Lin Ze stood outside the Leaky Cauldron, clutching the address Mr Delacour had left him and reading it three times over.
The address was an upscale residence in the West End of London. The street name alone told him that the property prices there were beyond most people's reach.
"Why would an official from the French Ministry of Magic own property in London?" Lin Ze muttered.
But on second thought, someone who could send his daughter to Hogwarts as an exchange student certainly couldn't be badly off.
He looked down at his clothes.
Fortunately, he had just bought a new outfit that morning. Otherwise, just imagining himself attending dinner in that old uniform washed pale with wear made his toes curl hard enough to dig out a three-bedroom apartment.
At six fifty that evening, Lin Ze arrived at the address on the business card, ten minutes early.
It was a three-story Victorian terraced house, with red brick walls, white window frames, and two neatly trimmed yew trees by the entrance.
It looked understated, but owning a building like this in the West End of London made understatement a luxury in itself.
He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
A House-elf answered the door, a tea towel wrapped impeccably around its body. Two eyes the size of tennis balls looked him up and down.
"Mr Lin Ze?" The House-elf's voice was high-pitched but polite.
"That's me."
"Master is already waiting for you. Please follow me."
Lin Ze followed the House-elf through the entrance hall and into a spacious dining room.
The dining room had a distinctly French style, with pale gray walls and dark wooden furniture. The crystal chandelier overhead gave off a warm glow.
Mr Delacour sat at one end of the long table. He had changed into deep blue dinner robes, and a glass of red wine stood beside his hand.
Olivia sat on his right, having changed into a pale green dress, her long golden hair loose over her shoulders. When she saw Lin Ze enter, she winked at him.
"Sit down." Mr Delacour pointed to the seat opposite him.
Lin Ze sat down properly, his back ramrod straight and his hands on his knees, like a fresh graduate waiting for a job interview.
"Relax." Mr Delacour raised his glass and took a sip.
"This isn't a formal occasion. It's just a simple meal."
Lin Ze glanced at the table-three dishes, silver cutlery, crystal wineglasses, and a tablecloth ironed so smooth it didn't have a single crease.
This counted as a simple meal?
"I hear from Olivia that you were in Hufflepuff House?" Mr Delacour set down his glass.
"Yes, sir."
"Interesting." Mr Delacour tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips.
"Most Aurors come from Gryffindor, and quite a few from Ravenclaw, but Hufflepuff... I don't recall seeing many."
"Hufflepuff's qualities are loyalty, integrity, and a willingness to face hardship. I think those words suit an Auror quite well," Lin Ze replied.
Mr Delacour glanced at him. "They do fit."
Just then, the House-elf served the starter.
It was smoked salmon with lemon butter sauce, plated as exquisitely as a work of art.
Lin Ze carefully picked up his knife and fork, silently repeating the etiquette rule of "work from the outside in," afraid of making a fool of himself.
"You've been working at the Auror Office for half a month?" Mr Delacour asked as he cut his salmon.
"Yes."
"Subduing three Death Eaters single-handedly just half a month into the job is quite impressive."
"You're too kind," Lin Ze said modestly.
"However..." Mr Delacour shifted the subject.
"Have you considered that the current situation in Britain isn't particularly favorable for Aurors?"
Here it comes.
Lin Ze had known this dinner wouldn't be so simple.
But your daughter was the one who talked the original owner of this body into becoming an Auror, and now you're here telling me this.
But Lin Ze couldn't say anything about that.
"I understand what you mean, sir." Lin Ze set down his knife and fork.
"The Death Eaters are running rampant, and Auror casualties are high. Joining the Auror Office at a time like this certainly doesn't look very clever."
"But it's precisely because things are bad that someone needs to step forward. If everyone backs away, there'll be no one left to keep the public safe."
"Well said." Mr Delacour nodded.
"But youthful passion often cools very quickly in the face of real danger. Do you know how many Aurors have resigned over the past three months?"
"Twelve," Lin Ze said.
Mr Delacour raised an eyebrow slightly. "You certainly know your facts."
"Of course. I do work at the Auror Office, after all." Lin Ze smiled. "It's our hottest topic of conversation, second only to 'is the fried fish in the canteen fresh today?'"
Olivia, who had been silently picking at the fish on her plate, snorted with laughter, then immediately covered her mouth and pretended to cough twice.
Mr Delacour glanced at his daughter. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, but his stern expression soon returned.
"Since you understand the risks, I'll be blunt."
He placed his knife and fork on either side of his plate, interlaced his fingers on the table, and looked straight at Lin Ze.
"I don't object to you dating Olivia. You had excellent grades at school, and you've shown sufficient ability and courage as an Auror. As a young man, you are indeed very impressive."
"But."
At that single word, the air in the entire dining room seemed to freeze.
Lin Ze's grip on his knife and fork tightened slightly.
"As a father, I don't want my daughter living in constant fear."
"She's currently interning at the French Ministry of Magic, and the first thing she does every morning is open the Daily Prophet to see what else has happened in Britain. Every time she sees a list of Aurors killed in action, she gets so anxious she can't even eat breakfast."
"I allowed her to return to Britain this time because she'd been talking about you for an entire month. Even her mother couldn't take it anymore. But because of work, she can only stay in Britain for three days."
"After three days, she has to return to France with me."
Lin Ze looked at Olivia.
Her head was lowered as she gently poked the salmon on her plate with her fork, her golden eyelashes casting a small patch of shadow in the candlelight.
"So," Mr Delacour continued.
"I'm giving you two choices."
"First, resign as an Auror and come to France to pursue your career. With your grades and abilities, I can help arrange a suitable position for you at the French Ministry of Magic. You won't start particularly high up, but it will be safe. You and Olivia will also be able to see each other often, instead of worrying about each other from opposite sides of the English Channel."
"Second, stay in Britain and carry on being an Auror, but I don't want you to continue dating my daughter."
At those words, Olivia's head shot up.
"Dad! You told me before that we were just having dinner and a chat. You never said you were going to make him resign!"
"I'm not forcing him. I'm letting him choose," Mr Delacour said unhurriedly.
"But Lin Ze only applied for the Auror job because I persuaded him to!" Olivia put down her fork, her voice rising considerably.
"You?"
Lin Ze watched the father and daughter from the side, wondering whether Delacour genuinely hadn't known or was only pretending.
"Either resign and go to France with you, or break up? How is that reasonable? You can't decide things for the two of us based on what you want!"
"I'm doing this for your sake."
"I don't need you to do things for my sake! I can look out for myself!"
Father and daughter glared at each other, neither giving an inch, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Watching the scene, Lin Ze suddenly felt a little like laughing.