The tall, thin man said nothing. He swept his sleeve, intending to flee, only to find Snape blocking his retreat!
Snape waved his wand and stripped away the tall man's disguise. At the sight of his pale blond hair, he snorted. "Lucius Malfoy, go on. Tell us what evidence you came here to hide."
Caught red-handed, Lucius remained perfectly calm. He had already prepared his story.
"Severus, wands are meant to be pointed at enemies. Please don't point yours at me!"
"My reason for coming here is very simple. I wanted to see if there was anything I could help with!"
"You know perfectly well that the Malfoy family ranks among the most powerful in the entire wizarding world!"
"Lucius, spare us your lies. No one believes you! Tell me, where is Robin Sear?"
Snape surged forward several strides, seized Lucius by the collar, and demanded an answer.
His collar tightened until he could barely breathe, but Lucius showed no urgency at all. He turned toward the white-bearded old man. "The great Mr. Dumbledore, are you simply going to stand there and watch a Hogwarts teacher hurt a kind, enthusiastic wizard who only wants to help?"
"Lucius Malfoy, I think you need to understand that this is not Hogwarts. It is the summer holiday, and I have no authority to interfere with what teachers do during their time off! Oh, here comes Cornelius Fudge. He should have the authority to ask why you are here."
"Lucius?!! What are you doing here? Didn't the Ministry of Magic issue an order a few days ago forbidding anyone except Aurors with official assignments from coming here?"
Cornelius Fudge asked as he approached.
"Mr. Fudge, I only came to ask whether anyone needed the Malfoy family's help. If you don't believe me, you can