Lucius's pupils shrank suddenly, and the parchments in his hands seemed to suddenly become hot to the touch.
It was obvious that Dumbledore and Caslana knew about the Dark Mark - this was not a strange thing, after all, Snape was at Hogwarts.
However, what really frightens Lucius Malfoy is that the emergence of this statistical list means that Hogwarts has been monitoring all parents, and those eyes hidden in the darkness seem to be sure that they will behave abnormally.
And if we think about it this way, the burning of the Dark Mark... is this also part of the plan of Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic?
Although neither the Daily Prophet nor Professor McGonagall revealed much information, both parties had completely consistent statements on one point:
This encirclement and suppression of the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord's forces was a joint operation carried out by Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic.
Lucius Malfoy's throat rolled, and he tried not to look around or behind him, and spoke softly and calmly.
"Uh, Miss Kaslana, I don't understand what you are talking about..."
"As you can see, I am the chef of the Hogwarts kitchen. From the final presentation of the dishes to the coordination and supply of tableware, these are all my duties."
Elena pressed her fingers gently on her lips, narrowed her lake-blue eyes slightly, looked at Old Malfoy meaningfully, and showed a sweet and lovely smile.
"After all, there is a dinner party tonight. I must understand what the problem is so that I can make adjustments in time - Mr. Malfoy, you seem to be very hot? I will ask the house elf to pour you some ice lemonade.
Hogwarts has Hogwarts rules. Damaged items must be compensated according to the price, or the host and guest can negotiate amicably... We have to do something, don't you think?"
"...I never knew that Hogwarts was so embarrassed that it counted a few cups and a few broken plates."
Lucius Malfoy's breathing became slightly heavier. Looking around with his peripheral vision, he noticed that the house elves closest to him had stopped working at some point.
Just as he had guessed, the most suitable people to serve as eyes and ears in Hogwarts were, apart from the ubiquitous ghosts, the only ones that were almost unnoticeable.
"Just use magic to repair the broken or damaged tableware. If it doesn't work, just buy some new ones - Hogwarts should not be short of such money."
Lucius was silent for a moment, pretending to be relaxed and placed the parchment lists on the workbench next to him, waving his hand impatiently.
"There is no need to mention this kind of insignificant episode again after it has passed. No one will notice that the next dinner party is replaced by a new one -"
"You are right. Broken tableware can be repaired, and the gold galleons spent can also be recast. But..."
Before Lucius Malfoy could finish speaking, Elena tapped the armrest twice with her fingers, deciding to break the remaining illusions of a middle-aged wallflower.
"Some traces of echoes left in the past may not be so easy to erase, don't you think? Mr. Malfoy."
"For example, the charred mark on your left arm that is fading right now, or a magical name that is deliberately attached with fear through human factors..."
"The magical society, I mean, most of the European magical society is searching for Death Eaters everywhere. In those hasty trials more than ten years ago, the gentlemen and ladies of the Department of Legal Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic mainly relied on the way to identify 'Death Eaters'.
What’s important is oral confessions and joint jury votes, but as the times progress, it will be more convincing to rely on ‘key evidence’ to make judgments, right?”
Following the girl's soft and pleasant voice, Lucius Malfoy felt the hairs all over his body stand up instantly, and his right hand holding the silver cane moved slightly.
Snap.
Something cold pressed on the back of his right hand that he hadn't raised yet.
Lucius Malfoy lowered his head and saw two house elves standing respectfully beside him.
The edge of the white ceramic plate is outlined with complex and exquisite patterns with golden threads, and a glass of cool lemonade is placed steadily on it.
However, unlike the common attentive service, the tray did not appear in a place where he could easily grab it, but was pressed just right on the back of his right hand holding the wand.
"Your iced lemonade, Mr. Malfoy - I just noticed that you seem to be very hot."
"..."
Lucius Malfoy took a deep look at the witch.
Unlike Grindelwald and Dumbledore's sense of oppression, this demon princess who is as old as his son seems more like a real demon king.
"Huh - okay. It seems you are stronger and smarter than I thought."
Lucius was silent for a few seconds, took a breath, picked up the glass of lemonade and took a sip.
"Then let's get right to the point. Miss Kaslana, what do you want me to do?"
"Huh? Oh, I think you may have misunderstood, Mr. Malfoy——"
Elena raised her eyebrows slightly, tapped her fingers on the armrest slowly and slowly, looked at Lucius with a rather playful look and said softly.
"At this moment, hundreds of Aurors from all over the world are gathering in the distance, waiting for the 'Death Eaters' to fall into their trap."
"The blockade of Hogwarts Castle saved you and your family. In life, you will always encounter various forks in the road, but the most critical ones are often just one or two."
"As you can see, we sacrificed a nice, fun lunchtime and some beautiful, gorgeous art plates - so the question now obviously shouldn't be what do I want you to do, but what do I want you to do?
It's not a deal about what you can do, or what you feel you should do, Mr. Malfoy. It never has been."
Lucius Malfoy is not a machine without thoughts and consciousness, nor is he a mere wallflower.
In fact, he can be said to be the one with the most ideas among the Death Eaters.
"if……"
Lucius Malfoy said softly, his right hand slowly rubbing the mark on the inside of his left wrist.
"The Dark Lord is not dead. He will come back at some point in the future and become even more powerful?"
"At a certain moment, who should decide this moment?"
Elena looked at Old Malfoy with a subtle expression, pulled out a thin diary, rolled it up in her hand and tapped it repeatedly.
"So, Mr. Malfoy, why don't you just ask Tom?"
"Tom Riddle, your old friend - he seems to have been dying to see you."