Greenery Manor
Diagon Alley, Stagecoach Station.
Daphne took out her wand and pointed it at the sky, the tip of which flashed with light at a certain frequency. Before long, Skylar saw a luxurious carriage decorated with gold trim descend from the sky, led by two Thestral, and land steadily in the alley. The carriage was inlaid with the coat of arms of the Greengrass Family, a six-pointed star surrounding a Pegasus.
The curtain was lifted, and a well-dressed middle-aged man stepped down. He had a goatee, and as he approached the two women, he bowed slightly and said, "Gentlemen and ladies, please."
Daphne glanced at Skylar, then got into the carriage first, with the other three following behind her.
"The driver is our butler Morganton, who has served us for almost 20 years. My father trusts him very much," Daphne introduced briefly.
Astoria chimed in, "My mother passed away when I was very young. It was just my father and my two sisters and me in the family. Uncle Morganton helped my father a lot and was very kind to us when we were little." Then they began to talk about the Greengrass Manor.
Greengrass Manor, also known as Greenery Manor, is located in the Cotswolds of western England. The Cotswolds are a pastoral region roughly west of Oxford and north of Bath, stretching about 160 kilometers from south to north. It boasts hundreds of perfectly preserved, elegant old villages, renowned for their soft colors, tranquil atmosphere, refined charm, and classic traditions. Along with Provence in France and Tuscany in Italy, it is considered one of the "three most beautiful countrysides in the world."
In the wizarding world, the beautiful scenery has attracted many wealthy wizards to settle here. Many magical creatures also inhabit the area, drawing many wizards to sketch and paint. The most famous among them is Genndolin Oliphant from the 18th century, a Troll expert. Ironically, in 1799, she was killed by Troll's club while sketching.
(Note: Greengrass means green field)
About half an hour later, the carriage landed on the ground.
Before Skylar lay a vast, boundless estate. In the center of the estate stood an ancient and solemn manor, roughly the same size as Malfoy Manor. However, compared to the magnificence of the Malfoy Manor, Greenery Manor was undoubtedly much more understated and rustic, possessing a leisurely and elegant rural charm.
After the group entered the mansion, a distinguished-looking middle-aged man saw them and stepped forward, greeting them warmly. "Hello, this must be Mr. Malfoy, right?"
Knowing that these ancient families placed great importance on etiquette, Skylar introduced himself with utmost respect, "Skylar Malfoy greets you, Mr. Greengrass."
The middle-aged man was pleased with Skylar's manners and attitude, and replied, "Welcome, Mr. Malfoy. I am Gareth Greengrass, the father of Daphne and Tori, and also May's new godfather. You may call me Uncle Gareth."
The group entered the drawing room, where several pristine white Unicorn leather sofas were arranged. They then took their seats in order of host and guest. After two elegantly dressed young maids served tea, Mr. Greengrass led the conversation, mainly about Skylar's achievements at Hogwarts over the past three years.
Because Skylar's achievements were so astonishing, Gareth had initially had some doubts about Skylar's abilities, but after seeing him in person, all his doubts vanished.
Although the young man before me still had a youthful face, his words and actions were proper, mature and steady. He had unique and sharp insights into the current situation and magic, and his words revealed an unbreakable confidence. This kind of confidence is not something that can be easily seen in the spoiled brats of Pure-blood families. It can only be cultivated by seeing real strongmen and experiencing real trials.
Gareth personally received Skylar not only because of Skylar's family background, but also because he had often heard about the young man from his three daughters, and he knew that all three daughters had a crush on him. Now it seemed that his daughters had indeed made good choices, and he himself was quite satisfied with Skylar's current performance.
Many of the so-called Holy 28 Pure-blood families have actually withered away in the past half-century. For example, the Gaunt family, House of Black, Shafiq Family, and Crouch Family were either completely wiped out or reduced to a single heir.
The remaining Pure-blood families are mainly divided into three factions: the Pure-Blood Supremacist Faction is led by Malfoy, Black, Carrow, Lestrange, most of whom have participated in or have some connection with the Death Eaters; while the pro- Muggle Pure-Blood Traitor Faction is led by Weasley, Prewett, Longbottom, and Shacklebolt, most of whom have participated in the Order of the Phoenix against the Death Eaters.
Greengrass belongs to the Pure-Blood Neutral Faction, and families like his include Macmillan, Abbott, Crouch, Ollivander, Slughorn, and others.
They remained neutral during the First Wizarding War. When the war broke out, most of the family's direct descendants fled abroad to protect themselves and preserve their strength during the war. While neutral families might have a sense of superiority due to their Pure-blood status, they did not oppress or discriminate against Muggle-born wizard. They valued individual talent, character, and manners more objectively than bloodline. The Potions Professor Horace Slughorn in the original books is a prime example.
Over the past few years, Lucius has made numerous visits to the Greengrass Family, attempting to win them over to form a new interest group. However, Mr. Greengrass is well aware of the Malfoy family's character and is unwilling to be dragged into this mess or used as a pawn. Therefore, he has always politely maintained a distance from the Malfoy family's overtures.
When he learned about his daughters' affairs with the young master of the Malfoy family, it did cause him a lot of trouble. He worried that it would implicate him in the House of Malfoy and drag him into the conflict between the Pure-Blood Supremacist Faction and the Pure-Blood Traitor Faction.
Therefore, he wanted to take this opportunity to understand Skylar's character and the attitude of the family he represented. When he heard Skylar's dismissive tone when he talked about the idea of Pure-blood Supremacy, and the great achievements he made in initiating the Slytherin reforms at Hogwarts, he was shocked by the determination and courage of the young man before him. He also realized that Skylar and the House of Malfoy were probably not on the same side.
"Is that old fox Lucius trying to bet on both sides?" Gareth wondered to himself.
Just as the group was getting along well, Skylar deliberately steered the conversation toward the Greengrass Family's Blood Curse.
Although it wasn't something to be proud of, Gareth still spoke candidly about this old story.
It turns out this happened a century ago. Back then, Daphne's maternal grandmother was traveling in Borneo in Southeast Asia when she was targeted by a group of black sorcerers, some of whom were extremely dangerous. For some unknown reason, they intended to kidnap her.
Although they were eventually driven back by the fierce resistance of the grandmother and her bodyguards, the grandmother was unknowingly cursed by the other party. Even more unexpectedly, this curse turned out to be a notorious Blood Curse, which has been passed down through generations in the family.
Skylar began to pay attention to Borneo. In his book "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," he mentioned that the Acromantula was a magical creation of a dark wizard and came from Borneo. Similarly, Nagini in the Fantastic Beasts movies also came from the tropical rainforest of Borneo and traveled to Europe with the Arcanus Circus.
If even the Greengrass Family's Blood Curse originated from there, it means that place is not simple and should harbor an underground organization of dark wizards skilled in species modification and Blood Curse.
Upon hearing this, Skylar humbly told Gareth that ever since he learned of the curse Astoria carried, he had devoted a great deal of research to the Blood Curse. Recently, during the summer vacation, he finally made a breakthrough and might be able to solve the problem that had plagued Astoria for many years.
These words shocked the entire room, and everyone fell silent.
Gareth stood up, his expression very serious, and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Malfoy, this matter has extraordinary significance for me and for Greengrass, so I hope you weren't joking about it just now." It was clear that if Skylar had truly joked about this, he would have been kicked out of the manor on the spot.
Skylar was prepared for his reaction and calmly said, "Uncle Gareth, Tori is an important friend of mine. They all know I'm not the kind of person who jokes about things like this. Since I dared to say it, I must be more than 90% sure. Besides, why don't I try it and see? Even if I fail, I can guarantee Tori won't be hurt in any way."
Gareth's expression was filled with excitement and disbelief.
For so many years, they had pooled the resources of the entire family and tried countless methods, but they could not escape the shadow of the Blood Curse. So when Skylar said that he had a way to solve it, his first reaction was disbelief. However, his three daughters swore to guarantee Skylar's character, which made him believe them to some extent.
"Mr. Malfoy, do you really have a way to break our family's curse?" Gareth Greengrass stared intently at Skylar.
"Hmm," Skylar nodded, "But I can only seal it, not eradicate it. The only way to eradicate this curse is to go to Borneo and find the caster or his successor."
"Good, good..." Gareth visibly relaxed, then turned to Morganton and instructed, "Notify everyone in the family to treat this distinguished guest with utmost care and not to be negligent in the slightest. Have the House Elf prepare tonight's family dinner to the highest level, and also prepare the most luxurious suite for this guest."
Gareth's family has two House Elf. One is Diva Tiva, who was born into the Greengrass Family. The other is Dino, who was brought by Meredith from the Shafiq Manor. Since Meredith lives here, he also has Dino help manage the Greenery Manor.
After giving his instructions, Gareth gave a friendly smile. "Your uncle has some connections at Ogden's Distillery. I recently received a bottle of their limited-edition 1982 Firewhisky. Tonight, your uncle will enjoy it with you."
Dinner.
Skylar, born into the noble House of Malfoy, had enjoyed many expensive meals since childhood, and his knowledge far surpassed that of the likes of Weasley. Not to mention, he was a regular at several of the high-end restaurants in the Britain wizarding world and even held a VIP black gold card. However, he was still astonished by the extravagance of this meal, as many of the dishes on the table were ones he had never heard of before.
"Skylar, have a taste. This is dragon meat steak made from a baby Australian Fire Dragon with Antipodean Opaleye," Gareth said, pointing to a sizzling steak on a hot plate. "You know, dragon meat is tough and not very palatable, so this dish must be cooked at high temperatures in the Wizard's the Sorcerer's Saucepot's pure Black Gold Hufflepuff's Cauldron —I have some business dealings with them, and they know I love good food, so they specially gifted me this Hufflepuff's Cauldron; you can't buy it anywhere else."
"The seasonings are also specially made. I bought the recipe from the Italy wizard chef, Grattino Marchesi. That old guy's culinary skills are truly amazing. The flavor of the Purple Mushroom in this sauce is rich but doesn't mask the freshness of the meat. It's a pity that he has decided to retire and live in the Muggle world. I heard he even got the title of 'Father of Contemporary Italy Cuisine.' Fortunately, he sold me his recipe exclusively before he retired, hahaha."
"Come, Skylar, try this—maybe we should start with a glass of Firewhisky —this dish is Phoenix-tail Chicken, a guinea fowl infused with Phoenix blood, it has healing and health-preserving effects... This dish is even more amazing, I guarantee that stingy Lucius has never tried it before, it's Fiji Fire Crab, but this is a newly bred exotic species called Crystal Fire Crab, its meat is particularly plump, juicy and sweet..."
Skylar laughed. Lucius wasn't really stingy; he just didn't have much of a passion for food and entertainment. In Skylar's opinion, his greatest hobbies were collecting Dark Arts items and finding every possible way to undermine Dumbledore and the Weasley.
In contrast, Uncle Gareth clearly knew how to enjoy life. Skylar greatly admired this; if it weren't for his House of Malfoy background, why would he be risking his life to wade into the mess between Voldemort and Dumbledore?
After enjoying a delicious dinner, Skylar, who had spent the day strolling Diagon Alley with the girls, followed by a long journey and a chat with the elders, was indeed quite tired. So, he politely declined and rested well for the night in the VIP suite.