"That Mr. Potter was right, you really do need some discipline!" Lucius said coldly. "No matter what, we can't lose our dignity, but you... have made us lose it completely!"
Draco opened his mouth, thinking his father was absolutely right.
"But, do first-years have such power?" Narcissa was thinking about Harry's magic level. "You know, even the You-Know-Who didn't have that kind of power in first year..."
"He's the Savior, after all. It's normal for him to be a bit stronger than others," Lucius responded.
Draco thought about it: if that "bit" included the distance from Malfoy Manor to Hogwarts, then, well, fair enough.
"But, Father..." Draco whispered, "That Potter... um, told me he's actually Harry Potter from a hundred years ago, which is why he's so strong..."
When they heard Draco say this, Narcissa and Lucius exchanged glances, both shaking their heads.
The look they gave Draco was clearly 'you're just a foolish kid.'
"Silly Little Dragon, how is that possible?" Narcissa said softly. "Even the Dark Demon King couldn't escape the hunt of time..."
"But he..." Draco was still willing to believe it was really Harry Potter from a hundred years ago.
Because, losing to a regular first-year three times and losing to a Legendary Wizard three times—those are two totally different things!
If you lose to the latter, at least you could brag: 'I lost to that Harry Potter from a hundred years ago!'—Not embarrassing! If you don't believe me, go try!
"That's not the point, Draco." Lucius snorted, putting the snake-headed end of his wand on Draco's sleeve, tugging his sleeve back to his wrist. "The point is, how we're going to get rid of this Dark Mark on your arm!"
Narcissa was silent for a while, then said: "Luke, I think we should ask Severus for help. After all, he owed you quite a lot of favors back in school..."
Hearing this, Lucius glanced at Narcissa.
Hmm...
Not impossible, actually.
"Alright, I'll send Dobby to fetch him right away," Lucius said deeply.
He went to the living room, found Dobby and had him prepare paper and pen, then wrote a deeply moving letter.
From the friendship at Slytherin back in the day, all the way to School Board and professor relations, it was truly passionate and flawless—no loophole for complaints.
After checking it quickly once more, Lucius carefully sealed the letter and handed the envelope to Dobby to send by Apparition Displacement.
After Dobby set out, Lucius strictly forbade Draco from hiding the fact that Harry is the hundred-year-old Harry in front of Professor Snape.
While warning him, Lucius was sighing about their family's bad luck...
It's one thing to be fooled by the Black Demon disguised as a woman, but if people found out the kid was so easily bamboozled by Potter—then the Malfoy Clan's reputation would be absolutely ruined!
Inside the small house on Spider's Tail Alley, Professor Snape had just finished a long day and was about to go to bed, when he suddenly heard knocking at the door.
He squinted, walked to the door, and opened it.
It was Dobby, whom he recognized, the Malfoy family's House-Elf.
"Professor Snape, my master asked me to deliver this letter to you." Dobby held out the letter in both hands.
Professor Snape gave a snide little snort, then opened the letter...
The contents made him instantly realize something was wrong.
The Dark Mark... appeared on a Slytherin College student?!
"Take me to Malfoy Manor!"
Time was tight, so Snape didn't use Flue Powder—instead, he simply had Dobby bring him by Apparition Displacement.
An adult House-Elf's magic power is tremendous, carrying an adult by Apparition Displacement is no problem at all.
Moments later, Snape appeared in Malfoy Manor.
His black robes billowed as he strode in, like a big bat sweeping through the room.
Arriving at Malfoy Manor, Lucius and Narcissa, as hosts, were already waiting at the door.
Seeing Severus arrive, Lucius went up to greet him with a genuinely warm smile.
"Severus, long time no see."
As the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling face—especially not someone who looked out for you back in school—so Snape returned the smile.
"Good evening, Lucius. I read the gist in your letter—You're saying the Dark Mark has appeared in Slytherin College?"
For once, Snape spoke without dragging out his words.
After all, this concerned his own college—he couldn't afford not to care.
Even if most Slytherin students' IQs hovered near Giant level, it didn't stop the old professor from sparing them a little genuine concern.
"Long story—I think we'd better talk inside," Lucius said.
Once inside, Lucius called Draco to the living room, shooting him a warning glance as he did.
The warning was crystal clear: if you dare start making up Potter stories, watch out for Dad slapping you silly right here.
Draco quickly got the message and obediently stepped in front of Professor Snape.
"Roll up your sleeve," Lucius said.
Draco did as he was told, showing off the Dark Mark on his arm.
Seeing the mark, Professor Snape's eyes narrowed—he leaned in for a closer look, then said slowly, "It is indeed the Dark Demon King's mark... What exactly happened?"
Draco dared not hide anything; omitting the Harry part, he told Snape everything else in detail.
After listening, Snape instantly understood why there were suddenly so many sleepy, distracted students in the College—and why their magic spell level had soared.
Shit! The strongest Dark Wizard of the century, one-on-one tutoring—how could they not fucking improve?
"I believe Mr. Malfoy has taught you, Draco," Professor Snape said in a sinister tone. "When it comes to Dark Magic Items, especially those with a mind of their own, you must keep your distance—"
"Besides, you've stirred up huge trouble... I suspect everyone who's touched that notebook has been marked by the Dark Mark, more or less..."
"No, Professor," Draco immediately denied, "After coming back to College, I checked—apart from me and Sleepy Joe from second year, no one else was marked."
"By that, do you mean you actually think getting the Dark Mark is something to be proud of?" Professor Snape said coldly. "Ignorance truly is fearless... Of course, someone who hasn't experienced it can't know just how terrifying that mark is."
"Severus," Narcissa suddenly said, "Do you have any good way to help Draco get rid of this mark?"
Snape disdainfully pinched Draco's wrist as though he'd not bathed in months and was filthy.
He looked for a while, then drawled, "I don't have any particularly effective method. All I can do is mix some Magic Potions for him, to suppress the Dark Mark's deeper connection to him, for now."
Lucius and Narcissa exchanged glances, both sighing helplessly.
After Snape left, Narcissa sat in silence for a long time before looking up and asking hoarsely, "Luke, maybe... Should we ask Principal Dumbledore to come have a look?"
"Dumbledore... Dumbledore..." Lucius muttered, then quickly shook his head. "No, no, absolutely not—if he finds out, even as a School Board director, I couldn't guarantee Draco's continued attendance at Hogwarts..."
"Then who should we ask?"
Narcissa looked worriedly at Draco, tears rolling from her eyes.
"My poor Little Dragon..."
After a long pause, she suddenly thought of someone.
The person Little Dragon had just mentioned.
"How about... we invite that Mr. Potter to the Manor as a guest?"
(Begging for moon tickets!)
(Another 12,000 words!)