06 Godfather

Fudge arrived to present Sherlock with a Third Class Order of Merlin, accompanied by a whole crowd of Ministry of Magic bureaucrats.

Sherlock even spotted Umbridge among them.

Naturally, Rita Skeeter had shown up uninvited for an event of this magnitude.

The fees she had earned over the past three days alone were enough to make her a minor rich woman in the wizarding world.

Though Fumengde was happy that his son had received a Third Class Order of Merlin, he held little goodwill toward most Ministry officials—especially Fudge, the Minister for Magic.

Whenever no one else was around at the manor, Fumengde would mock the Ministry officials as nothing more than a pack of cowardly, profit-chasing fools. When Voldemort was powerful, the Ministry leaned toward him. Apart from the Aurors led by Barty at the time, the higher a person stood, the less courage they seemed to possess.

The Ministry had contributed very little in the fight against Voldemort, nowhere near as much as Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

"The Order of Merlin is awarded by the Order of Merlin. Every medal is decided upon only after the Order of Merlin's most rigorous review. They are given solely to those who have contributed to the wizarding world."

In front of the cameras, Fudge pulled Sherlock along for a lengthy introductory speech.

The Order of Merlin was founded in the mid-eleventh century by the famous medieval wizard Merlin. It was the earliest magical organization established in the wizarding world and carried immense prestige. Merlin hoped that wizards would help non-wizards, so he founded the Order of Merlin.

Created to help non-wizards, the Order of Merlin prohibited wizards from using magic on non-wizards and stipulated that every wizard within the order bore the responsibility of protecting them.

Social unrest broke out toward the end of the thirteenth century, and most wizards suffered persecution from non-wizards. The Order of Merlin consequently ceased operations, and Merlin himself was deeply affected. For a time, he even considered disbanding the organization. Later, with the establishment of the Ministry of Magic and the promulgation of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1689, wizards went fully into hiding, and the Order of Merlin resumed operations.

All wizards who had contributed to the wizarding world joined the Order of Merlin, which awarded medals to wizards who had made outstanding contributions toward harmonious coexistence with non-wizards.

After centuries of development, the Order of Merlin had become the largest organization of outstanding wizards in the wizarding world. It was also the only wizarding organization outside the Ministry of Magic's jurisdiction while simultaneously being an internationally recognized organization of exceptional wizards acknowledged by the Ministry.

The Order of Merlin medal was an immensely prestigious honor in the wizarding world. There was no greater honor than receiving one.

Newt, the author of the famous wizarding book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, had received a Second Class Order of Merlin.

Without question, Sherlock would become the youngest member of the Order of Merlin.

Camera flashes went off in bursts. By tomorrow, the Daily Prophet would feature a dynamic photograph of Sherlock and Fudge, the two of them looking utterly mismatched together.

After seeing off that group of bureaucrats, Fumengde discussed with Sherlock the idea of storing the Order of Merlin in the family display room.

After all, a family member receiving an Order of Merlin was an honor for the entire family, worthy of being recorded in the family history for future generations to read.

More importantly, Fumengde worried that Sherlock was too young to understand the medal's value and prestige. If he lost it, the Order of Merlin would not issue a replacement.

So it would be better for Fumengde to keep it safe. At worst, he could return it to Sherlock when he started school.

"Honestly... why have I come all this way and yet cannot see that boy? I am his godfather, after all."

Lucius Malfoy's gloomy voice and arrogant temperament were practically trademarks unique to the Malfoy Family.

However, among Fumengde and Lucius's generation, their relationship was fairly good. Slytherins judged their friendships by the other party's family background, reputation, and such.

The boy Lucius referred to was naturally Fumengde's son, Sherlock Mephisto.

To be honest, Sherlock had been quite startled when he first learned that Lucius was his godfather.

After all, throughout the Harry Potter series, the Malfoy Family had practically served as the underlings of the final villainous boss from beginning to end.

Even though some people had been somewhat redeemed, such as Snape, the Malfoy Family had only been redeemed by a third.

If Draco Malfoy's mother—Lucius's wife, Narcissa Malfoy—had not deceived Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest at the end and protected Harry Potter, the whole family would likely have spent the rest of their lives in Azkaban.

But regardless, the Malfoy Family was still quite wealthy in the wizarding world and wielded influence in certain political circles. They were one of Hogwarts' twelve school governors.

"Long time no see, Godfather."

Sherlock stood opposite him.

Lucius's delight was plain to see. "To be honest, after reading the Daily Prophet over the past two days, I knew my godson would become an extraordinary young wizard."

"This truly brings honor to both the Mephisto and Malfoy Families."

Sherlock smiled bitterly inwardly, though he did not show it.

"Where's Draco? Why didn't you bring him with you?"

Whenever Lucius had visited Mephisto Manor in the past, he would always bring along a platinum-haired boy about the same age as Sherlock's younger sister, Axinsha.

He was naturally Lucius's son, Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy Family—the boy who would be locked in a long-running love-hate rivalry with Harry Potter from the day Harry entered Hogwarts until graduation.

Seeing that Lucius had come alone this time, Fumengde was naturally a little puzzled.

"Bellatrix was caught by the Ministry's Aurors. That mad, foolish woman has been locked in Azkaban... Though I dislike her personality—she was born into the pure-blood Black Family, yet behaves like a lunatic—she is still my wife's younger sister, so..."

Lucius said helplessly, "When Narcissa learned that Bellatrix had been sent to Azkaban by the Aurors, she was terribly upset. So I had Draco stay with her during this time."

Narcissa was Bellatrix's biological older sister. They also had two rather famous relatives: their cousin Sirius Black and their cousin Nymphadora Tonks of the Tonks Family.

Bellatrix Lestrange was called Mrs. Lestrange because she had married into the Lestrange Family and taken her husband's surname. Put simply, Bellatrix was a widow—and a widow madly obsessed with Voldemort, at that.

Among the pure-blood families of the wizarding world, nearly all of them were related to one another in some way.

By seniority, although Sirius was Harry's godfather, he was also Draco's maternal cousin once removed.

"Phew! Enough about such pointless matters. To celebrate my godson achieving so much at such a young age—and receiving a Third Class Order of Merlin—look at the gift I specially brought back for you."

Lucius bent down and handed Sherlock an egg the size of a fist. It really was an egg, and its shell was soft and pliable. When Sherlock took it, he could feel a living creature inside the soft shell lightly trembling with each breath.

"You'll definitely like it. I brought it back from the forests of Albania—a golden python egg that is about to hatch."

Lucius continued, "It will become your first pet."

Sherlock looked at the snake egg in his hand. He had never expected his godfather, Lucius, to bring him back an egg from the forests of Albania, one that was about to hatch into a golden python.

Just thinking of a golden python's beautiful golden scales made Sherlock somewhat excited.

Wait... the forests of Albania?

Sherlock's heart skipped a beat. He remembered that after Voldemort's soul had been destroyed, a wisp of it had drifted about and hidden in the forests of Albania. This was also where Quirrell, later the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, had tragically encountered the weakened Voldemort while traveling in Albania and been subdued and controlled by him.

But if Lucius, a former Death Eater, had suddenly made a trip to the forests of Albania, did that mean the Death Eaters were still secretly searching for Voldemort, unwilling to give up as they awaited their king's return?