Narcissa acted as if she hadn't heard anything, and chose not to respond.
Just then, a cheerful voice called out from a distance:
"Lucius! Long ti no see. When did you arrive?"
Their steps paused slightly as they turned to see a group of Ministry of Magic officials exiting the castle, accompanied by Professor McGonagall.
Lucius Malfoy adjusted his expression and walked over.
"I was here to discuss so school matters with Dumbledore," he said.
The man laughed heartily. "No wonder the headmaster suddenly stepped away earlier... You really should've co sooner, Lucius! You should've seen that marvelous mirror!"
Lucius Malfoy: ...
—Thanks for the invitation, but I've already seen it. The image was too clear; the experience was dreadful.
Of course, no one else could understand his current mood.
Soone imdiately raised their voice and said, "Marchionne! You greedy fox! When are you finally going to start selling those Streaming Mirrors?"
Marchionne kept his smile and replied, "Just a little longer, please. Our mirrors still need to undergo a few more rounds of testing... But I promise that as soon as the new product ets the required standards, I'll personally deliver them to each of you."
"Rember your promise!" another person chid in. "I want to be among the first to buy one!"
"Of course, of course."
Marchionne repeatedly assured them. Lucius, unusually quiet, refrained from taking the opportunity to network with the officials as he normally would. He simply followed the group in silence.
Narcissa, who walked along the periphery of the group as though she had turned invisible, observed the scene. In the center of the gathering, surrounded by the crowd, Marchionne stood out and his face was practically glowing.
—So this is the businessman who had been working closely with Wade Grey.
His magical workshop's Book of Friends had already sold worldwide...
The magical pets and soft-light badges were also hugely popular, bringing him unimaginable wealth.
But even those couldn't compare to Book of Friends, a groundbreaking invention that directly transford people's lifestyles.
And all of it was thanks to Wade Grey.
And now, the Streaming Mirrors.
Suddenly, Narcissa felt soone's gaze. She turned and found herself eting Professor McGonagall's eyes.
She had once been a Hogwarts student, attending McGonagall's Transfiguration classes for seven years.
Even during the height of the Dark Lord's growing influence, Hogwarts had felt like a sanctuary.
But after graduation, they naturally found themselves on opposing sides.
After a brief mont, both won calmly averted their gazes, as if their fleeting eye contact had been purely coincidental.
Once they exited the range of the castle's protective enchantnts, the group began Apparating away one by one.
Lucius was about to do the sa but suddenly rembered sothing. His expression twisted for a mont before he finally said to his wife, "You go ho first. I need to make a stop at Gringotts."
"Gringotts?" Narcissa nodded. "To settle the compensation for the Crabbe family—that should indeed be delivered as soon as possible."
"Not just that," Lucius added. "There's also the 6,000 Galleons for Wade Grey—I've purchased the set of mirrors he had."
Narcissa paused, then quickly understood and agreed. "That's very prudent of you... That footage must not circulate."
"That's exactly my thought," Lucius replied. "For Draco's future reputation, it's worth even 6,000 Galleons."
The two Apparated separately.
Lucius Malfoy arrived at Gringotts, located the goblin handling his account, and signed off on transferring the two sums of money.
Afterward, feeling frustrated, he stopped by a tavern and had two drinks to ease his negative emotions before returning to Malfoy Manor.
By then, the sky had turned a deep shade of blue.
The manor's ornate garden surrounded the castle, and a white peacock, who was strolling near the fountain, fluttered its tail feathers before slowly fanning them out as its master approached.
Lucius passed by without stopping. As soon as he stepped inside, two house-elves scurried forward to take his hat, cane, and coat, carefully placing them aside.
In a corner by the wall stood another house-elf, battered and bandaged, nervously perched on tiptoes as it polished a gilded mirror.
Upon seeing Lucius, the elf looked terrified but, after a mont of hesitation, approached with trembling hands to pour him tea.
Lucius noticed the elf's ears appeared freshly burned and imdiately understood it had punished itself again. He frowned and coldly demanded, "Dobby, what did you do this ti?"
The other two house-elves instantly lowered their heads and scurried away with the coat and other items.
Dobby flinched, bowing his head as he mumbled softly, "Dobby… Dobby accidentally spilled candle wax on the carpet… but Dobby has already cleaned it up…"
But Lucius had no patience for excuses—he was already seething with pent-up frustration.
With a flick of his hand, the whip on the wall flew into his grasp.
Lucius cracked it in the air before swinging it forcefully—
"Snap!"
Amid the sound of whipping, the anguished cries of the house-elf echoed upstairs. Narcissa set down her newspaper, sighed, and shook her head in resignation.
As a house-elf, Dobby was undeniably competent—more so than the other elves in the household.
But his mind was filled with peculiar thoughts, which made him disobedient at tis. He even told stories about the savior, Harry Potter, and spoke of his longing for freedom to the other house-elves.
Narcissa had never encountered another house-elf as strange as Dobby.
Even in her own childhood ho, where Kreacher despised Sirius Black, Kreacher had never longed for so-called "freedom."
Fortunately, the other house-elves hadn't been influenced by Dobby's oddities. They promptly reported his rebellious remarks to their masters, declaring—
"This elf is broken! He's a disgrace to house-elves! Please, master, cast him out!"
Of course, such a capable servant wouldn't be dismissed so easily.
But after that, Dobby was punished more frequently. When injured, he occasionally made mistakes, which he then punished himself for with brutal thods.
To the Malfoys, Dobby's behavior seed entirely self-inflicted.
Seeing her own house-elves trembling as they tidied the room, Narcissa reassured them, "Don't worry. If you haven't done anything wrong, Lucius won't punish you."
The house-elf imdiately bead and exclaid, "You are so kind, mistress! Dobby is a bad elf—he deserves to be beaten until he wakes up!"
He looked at his mistress with a grateful and joyful smile.
Downstairs, after who knows how long, Lucius finally tired of beating Dobby and felt the weight in his pocket.
He pulled it out to find the box containing the Steaming Mirror he'd bought from Wade Grey—he'd completely forgotten about it.
Lucius had no interest in revisiting the footage of his son's foolish blunder, which had cost him 26,000 Galleons.
He casually tossed the box to Dobby like trash and ordered, "Put it away! Sowhere I'll never have to see it again!"
Dobby caught the box and was about to carry it to the basent when a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
It was as if so invisible shackle had suddenly been broken.
Lucius, standing nearby, didn't notice anything unusual about his servant. He gave instructions for dinner and returned to his study to rest.
Only then did Dobby, trembling, slowly open the box.
Inside were two small, palm-sized mirrors stacked together.
Dobby sensed sothing unusual and extended his long, thin fingers to probe under the mirrors.
The dark velvet lining shifted, revealing sothing hidden beneath.
A light yellow baby sock.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- 235 Chapters
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA)(⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 460
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