Inside the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Molly and Arthur Weasley stood facing Ron with terrifyingly serious expressions.
Ron hid behind Harry like a frightened quail, too scared to even lift his head.
As the central figures involved in the entire incident, Lucien and Draco had also been invited to the office.
"Ronald Weasley!"
Molly's voice exploded through the room.
"Did you completely ignore the letter I sent you?!"
Her eyes practically burned with fury.
"When Professor McGonagall came to find us, I could hardly believe what I was hearing!"
Then the full force of Molly Weasley's maternal rage descended upon Ron mercilessly.
Even Dumbledore wisely chose not to interrupt.
The moment Molly turned toward Harry, however, her expression softened instantly.
"Oh, Harry, dear…"
She pulled him gently into her arms.
"You poor child. Ron dragged you into all this nonsense."
Then she turned sharply back toward Ron again.
"If there's a next time, your father and I will personally take you home ourselves!"
"Do you hear me?!"
Ron shrank even further behind Harry.
Meanwhile, Arthur Weasley approached Lucien and Draco instead.
Unlike Molly's explosive anger, Arthur's attitude remained sincere and apologetic.
Even toward Draco — the son of his long-time political enemy — Arthur was still willing to apologise properly for Ron's behaviour.
"Mr Grindelwald," Arthur said earnestly, "I sincerely apologise for Ron's actions."
Then he looked toward Draco as well.
"And you too, Mr Malfoy."
"Mr Weasley," Lucien replied politely, "there's no need to involve yourself in conflicts between children."
Whenever others were watching, Lucien's manners remained almost flawless.
Arthur visibly relaxed after seeing Lucien wasn't being aggressive.
"Your tolerance is admirable, Mr Grindelwald."
A warm smile appeared on Arthur's face.
"You'd always be welcome at our home."
At that moment, Lucien finally noticed the little red-haired girl hiding beside Molly.
Ginny Weasley.
Though still young, traces of her future beauty were already beginning to appear.
Arthur proudly introduced her.
"This is Ginny, our youngest daughter. She'll be starting Hogwarts next year."
Lucien smiled gently.
"Welcome to Hogwarts in advance, Miss Weasley."
His tone became warm and elegant.
"I'm certain a clever and lovely young witch like you will do wonderfully here."
Ginny's cheeks immediately flushed red.
"Th-thank you…"
Seeing the girl's embarrassed reaction, Arthur laughed softly.
"It's getting late. We shouldn't keep Mr Grindelwald from his classes."
Molly finally stopped glaring at Ron long enough to deliver one final warning.
"You'd better behave yourself from now on!"
Then the Weasley family finally left together.
Just as Lucien prepared to depart with Draco as well, Dumbledore suddenly spoke.
"Mr Grindelwald."
Lucien paused.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you privately for a moment."
After several seconds of consideration, Lucien smiled politely again.
"Of course, Headmaster."
Once everyone else had left, Dumbledore slowly walked behind his desk.
"Would you like a cockroach cluster?"
"No thank you, Headmaster. Please just say what you wish to discuss."
Lucien had absolutely no interest in wasting time eating bizarre sweets with Dumbledore.
Dumbledore sighed softly before casually dropping several cockroach clusters into warm milk.
After taking a satisfied sip, he finally looked toward Lucien again.
"Mr Grindelwald, as Headmaster, I feel responsible for what happened recently."
"Responsible?"
Lucien nearly laughed.
If Dumbledore truly felt responsible, he could've intervened long ago.
Ron's behaviour hadn't suddenly appeared overnight.
Yet only now, after matters escalated repeatedly, did Dumbledore finally step forward.
Old manipulative bee.
"Headmaster," Lucien said calmly, "Hogwarts is enormous. You cannot personally handle every small matter."
He smiled faintly.
"Ron's mistakes belong to Ron himself. They have nothing to do with you."
The words sounded polite.
But every sentence quietly mocked Dumbledore's incompetence as Headmaster.
Naturally, Dumbledore pretended not to notice.
"Yes," he said slowly, "Ron's mistakes are ultimately his own responsibility."
Then his expression became thoughtful.
"But if Harry continues being influenced by him…"
Lucien's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Stop."
He immediately sensed the hidden meaning behind Dumbledore's words.
"Headmaster, Harry Potter is free to choose whichever friends he wants."
Lucien's voice became colder.
"And naturally, he must bear the consequences of those choices himself."
"I know."
Dumbledore nodded gently.
"But Ron is no longer suitable to remain Harry's closest friend."
Lucien immediately understood.
"If Ron isn't suitable," he said dryly, "then who is?"
A dangerous thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Me?"
Dumbledore remained silent.
That silence alone answered everything.
Lucien almost laughed outright.
"You want me to replace Ron?"
Truthfully, Dumbledore himself felt rather helpless about the situation.
If he had any better options, he absolutely wouldn't have chosen Lucien.
Unfortunately, after observing every possible candidate recently, he had discovered serious flaws everywhere.
Neville lacked confidence entirely.
Seamus caused explosions more often than successful spells.
Hermione had become openly hostile toward Harry after the recent conflicts involving Ron and practically refused to speak to him anymore.
As for Draco?
Absolutely impossible.
After eliminating everyone else, only Lucien remained.
Even if Dumbledore disliked the idea, he had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.
At the very least, Harry certainly wouldn't become worse under Lucien's influence than he already had under Ron's.
"Forget it," Lucien replied immediately. "I don't have time to babysit children."
"You don't need to stay beside him constantly like Ron does."
Dumbledore spoke patiently.
"Simply guide him occasionally when necessary."
Truthfully, Dumbledore didn't want Lucien around Harry all the time either.
During only a few short weeks, Lucien's charisma had already spread astonishingly throughout Hogwarts.
Students admired him.
Professors praised him.
Even Dumbledore himself found the influence slightly alarming.
That was why he had settled on this compromise instead.
"If that's all," Lucien said after brief thought, "then I can consider it."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly.
"But I have one condition."
"Go ahead."
"I recently acquired several shops in Diagon Alley."
Lucien's expression remained calm.
"But certain pure-blood families may cause trouble after they open."
Then he looked directly at Dumbledore.
"I hope you can help suppress those problems."
A faint smile appeared.
"That shouldn't be too difficult for someone like you, Headmaster."
Lucien had considered this carefully beforehand.
The Saints' foundations within Britain remained weak for now.
Directly clashing with numerous pure-blood families too early would be foolish.
Yet appearing weak would only invite endless future trouble.
At times like this, borrowing Dumbledore's reputation became the perfect solution.
Most pure-blood families feared Dumbledore enormously.
Even if they disliked Lucien, they would still hesitate carefully if Dumbledore appeared involved.
As for "guiding" Harry occasionally…
Well.
Dumbledore himself had said occasionally.
Exactly how often remained entirely Lucien's decision.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore silently weighed the advantages and disadvantages.
After a long pause, he finally nodded slowly.
Several shops in Diagon Alley weren't worth much to him. With his influence, suppressing some troublesome families would be simple enough.
"Very well."
Then he extended his hand slightly.
"It's a deal."
Lucien smiled politely.
"Then I'll look forward to your assistance, Headmaster."
After giving a slight bow, Lucien finally left the office.
But as he walked through the corridor outside, a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes.
Strange.
Dumbledore hadn't mentioned Quirrell's office even once.
....
Join my exclusive P@treon community for 60+ thrilling chapters!
Link: pa*treon.com/MidnightWonder (Remove the *)
If you join now you will get 2 Chapters for free as well.
Don't miss out, join now!