Shawn quietly led Theodore toward the train through a passage the crowd cleared of its own accord.
Some parents even bowed slightly to him in recognition of his contributions to the wizarding world.
As Shawn passed a startled Lucius, he smiled at him.
Behind Lucius, Draco slowly stepped forward with his chin slightly raised. A flicker of envy crossed his eyes as he looked at Theodore, before he hurriedly bowed respectfully to Shawn.
"Hello, Chief."
"Mm."
Satisfied with Draco's bearing, Shawn nodded. He first had Draco stand behind him, then addressed Lucius.
"Remember the matter of the school governor's seat."
Lucius opened his mouth to ask something, but in the end, all he said was, "Understood."
Shawn had no intention of saying more. He boarded the train with Theodore and Draco. Oh, and Goyle and Crabbe trailed a short distance behind Draco.
Lucius watched Shawn disappear, the noise around him swelling again.
His expression was unreadable as he reflected that it was time for the pure-blood families to choose sides again.
Shawn met several of his other subordinates in the prefects' carriage. Their exchange of pleasantries needed no recounting.
The others were much the same as before, but Draco really had matured quite a bit.
Even though a hint of disdain still lurked in his eyes, he spoke cordially with Hermione and made up for things with a very thoughtful Christmas gift.
Shawn was fairly satisfied. He did not expect everyone to get everything right in one leap.
The journey passed uneventfully, and by nightfall, the express had returned to Hogwarts.
There was a start-of-term feast that evening, though it hardly counted as a proper feast, and attendance was not compulsory.
Still, anyone with nothing else to do generally went to the Great Hall for dinner, where the dishes were