But the child doesn't want to talk, and she doesn't want to force him; in the end, it's always the child who gets hurt.
Oh well, let's wait until Little Dragon is willing to speak.
After dinner, Draco went to the bathroom, looking troubled.
He had the House-Elf prepare his bath, touched the water, and said irritably, "Lali! The water is too hot!"
"I'm sorry, young master."
A soft female voice replied, and she suddenly appeared, revealing her thin figure, and stepped forward to fix Draco's bathwater.
"Alright, you can go now! So clumsy." Draco waved his hand impatiently.
"Bad Lali! Bad Lali!" Lali exclaimed, banging her head against the bathtub, sounding mournful.
House-Elves are always like this; they harshly punish themselves for even the slightest mistake.
"Enough, Lali." Draco sighed, stretching out his left hand to grab Lali who was still banging the bathtub. "You're used to serving Mother, not knowing my habits is normal. Go out now, stop bothering me."
"Young master..." Lali whimpered, "young master has a kind heart..."
Draco waved his hand impatiently and sat down in the bathtub.
Tears glistened in Lali's eyes as she lifted them to see Draco's left arm, causing her eyes to suddenly widen.
She let out a piercing scream.
"Tch." Draco sneered with irritation; he was in no mood to deal with Lali, as his mind was consumed with worries about the curse on his arm.
Then he realized a problem.
Was Lali screaming because of his arm?
He quickly looked at Lali and said to her, "Lali! I command you! Do not speak about anything concerning my arm! Do you hear me?"
Lali whimpered and vanished from the bathroom.
Draco breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the House-Elves' loyalty would never betray their master.
Only he hadn't considered one problem...
Lali was brought from the Black family by his mother, Narcissa is Lali's true master...
Indeed, after leaving Draco's bathroom, Lali appeared in the living room.
Narcissa and Lucius were sipping tea and chatting, discussing why Draco was once again feeling emo today.
Seeing Lali suddenly appear, Lucius frowned.
But considering Lali is Narcissa's Elf, he didn't say much, as his wife's dignity must be preserved, otherwise... hmm, uh...
"Lali?" Narcissa, of course, knew her husband disliked interruptions during his tea time. She frowned and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
"Bad Lali! Bad Lali!" Lali picked up a book from the table, hitting her head with it, "Lali's eyes shouldn't exist! They saw the master's secret! Bad Lali! Bad Lali!"
The master's secret?
Originally displeased, Lucius's voice heightened significantly.
"You mean Draco? What's wrong with him?"
The Malfoy family has only one heir, and while Lucius usually presents himself as a strict father, Draco is his only son after all.
He's cherished dearly, afraid he'll melt in the mouth, scared he'd slip from the palm.
Now Draco has a "secret," one that someone has discovered, an unspeakable secret, leaving Lucius unable to ignore it.
"Bad Lali! Bad Lali!" Lali continued to hit her head.
"Lali!" Narcissa said sternly, "I command you: do not harm yourself again!"
Lali tearfully paused her self-punishment and looked up pitifully at Narcissa.
"Mistress cares for Lali, forbidding self-punishment, but Lali knows she is bad! She shouldn't have seen the master's secret!"
"What happened to Little Dragon, say it quickly." Narcissa said urgently.
The matter concerning her son prevented her from staying calm.
"Young master forbid Lali from speaking; if Lali talks, he will punish her!" Lali whimpered.
Narcissa scoffed, "Lali! In the Malfoy family, you have only one master! That is me! Now I command you to reveal Draco's secret!"
Lali let out a wail, raising her head eagerly but quickly lowered it again.
She couldn't defy her mistress's command, despite her fondness for Draco and their good rapport.
"Lali… Lali was helping the young master bathe, preparing his bathwater." Lali recounted, "But the water was too hot, and the young master scolded Lali, demanding new water—Lali thought of punishing herself, yet kind-hearted young master stopped her, sending her away."
"But Lali saw an evil, evil mark on the young master's left arm—" Lali started hitting her head again.
"What kind of mark?" Narcissa grabbed her thin arm, "Lali! I command you not to punish yourself!"
Lali pitifully lowered her hands, beginning to describe it: "It's a black skull, with a giant serpent coming out of its mouth, like a tongue, terrifying Lali... Lali might have seen something like this somewhere before..."
With Lali's description, Narcissa and Lucius instantly knew what it was.
They were immediately overwhelmed, Narcissa's legs even buckled, making her collapse onto the sofa.
"D-Dark Mark?!" Lucius exclaimed.
What is that thing? Others might not know, but Lucius surely does.
That's the mark bestowed by Voldemort upon his Death Eaters...
Voldemort can summon, control, and even torment his Death Eaters via this mark...
Most importantly, this mark proves one's identity as a Death Eater; now that Voldemort has fallen, who would want to bear the Dark Mark?
The peak attracts false followers; the dusk witnesses the true ones... As Voldemort wanes, even the previously devoted Pure-blood Clans mostly refuse to acknowledge their identity as Death Eaters.
Except for the die-hards, like Narcissa's sister, Bellatrix.
"Luke..." Narcissa pressed on her leg, striving to steady herself, "where do you think Little Dragon got the Dark Mark?!"
"Don't panic, dear." Lucius tried to remain calm to avoid a sharp clap of chaos, "We haven't seen it for ourselves, it might not be the Dark Mark on Little Dragon's arm... we need to take a look at him."
"Alright!" Narcissa nodded vigorously.
The two climbed the stairs, arriving at the bathroom door.
"Little Dragon?" Narcissa knocked, "Are you still bathing?"
"I'm still bathing, Mom!" Draco's voice replied.
"Um… Please come out for a moment, I have something to tell you." Narcissa said, "About that child from the Gringotts family—"
Draco in the bathroom initially feared his secret might be exposed, but hearing his mother mention the Gringotts family, he immediately stood up from the tub.
"Okay, Mom, I'm coming out right away."
He hurriedly dressed and opened the door...
Then, he met his father's stern gaze.
"Draco." Lucius said expressionlessly, "Come with us."
Draco's heart skipped a beat; how could he not understand what was happening?!
Lali must have betrayed him!
Thinking of this, Draco inadvertently ground his teeth.
Traitor! Predictably, your deceitfulness didn't surprise me!
With his mind apprehensive, he followed his parents downstairs to his bedroom.
"Show me your arm." Lucius said as he looked at him.
Draco hesitated, reluctant to show his arm, letting his father see the Black Magic Curse Mark.
"Show me your arm!" Lucius's expression turned stern.
Seeing his father's stern demeanor, Draco gulped with difficulty.
No choice, he dared not defy his father, for the consequences would be dire...
Reluctantly, he extended his hand and rolled up his sleeve.
As the sleeve gradually rose, that sinister skull appeared in the Malfoys' view.
Seeing the familiar Dark Mark, Lucius's pupils contracted violently!