," Hall said after just one bite. "It's delicious. Please thank her for me later."

Draco, watching Hall's overbearing behaviour, almost turned red with anger. Hall was acting so much like the master of the house. It made Draco start to question whether this was really his home.

But letting Draco watch Hall eat alone was impossible. He huffed and sat down in another chair next to Hall, still muttering complaints.

"Want me to tell you about the dragons I saw in Romania?" Hall ignored Draco's expression. "The one that impressed me most was a male fire dragon named Baal. He was really handsome. Once you get to know him, Baal will let you pet him. He'll even give the trainers the scales he sheds."

Listening to Hall's description, Draco's angry eyes gradually lit up. Dragons! So many dragons! And dragon scales!

Hall understood what Draco was thinking but smiled instead. "Draco, you don't want to become a dragon tamer too, do you? To be honest, it's not for you. Even though your name is also 'Little Dragon,' those dragons don't become more docile because of your name. My brother Charlie has this big gash on his arm because of those dragons."

Draco, watching Hall's gesture, could already picture the scene. His face paled slightly.

"Alright, I didn't come here to scare you." Hall casually pulled a palm-sized, crimson scale from his robes. "This is a souvenir I brought back for you."

It was the scale of the fire dragon Baal.

Draco quickly took the scale, giving Hall a huge eye roll. He hadn't forgiven Hall yet. But considering Hall hadn't forgotten him while out having fun... he'd be a little more polite.

"You've been in Romania for a month. You probably have no idea what's happened in England." Draco toyed with the dragon scales, his expression relaxed.

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Hall's brow twitched slightly, so subtly Draco didn't notice. "What, has something even bigger than the escape of ten or so people from Azkaban happened?"

The prison break from the end of December was still a topic of conversation. The wizarding world was only so big. Not every day brought something new.

"That's far more outrageous than what happened in Azkaban." Draco hummed twice. "A witch from a Muggle family — her surname was too common, I've forgotten it."

Hall sighed inwardly.

"It's said she was half-British and half-French Muggle. On her way back to France, she discovered the trail of those escaped convicts and successfully captured three... Death Eaters." Draco spoke the last words very softly.

Although Draco had never truly faced Death Eaters, deep down he still harboured a fear of Voldemort. Even without directly confronting the issue, Draco had a premonition — if Voldemort were to return, the Malfoy family's stance would be uncertain.

Hall sighed softly. No matter how much Draco was told, at only twelve years old, he had no right to make decisions. The future of the Malfoy family was still in Mr. Malfoy's hands.

Hall changed the subject. "So?"

"So — given Cornelius Fudge's unreliability, someone has proposed making this Muggle wizard lady the new Minister for Magic." Draco scoffed. "That's just absurd."

Let a Muggle-born witch take that position? "I think even the news about Dementors isn't as outrageous as this."

Hall's eyes brightened. Lydia's selection as a candidate for Minister for Magic in just one month — this progress far exceeded his expectations. He'd put pressure on her beforehand, knowing it would be difficult. He'd planned to find a way to promote her later. But now Lydia had reached this point through her own abilities. Hall was genuinely starting to believe in her.

"Is it absurd?" Hall said with a smile. "I think if this lady is capable enough to ensure I spend the next five years peacefully at Hogwarts, I wouldn't mind if she became Minister."

Draco glared at Hall, seemingly surprised by his lack of ambition. He was about to say something when Mr. Malfoy, leaning on his snake-headed jeweled cane, made a dazzling entrance.

"Long time no see, Mr. Weasley." Lucius Malfoy greeted Hall with a distant smile.

"Long time no see, Mr. Malfoy." Hall waved lazily, looking quite at ease.

Draco, who had been leaning back in his chair, straightened up instantly the moment he saw his father appear.

Hall chuckled.

Lucius's gaze swept over Draco indifferently. He walked gracefully to their side. A house-elf appeared, offering Mr. Malfoy a soft chair.

"Although Mr. Weasley has only just returned, it seems you've already learned the most important news from the British Ministry from Draco."

Hearing this, the most shocked person wasn't Hall, but Draco. He widened his eyes, looking at Lucius in disbelief. Father didn't mind him staying? Really?

Draco felt a mixture of disbelief and barely suppressed excitement.

Lucius was aware of Draco's excitement but said nothing. Just as Draco had suspected, Malfoy tolerated Draco being included in the conversation.

Hall naturally didn't say anything. Why should he be the bad guy when the father had no objections?

"Yes, I just heard about it, but I don't know the lady's name yet."

"Lydia Bloomfield." Lucius's memory was better than Draco's. But when he said the name, his face showed obvious disdain. "A Ravenclaw witch from a Muggle family, who almost chose to marry a regular Muggle after graduation. Ten years to become the Deputy Minister of Magical Law Enforcement. I have to admit, she might have some ability, but it's far from enough. To become Minister for Magic... hmph."

Hall listened intently. Angry? He had no such thoughts. He even found it amusing. Weasley and Malfoy sat at the same table, appearing to be partners. But that didn't preclude Hall and the Muggle-born witch Malfoy had belittled from being partners too. Partnership — they came together because of shared interests, and they could go down completely different paths because of those interests.

"Does Mr. Malfoy have any more promising candidates?" Hall felt he could probe the enemy's situation further. Who had Malfoy set his sights on? They were about to take them down soon.