To Draco and the others seeing it for the first time, the revealed palace looked a little strange.
A purple palace with a rounded, pointed roof stood on a pentagram-shaped white jade pedestal.
The roof had nine tiers of eaves, with nine winged "white snakes" crouching on them, together guarding a miniature throne.
Anyone knowledgeable might have recognized elements of the hip-and-gable roofs used in China during the Qin and Han dynasties.
Wenge, who had once traveled far and wide seeking medical treatment, studied it thoughtfully.
"What an imposing palace!"
"What style of palace is this? How have I never seen anything like it?"
Draco, Alice, and the others looked around curiously as they headed inside.
Percy did not follow. He remained where he was, waiting.
Before long, purple-clad figures arrived by Apparition, all senior members of the Ministry of Magic and the Pentagram.
Lucius and Fudge were among them.
This meeting was therefore not limited to the core members of the Throne.
The crowd waited silently until the last person arrived.
Percy counted silently. All twenty-eight expected attendees were present, so he took out the note again and passed it around.
Many of them had seen the palace before, since they had overseen its construction.
Some, however, had never seen it, and cries of amazement rose as they took in the revealed palace.
"Wow! How magnificent!"
"Are those nine Occamies, or something else?"
"..."
The group formed two lines and climbed the white stone steps toward the palace.
Hearing the noisy chatter behind him, Percy abruptly turned around with a stern expression.
"Quiet!"
His reprimand proved effective. The chatter stopped immediately.
Although quite a few people resented this inexperienced young man, none dared voice their objections.
Over the past two months, many of them had suffered no shortage of