Rita's Interview, Lucius's Gift

Lucien's deepest impression of Rita was that she had a profound understanding of the essence of journalism.

Her news reports always grab attention; she only writes what readers want to see, and the truth is irrelevant.

If I agreed to her interview, who knows how it would be edited into something else?

but...

Rita Skeeter is an Animagus who can transform into a beetle to access hard-to-reach places, which is why she gets so many exclusive stories.

But she's not registered with the Ministry of Magic; she's an illegal Animagus. If the Ministry of Magic finds out, she'll have to go on vacation to Azkaban.

Therefore, Lucien was not afraid at all that the other party would dare to write about his deeds in a false way.

As long as Rita doesn't make things up, she's quite adept at publicity.

Lucien wouldn't mind becoming even more famous, so that more people would buy his alchemical tools and potions, increasing sales volume and revenue, and accelerating the repayment of the Emerald Tablet Fragment.

Sigh, promoting your own products is really something...

With this in mind, Lucien gave a polite smile.

"Madam, let's find a place to have a proper talk."

A quiet and elegant private room.

"Mr. Grafton, are you very familiar with Muggle society that you were able to find a suitable place for the interview so quickly?"

Rita sat upright on the sofa, discreetly surveying her surroundings, while reaching into her crocodile-skin handbag to retrieve a slender, bright green quill pen and some parchment.

"Luckily, this place happens to be family-owned, so it's close by and convenient."

Lucien's casual remark made Rita freeze, the quill she was about to put in her mouth was about to fall. She had no intention of watching someone flaunt their wealth!

Calming her slightly agitated emotions, Rita put the quill tip in her mouth, sucked on it quickly, and then held it upright on the parchment.

"Well, I really have to thank you today. Just a moment, let me try... Rita Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet."

As soon as Rita finished speaking, the green quill pen broke free from her control and began writing on the paper on its own:

"The beautiful Rita Skeeter, with her unruly quill pen, exposed many false reputations—"

Lucien caught a glimpse of the quill pen writing in a flamboyant fashion on the parchment.

This is Quick-Quotes Quill; it can automatically transform ordinary statements during interviews into elaborate and fabricated stories.

Noticing Lucien's gaze, Rita quickly tore off the parchment, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it back into her crocodile-skin handbag.

"Slaying the Basilisk is truly a feat rarely seen in the world, but I've heard that Mr. Grafton is only a second-year student at Hogwarts?"

Lucien nodded.

"Um--"

His exceptional eyesight allowed him to clearly see what the quill had rewritten on the parchment:

"Lucien Grafton not only exceptionally talented, but also a handsome and charming young man. Every gesture he makes exudes a composure and charisma beyond his years. No wonder countless rumors of admiration for him have already circulated throughout Hogwarts Castle..."

Lucien pointed to the rapidly moving green quill pen:

"The writing with that quill pen was too exaggerated."

Upon hearing this, Rita moved the parchment closer to herself.

Please don't worry about it.

Lucien shook his head, looking at Rita with a half-smile.

"The Information Capture Array at the base of the pen tip uses Auditory Rune and Emotional Rune as its core, and employs..."

Lucien's methodical explanation of the quill pen's principle sent a shiver down Rita's spine, but she still managed to maintain her composure as she adjusted her glasses.

"Speaking of which Grafton, you recently published two papers on Transfiguration, which reportedly caused a great stir among scholars. It seems that besides Transfiguration, you are also quite confident in alchemy."

"But you can rest assured, this quill pen is only for shorthand."

Seeing that the woman remained unrepentant, Lucien spoke again:

"Actually, regarding Transfiguration, I've recently had some new insights into Animagus..."

Rita's quill was flying across the paper; she had clearly caught something big—yet another new discovery for Lucien.

"For example, identifying Animagus in animal form," Lucien emphasized the Animagus, and continued, "If Animagus isn't registered with the Ministry of Magic and is reported, I remember they'd be sent to Azkaban, um, to deal with the Dementor there..."

Upon hearing this, Rita's hand froze, and she stopped writing with her quill pen. She was forced to listen to Lucien's eloquent speech.

"Wizards should also value their privacy. After all, nobody wants their life to be spied on by a seemingly ordinary animal that is actually Animagus, right?"

"So I tried to explore this area, but the progress hasn't been ideal..."

Hearing that the progress wasn't ideal, Rita secretly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she had just been overthinking things. Lucien wasn't making any veiled criticisms; they were simply discussing the research on Transfiguration.

"However, I have developed an unexpected magic that can be used to identify Animagus in human form. This should be helpful for the Ministry of Magic in finding and capturing illegal Animagus. Oh, by the way, Ms. Skeeter, would you like to see this magic?"

As he spoke, Lucien pulled out his wand, a move that instantly startled Rita, who momentarily forgot the rule that young wizards could not use magic outside of school.

Rita is an Animagus who can Transfiguration a beetle. This small, flying animal form allowed her to uncover many hidden secrets.

But it's illegal!

"Oh, I forgot, I'm a student. Except in specific places, I can't just use my wand to cast spells."

Lucien's words reminded Rita, causing her emotions to fluctuate wildly.

"So I used this spell when I was at the Ministry of Magic, Ms. Skeeter. Your animal form is quite interesting, a beetle?"

"... beetle..."

Those words were like sharp swords, piercing Rita's heart. Her jewel-encrusted glasses slipped down her nose due to excessive sweat, making her look comical and ridiculous.

If Lucien had only said that Rita was Animagus, Rita might have suspected he was bluffing, but he explicitly stated her Transfiguration form!

Her breathing became short and heavy. Only then did Rita realize that she had made a grave mistake, ignoring a life-threatening problem:

The Lucien before us is only young, but his magical prowess is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people!

The thought of the imprisonment she would face and the terror of the Dementor made Rita's vision blur and she almost fainted.

"I'd like a truthful and impartial report. Do you think that's feasible?"

Lucien's seemingly casual remark carried a heavy weight in Rita's ears, like a lifeline she clung to desperately.

Rita quickly adjusted her glasses.

"I understand, I understand."

The green quill pen slid wildly across the rolled-up paper, clearly crossing out the embellished content.

After finishing his interview with Rita, Lucien stretched slightly and took a letter out of his pocket.

The envelope bears a badge: black, green, and silver with a serpentine pattern, and the ribbon is inscribed with the Latin words "Sanctimonia Vincet Semper".

This is the Malfoy Family crest.

Before the holiday, the letter from Lucius was delivered to Lucien, inviting him to a gathering at the Malfoy Manor.

Although the wording was appropriate and flawless, Lucien could still sense Lucius's urgency between the lines.

Lucien had a general idea about this; it was because of Tom's diary, Lucius was still worried that this matter would implicate him.

It's good that the crisis of the Chamber of Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk was resolved, but it did threaten the safety of a large number of students at the time, especially the later attack on Pure-blood students. If the outside world knew that this diary came from Lucius, one can imagine the public opinion and pressure that he and the Malfoy Family would face.

We had already arranged to visit Malfoy Manor in the afternoon, planning to go after discussing matters with the Ministry of Magic, but we didn't expect to run into Rita Skeeter. Fortunately, the interview was almost over and it didn't cause any delays.

Malfoy Manor, located in Wiltshire, comes into view.

The manor was extremely luxurious, with white marble gleaming in the sunlight. Dobby House-elf, appeared at the entrance and led Lucien through the meticulously maintained gardens.

In the drawing room, Lucius Malfoy stood before the fireplace, his platinum blonde hair impeccably styled, holding a snake-headed cane.

"Grafton, welcome." Lucius flashed his standard smile. "It's great to have you here."

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Malfoy."

The simple greetings ranged from the weather to the Ministry of Magic, and the atmosphere seemed harmonious.

But Lucius's occasional tapping of his cane betrayed his unease.

The topic finally turned to Hogwarts.

"... Your performance at school has been impressive." Lucius took a sip of tea. "How did such a Dark Magic item get into the school?"

After all, whether it was the rumors from the outside world or the details he learned from his son Draco, Lucius knew that the boy in front of him had played a huge role in the Basilisk incident, and it was also very likely that he knew the source of the diary from Lockhart.

While dealing with the situation, Lucien was also thinking that Lucius definitely didn't know the diary was Horcrux.

Given Voldemort's twisted and perverse nature, he wouldn't easily reveal such a secret as Horcrux to his subordinates, Lucius, a typical opportunist, is even less likely to do so.

At most, they would tell Lucius that the diary was very valuable, a Dark Magic item that could be used to cause trouble for Dumbledore, or something like that...

Even Lucius wouldn't know that the diary couldn't be destroyed; otherwise, he would never have tried to send it to Hogwarts. If something went wrong and the Horcrux was destroyed, it would be tantamount to betraying Voldemort.

Lucius's motive was probably to use the diary to create an incident that would force Dumbledore step down and demonstrate the authority of the Pure-blood families, but he didn't expect it to backfire so badly.

"After all, Lockhart himself is dead, making it difficult to trace the source of the diary."

Upon hearing Lucien's words, Lucius's expression relaxed slightly.

Some things don't need to be said explicitly.

Dobby.

At Lucius's command, Dobby's figure instantly Apparition to the side.

It was holding a stack of books on its slender arms.

Lucius smiled and looked at Lucien.

"I heard from Draco that you're a student who loves reading. What do you think of that?"

Lucien did not rush to read the book.

"The Malfoy family's book collection is naturally quite impressive."

Seeing that Lucien didn't immediately accept the offer, Lucius wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he pointed to Dobby and asked:

"Grafton, what do you think of House-elf?"

Lucien didn't understand why the other person suddenly asked that question, so he answered truthfully:

"She's a master of housework, an expert in all sorts of domestic magic, and possesses a natural loyalty to her master..."

Upon hearing the word "loyalty, "Lucius's brow twitched involuntarily, and he glanced at Dobby, who was looking down, out of the Dobby of his eye.

After Lucien finished speaking, Lucius chuckled:

"A very detailed explanation, but there's one small point that needs correction: the House-elf are loyal to their family, and the family's heir automatically becomes their master."

"I'm planning to give Dobby to you. What do you think?"

Transfer?

Lucien asked doubtfully, "Are House-elf supposed to be passed down through generations of wizarding families, or are they only possessed by a few ancient and long-standing families? Is this 'gift' theory even true?"

Upon hearing "ancient and long-standing," Lucius slightly raised his chin and explained:

"Actually, what's truly valuable is the Master-Servant Contract between the family and the House-elf; it possesses magical properties."

"As long as the House-elf isn't completely given freedom, the contract remains in effect, and you can still obtain the House-elf."

This was the first time Lucien had heard such a claim.

Therefore, granting the House-elf freedom leads to the termination of the contract, and the family can no longer truly possess the House-elf.

No wonder, in the original book, Harry Dobby Lucius into releasing Dobby by putting a sock in his diary. At the time, besides feeling embarrassed by being tricked, Lucius was more angry about losing the Master-Servant Contract.

Lucius added, "With this method of transfer, the House-elf will only serve you, and your family descendants will not have a contract of enslavement to the House-elf."

"Of course, this method of transfer is also a unique secret technique of the Malfoy family."

In fact, Lucius had once offered Voldemort a House-elf, exchanging wealth for peace. Lucius was very skilled at this, and it was also a way of survival for the Malfoy Family.

This was true during Voldemort's reign, and even more so after Voldemort downfall.

Lucien glanced at Dobby and noticed that Dobby was also observing him with those tennis ball-sized eyes. Once noticed, Dobby immediately lowered his head.

Having House-elf to help manage your Box World is very convenient, taking care of those Magical Creatures and such...

Well, Lucius was willing to give Dobby because, firstly, this transfer wouldn't affect the Master-Servant Contract, and secondly, given the Malfoy family's connections, finding a new House-elf to replace him wouldn't be difficult.

The key point is that this secret technique of gift-giving is unique to the Malfoy family. Heh, it's really good for doing favors.

On the other hand, Lucius probably also realized Dobby's "betrayal" and took this opportunity to push him out.

In Lucius's view, he knew the source of the diary, so it didn't matter if he possessed Dobby, who knew the truth.