"Mother, I'm fine. What could possibly be wrong?" Draco blinked, baffled.
Narcissa checked him from crown to heel. Only after confirming there wasn't a single scratch did she finally exhale.
Lucius, meanwhile, had noticed the "watermelon" in Draco's arms. "That's a Welsh Green egg?"
"Yes, Father. Arthur said once it hatches, I can fight alongside it," Draco said, flushed with excitement.
"In fact," Arthur added, "you can fight alongside it now. Dragon Tamer and Dragon's Brand work as long as the dragon is present. Of course, it's an egg, so its attack is currently zero—Dragon's Brand won't add anything yet."
Draco drew his wand and flicked off a few test spells into open space. Sure enough, his casting speed had jumped markedly.
Lucius saw it too—the boy's wandwork looked smoother than ever.
"So, what exactly do your runes do?" he asked.
Draco rattled off the five: Dragon Egg, Wild Growth, Dragon Tamer, Dragon's Brand, and Vitality. Lucius nodded. Worth the price.
"I hadn't expected the base rune to summon an egg by itself," Lucius mused. "If I only engraved a base rune, what would I get?"
"At best, a well-behaved dragon," Arthur said. "The sets are designed to interlock—they reduce magic upkeep and amplify each other. For example, Dragon Tamer isn't just about speed; it tightens your rapport with your dragon."
Lucius dropped the "base-only" idea. Tame dragons were common on his breeding grounds. Buffing dragons—that had value.
"And if I want a set engraved?" he asked.
Arthur lifted a brow. "Mr. Malfoy, small reminder: you haven't actually paid for this round yet."
Lucius touched his temple; right—he'd let the moment sweep him along. "Apologies. Your visit was sudden; I didn't have the payment ready. I'll arrange it now."
Arthur stayed his hand. "No need to rush around. For the Galleons, open a vault in my name at Gringotts and deposit 100,000; have Draco pass me the key. As for the unique tomes, we can handle that now."
"Very well. To the study."
The "study" was, in truth, a library, its space stretched by an Undetectable Extension Charm. Lucius stopped before two towering cases.
"These are every unique manuscript in the Malfoy family," he said, pride unmistakable.
Arthur simply nodded. He didn't even raise his wand—just gestured. The two cases became four.
Lucius nearly popped an eye. He recognized the GeminioCopying Charm—but he'd never seen it used like this. Ordinary wizards copied one book at a time, and enchanted tomes were notorious mana-sinks. Yet here stood two perfect twins of his cases, every book mirrored down to scuffs on the leather.
Before Lucius could recover, Arthur swept his hand again; the new cases vanished into a storage space Lucius didn't recognize.
An Eastern storage talisman, Lucius thought, throat tightening. He'd heard of such things in old family briefings. After today, he'd be quizzing Severus very carefully about this boy's background.
"Done," Arthur said lightly. "Now—your price for your runes."
Lucius straightened, more respectful than before. "Name it."
"Step down from the Hogwarts Board of Governors."
Lucius stilled. "…That price is steep."
"If you don't," Arthur said mildly, "you won't keep the seat long anyway."
"Oh?"
"You strong-armed signatures on Dumbledore's suspension. The other governors aren't pleased. If they band together to vote you out, I wouldn't be surprised. Better to leave on your own terms and mend fences."
Lucius considered it. Forced out, or step down gracefully? The choice wasn't hard.
"Very well. I'll announce my resignation."
"Not yet." Arthur raised a hand. "Wait until my replacement arrives. I don't want someone else harvesting the credit."
"When will your person take the seat?"
"That depends on when your hundred thousand clears. Once it's in, I'll have Gilderoy Lockhart buy his way onto the Board."
Lucius blinked. So that's what the money was for. And the candidate was… Lockhart. The price Lockhart had paid must have been loyalty.
"And my runes?"
Arthur thought, then shrugged. "We can do you now."
—
They were in the library for two hours. When they emerged, Lucius's hair was damp with sweat.
Draco took one look at his father and knew. The ordeal had been the same. He shivered at the memory of that pain.
As for what set Lucius chose—he hadn't gone exotic. He'd taken Lockhart's build:
Faith's Guard (base) — block one fatal hit; 2-day cooldown.
Divine Blessing — on activation, casting + movement +25%.
Holy Impact — call down a lightning strike; 1-second cooldown.
Power Shot — spell power +35%.
Vitality — Life +1.
No screams had escaped the door this time—not because it didn't hurt, but because Lucius had warded the room with a Soundproofing Charm. A Malfoy kept his composure.
"All set," Arthur said. "For the Board, wait on Lockhart's signal. I've been here long enough—I'll take my leave."
Snape rose to go as well. He intended to ask what he needed to pay for a set—now that father and son both had one, temptation was real.
"Severus, a moment?" Lucius said.
Snape stopped, barely suppressing a sigh. He missed Lillian already; it had been hours.
Malfoy escorted Arthur to the door.
"Come by whenever you like," Draco said, reluctant to part.
Arthur nodded, waved—and Apparated away.
Draco admired the casual grace of it. Lucius coughed twice.
"Draco… you may also visit Arthur when you have time," Lucius said carefully.
Truth: he wasn't eager to have Arthur visit here again. One visit had cost him 100,000 Galleons and a Board seat. A few more and the boy might leave with the manor.
Draco didn't catch the subtext. He only heard permission, where usually there were rules. Bliss.
Snape cleared his throat. "And why have I been kept standing here?"
He wanted his daughter.
Lucius remembered his other question and asked about Arthur's origins. Snape recited the same fabricated story Arthur had once handed him. And so the number of misled aristocrats increased by one.
—
The very next day, Snape came to Arthur.
He led Arthur into his study and pointed at stacks of books and leather folders. "My lifetime of potion texts, notes, and formulae."
Arthur blinked. "What's this—passing on your estate?"
"It's the price for the runes," Snape said flatly. Gold wouldn't tempt Arthur; knowledge might.
Arthur waved it away. "Between us, I wasn't planning to charge you."
Snape knew him well enough to hear the truth in that. Even so, he insisted Arthur take them. Arthur was his disciple in name; these would be his inheritance anyway.
Arthur accepted—and, because Severus was family, he gave him the full catalogue and a candid run-through of what each tree did.
In the end, Snape chose Lightning—the same element that had zapped him yesterday. Fall there, rise there.
Lightning Bolt (base) — call down a bolt of lightning.
Capacitance — when lightning hits, 20% chance to refund the magic cost.
Call Thunderbug — summons a Thunderbug that calls lightning on enemies. (Yes, it looks like it belongs in Summoning.)
Master of Storms — Lightning damage +60%, area +75%.
Plus Faith's Guard for survival.
When the engraving was done, Arthur looked around. Lockhart, Lucius, Draco, Snape—everyone had powered up.
And his own fingers itched.
Last night, he'd noticed something strange: his avatar had stopped gaining stats. He pulled up the panel—thanks to the Twelve Trials talent, every number on the duplicate was sitting at 99. The system prompt was clear: this was the cap for an external avatar. To go further, he'd need another path.
He had one: fuse the avatar into himself.
When he'd first manifested it, the system had offered two options. He'd chosen Option Two—true separation. Now, ironically, he needed Option One—reintegration.
But the avatar was no longer a menu choice; it was a talent made flesh. If he wanted to merge, he had to do it manually.
Problem: the avatar's power was too great. A full swallow would rupture him.
Solution: a magic crystal as a buffer. He'd drain the avatar into the crystal first, then absorb the crystal bit by bit.
With that as an intermediary, he could sip instead of choke—and little by little, bring his shadow back home.
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