The Family by the Rhine

Christmas Day in 1939 was a rare moment of false peace amidst the fierce fighting.

The air near the France Maginot Line was filled with tender and romantic France songs, which dampened the fighting spirit of the Muggle soldiers on the front lines and created a strong Christmas atmosphere on the France border.

On the Rhine River, in a magnificent estate, countless alluring blue roses defied all logic, blooming and blossoming in the snowy depths of winter, swaying gently in the cold west wind.

Inside the manor is a magnificent hall surrounded by rose bushes, resembling a fairytale castle.

Inside the hall, several elegantly dressed people sat around a luxurious round table. The table was covered with a beautiful tablecloth, with several bouquets of flowers placed in the center, and a few well-arranged candlesticks serving as decorations. Even the tableware was made of fine porcelain, paired with silver cutlery and Crystal glasses; anyone could tell that the people living here were very particular about their possessions.

Just as several strange creatures with large, pointed, bat-like ears, and enormous heads and eyes were respectfully placing the last dish on the table, a golden halo suddenly appeared in the hall.

Then, a brown-haired, blue-eyed boy stepped in from behind the halo.

"Is it too presumptuous of me to visit during this Christmas season?" he said with a smile, gazing at a beautifully sculpted witch at the table.

"Aren't you going to welcome me, Aunt Vida?"

The richly dressed wizards at the dining table looked up, somewhat surprised, at the unexpected guest, wondering what brought him here.

Based on their similar facial features and hair color, the nobles at the table could recognize that the young man was the heir of their family's England branch, or rather, in the absence of a male heir in the France branch, this Xiwen Rozier from England should be the de facto heir of the entire Rosier family.

Aunt Vida, who had met Xiwen a few times, slowly stood up from her chair, her brows furrowed as she stared at the unfriendly young wizard before her. After a moment, she smiled seductively.

"Of course, welcome home, my dear nephew!" she said with a smile, snapping her the Snap lightly. "Ross, get Xiwen a chair."

With a "snap," the House-Elf Ross quickly Apparition into the hall, placed a luxurious carved wooden chair in an empty spot on the round table, bowed respectfully to Xiwen, and then swiftly left the hall.

Xiwen sat down in a chair without flinching, subtly glancing around at everyone at the table.

The head of the table sat an elderly man with gray hair, who was also the only man present. According to the Rosier family genealogy, this old man should be Adrian Rozier, Xiwen's great-grandfather. Sitting next to him was an elderly woman of similar age, who should be Ada Rozier, who had married into the Rosier Family from the Lestrange family.

The other elderly witches are also recognizable in the family tree, with Aunt Vida being the youngest among them. It's no wonder that such an aging family needs to find a successor from the Xiwen England branch.

Adrian's great-grandfather was quite pleased with Xiwen's arrival, and asked him with a warm smile, "Little Xiwen, what made you suddenly decide to come to France for the family's Christmas dinner?"

As he spoke, he kindly pushed the steak on the table toward Xiwen.

Xiwen returned the smile and said to him, "Actually, I came here because I have a plan that requires the family's help."

"Oh? So what plan has Xiwen come up with?" Adrian asked with interest.

"I plan to consolidate the power of Pure-blood families and establish a new force in this Global Wizarding War," Xiwen said naturally, disregarding how shocking his words were.

Adrian's great-grandfather chuckled, then laughed heartily.

At the same time, when he heard that the plan Xiwen mentioned was about Global Wizarding War, Vida's eyes flickered slightly.

"How do you plan to build a new power, Xiwen?" She asked Xiwen with a slightly mocking smile. "Do you think you can just rely on the power of our single family, or even with a 14-year-old like you?"

Xiwen turned his gaze to Aunt Vida's face and calmly asked, "Is there something wrong with it?"

Vida wanted to say something more, but Adrian interrupted their conversation.

"It's good that young people have dreams, so don't be too harsh on Xiwen, Vida," he said kindly. "However, Xiwen, things have to be done one step at a time. You can finish your studies at Hogwarts first, and then we can consider your plan again."

Looking at his kind-faced great-grandfather Adrian, Xiwen couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.

The old man clearly regarded him as a whimsical child, speaking to him in a tone as if he were coaxing a child, and he didn't listen to a word he said.

"I'm not joking," Xiwen said, shaking his head. "In the current situation, anyone can easily be forced to change by global trends. Therefore, rather than passively changing, we should proactively seek change."

Hearing Xiwen's extremely serious tone and seeing his extremely serious attitude, Adrian realized that he really wasn't joking, so his expression slowly became serious as well.

"So you've come here to formally obtain the family inheritance rights, right?" he asked solemnly.

Xiwen nodded slowly.

"Inheritance rights aren't something you can easily obtain just by asking, Xiwen. I must be responsible for the future of the family." Adrian glanced at Vida seemingly casually upon seeing this, then said to Xiwen.

"Your plan could easily make our family a target in this war, and in a worse scenario, it could even lead to the annihilation of our lineage!"

Seeing Adrian's great-grandfather's attitude, Xiwen frowned slightly.

"I don't quite agree with what you're saying." He gazed at his great-grandfather's thick eyelids and asked softly, "Does that mean choosing to follow Grindelwald wouldn't make the family a target of public criticism?"

As Xiwen had expected, the moment he uttered those words, everyone present changed their expressions.

"I understand." Seeing everyone's reaction, Xiwen nodded knowingly. "I used to wonder why the family remained indifferent when Aunt Vida was always chasing after Grindelwald."

"Only now am I truly convinced that her actions were tacitly approved by the entire France branch of the family. No wonder Sandrine was always able to detect unusual flows of family funds before each of Grindelwald's operations."

"But I wonder, isn't it really putting the family in danger by disobeying the orders of the International Confederation of Wizards and following a dangerous Dark Lord?"

Faced with Xiwen's various questions, Vida suddenly laughed.

"And what about you, nephew Xiwen?" she asked with a light laugh. "Isn't your so-called plan supposed to help your dear Professor, Albus Dumbledore?"