Chapter 28: The Special Room Underground
There are two staircases leading to the basement in Malfoy Mansion.
Arthur Weasley of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department thought he knew everything at the end of the two staircases - he had checked them very carefully during the search of Malfoy Manor.
He believed he knew exactly what rooms the two staircases led to:
One is the potion-making room that Narcissa Malfoy newly opened for her beloved son. There are many bottles and jars in it, and rare potion ingredients can be seen everywhere.
The Malfoy family, known for their extravagant spending, really spared no effort in cultivating their own heir. Arthur couldn't help but think, looking at the row of "unnecessary" pure gold crucibles.
Another staircase led to a dark dungeon. The mottled marks on the iron door and pillars undoubtedly revealed to Arthur its dirty past, although there was nothing inside now.
"What's this for?" Arthur walked around the large area, kicking up a cloud of dust. He sneezed and said doubtfully, "It looks quite old."
"This place is a historical relic, and we haven't used it for a long time. I admit that it's not beautiful, but this shouldn't be the standard for being judged as a prohibited room, right?" Lucius stood at the door, refusing to take another step forward - he was trying to stay away from the flying dust in the center of the room - and said with a forced smile.
The head of the Malfoy family was carelessly stroking his snake-head cane, standing tall in front of the Ministry of Magic official who suddenly came to inspect his house, with his aura fully exuded and not a trace of fear.
Arthur looked a little embarrassed.
He looked around and regretfully admitted that there was nothing here except dust. Glancing at Lucius's glaring, half-smile, Arthur said to his colleague Perkins, who was holding his waist and sneezing non-stop, with a hint of embarrassment in his tone, "It's really nothing. Let's stop here for today... Let's go."
"I've told you all this before," Lucius said slickly as he led them up the stairs with an arrogant air. "The Malfoys have always supported the Ministry of Magic. I don't understand why your company would want to inspect a law-abiding pure-blood wizard family like ours. If you continue to trespass into the Malfoy household without warning, I'm afraid I'll consider you trespassing and file a complaint with dear Cornelius."
"The purpose of surprise inspections is to take people by surprise. We can't let those being inspected know in advance, and the Ministry has long approved our surprise inspection method. I don't think we need to inform anyone in advance before the inspection." Arthur said bluntly, "As for why we inspected the Malfoy family, we did receive some anonymous reports, and they are not groundless."
A hint of anger flashed in those indifferent grey eyes - Lucius was very displeased with such uninvited visitors. Ordinary wizards would never be so lucky as to be able to freely enter and exit the Malfoy Manor, which had a very high threshold.
Arthur Weasley was just using chicken feathers as a token of authority. If it weren't for the title of the Ministry of Magic on his red head, how could he have knocked on the door of the Malfoy family with such arrogance?
Did he think that the Malfoy family would be afraid of him?
Look at him swaggering around like that! Lucius was secretly furious.
Being treated as a suspect, having one's home broken into and one's privacy intruded upon, no matter what the reason, is a great offense to a Malfoy.
"If you keep taking the slanders of your enemies as the truth, this kind of fruitless and inefficient raiding will never end. Do they... pay you overtime?" Lucius's eyes slowly slid over Arthur, examining his clothes with fastidious scrutiny. "It seems not. Merlin's beard, what good is being a 'scum of the wizarding world' if you can't even get a good pay?"
Arthur's face flushed red.
"We have very different ideas about what constitutes wizarding scum, Malfoy," he said through gritted teeth.
"You get nothing by betraying the purebloods and protecting the Muggles. School is about to start, and there are so many children at home, and you still have to buy second-hand wands and second-hand books. Are they grateful to their father?" Lucius showed a standard, impeccable smile, hiding his malice in his words.
Lucius Malfoy always avoided expressing his personal dissatisfaction directly in front of others, and was accustomed to saying some nice words to people with different political views; but if someone did not know his own weight, dared to challenge the dignity of a Malfoy, intended to smear the reputation of the Malfoy family, infringe on the safety of the Malfoy family, or interfere with the interests of the Malfoy family, he would never let the other party have an easy time.
Lucius considered himself a master at responding to provocations. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes flickering between the two men's clothing, subtly expressing his disdain.
Even Perkins, who was suffering from back pain and had no interest in work, could see that Lucius Malfoy's expensive black velvet wizard robes, set against his long platinum hair, looked very noble; this made Arthur's old plain wizard robes look even more pale.
He supported his waist and tried to pull his colleague away: "Forget it, Arthur, let's go."
"Be careful. If we continue to receive reports, we'll come back again. Since this is my job, I have to complete it, whether you like it or not." Arthur followed Perkins out of the Malfoy family's door, turned around, straightened his back, put on a righteous look, and tried his best to hide the embarrassment of being ridiculed in front of his colleagues. "As for my children, I believe they can judge the merits and demerits of their parents, so you don't have to worry about them."
"Hmph, superiority and inferiority..." Lucius sneered, looking at the self-righteous look of Arthur Weasley outside the door. Although he was angry, he still maintained a certain demeanor and did not say a single dirty word to this hopeless Ministry of Magic official.
"Goodbye," he said coldly, and slammed the door of Malfoy Manor in front of Weasley and Perkins.
"Arthur Weasley, that despicable blood traitor, is unworthy of being one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families!" Lucius said to Narcissa, who was walking down the stairs, with his nostrils flaring. "His whole family lives in a cave, yet he dares to discuss his merits and demerits in front of a Malfoy? Is he worthy?"
"Don't pay attention to him. It's not worth getting angry at that kind of person," Narcissa said. "It's best for us to avoid associating with wizards who are shunned by the pure-blood family social circle, so as not to get into trouble. There is no benefit in making friends with them; there is no need to waste time making enemies with them, which will only make us look inferior."
"I know! I didn't want to bother with him. I always keep my distance from people like him," Lucius said, suppressing his anger. "You know I've been very busy lately. If I had that much time, I'd rather have dinner with Cornelius Fudge and figure out some new ways to make money!"
"I heard what he said. He probably didn't inform his superior, Fudge, about this surprise inspection. He acted on his own initiative," Narcissa said, a wrinkle forming on her forehead. "Why would Fudge promote such a Ministry official? He has no political sense or personal awareness. How can someone working at the Ministry be so clueless and not be able to guess what his superiors are thinking?"
"That's right. I haven't dealt with such a selfless Ministry of Magic official in a long time! There's clearly no benefit to be gained, yet he still offends people wantonly!" Lucius said impatiently, "For something invisible and intangible, he ruined his popularity... He can just deal with the matter of protecting the interests of Muggles. Do the people in the Ministry of Magic really care? No one will thank him no matter how much he does! Do you expect Muggles to thank him? Muggles don't even know the existence of wizards. Wizards won't thank him either, because this brings more inconvenience. Even the Ministry of Magic won't thank him. They won't even pay him an extra gold Galleon for it!"
"The Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department... I heard that the Ministry of Magic supported the establishment of such a department originally to protect careless wizards from being discovered by Muggles and causing chaos. He, however, calls himself the 'umbrella of Muggles', but only cares about protecting the safety of Muggles and ignores the rights of wizards. He has completely put the cart before the horse." Narcissa said thoughtfully, brushing off some dust from her husband's shoulders. "But I guess he's being used as a pawn by the Malfoy family's enemies. It's ridiculous that he's so excited and still clamors about completing his work."
"That's right. If Weasley had asked his boss Fudge more, he wouldn't have had to go through this today." Lucius said, his tone slightly softened.
"Anyway, being targeted by someone so vulnerable is a real problem," Narcissa said worriedly to her husband. "Lucius, you have to be careful. I don't think he'll give up that easily."
Lucius had a gloomy face and said nothing more.
Draco stopped silently on the second-floor platform, looking down at what was happening. He heard his parents' conversation and saw the disgust on Lucius's face when he sent Mr. Weasley away.
For now, he has no way to deal with the two people's unwillingness to give in to each other.
The Malfoys and Weasleys have completely different values. The two heads of the family often have different ways of thinking and doing things.
Even after being reborn and knowing that the Weasleys had a keen eye and had chosen the right side, Draco still didn't think he completely agreed with all of the Weasleys' ideas, just as he didn't think his father's ideas were flawless.
They each have their own strengths and standards, and it's unrealistic to expect anyone to completely transform or fully understand the other.
However, this does not prevent them from seeking common ground while reserving differences and pursuing cooperation.
The two families do not have a deep-rooted hatred that will last until one dies, and it's not that they cannot stand on the same side.
However, changing this situation will take time. Draco sighed, thinking about this matter in his mind, and his figure quietly disappeared at the end of the corridor on the second floor.
At breakfast the next day, Lucius, still resentful of Mr. Weasley's rudeness, not only did he not calm down, but instead he let out his resentment again - he found a new angle to deny Mr. Weasley:
"You know, Cissy, I look down on that Weasley, not only because he supports Muggles and betrays the concept of pure blood, not only because he is unworldly, but also because I think he is not a responsible father..."
Narcissa looked up with interest, her eyes silently encouraging her husband to express more of his thoughts.
"A good father should provide his children with the best material conditions and living environment, so that they have nothing to lack and are full of confidence." Lucius said arrogantly, "Shocking childbirth is irresponsible and will bring painful consequences to the new life. How can a pair of parents have so much energy to raise seven children? I heard that they are all dressed in rags, running around in the wild, and being ridiculed by others..."
"That sounds quite irresponsible," Narcissa said in wonder. "Raising one child is already a lot of work, but seven? How do they find the time to provide them with all kinds of education? Can they keep up with preschool education? Can they provide targeted training based on each child's talents? How much time can they allocate to each child in 24 hours a day? Can each child receive sufficient attention from their parents? It's horrible, unimaginable."
"That makes sense. Raising one child carefully is much better than aimlessly treating a group of children. Besides, it's hard enough for you to give birth to one child! That scene... I don't want to experience it a second time." Lucius said with lingering fear, his face pale, and he held Narcissa's hand under the dining table.
Narcissa shook his hand wordlessly.
"Draco, you silly boy! Listen to your mother and don't make her angry! It was extremely difficult for her to give birth to you and raise you, do you understand?" Lucius suddenly turned his head and said fiercely to his son.
Father, isn't it inappropriate to play up one person and criticize another just to create atmosphere? Draco, who was inexplicably singled out, felt that he was innocently caught in the crossfire, like a tool for the show of affection, and he felt bitter.
However, although Lucius's words were abrupt, they did make some sense. So Draco calmed down, nodded to his father, and cast an admiring look at his mother.
"Lucius, don't scare the child. The little dragon has always been very obedient." Narcissa smiled at her well-behaved son, then looked back at her husband and said tenderly, "My dear, you have always been very considerate to me. I have no interest in becoming a reproductive machine, and I cherish your respect for my thoughts. However, I do not regret giving birth to the little dragon. He is the proudest child in the world, and I can't imagine anyone else's son being better than ours."
Mother, have you forgotten William Weasley getting 12 OWLs? Or how Charlie Weasley almost represented the British team in Quidditch? In two years, Percy Weasley will also emerge with 12 OWLs, eager to join the Ministry of Magic. Draco lowered his eyes, thinking to himself, "It's not like the Weasley children are completely without merit."
Narcissa didn't care what other sons achieved. She only had her sights set on her own son—the one she poured all her heart and attention into.
At this moment, her little dragon was sitting elegantly in the corner of the dining chair, silently cutting steak with skill and experience. Thinking of his praise from Professor Snape and his top-ranked report card, she felt very relieved.
Draco continued to eat his breakfast with his eyes fixed on his nose and his nose focused on his heart. He did not dare to tell them that he was in close communication and contact with the Weasley children, whom they looked down upon.
At this time, Draco's antique mechanical desk had already hidden a few more letters:
Draco:
I'm going to rescue Harry today. Don't worry, I have a plan. Thank you for telling me this.
Ron
Draco:
I heard that Ron rescued Harry, that's great. It seems like this was a joint idea between you and Ron. When did you two become so close?
Also, I plan to go to Diagon Alley on August 12th to buy books and supplies for the start of school. Harry and Ron will also be there around that time. If there's a chance, I'll see you there.
Hermione
Draco:
I certainly don't mind you sending a house-elf to Privet Drive to see me—I'm more curious about what it looks like than angry—I know you're worried about me. In fact, if you hadn't reminded Ron and made him determined to come get me, I might have been tempted to use magic to escape from that place. The consequences would have been even worse.
I had a great time at Ron's, and the Weasleys were all very friendly. We're going to Diagon Alley next Wednesday, August 12th, and I've told Hermione. Will you be coming?
Harry
At the moment, the recipients of these letters were not in his usual places - not in the library, the Potions room, the private Quidditch pitch, the woodland walks of the estate, or his own bedroom.
Draco was wandering somewhere under the mansion.
To be honest, it was not unfair for the Malfoy family to be raided by Mr. Weasley.
How could the basement of a historic building like Malfoy Mansion be so simple with only a newly opened potion-making room and a dungeon that was deliberately made to look old?
Passing through a secret door behind the bookshelf in the Potions Room, he followed the hidden corridor, passed the broom room and the wand room, and finally came to a stone wall.
He touched a tiny protrusion on the wall with familiarity, and a hidden stone door slowly opened.
That was the Contraband Room, located directly below the living room at Malfoy Manor—the so-called Chamber of Secrets where Dobby had found the little black book.
A puff of green smoke filled the air from the door, and Draco quickly took a few steps back. When the smoke gradually dissipated, Dobby carefully stretched out his arm, extended a candle into the door, and observed it intently for a while.
"It should be fine," Dobby said calmly. "The candle didn't go out, and it didn't explode. You can go in, young master. I'll show you the way."
Draco looked at Dobby with admiration. Unexpectedly, the house-elf was somewhat cautious. Holding his candlestick, he followed Dobby through the stone door, examining the room with a mixture of caution and curiosity.
"So, you come here often?" Draco asked Dobby.
"Yes, little master, here are many of your dark magic collections. In the past, Dobby would come to clean up every two weeks. Maintaining the collections, sweeping the dust and so on." Dobby respectfully led his little master, passing between several marble shelves carved with intricate serpentine patterns, and took a look around.
"Why were you sent to such a secluded place?" Draco asked. "Didn't you say you were... quite neglected before?"
"Because it's extremely dangerous here. If you're not careful, you might lose your life. The other house-elves refused to come, so after a while, they pushed it to Dobby." Dobby said in the darkness, blinking his big, luminous eyes.
"House elves are picky and shun heavy tasks?" Draco was extremely surprised - he had previously thought that they had no brains and no judgment.
"When the masters are not around, the house-elves will quarrel over assigned tasks... They all want to serve the mistress, because the work around her is the easiest and the mistress is relatively friendly. Elves who can have a say in front of the mistress are more likely to gain respect from the house-elves." Dobby chuckled, then shook his head disdainfully.
Draco could hear its ears snapping against its head. There was a hint of pride in its tone, "But right now, Dobby is the happiest! Dobby gets a salary and vacations, and they don't! Dobby loves this kind of life, even though they spit at him and think he's a heretic!"
"Speaking of which, you played a significant role in saving Harry last time," Draco said, feeling a sudden surge of irrational sympathy for Dobby. "I've decided to increase your salary from one Galleon a month to one Galleon a week."
"Dobby, no—" The elf suddenly stopped all other movements, leaving only the candle in its hand trembling violently in the darkness.
"Unless you think Harry Potter is unimportant, saving him is not something worthy of praise." Draco said lightly, "If you think he is a slug or something disgusting, you can refuse."
"Of course not! Dobby certainly wouldn't think so! The great Harry Potter! He is Dobby's idol, how could he be a slug--" Dobby said fiercely.
"Then it's settled. Whoever saves the great Harry Potter has done a great deed and should be rewarded," Draco said, inevitably recalling the elf's astonishing deeds in his previous life. "Who would be willing to do good deeds if there were no rewards for doing good deeds?"
"But Dobby didn't save him for a pay raise! Even without a pay raise, Dobby would still save him! A thousand times over!" Dobby shrieked.
"That's right! I don't doubt your sincerity," Draco said. "But what about the others?"
"Others?" the elf was puzzled.
"How can you guarantee that everyone is as selfless as you? What if someone else is also capable of saving Harry Potter, but is hesitant? If there is a reward, he will work harder to save Harry Potter; without a reward, he may miss the opportunity to save people due to hesitation?" Draco smiled in the darkness. "Isn't your original intention in doing this to save Harry Potter? You are not doing this for your own salary increase, nor to prove your sincerity. You are not taking this reward for yourself; but to inspire more capable people who cannot be as selfless as you to save Harry Potter at the right time. Doesn't this align with your original intention of saving Harry Potter?"
"It seems... that's right." Dobby said dazedly.
"Very good. It's settled." Draco knew when to stop and resumed his lazy little master's attitude. "Then, don't waste time. Continue your work and introduce these collections to me."
Dobby shuddered at the mention of "work" and immediately gave up the argument. "The collection seems to have dwindled recently. Dobby heard from the elf who later took charge of cleaning the place that the owner went to Knockturn Alley a few days ago to get some dark magic items."
Draco wasn't surprised by this.
He had already reminded his father of the Ministry's surprise inspections, so it was impossible for Lucius to be completely unprepared. It was normal for him to become more conservative about dark magic items.
Even so, there are still many eye-catching things on the shelves: blood-stained playing cards, glass eyeballs, skulls, nooses and rusty, sharp-toothed instruments...
Draco even saw some familiar items—the opal necklace and the Hand of Glory.
He had no idea that some of the items he had seen in Borgin and Burke's in his previous life had originally belonged to the Malfoy family. Merlin, how many Dark magic items had his father accumulated over the years, and how many of them had he sold off?
"What is this?" Suddenly, Draco noticed an inconspicuous little black book on the shelf. He asked Dobby, "Is this the one you gave me last time?"
"No, young master," Dobby squeaked, "that book has been taken away by the old master. This is another, very dangerous notebook!"
"How is it dangerous? The kind that sprays out venom and poisonous smoke when opened?" Draco took a closer look at the candle.
"When Dobby opened it, it was blank. However, when he touched it, Dobby could feel a deep fear. There might be very cruel black magic in it." Dobby shuddered uncontrollably.
When Draco looked at it closely, he could see the difference between the two small books.
The cover of the book he had come into contact with was made of a whole piece of black leather material, and no extra words could be recognized; although this book also had a black cover, if you looked closely, you could still see the name "TM Riddle" written on the cover.
Who the hell is Riddle? He frowned in confusion. He had never heard of such a name in his pure-blood wizard family.
This damn Riddle must have done something remarkable in the Dark Arts. Otherwise, his notebook wouldn't have been hidden so carefully here by his father. Draco thought as he surveyed the other Dark Arts items in the room.
After seeing these things, Draco felt that there was nothing special about them, so he closed the stone door again.
The corridor on the other side of the stone door was deep and long. Draco knew that there were several similar inconspicuous stone doors there. Behind the doors were the treasure collection room and the banned book collection room, and even a small lounge.
Having said that, unless one has the blood of the Malfoy family, no one else can open these stone doors. Even if the loyal Mr. Weasley finds this place, he will only return empty-handed.
He did not check the other stone gate, but returned along the original route.
He came out of the secret door and pressed something casually, and the bookshelf returned to its proper position, as if it had never been opened.
It was getting late. Draco leisurely walked out of the potion-making room door and climbed the stairs, intending to return to his room to rest.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and asked Dobby, who was still quietly following him, "What did Grandfather do with that nameless little book? Do you know?"
"Dobby happened to overhear a little bit... When the old master came to look for the book, he muttered something about 'Horcruxes'." Dobby glanced at Draco in horror. "Dobby didn't dare to listen any further. Dobby shouldn't pry into the privacy of his masters."
Draco nodded calmly and told Dobby to go down.
He walked back to his room and deftly manipulated the desk until he pulled out a small black book. This was not the named book in the Chamber of Secrets, but the nameless book that Dobby had found last time to help him check out his knowledge of Horcruxes.
He lay on the bed, studying the book over and over again, trying to find some clues in it.
This book must be extraordinary, as it contains such profound knowledge about the Dark Arts as Horcruxes. It now appears that even my grandfather, who used to be indifferent to everything else, has an unusual interest in it.
This is more of a notebook than a book.
Because it was full of handwritten words and symbols, some of which he couldn't read, some of which were blurred due to age. Even the handwriting didn't look like it was written by a single person, and some of the language seemed to be ancient Greek.
It looks like someone translated the ancient Greek into bits of English based on this note.
Such is the case with the text concerning Horcruxes.
But this translation was incomplete, with some parts being vague and lacking annotations. To understand the details, Draco would have to learn ancient Greek.
Merlin! I'm so exhausted! Please don't give me any new tasks, will you? Draco rolled over, covering his face, and lay on his back in his bed, wanting to give up more than ever.