Home visit

Midsummer of the summer vacation.

Early in the morning, Draco Malfoy excitedly woke up from his soft bed, without a trace of laziness typical of summer vacation.

After quickly washing up, he dashed downstairs to the living room.

"Dobby, are the ingredients for lunch ready?"

"Good morning, Master Malfoy." Dobby quickly tucked away his bandaged fingers.

"They have been prepared. After cooking breakfast for the masters, I will start preparing."

Draco wanted to ask Dobby to start preparing lunch now, but his rumbling stomach couldn't tolerate going without breakfast in the morning.

"Alright, just remember, it has to be a sumptuous and delicious feast, understood?"

At that moment, his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, walked into the living room, yawning as she covered her mouth.

"Draco, wasn't Fawley supposed to come closer to noon?"

Draco hesitated for a moment, then found a good excuse.

"Well... we still need to make preparations in advance. Father said this is a formal meeting with another pure-blood heir, so we must take it seriously!"

With a solemn nod, he sought to increase the credibility of his words.

"But the problem is," Narcissa pointed to his lower body, "your zipper isn't done up properly."

Draco looked down, quickly turned to fix the zipper, and when he turned back, his face was already flushed.

Narcissa sat down at the table and patted the seat beside her.

"Don't be nervous. Come, tell me about this Professor Fawley."

"Speaking of it, since that Minister, few members of the Fawley family have appeared in public."

"The Minister of Magic?" Draco obediently sat down, curious. "Did any of Professor's relatives also hold such positions?"

"Yes, in terms of relations, that Minister was actually his grandfather, but because of his passive opposition to Grindelwald, he was replaced after only ten years in office.

After that, the Fawley family rarely involved themselves in magical affairs, even during the last Dark Lord's reign, they didn't explicitly declare their allegiance to us."

Draco looked at his mother in astonishment.

"Doesn't that mean they're opposed to our family?

Narcissa nodded ambiguously.

"Not necessarily. I think after that Minister stepped down, out of resentment, he forbade the descendants of the family from meddling in such matters."

"Or maybe it's because they hold a grudge against pure-blood wizards, so they maintain neutrality?" Draco guessed optimistically.

"But regardless of which one it is, the Dark Lord has disappeared." Lucius entered the living room, solemnly reminding the two.

As they chatted, it gradually approached noon, and under Draco's urging, Dobby had already prepared lunch, waiting only for Fawley's arrival.

Just as Draco finished checking his attire for the fourth time, Lucius suddenly spoke up:

"Fawley is already outside, Draco. Bring him in."

The Malfoy Manor was quite large, so Fawley Apparated only to the gate outside the estate.

There was still a long way to go from the gate to the house.

So when Draco jogged over, he was slightly out of breath as he spoke.

"Professor," he wiped his forehead but spoke politely, "let me escort you in."

"Thank you." Fawley nodded with a smile.

To accommodate Draco's return journey, he deliberately slowed his pace.

"How's the summer homework going?"

"Well," Draco immediately remembered his untouched backpack, "It's quite difficult. I've only completed about half."

Fawley saw through his little scheme at a glance, but didn't expose it, only smiling slightly.

In fact, in his understanding, Draco didn't know a very cruel fact—

Professors never really check summer homework seriously!

After showing concern for the students' well-being, Fawley saw the Malfoy couple standing in front of the house from a distance.

Walking briskly, Fawley approached Lucius as if meeting him for the first time, warmly shaking his hand.

"Thank you for having us."

This was what one would call noble etiquette, something Fawley had practiced in his childhood.

However, his parents were always lethargic, and he, in turn, had little regard for such formalities.

Of course, this didn't mean he would be discourteous.

After a perfunctory exchange of pleasantries, they entered the magnificent mansion.

Compared to the conventional Fawley family, the Malfoy family was evidently more illustrious.

Or rather, the Malfoy family was already the most prominent among the existing wizarding families.

Fawley didn't know how, but he found himself at the dining table, just going through the motions as a guest, passively accepting the host's goodwill.

As they mingled over drinks, the conversation flowed endlessly.

"I seldom see your parents in the wizarding world. What do they usually do?" Lucius inquired curiously.

Fawley's parents spent more time in the Muggle world than at home, let alone in the wizarding world.

"They, uh, enjoy traveling around. Even I rarely see them," he replied euphemistically.

Narcissa, somewhat envious, remarked, "I wish I had the time and mindset for that, but unfortunately, there's too much family business."

Fawley was tempted to ask what kind of business a typical pure-blood family had.

In his opinion, with house-elves to take care of everything and no job, what could they possibly be busy with?

Even Mrs. Weasley, who was always busy, had enough free time to knit and read books on weekdays.

However, this question was a bit out of line, so he suppressed his curiosity.

"By the way, I'm curious, why did you choose to teach at Hogwarts, and specifically, a subject like Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Lucius asked, finally voicing the question that had puzzled him for two months.

The curse on this subject had existed since his school days, and for decades, no professor had been able to break the curse of a one-year tenure.

Such a dangerous position was generally sought after by those seeking excitement or with ulterior motives.

People like him, heads of pure-blood families, would never touch it.

"For learning, you know, the greatest wizards in the world are at Hogwarts, and being around them allows you to learn a lot."

Fawley wasn't exactly lying; his mastery of Transfiguration continued to improve, thanks to Dumbledore's inspiration.

As for the Chamber of Secrets, Philosopher's Stone, Horcruxes, and the like, they were just additional discoveries.

Even though they had been on opposing sides before, Lucius had to admit that Dumbledore's strength was unmatched in the world.

"Then you must have had many conversations with Dumbledore?"

"Indeed, quite a few."

Having to endure the old man's lectures every week, wasn't that a lot?

"What do you usually talk about?"

Fawley raised an eyebrow, pretending to be casual.

"A lot, really. Transfiguration, powerful spells, classroom tricks, and the possibility of Voldemort's return—"

"Clang!"

"What's wrong?"

Though unseen, Fawley was certain that his smile was dazzling right now.