When it comes to Sirius, Draco may despise his various shortcomings - bohemian, unruly, over-enthusiastic, impulsive, and, although not as obvious as the average Slytherin, he is extremely arrogant in his self-perception. , it is difficult to listen to others when he is stubborn. If reality does not slap him, he will not look back at all.
For example, he persistently carried out self-atonement in Azkaban for a crime that did not belong to him, instead of finding a way to clear his name and raise his godson; another example is that this young man did not do serious things and his girlfriend did not He didn't find a new one, and every day he was like a patient who should be admitted to St. Mungo's, exploring the secrets and embarrassing stories of 'people he disliked', as if he had no idea what 'other people's privacy' was.
but! Please note this but! At this moment, Draco felt that this uncle still had merit——
——No matter how ugly Bellatrix's words were, Sirius didn't even move his eyebrows, either because he was irritated, or because he was successfully provoked.
"It depends on how we define freak, dear cousin Bella." Sirius said with a smile, "Maybe if you don't come here but go out for a walk, you will find that we have different definitions of each other. Too much the same.”
He faced his cousin's knife-like eyes and refused to give in. Unlike when he usually dealt with Snape at Hogwarts, he didn't immediately take out his wand or yell at his cousin. He just smiled, loosened his collar, and raised his chin high. He seemed to be at ease, not overly arrogant, but also He was not weak at all, or felt inferior to Bellatrix's words. He even blocked Bellatrix's sight well so that she could not look at Regulus or see his pale face - obviously, Sirius was experienced in dealing with such provocations. , Regulus seemed calm, but in fact he was at a loss.
This looks a lot like a qualified heir and a qualified brother. Draco thought. This made him miss his chubby little brother at home. Since he ran away from home, he rarely saw this meaty dumpling.
"I don't want to tell you useless nonsense." Bellatrix is obviously very used to his impenetrable attitude, with obvious disdain in her eyes, "I know you have no shame - now that you are here , we must abide by the rules and don't make people think that the Black family is rude. Get out of the way, Sirius, I'm not here to talk to you! Your mouth has always made inappropriate remarks."
After speaking, she stretched out her right hand, which was still wearing a huge emerald ring, and tried to push her cousin away from her face.
Standing aside, Harry noticed that Bellatrix's emerald ring was also an accessory in the shape of a coiled silver snake, and seemed to be a complete set with the snake-shaped bracelet on her arm. When she stretched out her hand, the two snakes were coiled vividly on her fair and plump arms, spitting out emerald green snake letters from time to time. They looked both uniquely beautiful and a little penetrating.
It seems that this style is indeed popular this year. Harry thought thoughtfully, while noticing that such 'vibrant' jewelry had a considerable amount of magic attached to it.
"What, this really makes me sad," Sirius easily sidestepped her hand and blocked her way deftly, "I feel like there is nothing worthy of your attention in our area except me. Why don’t you stand tall and show off your new gift somewhere else, cousin?”
Bellatrix's eyes widened in surprise and annoyance.
"This is not your style, cousin," she said sarcastically, "I think even with your crazy mind, you can figure out who I want to talk to. Normally, you would have stayed away. That’s it.”
So, it looks like you came to talk to me, Auntie, what an honor! Draco cursed inwardly.
"Look what you said, cousin," Sirius raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly as if he heard a joke, "Is there anything wrong with me being with my dear brother, my dear little brother?"
"We all know that you only care about that group of inferior friends headed by Potter." Bellatrix said slowly, her bright red lips pursed, "Anything from Merlin, this is really rare, I know Aunt Walburga Why did she dare to let you out? She probably expected you to make some normal and valuable friends." After saying that, she chuckled a few times.
"Then, it's you," she took a few steps forward on her high heels. As she spoke, her fingertips were still curling her black hair regularly. She looked past Sirius and her eyes fell on the blond boy behind Regulus. , standing with two boys from the Black family, such blond hair is particularly conspicuous, "a celebrity who appeared on social occasions for the first time, who was favored and favored by 'that adult', a member of the fallen Bagshot family. boy?"
Her eyes were like a scanner (this word was new to Draco), scanning the boy up and down with a critical look in her eyes. After looking at it, she raised her chin a little too high and arrogantly stretched out her hand with black lace gloves.
"You should know who I am," she said with a sneer. "There's no one here who doesn't know me."
Of course Draco knew his aunt - but to be honest, he wanted her to go see Merlin immediately. Due to the occasion and identity, he had to bypass Sirius and leaned over to kiss her fingertips.
Kissing an enemy's hand was quite a stomach-churning thing, and Draco raised his head as soon as he touched it. But even so, he couldn't wait to get some strong liquor to disinfect his mouth.
Draco understood almost instantly why Harry vomited as soon as he came back after eating the delicacies the Dark Lord had brought.
"I think there is no one here who doesn't know you, Mrs. Lestrange." He spent a lot of energy to maintain the expression on his face, trying to look 'respectful', "I have heard about you from Regulus, Your beauty and talent are as flawless as your noble bloodline. Compared with you, a little person like me is just "fresher", but can never be called "famous" or "important" - very It's an honor to meet you."
Harry, who was listening in, couldn't help but cover his cheeks.
This rhetoric was still too bitter for him - Draco had never complimented his sister so hard!
However, after the soreness was over, Harry got closer to Bellatrix, closed his eyes, and briefly activated his ability to try to hypnotize Bellatrix's senses. With subtle adjustments, he tried his best to suppress her obvious disgust and tried to induce some good feelings - this did not involve tampering with the deeper layers of thinking, and the effect was like giving chocolate to someone who had encountered a dementor. It is a temporary feeling and comfort. When Bellatrix lies on her bed at night, this feeling will slowly disappear with sleep.
He was very nervous during the whole process, fearing that he would not be able to perform such a simple yet subtle operation, because there had never been such a need, and he had not practiced this technique much... But to his surprise, Bellatrix's spirit was not difficult. Conquered, he successfully completed the goal, making her feel that 'this boy does not look threatening', 'looks okay, there is no need to cause trouble for the time being' and so on. She seemed to have a secret excitement about her that Harry easily confused with a good mood.
Well... speaking from experience, people who are mentally undefended and whose thoughts can easily be shaken, and who cannot detect changes and thus resist, are generally very susceptible to being incited by certain factors, or by some words. They have some logical patterns in their behavior, and they are very self-centered and do not easily doubt themselves. Bellatrix fits these factors very well. Harry thought. But he thought that such paranoid and future crazy criminals would be mentally stronger than ordinary people.
Bellatrix was unaware of this psychological change at this time. She only felt satisfied because she was being complimented. She nodded and reluctantly praised Draco.
"It seems that you still have merit," she said arrogantly. "People who are young and talented like you are usually complacent because of a little gift. It seems that you are not such a stupid person. .”
"Cousin Bella," Regulus mustered up the courage to interrupt the conversation and try to make things right, "Good evening, you are still so beautiful today - your new brooch is very dazzling. I have never seen such a genuine one."
Draco glanced at the brooch casually and knew the reason why Bellatrix was showing off: the diamonds on it were larger than the brooch received by 'Frances Bagshot', and were surrounded by a ring of thumbs of the same size. Big pearls and broken diamonds. Anyone with eyes could see that such a brooch was worth much more. If you look carefully, you can also see a faint relief of a human figure at the bottom of the diamond. Such fine craftsmanship is also of great value in art.
Of course, everyone knows who the prototype of the 'portrait' that can be worn by Bellatrix on her chest is.
Facing the greetings from her little cousin, Bellatrix looked down on her cowardly brother, but with Sirius as a worse reference, her sense of Regulus was still slightly better. Therefore, when she heard the compliment from her little cousin, she not only raised the corners of her lips, but also hugged him.
"Good evening, my dear Regulus. Seeing that you are already as decent as a half-grown young man, I am finally relieved that you have grown up," Bellatrix said, touching her again seemingly accidentally She clicked the brooch on her chest and said, "I heard that you have gained the attention of adults recently. This is really the best thing." She glanced at 'Frances Bagshot' and giggled again, "Oh , I heard, this is your new friend - he looks better than those idiots before, he is a beautiful little thing."
She stretched out her fan, adorned with ostentatious jewels, and patted Draco's face casually, and it took a lot of effort for the latter to resist the urge to curse that hand.
"We developed a friendship from roommates." Although Regulus was also dissatisfied with his cousin's behavior, he would not disobey her at this time. "This allowed us to get to know each other quickly."
"This is the benefit of Hogwarts," Bellatrix nodded with satisfaction, "You can know your friends and enemies in advance - well, I don't have so much time to waste on you, I still have important people to say hello to."
After saying that, she turned around and left. This straightforward attitude even surprised Harry - after all, in his impression, the etiquette of wizard social occasions in this era was still very old-fashioned, and people like Bellatrix would never do whatever they wanted. Common.
Sirius, who was temporarily ignored by the three people, showed no signs of annoyance. As soon as he saw his cousin leaving, his expression changed from 'this is boring' to 'the trouble is finally gone', and he glanced at his mouth.
"It's as if no one has seen her chest," he said. "It must be given to her by her 'adult'. Every time she shows it off several times, asking others to say a few words of envy. Willing to leave.”
"It's an honor, Sirius." Regulus looked at his cousin's leaving figure with some admiration. "If...Mom would be so happy."
Sirius glanced at him: "Why, do you sometimes want to compare?"
Regulus was almost furious with his words.
"How is that possible?" Regulus' expression was a little stiff and a little unhappy, "I don't like to show off to others, but you can't deny that cousin Bella's status is indeed enviable. She is not because of her family, but because of her own Mom has always felt that you are no worse than her because of your abilities, and if you are willing, you will soon surpass her and get recognition and opportunities."
Sirius made a disgusted tongue-sticking face.
"I don't envy her at all." Sirius said coldly, with no trace of his official smile left in front of Bellatrix, and his words changed from sweet and cumbersome to extremely concise, "I don't want to."
"You will regret it," Regulus said.
Draco sneered inwardly. In the past, he was also someone who liked to make such comparisons and was proud that he had something that others did not have. But now, he felt that such behavior was completely done when he was full and had no effect, because he had already seen what his dear aunt would be like in the future.
Suddenly, Draco heard Harry's voice in his head.
"I seem to have seen this brooch." Harry's voice sounded a little hesitant. "I only saw it once, so I didn't think of it. Well, I thought it was crystal or gemstone, but I didn't expect it to be a diamond. After all, it It’s too big.”
Draco: "Huh? Where have you seen it?"
"...The Black family's old house." Harry replied dryly, "I don't know why this thing is in the cabinet in the living room. When I saw it, I thought it was an ancestral item of the Black family."
Draco wanted to have a few words with him, but Sirius wrapped his arms around his neck.
"How many times must I say this," Draco said unbearably, "Mr. Black, your behavior is inappropriate for such an occasion."
"Are you hungry?" Sirius seemed to be deaf, his hands motionless. He yawned while talking to his junior brother affectionately, as if his brother was not around. "I'm very hungry. I need to go." Eat something, you must be hungry too, I see you didn’t eat much for afternoon tea. Come together, Francis, if nothing else, I heard that the house elves at Gaunt Manor are really good at cooking."
"This is inappropriate," Regulus couldn't help but raise his voice, and his unhappiness even made him stutter a little, "Not only him, but also you, Sirius, we can't go without saying hello...just go to eat!"
"I don't think this is necessary at all," Sirius said, "Don't you know anyone here? Who among them would have any complaints about 'Forever Pure Black'? As for the owner of the manor, we have already greeted him, so there is no need say it again."
This statement is like a plate that you have eaten in the morning and you can continue to make do with it in the evening. Harry's mouth twitched at the sound.
Harry watched from the sidelines as Regulus's face turned blue, and silently sympathized with him in his heart.
As a godfather, Sirius is funny, competent, easy to accept new things, and good at adapting. Although he is unstable, he will try his best to consider everything for Harry and care about Harry wholeheartedly; however, as an immature brother, Sirius is simply impatient. He basically only cares about what he wants to care about and has little regard for his younger brother's feelings. Sometimes I simply and rudely cover it up with a 'mother's microphone' attitude.
To be honest, Harry was honored to have such a godfather, but having such a brother was not so wonderful for Regulus in all aspects.
A contradictory feeling arose in his heart: on the one hand, he felt that his godfather was not qualified as a brother and needed to reflect; on the other hand, when he thought about the future, Sirius had learned the most profound lesson, changed his mind, and had to be patient every day. In Regulus's room, reading to him, talking to him, and not being discouraged even if he didn't get a response, he felt his nose was sore, and couldn't help turning his back, no longer looking at the brothers.
"I'll take a look around," he whispered to Draco, "and see what information is available."
Draco pulled Sirius' arm off while replying to him in his head: "You just left me here?"
"Then watching you greet each other and eat?" Harry said helplessly, half-seriously, "I only brought biscuits and chocolates, Draco, this is too cruel to me, I will not leave this place, such a range , you call me hard in your heart and I can hear you."
"You sound like a signal receiver." Draco said dubiously, "Even if we are standing on opposite ends of this hall?"
"Even if we stand at opposite ends of this hall," Harry said, "As long as the voice is directed, I can still hear it even if I don't actively explore other people's heads."
"Then go ahead," Draco said to Sirius, helping Regulus to persuade him, and waving generously in his mind (if this could be seen), "Remember not to get into trouble because of unnecessary curiosity. !”
Harry couldn't laugh or cry: "I know, I know."
Draco said dissatisfied: "The tone of your answer sounds as if I am you..." He originally wanted to say it was your mother, but when he thought that Harry actually had no mother, he swallowed it back, "...It's your dad, or you. elder brother."
Harry: "...I'm not, I didn't. I'm leaving, you should be careful."
After saying that, Draco could no longer 'hear' Harry's voice. He curled his lips and was about to curse a few words in his mind, but when he glanced around and saw a place in the center of the hall, he was stunned for a moment.
——A young woman who could almost be called a girl stood next to Lucius. She tied her shiny blond hair up high and wore a small rose headdress with several pearl tassels hanging down, which accentuated her slender neck. Her temperament and beauty are outstanding, and her dark blue dress fits her perfectly. When Lucius was chatting with others, she didn't say much. She just held the wine glass and said a few symbolic words, always with a decent smile on her face.
That's Narcissa!
Draco looked at his young mother for a moment, unable to take his eyes away. If his face hadn't been disguised, he would have looked stupid now.
"What," Sirius said with a smile as he came to his side, "Why are you looking at my sister like that? Did you fall in love with her at first sight? She is indeed very beautiful, everyone says so. If you like her type, I think Prongs You don’t have to worry about his lilies being snatched away!”
"Sirius," Regulus said, "watch your words - it will reflect poorly on both Francis and Narcissa."
"Your sister?" Draco was annoyed with his uncle who was always paying attention to him, but he still managed to endure his temper and said, "So, that is indeed your other cousin, Mr. Malfoy's wife."
"I'd rather he wasn't," Sirius shrugged, "Compared to him, Cissy is a pretty good person, completely different from cousin Bella."
Draco had mixed feelings about what he said - he felt that Sirius was right, but he still felt a sense of resentment as a son. However, he thought he would soon hear Regulus say, 'You can't say such things nonsense' again. However, he turned around and saw Regulus letting out a long sigh.
He is tired. Draco thought sympathetically.
"Let me take you to meet some people," Regulus turned to him and said, "Francis, if you want to stay in the UK after graduation, I think it is necessary to get to know more important people no matter what career you want to pursue. .”
Draco agreed with this statement in his heart, but he still wanted to refuse: "Would this bother you too much? After all, I have no foundation here, so maybe it's a little offensive to come forward and say hello like this."
"That's why Lord Riddle wants us to act together," Regulus said with great confidence, "I am a Black after all."
After saying that, he took Draco and walked towards the crowded part of the hall.
"It's boring." Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Sirius whistled and walked towards the dining table.
…………
Harry held his cloak tightly as he weaved through the crowds, almost suffocating his nose. For the first time, he hated his extremely sensitive sense of smell.
Most of the purebloods are bourgeois with very good conditions and pay attention to respectability in social situations. This allows them to put perfume on their bodies while working hard on their clothes. It is true that the richer people are, the higher the specifications of their perfumes are. They basically get rid of inferior artificial flavors and try to make the fragrance as wonderful and comfortable as possible... But so many people come together to emit fragrance, and their noses are sensitive. Harry was in bad luck.
This hall is not completely airtight. It is circular and inlaid with several glass windows that are so clean that you can see people's shadows. Each window is as high as the glass windows of a church. It is easy to see if you look up. The sky outside has turned dark. These glass windows are like flower buds, surrounding a circular skylight in the center of the ceiling and several oil painting murals - those murals are all alive, from Zeus to Hera, from Athena to Aphrodite,' One by one, they were either clad in gold or silver, or holding spears and shields in their hands, lively and silently performing stories belonging to the gods.
In such a vast and bright hall, the dining tables are arranged in an orderly manner close to the window, and the dance floor is well vacated. This is easy to tell because there is a very large and intricately painted flower-like pattern in the center of the hall floor. If someone were to slip onto the dance floor on a whim, they would dance on this pattern.
In any case, from an artistic perspective it is very commendable. Harry quietly stole a strawberry from the table, stuffed it into his mouth, and thought to himself.
He didn't deliberately pry open anyone's brain, but found a place to squat quietly and attentively. Generally speaking, people's thoughts are quite divergent. As long as they don't deliberately control them, they can hear a lot of information - he was troubled by this problem when he was young. Compared with spiritual magic such as 'Legilimency', his method lacks the flow and pertinence of magic power, making it difficult to attract attention.
Um……
Harry squatted there, sorting out the information bit by bit, throwing aside the useless ones and keeping the useful ones.
One of Riddle's papers on magic has caused a huge impact... Lucius and Bellatrix's positions in the Ministry of Magic have been promoted again... The Lestrange family recently acquired a group of small family properties and land... Members of the Potions Association have The replacement seems to be because a new potion is about to be launched... Hey, is it the improved Wolfsbane potion? Some members of the Potions Association believe that such a potion that can completely eliminate the nature of magical creatures is blasphemous to magic, violates the essence of magic, and should not be put on the market at all, thus triggering a debate...
Huh? Completely annihilating the characteristics of magical creatures?
Harry tried to recall the several issues of Potions magazine he had read. Thanks to him being a Ravenclaw, no one else would have been able to remember such an unpopular potion. At first, he had some doubts that there was something wrong with his memory, but once he thought about Remus drinking Wolfsbane potion for several days every month, entering the room manically and coming out weak, he was sure that he remembered it correctly.
If the current wolfsbane potion that appeared more than ten years ago can "completely wipe out the nature of magical creatures" and even make people feel that it "violates the essence of magic", then at least the effect of this wolfsbane potion will be at least better than Better after more than ten years! Even if it can't completely restore the werewolf to a normal person and get rid of the wolfsbane, it should at least temporarily make the werewolf not much different from a normal person on a full moon night!
So, is this medicine still unable to be launched on the market, or is he in a completely different past?
…………
Draco felt the corners of his mouth stiffen when he smiled - he had never found social interaction so boring before. Because as long as he has the surname Malfoy, he can give face to whomever he wants. As long as others please him, not even the Minister of Magic has the right to be arrogant in front of him if he doesn't please others.
But it's different now. Francis Bagshot did not have a prominent surname, nor did he have a fortune comparable to that of a family, nor did he have any connections, so he had to show a humble and bowed attitude to everyone from all walks of life. He even had to find someone else while talking. Opportunity to praise each other's achievements and gain their favor.
If this identity is true, then there is no problem for Francis Bagshot to do this - but for Draco, it is really a waste of effort, because this identity has no need for long-term development. However, in order not to leave an embarrassing impression in social situations and cause some trouble that he cannot deal with, he must honestly be a 'lower person'.
——It's really annoying.
Regulus seemed to be aware of his fatigue. After stepping away from a senior official of the Ministry of Magic, he softly said to him: "Francis, are you okay? Go and say hello, and we can go have something to eat and rest for now. It’s been a while, I think you are tired.”
"I'm so ashamed to say it," Draco showed a sincere, but very forced smile, "I'm not used to this kind of scene, and I lack experience in this area. If you hadn't led me, I would have lost my place as an adult."
"There is no such thing," Regulus said. "You are very decent. You don't look like this is your first time in such a social situation."
He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Francis - it was natural for him to have a squib father and not attend such occasions. Even if etiquette can be trained later, wealth and knowledge can also be given and cultivated by the elders, but this kind of thing also requires the accumulation of experience, and the German wizard family also has its own old-fashioned ways, and they value bloodline as much as Some of the great pure-blood surnames in the UK. The child of a squib, with such an identity, cannot be brought to the fore until he has made certain achievements.
"You must be doing much better than me," Draco said. "I never thought I would have to face such a situation a few years ago."
Regulus was silent for a moment, his expression clearly downcast. .
"The first time I attended the banquet... I was also very nervous," Regulus said softly, "so I didn't dare to leave Sirius' side."
Regulus looked at a table somewhere in the hall. Sirius was standing there, holding a plate and concentrating on tasting the food. No matter which big shot talked to him, he would ignore it or reply with a few nonchalant words. Regulus just looked at him, his eyes motionless.
He was like a statue, even if he looked over there, he couldn't even take a step forward.
"…………"
Draco looked at his uncle like this, and for a moment he couldn't even tell which of the two brothers was more pitiful in the end.
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Go to jail and code words to continue...
Heart as gray as death.jpg
ps: Doing a small survey, it has nothing to do with the text, it is out of my own confusion, and it is mainly aimed at people over the age of fifteen. Please raise your hand if you can quickly answer the difference between cousins without consulting encyclopedias, asking parents, or carefully recalling family circumstances!
I recently read a comic book, the heroine and the original heroine are obviously cousins, but when many people mentioned that they are cousins, I suddenly thought, "Huh?" '
I'm not saying there's anything embarrassing about getting it wrong. It's okay if you can't figure it out. I believe that for most people, the difference is not very big. They usually just call each other "sister", "sister" and "brother". I'm just a little bit curious as to why this phenomenon occurs. I want to see if it's a common phenomenon. Let me do a social survey.
According to my survey of friends, although my friend can tell the difference clearly, her three roommates cannot tell the difference...
pss: Originally I wanted to write a side story for this chapter to relax, but when I thought the plot couldn’t be delayed any longer, I reluctantly continued writing the main text...
Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution between 2020-06-23 22:25:52~2020-06-29 01:58:04~
Thank you to the little angels who irrigate the nutrient solution: 60 bottles of Innisfree; 20 bottles of Jiang Jiang; 15 bottles of Lingkong Luoxue; 10 bottles of Kranriep, Jiuyou, Night Waves, Water in the Sky, and Dog Nine; 7 bottles of Hum°; 5 bottles of Carter's Special; 3 bottles of Money in the Pocket; 1 bottle of Bailey's Meno;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
