Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0496 Another Visit

In the heart of Wiltshire, England, stood the imposing and majestic Malfoy Manor.

The vast estate was covered in a stunning golden mist as the late afternoon sun started to set, turning the already magnificent mansion into a picture of ethereal beauty. The precious marble bricks, each one meticulously carved with intricate spiral patterns spoke of centuries of magical craftsmanship. The building exuded an air of classical elegance and unwavering dignity, a testament to the long and illustrious history of the Malfoy family.

The immaculately manicured grounds stretched as far as the eye could see. A flock of dazzling white peacocks, their feathers gleaming like freshly fallen snow, strolled leisurely across the pristine lawn. Their quiet pride mirrored that of the manor itself, as if they too were aware of their role in maintaining the Malfoy family's image of opulence and nobility.

At the center of the expansive courtyard stood an ornate fountain, its multiple tiers sending chutes of crystalline water into the air. As the golden sunlight filtered through the spray, it created a mesmerizing display of rainbows that danced and shimmered, adding an almost magical quality to the already enchanting scene. Apart from the gardeners tending to the flowers, there weren't many visible people in this vast estate.

However, Despite the tranquil beauty of the estate, an undercurrent of tension thrummed beneath the surface.

Since the unexpected and unwelcome visit of the notorious werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, the security measures at Malfoy Manor had been increased by many folds. Invisible to the casual observer, a complex ward of magical defenses now enveloped the entire property, prepared to swiftly and brutally drive out any unwanted invaders.

In addition to these magical ward protections, vigilant wizards lurked in the shadows of the courtyard. These guards, hand-picked for their loyalty and decent magical prowess, stood ready to unleash a barrage of spells as fierce and sudden as a summer storm should anyone dare to trespass upon the Malfoy estate without permission.

Within the luxurious walls of the villa, servants hurried through the corridors as they made final preparations for the evening's dinner for the manor's owners and their soon-to-arrive guest.

In most respectable pureblood households, such menial tasks would typically fall to house-elves. The Malfoy family had once been no exception to this tradition. However, since the estate's former house-elf had betrayed them, the manor's owner refused to let such lowly, inferior creatures set foot in their home again.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the grounds, the atmosphere within the villa grew increasingly tense.

The sudden return of the estate's owners had caught many of the staff off guard. It was well known that Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy spent much of their time away from the manor, tending to their vast business empire that stretched across Europe and even other continents. Their extensive network of investments and enterprises required constant attention to maintain the staggeringly enormous family fortune that had been accumulated over generations.

It was rare for the Malfoys to return to the manor unless there was a pressing need to entertain important guests or attend to urgent family matters. Today was evidently such an occasion, but what puzzled the servants – and added to the general air of unease – was Mrs. Malfoy's announcement that they would be hosting only a single guest for dinner.

In the luxurious banquet hall, with its soaring ceilings and glittering chandeliers, Narcissa Malfoy stood before the assembled staff. Her tall, slender figure was wrapped in robes of the finest silk, their deep emerald hue a striking contrast to her pale skin and white-blonde hair. Despite her ethereal beauty, there was a rigidity to her features that spoke of years of maintaining a facade of superiority and disdain.

"If there is even the slightest impropriety during tonight's dinner," Narcissa said, her voice piercing the air like a steel blade, each word precisely uttered and tinged with thinly veiled threat, "those responsible for the mishap will find themselves serving a far more... permanent role in the beautification of our garden."

The implied threat hung heavy in the air as Narcissa's cold, grey eyes swept over the crowd of petrified servants. Each one stood rigid, hardly daring to breathe lest they incur the wrath of their formidable mistress. With a final, warning glance that seemed to pierce through to their very souls, Narcissa turned on her heel and strode from the room. She traversed the maze-like corridors, passing through the front hall and reception room, finally arriving at the door of the study.

This study belonged to the head of the Malfoy family—Lucius Malfoy—and Narcissa was the only person with the right to enter uninvited. Even their son, Draco would face severe criticism and punishment if he dared to intrude without being summoned.

As she entered the study, the familiar scent of old parchment and expensive leather enveloped her. The room was dimly lit, heavy curtains drawn against the fading daylight, creating an atmosphere of secrecy and isolation. At the far end of the room, behind a massive desk of polished ebony, sat Lucius.

In one hand, he gripped his ever-present cane – a symbol of his status and a cleverly disguised holder for his wand. The other hand rested on the desk's surface, few inches from a piece of parchment that seemed to hold his complete attention.

To most, Lucius's expression would have appeared impassive, with a mask of aristocratic indifference. But Narcissa, who had shared her life with this man for decades, immediately sensed the trace of unease that tensed his shoulders and tightened the corners of his mouth. Her gaze followed his to the letter on the desk, and she quickly averted her eyes, as if just the sight of it could bring about some terrible calamity.

"I've given the instructions, dear," Narcissa said, her voice softer now, tinged with a warmth reserved only for her husband and son. "There won't be any problems."

The sound of his wife's voice seemed to stir Lucius from his statue-like motionlessness. He grunted softly in acknowledgment, a far cry from his usual eloquence, but his gaze remained fixed upon the letter as if it held the key to some great and terrible secret.

In the privacy of her husband's study, away from the prying eyes of servants and the expectations of society, Narcissa allowed her carefully constructed facade to slip. The haughty demeanor that she presented to the world melted away, replaced by a genuine concern for the man before her. She moved around the desk, coming to stand beside Lucius. Her pale, slender fingers found their way to his shoulder, offering a gentle, reassuring touch.

Lucius, seemingly becoming aware that his own anxiety was affecting his wife, finally tore his gaze away from the letter. He withdrew the hand that had been resting on the desk and placed it over Narcissa's palm.

If the servants of Malfoy Manor could have witnessed this moment of vulnerability between their master and mistress, they would have been shocked. The idea that a mere letter could cause such unease in their masters would have seemed absurd.

Time seemed to have come to a standstill in the study. Neither Lucius nor Narcissa spoke, their gazes simply met in a silent exchange of mutual support and shared concerns.

After a long while, Lucius slowly removed his hand from his wife's. He slowly reached down and opened a drawer in his desk. Narcissa watched with puzzled curiosity as her husband withdrew a silver spoon.

The handle of the spoon was adorned with an intricately engraved peacock.

Narcissa's brow furrowed in confusion. She recognized the spoon as one from their own kitchens, part of a set that had been in the Malfoy family for generations. But why would Lucius have taken away a piece of cutlery in his private desk?

"During dinner later," Lucius said, his voice low and strained, "keep this spoon by your side. If anything unexpected happens, grab it immediately."

"Is this a Portkey?" Narcissa's asked, her eyebrows drawing together in a mixture of surprise and understanding. "You think—"

"Just in case, Narcissa," Lucius interrupted, his face notably paler than usual as he pressed the spoon firmly into his wife's palm.

The true purpose of Bryan Watson's imminent visit had been a topic of intense discussion between the Malfoys during their hurried journey home. Neither of them truly believed Watson's stated intention of discussing Draco's academic progress at Hogwarts, yet neither of them had any idea about his true intentions.

The most likely scenario, they had reluctantly agreed, was that this visit was somehow connected to their small scheme at the Quidditch World Cup, and although Watson had verbally forgiven them that night, neither Lucius nor Narcissa were naive enough to believe that the matter was truly settled and no one could be sure if Watson might change his mind.

To this day, Lucius Malfoy remained baffled as to how Bryan Watson had uncovered information about his involvement in the scheme. He had suspected Kakus Fawley or perhaps one of the hired bounty hunters, but a thorough examination of the magically binding employment contracts had revealed no breaches. It seemed highly unlikely that anyone privy to the inner workings of the plan could have been the source of the leak.

But it wasn't just this particular incident that filled Lucius Malfoy with dread.

While the Ministry of Magic had publicly claimed that the mysterious witch who had dueled with Bryan Watson and the group of masked wizards were in cahoots, the Malfoys knew this to be a blatant fabrication. That woman – whoever she was – had not been part of their hired group. What truly horrified them was that after defeating that Mysterious witch, Bryan Watson had gone on to overpower that faceless dark wizard.

When that faceless dark wizard fell to Watson's power, Lucius and Narcissa, blending into the panicked crowd, had felt an unmistakable change in their Dark Marks. It was a sensation they had not experienced in years, one that sent chills down their spines and dredged up memories they had long tried to suppress.

In the aftermath of that chaotic night, neither Lucius nor Narcissa had dared to discuss the implications of what they had felt. But in the privacy of their own thoughts, they both knew exactly what it meant, and the knowledge of this filled them with terror.

The wizarding world at large believed that the Dark Lord's power had been irreversibly broken by Harry Potter on that night in Godric's Hollow. While most accepted that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't been entirely vanquished, it was widely assumed that he had been reduced to little more than a memory, a boogeyman to frighten children and remind adults of darker times.

Only Albus Dumbledore continued to insist that the threat of Lord Voldemort's return was real and imminent. For years, Lucius Malfoy had scoffed at Dumbledore's assertions, dismissing them as the ramblings of a man desperate to maintain his relevance in a changing world.

But that dismissive attitude had begun to crumble during his first encounter with Bryan Watson at the Leaky Cauldron. The young man's words had stirred the long-buried fear in Lucius's heart. In the year and more that followed, Lucius had tried desperately to convince himself that his worries were groundless, nothing more than the product of an overactive imagination and too many sleepless nights.

Then came the Quidditch World Cup final, and with it, the appearance of that indescribable dark wizard. In that moment, all of Lucius's carefully constructed self-assurances had crumbled to dust, leaving him facing a reality he had long wanted to deny.

In his youth, Lucius had been a loyal and devoted Death Eater, as had his wife. They had willingly pledged their allegiance to the Dark Lord, drawn in by promises of power and a new world order that would see purebloods restored to their 'rightful' place at the top of wizarding society. It had been an intoxicating vision, a dream that seemed tantalizingly within reach.

But now, years later, with the weight of family responsibilities and Draco's future weighing heavily upon him, Lucius found himself trapped between two equally terrifying possibilities. The path before him seemed to narrow with each passing day, leading inevitably towards a confrontation he was ill-prepared to face.

If Watson's words were to be believed – and Lucius had no reason to doubt them – then he had inadvertently damaged something of great importance to the Dark Lord. If the Dark Lord indeed returns to power and summons his old followers, Lucius knew with chilling certainty that he could expect no mercy; the Malfoy family could not expect forgiveness. The Dark Lord had never been a forgiving person, a fact that Lucius was all too painfully aware of.

Yet the alternative seemed equally bleak. Lucius himself was a sworn enemy of Dumbledore. And Watson, despite his cordial demeanor, had shown a distinct coldness towards the Malfoy family. If it weren't for Watson's slight fondness for Draco, he knew that his family's position would be even more precarious than it already was.

As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Lucius found himself seriously contemplating the need for an escape plan. The landscape of the wizarding world was shifting beneath his feet, and for the first time in his life, he felt truly out of his depth.

"Watson can't possibly move against the Malfoy family, dear," Narcissa's voice cut through the heavy silence, pulling Lucius back from the brink of his dark daydreams. "Neither Fudge nor Dumbledore would allow him to do so—"

Narcissa's concerns, while valid, hadn't delved deeply into the worst-case scenarios as her husband's had. Her focus remained primarily on the immediate threat posed by the events at the Quidditch World Cup. As she gently squeezed her husband's hand, offering what comfort she could, her mind raced to find a solution.

Lucius opened his mouth to respond, to share some extent of his fears with his wife, when a sharp knock at the study door cut through the tension. Both Malfoys stiffened, their years of cultivating a public persona of cool detachment kicking in almost instinctively.

"Enter," Lucius called out, his voice steady despite the turmoil roiling within him.

The door creaked open, revealing one of the manor's servants, a young man whose name Lucius could never quite remember. The servant's face was pale, his eyes darting nervously between his master and mistress as he delivered his message.

"Begging your pardon, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," the servant began, his voice trembling slightly under the weight of their combined gaze, "but I've been sent to inform you that Mr. Bryan Watson has... well, he's suddenly appeared at the estate's main gate, sir. He's requesting entry. Should we... should we welcome him in?"

For a moment, the only sound in the study was the ticking of the clock, each second feeling like an eternity as Lucius and Narcissa processed this. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Lucius sprang into action.

"I'll go greet him myself—" Lucius said, rising from his chair with swiftness. His hand tightened around the serpent-headed cane, knuckles white with tension.

Narcissa recognized the barely concealed panic in Lucius's eyes. Without hesitation, she stepped forward, her slim fingers intertwining with his. "I'll come with you, dear," she said, her voice low and filled with determination. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together."

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