Banquet

Lucius found it odd that Flint, who was several years older than his father, seemed somewhat reserved in front of Cyberlina!

He understood Flint might have a reaction, after all, she was an elder he hadn't seen in many years, but he didn't understand why Flint's expression was so obvious. Besides, hadn't they met in the interrogation room before?

Was it intentional?

Lucius narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind unable to help but wander.

"Good evening, Ms. Sekri," Flint said with a slightly stiff smile.

"Good evening, Flint. I didn't have a chance to say it before, thank you for your help in the interrogation room."

"It was nothing, just a few words."

"Still, thank you..." Cyberlina observed him with interest, noting his slightly nervous demeanor. "You're quite similar to how you were when you were younger. I remember thinking back then—this quiet child seems so steady, he'll surely have a great future."

Bostede and Lucius both noticed that Flint's face had instantly paled considerably.

Cyberlina smiled and patted Flint's shoulder. "You've certainly become very capable."

"You flatter me, Madam," Flint replied, lowering his head slightly.

Lucius believed the two were exchanging veiled messages in front of everyone, and he had proof—his father had mentioned that Flint was a troubled youth in his younger days! How could he have been quiet and steady?

Seeing Fudge about to step forward, Cyberlina flicked her fingers. An empty wine glass and a delicate spoon floated in front of Lucius.

Lucius, who was contemplating the conspiracy between Flint and Cyberlina: "..."

He glanced at Cyberlina, who was complimenting Mrs. Parkinson, then at Fudge, who was approaching her, and finally at the wine glass and spoon hovering before him as if urging him on...

Lucius silently handed his cane to Narcissa, who was struggling to contain her laughter, accepted the floating items, put on a standard smile, and walked a few steps into the center of the banquet hall, then tapped the wine glass—

The banquet officially began.

Cyberlina's praise of Narcissa's taste was no exaggeration. The moment Lucius set down the glass—the chandelier overhead dimmed, and the star atop the Christmas tree in front of the grand floor-to-ceiling windows suddenly lit up. Small crystal stars, shimmering, cascaded down the tree like a waterfall. The colorful, fragmented halos refracted by the crystals filled the entire hall, adorning the guests' attire and eliciting gasps from the children gathered around the tree.

Along the long table, stretching over ten meters, candelabras entwined with roses lit up one by one with the cheerful string music, and exquisite dishes appeared on the table. The crystal chandelier overhead slowly brightened again, but this time with a softer glow than before, and it floated gently, harmonizing with the scattered, colorful halos emanating from the Christmas tree, casting the entire ballroom in a hazy light.

Navigating through wizards reaching for food and drinks, Cyberlina offered Fudge an apologetic smile. Then, at Lucius's courteous invitation, she moved towards some of the family heads.

Fudge had no choice but to give up, thinking there would be time later tonight. Even if he couldn't find the time, he could write to Dumbledore to arrange a meeting—though half of his letters over the past two months had received perfunctory replies.

For the adults, the banquet was a social occasion. For the children of pure-blood families, it was also a social occasion, though not as much.

Draco, as usual, held his head high, listening to children of similar age chattering about how luxurious and beautiful Malfoy Manor was. He then listened with satisfaction as children older than him praised the Malfoy family, his parents, and him.

Just like past banquets—no, it wasn't the same. At today's banquet, there was someone who had been elevated from a peer to an elder in their eyes.

Thus, the adults gravitated towards Cyberlina, and the children's conversations also began to revolve around Cyberlina.

The bolder ones—like Gemma—walked towards Cyberlina, who stood among the heads of the ancient families, under her father's astonished gaze, and began conversing with the patriarchs.

The less bold ones—like Draco—while boasting to the students surrounding him about how kind Cyberlina had been to him when she visited his home today, secretly eyed his father and Cyberlina—then quickly averted his gaze when Cyberlina looked at him, taking a sip of his juice as if nothing had happened.

Night, Christmas tree, light, snow—these elements always went well together, which was why Christmas banquets always started before sunset and lasted until midnight.

Therefore, as the banquet drew to a close, it was already very late. However, the thick snow cast a hazy indigo hue upon the sky, making it not appear dark.

Draco was feeling somewhat sleepy, but knowing he couldn't leave before the hosts, he leaned lazily yet elegantly on the sofa by the window, a slight frown on his face. He rested his head against the windowpane, trying to use the coolness to stay awake.

His ears automatically tuned out Marcus Flint, who was incessantly discussing Quidditch tactics beside him. His gray eyes stared blankly at the snowflakes beginning to fall outside the window.

As the snowflakes gradually blurred, his vision was suddenly occupied by a single snowflake—no, a snowball—a giant snowball—rushing towards him—Draco jolted awake instantly, his eyes snapping open wide, and he scrambled to his feet in a panic—

"Thump."

Losing his balance, Draco bumped into Marcus, who was teaching pre-Slytherin students Quidditch techniques. Marcus, in order to avoid falling on the little ones sitting on the ground looking up at him—grabbed onto a branch of the Christmas tree and its crystal star lights.

The dreamlike, hazy atmosphere in the ballroom flickered suddenly. Everyone felt a momentary blur before collectively turning their attention to the Christmas tree.

Under the gaze of the adults, Marcus awkwardly straightened up and pulled Draco to his feet. But Draco was now only looking out the floor-to-ceiling window—

In the heavily snow-falling night, several owls flew rapidly into Malfoy Manor almost simultaneously, hovering outside the ballroom's floor-to-ceiling windows, flapping their wings. A few more trailed far behind.

Lucius was momentarily surprised. He had indeed temporarily deactivated Malfoy Manor's protective and concealment spells for the banquet, but he hadn't expected so many owls to arrive at once.

He scanned them briefly and noticed several Ministry of Magic owls among them. Realizing this must mean something significant had happened, he immediately raised his cane and opened the window.

The owls swarmed in, landing on the shoulders of the people they were looking for. After receiving their letters, they selected their preferred items from the dining table, picked them up, and flew out the window.

Lucius also received a letter. He unfolded it—and was immediately stunned.

The ballroom fell into an eerie silence.

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

The exclamation was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, creating ripples.

The wizards who had received letters began to whisper in surprise and discuss amongst themselves.

Fudge reacted strongly, staggering back two steps before being steadied by Umbridge, preventing him from falling.

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

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 serious expression, he requested to leave early from Lucius, offering his apologies, and then turned and hastily left the ballroom. Following his lead, more people chose to leave immediately—especially those working at the Ministry of Magic.

Once most people had departed, Lucius delivered the closing remarks of the banquet to those who remained, and they too began to prepare to leave.

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

"What?" Cyberlina tilted her head slightly, indicating confusion.

Flint looked at Lucius, and Lucius paused, slowly handing the note he had been holding to Cyberlina.

[Augustus Rookwood disappeared from his Azkaban cell at noon today. The Lestrange couple disappeared from their cells tonight, the exact time unknown. The three of them reappeared together outside Azkaban, killed four Aurors who witnessed them, and then disappeared again.]

-- the note read.

Cyberlina raised an eyebrow after reading it and, under the watchful eyes of Flint and Lucius, asked, "An escape?"

"Yes." Flint pursed his lips, watching Cyberlina for any reaction.

"Caspar Flint, what do you mean by that?" Bostede, who hadn't left yet, was angered by Flint's actions. "Are you suspecting Professor Sekri?"

"I'm not." Flint revealed a slight smile. "I just want to know what Ms. Sekri plans to do, after all, those three—they are all very loyal Death Eaters."

"So you suspect that a piece of Riddle's soul has begun summoning his old subordinates." Cyberlina smiled as she returned the note to a visibly stiff Lucius. "Relax, Lucius, don't worry, you haven't received a summons, have you?"

"...Yes." Lucius sighed as if relieved. "But... you might not know, the Lestranges are my wife's sister and brother-in-law... and although the sisters seem to get along on the surface, in reality... their relationship isn't very good. So I'm afraid they might come looking for me."

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Narcissa's hand beside him. Narcissa squeezed her husband's hand back, indicating she understood, then put her other arm around her son, holding his shoulders tightly and burying her face in his messy hair.

The wizards still present looked at the family of three, their gazes filled with pity, suspicion, or inquiry.

"Oh! This connection is indeed..." Cyberlina looked at Lucius with a smile, then gently patted his shoulder. "It's alright, they won't be able to get in—" Cyberlina paused, then added, "I will reinforce the protective charms on Malfoy Manor."

Lucius's breathing hitched, and he said with some difficulty, "Thank you..."

Flint was certain that when he had met Lucius's gaze earlier, he had seen the same suspicion in his eyes as he felt himself. But now, he was no longer sure—he wasn't even sure of the Malfoy family's allegiance.

But then again, the Malfoy family had always been fence-sitters.

"I don't suspect you, Ms. Sekri," Flint said sincerely, looking at Cyberlina. "I was just curious about your reaction."

"Every piece of his soul will be dealt with by me," Cyberlina replied with a smile, giving him a definitive answer.

"You really are something, this kid. You're worse now than you were as a child. Thinking back, your rebellious attitude was quite likable," Bostede grumbled, hitting Flint's shoulder. She then waved to Cyberlina as she and her family walked out, "Professor Sekri, looking forward to our next meeting!"

"Me too," Cyberlina said, waving with a smile.

The guests departed one by one, and Draco and Narcissa returned to their rooms upstairs.

Lucius looked at the banquet hall, still emitting a soft glow. As the host of the event, he quietly said to Cyberlina, who was his guest, "I hope you don't think this was a terrible Christmas banquet."

"Was this banquet terrible? I don't think so," Cyberlina said, hands behind her back, looking sideways at Lucius, who wasn't looking at her. "Beautiful, magnificent, lively, and... impressive. Is that terrible?"

Lucius felt a chill run down his spine and cursed himself for opening his mouth, but in the end, he could only agree, "It was indeed... impressive, not terrible at all."

The news of the three Death Eaters' escape from Azkaban reached Dumbledore's desk immediately. He pondered for a few seconds, sent out his phoenix Patronus, and summoned Snape, who was just finishing grading homework and preparing for an early rest.

"Look at this." Before Snape could speak, Dumbledore handed him the letter in his hand. "It's from the Ministry of Magic."

"The great Headmaster certainly has eyes everywhere—" Snape's sarcastic remark got stuck in his throat as he looked at the contents of the letter. He pursed his lips, glanced at his left arm, and then put the letter back on the desk. "I haven't felt any summons, and the mark hasn't changed."

"I thought as much," Dumbledore said softly, and the letter in front of him turned to ash in the flames. "How has Cyber recently?"

"She returned to school this afternoon—she's been out collecting potion ingredients lately," Snape said, glancing at Dumbledore. Seeing no reaction, he continued, "She's been collecting them from all over the world, so she should have been out of Britain for a while. She went to the Malfoy's Christmas banquet tonight."

"The Malfoy family..." Dumbledore murmured, seemingly lost in thought.

"You suspect she did this?" Snape frowned, pondering. "But she doesn't seem to have any reason to."

"That's why I'm only slightly suspicious," Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "If Rookwood had been killed, I might have suspected her—after all, she's been to Azkaban before, and she has some connection to the surname 'Rookwood.'

"But the fact that he and the Lestrange couple escaped together... makes me a bit uncertain."

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

"I don't know..." Dumbledore shook his head. "The one who's close to Cyber is Obather Malfoy, not his grandson. Cyber shouldn't be helping Lucius's wife's sister, unless—"

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