Harry Potter: Reunion with the Enemy

Narcissa stood at the door of Draco's room without knowing when, with a stack of newspapers in her hands.

In the evening at Malfoy Manor, the air was filled with the scent of rosemary and the gradually dissipating summer heat. The chirping of summer cicadas seemed to come from far away. By the window, Draco's already slender figure overlapped with the afterglow of the setting sun and merged into the dusk.

Narcissa's hand stopped in mid-air as she knocked on the door, because she saw Draco silently flipping through Harry's old homework. Narcissa didn't have the heart to interrupt Draco's actions at the moment. As she packed up the textbooks, she could feel Draco cherishing the parchments, one page at a time, as if he was counting the time.

Because of their close relationship with Snape, Narcissa and Lucius occasionally learned about their son's status at Hogwarts through a few words, but in order to respect Draco's ideas and freedom, they never interfered with Draco's special feelings for Harry. Of course, Lucius and Narcissa did not find out that Draco had become a master of brain occlusion in his senior year, because they never wanted to force Draco to get the secrets that he did not voluntarily tell.

"Mother..." Draco sniffed and turned around to find Narcissa standing at the door.

"I don't want to disturb your rest time." Narcissa placed the newspaper on the desk, "But a lot of things have happened recently, and you don't seem to know about them. These are the important news in recent days."

Draco looked down and saw Andre's face on the front page of the Daily Prophet, but Andre was a supporting role in the picture. A goblin stood in front of the Prime Minister's microphone and said something excitedly. Draco grabbed the newspaper. The picture below was of Harry giving a public speech in Diagon Alley.

"That's not him." Draco said with trembling lips, and he carefully checked the date of the newspaper. "That wasn't him either."

"But these words were conveyed to the public in the name of the savior. Harry's words have dragged some minority groups to the opposite side of wizards. Maybe you can take a closer look before making a conclusion." Narcissa straightened Draco's collar. "Lucius and I are not clear about the details of your mission, but we must judge carefully this time - we are always happy to respect your wishes at ordinary times, but this time -"

Draco stared at the fine print on the newspaper and frowned.

"Lucius was a little surprised that you discussed running for Minister of Magic with him earlier." Narcissa continued, "You seem a little impulsive in this matter. No matter what happens, we don't want to implicate the whole family."

"I know, Mother." Draco's tone softened.

An editorial he had just read pointed out that Harry Potter might have colluded with goblins and received bribes from goblins to drive him to make such remarks. Families of the werewolf victims during the war, followers of the vampire celebrity Bloody, and some fanatical fans of the savior Harry also publicly expressed their willingness to make concessions.

Narcissa turned her gaze to the wedding photo placed aside. She said, "But your father and I welcome you to come to us at any time to discuss anything. We were once as young as you, and we have experienced your mood and the difficulties you face. Perhaps having our advice is not worse than fighting alone."

"If I want to stop this now and reveal the truth, isn't that impulsive?" Draco felt the anger about to overflow from his body. "Father asked me to stay at home, but I feel..."

"Everything is in chaos right now. The Quidditch World Cup starts in a week. And our candidates for Minister of Magic are still arguing and attacking each other for the opinions of the goblins. The Muggles are also panicking because they know about the magical world. Harry is at the center of this storm." Narcissa seemed to have expected Draco to say this. She paused for a few seconds, "Now is not a good time to show up. We will be caught in the middle of the storm."

"I want you to believe him—" Draco hugged Narcissa, "I want you to believe in Harry as much as you believe in me."

"Of course I believe you," Narcissa said, "but just as most of the Ministry's management is leaky, the discrimination and indifference of wizards against minority groups such as goblins and werewolves is also deeply rooted. How are you going to get out of this unscathed when the time comes? I'm so worried."

"Is it the safest way to get away with it - to find a pure-blood girl, marry her and have children, and then inherit the family business?" Draco asked painfully. "But I don't want to."

"Lucius and I will not force you to marry someone you don't love," Narcissa replied. "Even the cruelest parents would not treat their children like this. We just want you to be healthy and happy."

"I'll prove it to you." Draco seemed to have made up his mind. "These despicable goblins who kidnapped me will never get the right to own the wand." He also thought of his new wand, which was still in the hands of the fake Harry, with the pattern he had customized before.

"Hundreds of thousands of people will gather in our country during the Quidditch World Cup. I always have a bad feeling." Narcissa tried to control her dry voice. "The goblins' actions this time don't seem to be impromptu. They are a shrewd and calculating species. Werewolves are just pawns used by the goblins."

"I'll be careful." Draco ran his fingers over the small print on the newspaper, and the goblin in the photo was scratched into pieces of paper. "I will."

"If you must take action, you must tell us. The Ministry of Magic still has a large number of well-trained Aurors - now is not the time to show off your bravery, nor is it the time to rely on one person to overcome the crisis. Lucius and I will do everything we can to ensure your safety." Narcissa spoke very quickly. She felt as nervous as Draco when he joined the Death Eaters.

"Don't worry." Draco comforted Narcissa seriously.

"My Draco is no longer a little boy who needs a goodnight story." Narcissa wiped her eyes and left the room.

The back of Harry's hand in the newspaper was also so smooth, and the scar of "I can't lie" never appeared on this Harry. Draco sneered, maybe he should let Umbridge identify this disguised dummy.

Night had fallen, and a waxing gibbous moon hung high in the sky. Draco pictured the haggard-looking staff on the island, their frail appearance mirroring that of the werewolf representatives in the newspaper.

Suddenly, Draco felt as if the blood in his body was flowing backwards in an instant. The light of the moon was so dazzling. A week later... a week later was the night of the full moon.