Narcissa, who was nearby counting the gifts she was sending to her son's school, turned her head and glanced at them when she heard this.
Lucius wore a dark red striped suit with a black vest over a white shirt. A gold pocket watch was in the waist pocket of the vest, its chain hanging in an arc from the vest's buttons.
Paired with a jewel-encrusted snake-head cane and an exquisitely crafted top hat, the look is indeed elegant, noble, and full of style.
"What, are you going out on a date? Should I leave?" Narcissa teased.
Lucius somewhat awkwardly, "Please, darling."
"I think it would be better to change into black clothes; it would make you look more composed. This one is a bit too assertive," Narcissa said seriously, her expression composed.
"You're right." Lucius pulled his top hat up and looked at himself in the mirror. "But my opponent tonight doesn't allow me to be composed; assertiveness will be my weapon."
Although he hadn't yet met "that gentleman" Pippin had mentioned, Lucius could guess that he was "just a student at Hogwarts."
This made him completely unconcerned; he was determined to succeed.
"So what if he's a seventh-grader? He's just a kid who hasn't even left school yet." Lucius looked at his radiant reflection in the mirror, quite pleased with himself.
Narcissa packed some candy and snacks into the package and asked curiously, "Is it from that student who can make Potions comparable to Severus's?"
"The two of them must have a very close relationship. You'd better give him some face and not embarrass Severus," Narcissa advised, frowning.
As Potions Master, Snape was someone even the Malfoy family didn't want to offend.
Lucius looked at himself in the mirror, nodding casually. "When Severus enrolled, I was already Prefect. Even he should call me senior. What difference does it make if he's a student?"
"If he cooperates obediently, I'll go easy on him for Severus's sake, but that will be after tonight." Lucius leaned on his cane, striking an elegant pose in front of the mirror.
"The negotiating table isn't a place for sentimentality. How much benefit we can secure depends on our own abilities." Lucius took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.
"You'd better be careful," Narcissa said helplessly.
"Don't worry, darling." Lucius smiled and walked over, putting his arm around her waist and giving her a deep kiss on the lips. "Could you please get me a strawberry pudding?"
"Didn't you eat enough?" Narcissa asked, licking her lips. She had just had strawberry pudding after dinner.
"We'll eat when we get back."
Lucius touched noses with her, smiled, turned around, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, and headed towards the fireplace.
When Floo Powder was thrown into the fireplace, a fierce green flame suddenly burst into flames, but not a single ash was left.
Ever since he started traveling to and from Pippin's Potions, Lucius had been buying the best Floo Powder so he wouldn't get his clothes dirty.
As Lucius stepped into the fireplace, he shouted, "Pippin's Potions!"
With a leap of green flame, Lucius vanished.
Pippin's Potions did good business today, but he closed up Pippin just as it was getting dark.
"I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we have to close early today," Pippin said apologetically to the customers. "Please come again tomorrow, and I'll give you a discount."
"Please, everyone, have mercy..."
An old wizard who knew Pippin well glanced at the time and asked curiously, "Why are you closing so early?"
Pippin said with a wry smile, "I didn't want to either, but we have guests tonight."
"It seems this guest is no ordinary person," the old wizard exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," Pippin nodded stiffly, forcing a bitter smile, "It's more than just important, it's a matter of life and death."
"After tonight, my shop will either skyrocket to great heights or be forced to close down."
The old wizard opened his mouth in surprise, but didn't dare ask any more questions. He simply paid and left, shaking his head to himself, "Who exactly did Pippin offend? Malfoy?"
As a regular customer of Pippin's Potions, the old wizard had seen Lucius there before.
"Could it be that he was unhospitable and angered Malfoy?" The old wizard turned and Pippin a pitying look, sensing something was amiss. "But what about that sudden flight?"
Lost in thought, the old wizard walked to the door, glanced up at the signboard hanging in front of the shop, and sighed.
"It would be really inconvenient if this shop closed down..."
After the customers left, the Pippin closed the door, hung a "Closed" sign outside, and went back inside to sit down.
But the anger he was holding in felt like sharp needles piercing his body, making him restless and extremely agitated.
Pippin got up to tend to the Potions, hoping to soothe his emotions with this familiar daily task, but accidentally broke a Potions bottle instead.
After cleaning up the broken Potions, Pippin got up to make tea, but scalded his hand with boiling water again.
Damn it!
Pippin cursed and slapped himself to force himself to calm down.
After sitting in the chair for a moment, Pippin's gaze fell on the store entrance, then slowly moved to the shelves, the counter, and the mottled wall paint.
He had worked in this shop for decades and knew it very well. He knew exactly where every hole was and where the paint was peeling off.
In the utter silence, Pippin suddenly realized that the fate of this shop was actually inextricably linked to his own, like a small boat and its helmsman on a stormy night.
We all prosper together, and we all suffer together.
If the waves crash and the boat capsizes, I will surely die without a burial place, and this shop will probably be seized and sold off by those unscrupulous relatives.
When the Pippin was young, his father told him about the history of the shop, including its ups and downs, but how it always managed to survive.
Even during the reign of the Voldemort, this shop did not close down.
"Is this how it's going to be ruined by my own hands?" Pippin sat blankly in his chair, muttering to himself in a low voice.
Night deepened.
The last rays of the sun were completely blocked by the Low Hill, and the last trace of warm color was tinged with dark blue by the night, eventually turning into pitch black.
Pippin sat motionless in the chair, like a wooden sculpture, his shadow turning halfway around like the hands of a clock.
After an unknown amount of time, Pippin's voice suddenly rang out in the dark shop. "But it's not entirely without a chance..."
"Yes, there's still a chance!" Pippin's voice became firm.
The stormy night winds at sea, instead of igniting his fighting spirit, only fueled his passion.
As a businessman, Pippin had a gambling streak at heart, which is why he dared to cooperate with Silan to resell Potions.
Now, it's another high-stakes gamble.
He lost the bet, suffered a complete defeat, lost everything, and the shop had to close down.
But if they win the bet, the Pippin family will usher in an era of unprecedented glory!
Even if all the glory of our ancestors were combined, it would be difficult to compare with this splendor.
Pippin had to consider whether this was his only chance in his life.
Slowly exhaling, Pippin made a silent decision. "I'll take the gamble!"
The fireplace suddenly lit up, the green flames illuminating the shop, and Pippin snapped back to reality.
"You can't be so poor you can't even afford a candle?" Lucius's voice came from the direction of the fireplace.
Pippin waved his wand and lit the candle.
The store lights up.
"Good evening." Lucius removed his top hat, elegantly held his wand, and nodded to Pippin.
"Please sit down," Pippin, rolling his eyes.
Lucius glanced around and found that there was no one else in the shop besides him and Pippin, so he patiently sat down and pondered what to say later.
Pippin stood up from his chair, intending to go behind the counter to make tea, but his eyes remained fixed on the shop entrance.
"If Lucius is the one who brings the storm, Prewett is the one who ends it," Pippin thought. "As for myself, I'm merely a helmsman steering a small boat through the storm."
But even as an insignificant helmsman, Pippin was unwilling to simply sway in the storm.
He wants to take control of his own destiny.
His fate is inextricably linked to the person who will end the storm, who has yet to appear.
Pippin stared anxiously at the shop door, his feelings a mix of emotions.
He both hoped that Silan would arrive immediately to begin negotiations, whether dead or alive, so that things could end quickly, and he also hoped that Silan would arrive later, so that he could catch his breath.
Although he had witnessed Silan's methods before, he was facing Lucius today, a formidable opponent.
"If Mr. Prewett doesn't reach an agreement with him, or gets cheated by Lucius, then it'll all be over..." Pippin thought, "I have to help Mr. Prewett!"
The thought had barely formed in his mind when the doorbell rang.
Pippin and Lucius both perked up and hurriedly looked towards the shop entrance.
"They're here!"