Lucius looked at his son Draco, his eyes beneath the hood filled with shock, pain, and deep guilt.
After a long while, his shoulders visibly slumped. "How did you..."
Draco's lips twisted into a smile devoid of amusement. "Those guests at the manor, the way you and Mum have been on edge all day, and the Ministry of Magic's reports full of holes. The Daily Prophet has been desperate to pin every bad thing on Wayne, but when you think about it carefully, too many things don't add up."
His eyes remained fixed on his father. "So, that person has returned, hasn't he? And you... or rather, we, stood on his side, but things went wrong."
Lucius seemed to have been drained of all strength. This time, he remained silent even longer—long enough that Hermione, hidden in the shadows, thought he would not answer.
But in the end, he admitted in a voice that was almost inaudible, "Yes. We failed."
"This meeting..." Draco's knuckles whitened around the Invisibility Cloak. "Dad, is it that person's new assignment?"
Lucius abruptly raised his head. His hood slipped down, revealing a pale, haggard face with deeply sunken eyes.
His lips trembled violently several times, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, only a choked sigh escaped him.
He suddenly grabbed his son's shoulders, his voice sharp with urgency:
"No, Draco, listen to me. Forget the assignment. Pack your things and leave Hogwarts at once. Go to France. Your grandfather has properties there, enough for you to live comfortably. Never come back, and don't contact me or your mother."
Draco froze. He had never seen his father so shaken, so... terrified.
A voice suddenly exploded in his mind:
*"You are you, and he is he. You are Draco Malfoy. Before you