Chapter 6 The Not-So-Simple Malfoy Family.
Scottish Highlands.
Hogwarts.
Second floor.
In Minerva McGonagall's study/bedroom.
Snape emerged from the fireplace.
"Is the boy alright?" McGonagall asked quickly.
Dumbledore gleaned more from Snape's micro-expressions.
"Oh, what happened? You seem so shocked. Your hair could dry overnight and it wouldn't look like this."
Hearing Dumbledore's teasing, McGonagall's worry subsided.
She glanced at Snape, but the boy's face remained expressionless, his greasy bangs seemingly burying all emotion.
She couldn't see any shock in him.
It must be said, Dumbledore understood men far better than she did.
Snape flicked his cloak. "Just as you guessed. It's probably because of the change of president of the Extraordinary Apothecaries Society."
"That filthy werewolf hasn't dared to attack a wizarding child since the Dark Lord's death."
"But he did today."
"And he attacked a descendant of a wizarding family with a prominent surname."
"Combined, Finn Granger is the most likely candidate for the next president."
"Hmph, this is clearly intimidation from a rival force."
"Killing a distant relative."
"Making you withdraw from the election.
" "Without completely offending you. "
"This style?" Dumbledore began to ponder.
In the conservative British wizarding world, only a few surnames held power.
And they were all Hogwarts graduates, his former students.
Familiar faces flashed through his mind, the answer becoming clear, "Lucius Malfoy!"
Professor McGonagall gasped.
Snape raised a question.
"He has the guts? He and his little gang only dare to wear masks and fool Muggles. In Muggle terms, they're nothing but cowardly street thugs!"
"He's Malfoy," Dumbledore said meaningfully.
Snape pondered for a moment, then suddenly understood.
The Malfoy family weren't just simple opportunists.
Although they had never run for Minister for Magic, they frequently funded the campaigns of their chosen candidates, and even paid to sabotage their opponents.
Lucius Malfoy's grandfather, Septimus Malfoy, had even used such methods to make the then Minister for Magic his puppet.
His father, Abraxas Malfoy, even went so far as to orchestrate the untimely departure of Nobi Lucius, the first Muggle-blooded Minister of Magic.
This election for president of the Extraordinary Apothecaries Association is merely a glimpse into Malfoy's attempt to expand his influence.
Lucius Malfoy naturally wouldn't take a young wizard with no parents, no living immediate family, and only a prestigious surname seriously.
Besides, what does the fact that it was Fenrir Greyback who did this have to do with Malfoy?
Lucius Malfoy has likely already destroyed all the evidence.
Dumbledore continued, "How is the boy? He wasn't—"
Snape snapped out of his reverie, raising an eyebrow, "You'll never believe it, but all he ever thought about was cheating the school out of its grant."
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow in displeasure. "But that's within the rules. He's an orphan! We investigated him when you went to Devon."
Near the window, in an old portrait, an elderly witch with long, flowing silver hair—completely out of place in the painting—coughed. "I just went to St. Mungo's to investigate. Lewinster Granger, June 29, 1991." He died at the age of 127. Evera Granger and Evelyda Granger died on September 2, 1980, at the ages of 30 and 28 respectively. "If this child has no other immediate family, he is indeed an orphan."
Dumbledore added, "Daris is right. Although I am still young—109 years old—I don't know much about Ms. Lewinster Granger. But I still remember her son and son-in-law because they were also Hogwarts students. If my memory serves me right, Mr. Basil Granger is indeed an orphan."
"Wait," Snape's lips twitched, "I have never questioned his orphan status. But judging from his clothes, the gold he carries, his nouveau riche air, and that terrifying tree that strangled Fenrir, he is not short of money."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
Now they had all forgotten about Basil's application for a grant.
No one noticed that, according to age calculations, Basil's grandmother was over eighty years old when she gave birth to his father.
"Finnier is dead?" Dumbledore frowned.
The reason he sent Snape
was because Snape had once been a Death Eater.
He could use the Dark Mark on his hand to capture the infamous werewolf.
While Fernill wasn't a Death Eater, he also had the Dark Mark.
This would inflict significant economic and political losses on the mastermind.
Fudge, skilled at accumulating wealth, wouldn't rest until he'd squeezed them dry.
"It seems... I need to contact Professor Machiban."
Snape gasped upon hearing this.
Or rather, for the first time since his return, his face displayed an expression more vivid than two muscles could convey.
"You're planning to use your influence? That'll scare Fudge! It'll end your honeymoon early!"
Dumbledore stood up, forcefully waving his arm,
his blue eyes behind his half-moon lenses gleaming coldly. "He wouldn't dare! As long as Tom doesn't come back to life, he'll be all over me. Besides, using dirty tricks on a child. That's an inviolable line!"
Thousands of miles away in Devonshire, in a small room in a hillside cave tunnel, the bottom line, Basil, was fast asleep.
He was unaware that his nouveau riche demeanor, brought from his time travel, had caused his compensation to be completely wasted.
Dumbledore had warned Fudge in advance.
In the original timeline, this ostrich, burying its head in the sand, only peeked out halfway through the summer of his fourth year.
Time: August 1st.
In the recreation room.
Explosive cards, Goblin stones, and other entertainment props were piled in the corner.
Now, in their place, were books.
For the past five days, he had almost rediscovered the rigorous lifestyle he had when he was a senior at Youzhou No. 4 High School—waking up at seven in the morning to study and finishing at eight or nine in the evening.
As for the two daily dances—the adult dance and the couples' dance— he
had to give them up due to circumstances.
Of course, it wasn't because Basil enjoyed studying.
Otherwise, why would he have dropped out of university in his first year?
Rather, it was because, after combining his past memories, he discovered that
his past self, as a young wizard,
had no different perception of his body compared to when he was still Li Lin .
Even when he awakened his magic at age seven, making the hazel mushrooms in his hand bigger, tenderer, fresher, and tastier, he felt no real difference.
He simply felt there weren't enough mushrooms, yet the magical phenomenon occurred in his hands.
Thinking about it,
it seemed that he didn't have what should be called magic within him.
Only five days ago, and during the tests afterward, when casting spells through the [Spellbook], did he perceive so-called magic.
And the magic value on his personal information hadn't changed at all.
He only felt his physical strength was depleted.
But this was more like throwing a punch; magic was the fist.
Throwing a punch certainly required effort, but the fist remained unchanged.
Recharging gems with magic didn't work either.
The magic didn't diminish in the slightest.
It was like an unshakeable boulder.
It didn't match the information flooding his mind when activating the system at all.
Until today, he finally found the answer in Adber Wolfling's book, *The Theory of Magic*.
This was truly outrageous.
This was Hogwarts' first-year textbook.
Can you imagine?
It's like searching for the principles of a nuclear bomb, only to find the answer in your first-year physics textbook.
[Fenrir Greyback, he was a Death Eater. This evil werewolf resurrected after Voldemort's resurrection, but Voldemort, with his strict concept of pure-blood, seemed to despise werewolves, who were somewhere between humans and beasts.
Only when he wanted to use a werewolf might that were allowed to wear the Death Eater's robes.
Voldemort branded every Death Eater with a dark magic mark on their arm, and Greyback wasn't even a true Death Eater.] The above information is from the Harry Potter Encyclopedia.
Considering the chapter about Harry's capture in Book 7, Fenrir shouldn't have the Dark Mark. I made a mistake here; I only searched the novels when writing this.
(End of Chapter)