"I hope for a truthful and fair report. Do you think that's possible?"
Lucien's casual words sounded incredibly heavy to Rita's ears.
She clung to them like a drowning person grasping a lifeline.
Rita hurriedly adjusted her glasses.
"Understood. Understood."
The green quill frantically raced across the parchment, obviously crossing out the embellished nonsense it had written earlier.
...
After finishing the interview with Rita, Lucien stretched lazily and took a letter from his pocket.
On the envelope was a coat of arms depicting a black, green, and silver snake, accompanied by a ribbon bearing the Latin words "Pure-blood Forever."
It was the crest of the House of Malfoy.
Lucius's letter had arrived before the holidays, inviting Lucien to visit Malfoy Manor.
Although the wording was elegant and impeccable, Lucien could clearly sense Lucius's urgency between the lines.
He already had a rough idea of the reason.
Tom's diary.
Lucius was still worried that the matter would eventually implicate him.
The crisis involving the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk had been resolved, but it had indeed endangered many students, especially after pure-blood students had also become victims.
If the outside world learned that the diary had originated from Lucius, one could easily imagine the public outrage and pressure both he and the House of Malfoy would face.
Lucien had already agreed to visit Malfoy Manor that afternoon. He had planned to head there after finishing his business at the Ministry of Magic, though he had not expected to run into Rita Skeeter.
Fortunately, the interview had not delayed him too much.
...
Malfoy Manor, located in Wiltshire, gradually came into view.
The manor was extravagantly luxurious, its white marble gleaming under the sunlight.
Dobby the house-elf appeared at the entrance and led Lucien through the carefully maintained gardens.
Inside the drawing room, Lucius Malfoy stood before the fireplace.
His platinum-blond hair was immaculate, and his snake-headed cane rested in his hand.
"Grafton, welcome."
Lucius revealed a flawless smile.
"It is truly wonderful that you could come."
"Thank you for the invitation, Mr Malfoy."
Their polite conversation ranged from the weather to the Ministry of Magic, and the atmosphere appeared harmonious.
Yet the occasional tapping of Lucius's cane still betrayed the unease hidden beneath his composed exterior.
The conversation eventually turned to Hogwarts.
"...Your performance at school has been remarkable." Lucius took a sip of tea. "How did such a Dark Arts item find its way into the school?"
Regardless of the rumours outside or the sequence of events he had pieced together from Draco, Lucius knew that the young man before him had played a tremendous role in resolving the Basilisk incident and had most likely learned the origin of the Diary from Lockhart.
As he dealt with Lucius, Lucien was also thinking.
Lucius certainly did not know that the Diary was a Horcrux. Given Voldemort's twisted and paranoid nature, he would never casually reveal secrets like Horcruxes to his followers. For a fence-sitter like Lucius, it was even less likely.
At most, Lord Voldemort might have told Lucius that the Diary was a precious Dark Arts item and could be used to create trouble for Dumbledore.
Lucius probably didn't even know that the Diary was indestructible. Otherwise, he would never have sent it into Hogwarts. If some accident had resulted in the destruction of the Horcrux, that would have amounted to betraying his Lord Voldemort.
His original intention was probably to use the Diary to cause an incident, force Dumbledore from power, and simultaneously demonstrate the authority of the pure-blood families. He simply had not expected matters to spiral out of control.
"With Lockhart dead, it is difficult to investigate the Diary's source."
Hearing Lucien's answer, Lucius visibly relaxed.
Some things did not need to be said aloud.
"Dobby."
At Lucius's command, Dobby Apparated to his side, carrying a stack of books in his thin arms.
Lucius smiled at Lucien.
"I heard from Draco that you are quite fond of reading. What do you think of these?"
Lucien did not immediately look at the books.
"The collection of the House of Malfoy is naturally exceptional."
Seeing that Lucien had not immediately accepted his goodwill, Lucius remained unhurried.
Turning, he pointed at Dobby.
"Grafton, what do you think of house-elves?"
Lucien did not understand why the topic had suddenly changed, so he answered honestly.
"They are highly capable at managing household affairs, proficient in various forms of domestic Magic, and possess an innate loyalty to their masters..."
At the word "loyalty", Lucius's temple twitched slightly.
He glanced at the bowing Dobby from the corner of his eye.
After Lucien finished speaking, Lucius chuckled.
"A very thorough answer. There is only one small point that requires correction. A house-elf's loyalty belongs to the family itself, and the heir of the family automatically becomes its master."
"I intend to gift Dobby to you. What do you think?"
Gift?
Lucien asked in confusion, "House-elves are inherited within Wizarding families, or possessed only by ancient and long-established houses. What do you mean by 'gifting'?"
At the mention of "ancient and long-established", Lucius lifted his chin slightly and explained,
"What is truly valuable is the master-servant contract between the family and the house-elf. That contract possesses magical properties."
"As long as you do not completely grant the house-elf freedom, the contract remains intact, and ownership of the house-elf can still be retained."
This was the first time Lucien had heard of such a thing.
So granting a house-elf freedom truly severed the contract, meaning the family could no longer possess that elf.
No wonder Lucius had been so furious in the original story when Harry tricked him into freeing Dobby with the sock hidden inside the Diary. Apart from the embarrassment, he had lost this master-servant contract.
Lucius continued,
"Through this method of gifting, the house-elf will serve you alone. Your descendants will not inherit the enslavement contract."
"Of course, this method is a secret technique unique to the House of Malfoy."
In truth, Lucius had once presented a house-elf to his Lord Voldemort, exchanging wealth for peace.
He was very skilled at such things.
This had always been the survival strategy of the House of Malfoy.
It had been so during Voldemort's reign, and it remained so after his downfall.
Lucien's gaze drifted towards Dobby and discovered that the elf was secretly observing him with its tennis-ball-sized eyes.
Once caught, Dobby immediately lowered his head again.
Having a house-elf managing the Suitcase World would certainly be convenient, especially when it came to looking after Magical Creatures.
Lucien understood the situation clearly.
On one hand, gifting Dobby would not affect the master-servant contract, and with the House of Malfoy's connections, obtaining another house-elf was hardly difficult.
More importantly, this method of gifting was unique to the House of Malfoy.
It was indeed an excellent tool for currying favour.
On the other hand, Lucius had probably already realised Dobby's "betrayal" and was using this opportunity to get rid of him.
After all, from Lucius's perspective, since Lucien already knew the origin of the Diary, it made little difference if he also possessed Dobby, who knew the truth.
________
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