The Banquet

What made Lucius uncomfortable was that Flint, who was a few years older than his father, seemed unusually reserved in front of Cyberlina!

He understood why Flint would react somewhat. After all, she was an elder he had not seen for many years. But he did not understand why Flint was making his expression so obvious. Besides, hadn't they met in the interrogation room before?

Could it be deliberate?

Lucius narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to stop his thoughts from running wild.

"Good evening, Mrs. Sekerei." Flint spoke with a somewhat stiff smile.

"Good evening, Flint. I never had the chance to tell you before, but thank you for your help in the interrogation room."

"It was nothing, just a few words."

"I still have to thank you..." Cyberlina studied his slightly nervous appearance with interest. "Your personality hasn't changed much since you were young. Back then, I thought to myself—this quiet child looks so steady and mature. He'll surely amount to something."

Bostede and Lucius both noticed Flint's face instantly grow much paler.

Cyberlina smiled and raised a hand to pat Flint on the shoulder. "You really did become impressive."

"You flatter me, ma'am." Flint lowered his head slightly.

Lucius thought the two of them were speaking in riddles in front of everyone—and he had proof. He had heard his father mention that Flint had been a delinquent when he was young! How could he possibly have been quiet and steady?

Just as Fudge was about to step forward again, Cyberlina moved her fingers. An empty wineglass and an exquisite little spoon floated over to Lucius.

Lucius, who was pondering what conspiracy Flint and Cyberlina were involved in, went, "..."

He glanced at Cyberlina, who was praising Mrs. Parkinson, then at Fudge, who was approaching her, and finally at the wineglass and little spoon bobbing up and down before him as though urging him on...

In silence, Lucius handed his cane to Narcissa, who was barely managing to suppress her laughter. He took the floating objects, raised a standard smile, walked a few steps toward the center of the banquet hall, and then tapped the wineglass—

The banquet officially began.

Cyberlina's praise of Narcissa's taste had not been flattery. The instant Lucius lowered the glass, the chandeliers on the ceiling suddenly dimmed. The star atop the Christmas tree before the banquet hall's enormous windows abruptly lit up, and glittering crystal stars slid down the tree like a waterfall. The colorful, fragmented halos refracted by the crystals filled the entire hall and adorned the guests' clothes, drawing gasps from the children gathered around the tree.

Along the table, which stretched for more than a dozen meters, the rose-wrapped candelabras lit up one by one to the increasingly lively strings, while exquisite dishes appeared on the table. The crystal chandeliers on the ceiling slowly brightened again, but compared with their earlier brilliance, they now gave off a softer glow. They drifted slowly, their light mingling with the colorful specks spilling from the Christmas tree and casting the entire banquet hall in a hazy radiance.

Through the wizards reaching for food and drinks, Cyberlina gave Fudge an apologetic smile. Then, under Lucius's courteous invitation, she walked toward the gathered heads of several families.

Fudge could only give up for now. He thought there would always be time that evening, and even if he could not find any, he could write Dumbledore a letter and arrange a meeting—although during the past two months, half of Dumbledore's replies to his letters had been perfunctory.

For adults, a banquet was a social occasion. For the children of pure-blood families, it was too, though to a lesser extent.

As usual, Draco held his head high while listening to several children around his age chatter about how luxurious and beautiful Malfoy Manor was. He also happily listened to older children praise Malfoy Manor, praise his parents, and praise him.

It was just like the banquets of the past—no, it was different. At today's banquet, there was an elder who had once been their peer before growing into an elder in their eyes.

Thus, while the adults gathered around Cyberlina, the children's conversations also began revolving around her.

The bolder ones—Gemma, for example—had already walked toward Cyberlina, who stood among the heads of several ancient families, under her father's astonished gaze. While speaking with Cyberlina, she had even begun conversing with those heads of family.

The less courageous ones—Draco, for example—boasted to the students gathered around him about how kind Cyberlina had been to him when she came to his house that day. At the same time, he secretly peeked at his father and Cyberlina. Then, when Cyberlina looked toward him, he hastily withdrew his gaze, pretended nothing had happened, and took a sip of his juice.

Night, Christmas trees, light, and snow had always been best suited to one another. That was why Christmas banquets always began before sunset and continued until midnight.

By the time the banquet drew to a close, it was already very late. Yet the thick snow reflected the sky into a hazy indigo-gray that did not look gloomy.

Draco was somewhat sleepy, but knowing that the host family could not leave early, he leaned against the sofa by the window with lazy yet aristocratic grace. He rested his head against the window at an angle, furrowing his little brows as he tried to use the chill of the glass to wake himself up.

His ears automatically tuned out Marcus Flint, who was rambling beside him about Quidditch tactics. His gray eyes stared dully at the snowflakes beginning to drift outside again.

Just as the snowflakes gradually blurred, an enormous snowflake appeared in his vision, growing larger and larger—no, it was a snowflake rushing toward him—a snowball—a huge snowball—Draco jolted instantly awake. He opened his eyes, which had nearly been shut, as wide as he could and hurriedly rose—

"Bang."

He lost his balance and crashed into Marcus, who was teaching Quidditch techniques to the prospective Slytherins who had not yet started school. To keep himself from falling on the little sprouts sitting on the floor and looking up at him, Marcus grabbed a branch and a crystal star-shaped light from the nearby Christmas tree.

The dreamlike, hazy atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly wavered. Everyone's vision blurred for an instant, and then they all turned toward the Christmas tree.

Under the adults' gazes, Marcus awkwardly straightened and even pulled Draco to his feet. But Draco was now staring only through the floor-to-ceiling windows—

On the snowy night, several owls flew rapidly into Malfoy Manor at almost the same time. They hovered outside the banquet hall's windows, beating their wings, while several more trailed far behind.

Lucius was surprised for a moment. He had indeed temporarily deactivated the Protective spell and Concealment spell around Malfoy Manor because of the banquet, but he had not expected so many owls to arrive together.

He swept his gaze over them and noticed that several seemed to be owls from the Ministry of Magic. Realizing that something major must have happened, he immediately raised his cane and opened the windows.

The owls rushed inside and landed on the shoulders of the people they were seeking. After their recipients took the letters, the owls selected morsels they liked from the dining table, picked them up in their beaks, and flew back out the windows.

Lucius received a letter as well. He unfolded it—and immediately froze.

The banquet hall sank into an eerie silence.

"Merlin's beard..." Someone suddenly exclaimed.

The exclamation was like a stone dropped into a still lake, sending out ripple after ripple.

The wizards who had received letters began whispering in shock and discussing the matter.

Fudge reacted strongly. He staggered backward two steps and would have fallen if Umbridge had not caught him.

"He... he's really coming back? So soon..." Fudge murmured.

Umbridge frowned, finding Fudge's reaction strange. She glanced at the note in his hand, and her expression immediately changed.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the first to react. With a solemn expression, he apologized to Lucius and said he had to leave early, then turned and hurried out of the banquet hall. More people chose to leave immediately afterward—especially those employed by the Ministry of Magic.

Once most of the guests had departed, Lucius gave the remaining guests a closing speech as the host of the banquet. The others then began preparing to leave as well.

Before Flint left with his grandson, he specifically went to bid Cyberlina farewell and asked, "Do you know what happened?"

"What?" Cyberlina tilted her head slightly, showing that she did not understand.

Flint looked toward Lucius. Lucius's hand paused, and he slowly handed Cyberlina the note he had been holding.

[August Rookwood disappeared from his cell in Azkaban at noon today. The Lestrange couple disappeared from their cell tonight, though the exact time is unknown. The three later appeared outside Azkaban together, killed four Aurors who witnessed them, and disappeared once more.]

—That was what the note said.

After reading it, Cyberlina raised her eyebrows. Under Flint and Lucius's gazes, she asked, "A breakout?"

"Yes." Flint watched Cyberlina with pursed lips, not missing any of her reactions.

"Kaspar Flint, what do you mean?" Bostede, who had not yet left, grew angry at Flint's behavior. "Are you suspecting Professor Sekri?"

"I'm not." Flint revealed a faint smile. "I only want to know how Mrs. Sekerei intends to respond. After all, all three of them are extremely loyal Death Eaters."

"So you suspect that a fragment of Riddle's soul has begun summoning his old followers." Cyberlina smiled and returned the note to the clearly stiff Lucius. "Relax, Lucius. Don't worry. You haven't received a summons, have you?"

"...Yes." Lucius sighed as though relieved. "But... you may not know this. The Lestrange couple are my wife's sister and brother-in-law... And although the sisters seem to get along on the surface, they actually... do not have a good relationship. So I'm afraid they may come looking for us."

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Narcissa's hand. Narcissa squeezed her husband's hand in return, showing that she understood, then wrapped her other arm around her son and held his shoulder tightly, burying her face in his loose hair.

The wizards who had not yet left all turned to look at the family of three, their gazes varying between pity, suspicion, and curiosity.

"Oh! That relationship really is..." Cyberlina smiled at Lucius and gently patted his shoulder. "It's fine. They can't get in—" Cyberlina paused, then continued, "I'll reinforce the protective enchantments around Malfoy Manor."

Lucius's breath caught slightly. Then, with some difficulty, he said, "Thank you..."

Flint was certain that when he had met Lucius's eyes just now, he had seen the exact same suspicion in them that he felt himself. But now, he was uncertain again—even uncertain about which side the Malfoy family was on.

Then again, the Malfoys had always been fence-sitters.

"I wasn't suspecting you, Mrs. Sekerei." Flint looked at Cyberlina sincerely. "I was truly only curious about your reaction."

"I'll deal with every fragment of his soul." Cyberlina smiled and gave him a firm answer.

"You really are something. The older you get, the less you resemble the boy you were. Thinking about it now, that unruly streak of yours was rather likable." Bostede snorted and smacked Flint on the shoulder. Then, as she walked outside with her family, she waved at Cyberlina. "Professor Sekri, I look forward to seeing you next time!"

"Likewise." Cyberlina smiled and waved back.

The guests departed one after another. Draco and Narcissa also returned to their rooms upstairs.

Lucius looked at the banquet hall, which still radiated a hazy glow. As the host, he quietly said to Cyberlina, the guest, "I hope you don't think this was a terrible Christmas banquet."

"Was this banquet terrible? I don't think so." Cyberlina clasped her hands behind her back and looked sideways at Lucius with a beaming smile. "Beautiful, magnificent, lively, and—memorable. Is that terrible?"

Lucius felt a chill run down his spine. He cursed himself inwardly for saying too much, but in the end, he could only agree. "It certainly was... memorable. Not terrible at all."

News of the three Death Eaters escaping Azkaban reached Dumbledore's desk at once. After pondering for a few seconds, he released a phoenix Patronus to summon Snape, who had just finished grading papers and was preparing to turn in early.

"Take a look at this." Before Snape could speak, Dumbledore handed him the letter in his hand. "It was sent by the Ministry of Magic."

"Great Headmaster, as expected, your network of spies is extensive—" The sarcasm caught in Snape's throat when he saw the contents. He pursed his lips and glanced at his left arm before placing the letter back on the desk. "I haven't felt any summons, and the Mark hasn't changed."

"I guessed as much." Dumbledore spoke softly as the letter before him burned to ashes in the flames. "How has Cyberlina been lately?"

"She returned to the school this afternoon. She's been out collecting potion ingredients recently." Snape glanced at Dumbledore and, seeing no reaction, continued, "She collected them from all over the world, so she probably won't be in Britain for some time. Tonight, she attended the Malfoys' Christmas banquet."

"The Malfoys..." Dumbledore murmured softly, seemingly deep in thought.

"You suspect she did this?" Snape frowned and said thoughtfully, "But she doesn't seem to have any reason to do it."

"So I'm only a little suspicious." Dumbledore raised his head and leaned back against his chair. "Actually, if Rookwood had been killed, I could suspect she did it—after all, she had been to Azkaban before, and she also had some connection with the surname 'Rookwood.'

"But all three of him and the Lestrange couple escaped... so I'm a little uncertain."

Snape paused, then suddenly looked at Dumbledore. "Malfoy?"

"I don't know..." Dumbledore shook his head. "The one who has a good relationship with Cyberlina is Obather Malfoy, not his grandson. Cyberlina shouldn't help Lucius's wife's sister unless—"

Dumbledore suddenly stopped. He looked up at Snape. "Severus, go to Lucius and find out what happened tonight. I suspect Cyberlina may have found one of Tom's soul fragments."