Quelling

Of the Twenty-Eight Pure-blood Families, half had already declined. Even the Gaunt family, direct descendants of Slytherin, had fallen into complete ruin. Yet among the Twenty-Eight, there were always a few families that remained prosperous through the ages, and the Bulstrode family was one of them.

Though the Bulstrode family usually kept a relatively low profile, Lucius would have to have House-elves shitting in his brain to truly believe that their restraint meant they were weak and easy to bully.

In fact, compared to the Bulstrode family, it was the Malfoy family Lucius belonged to that was truly facing the threat of decline. Their bloodline seemed to be cursed. For more than a century, every generation had produced only a single heir, and not every one of those heirs had been exceptional. As they were worn down generation by generation, the Malfoy family gradually weakened.

By Lucius's generation, the Malfoy family no longer possessed such immense wealth. A starving camel was still bigger than a horse, and though the declining Malfoys remained rich, Lucius had made the wrong choice when it came to Voldemort. Half the family fortune had vanished along with Voldemort's defeat. The Malfoy family had now begun secretly selling off the magical items stored by the family in order to keep their vast household running.

The Bulstrode family, by contrast, had always been blessed with many descendants, and they were extremely strict in cultivating their younger generation. The heirs produced this way might not possess outstanding talent, but they could certainly preserve what the family already had until a gifted heir appeared in the next generation and expanded it further.

The Malfoy family absolutely could not afford to offend a family like that.

In the span of a few thoughts, Lucius had already decided to give ground. Yet he still maintained his proud bearing on the surface. Looking at Gavin, he said, "Draco is the heir to our family. His life must be one of glory and pride. I can choose not to pursue the Bulstrode family's responsibility, but you must also undo the consequences of the Pureblood Duel."

Gavin looked at Lucius. In his view, this generation's Malfoy was far from exceptional, with mediocre talent in many respects, but he was rather capable when it came to weighing gains and losses. If his eye for investments had not been so poor, and if he had not tied himself so deeply to Voldemort before, the Malfoy family might not have expanded again, but preserving what they had should not have been much of a problem.

A starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Gavin had no intention of confronting the Malfoy family head-on. Their connections within the Ministry of Magic ran deep. Though they were no longer what they had been at their peak, it would still be troublesome if they took a vicious bite out of his family. There was no need to drive the Malfoys too far.

"It was merely a squabble between two children. Though it went a little too far, its nature has not changed. Since Mr. Malfoy is willing not to pursue the matter, I will owe you a favor. Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Malfoy."

Gavin's words were elegantly put, and Lucius's expression finally improved somewhat.

With a slight nod, Lucius nodded to Dumbledore, bid Snape farewell, then turned and left the Headmaster's Office, departing Hogwarts.

Watching Lucius leave, Gavin turned to Dumbledore and said, "Dumbledore, if there is nothing else, I should be leaving as well. I'm getting old. I can't stay up late anymore."

"Gavin, don't you want to see Sean and Millicent?"

Smiling, Gavin shook his head. "Those two little ones don't want to see me. Better let them stay at school on their own. If I want to see them, I can wait until the holidays."

Gavin rose and left. After walking out of the Headmaster's Office and beyond the bounds of Hogwarts, he used Apparition and vanished without a trace.

Sensing Gavin's departure, Dumbledore waved away the cups on the table, then said to Snape, "Severus, have all the defenses around the Philosopher's Stone been prepared?"

"They have."

"The person who wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone certainly will not give up easily, so we must remain vigilant..." At this point, Dumbledore looked at Snape through his half-moon spectacles. "Severus, how has Harry been lately?"

In Dumbledore's presence, Snape always found it difficult to disguise himself. He looked at Dumbledore and said, "Just like his father, he is an irritating little brat."

"Severus, you must be patient with this child. He is not only James's son, but Lily's son as well. I believe you know that, don't you?"

Hearing that familiar name from Dumbledore's lips, a slight ripple stirred in Snape's heart. A flash of pain appeared in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

Without another word, Snape turned to leave.

But at that moment, Dumbledore spoke to Snape again. "Severus, it seems that you think highly of Mr. Sean Bulstrode. He also appears to have a rather good relationship with Harry, so I hope you can guide him onto the right path as much as possible."

Hearing this, Snape turned to Dumbledore and asked with faint mockery, "So you think the child has gone astray? Because he is a little close to the great Savior, he needs to be guided onto this so-called right path?"

Dumbledore was not the least displeased by Snape's sarcasm. He still wore that kindly, gentle expression as he said, "Severus, you know that is not what I mean. I simply think he is a very talented child, and I hope you can teach him well. That is all."

With his eyelids lowered slightly, Snape turned away, no longer looking at Dumbledore. He walked straight to the doors of the Headmaster's Office and reached out to pull them open. Yet Snape did not leave immediately. Standing there with his back to Dumbledore, he said, "Don't worry. I have already brought him into my Potions Club. He is a child with great talent for Potions. I will set him on the broad road of Potions and will not let his talent go to waste."

With that, Snape turned and left.

Dumbledore watched Snape's departing back and chuckled softly. He took a Dungbomb cockroach sweet from the desk drawer, placed it in his mouth, and savored it quietly.

The matter of Sean and Malfoy's duel was settled just like that.

Snape spoke with Malfoy and Sean in turn. The result was that both of them acted as though nothing had happened. Of course, that was only on the surface. At the very least, the anger and faint, concealed fear that showed on Malfoy's face whenever he saw Sean were entirely genuine.

A few days later, news that Lucius Malfoy and Gavin Bulstrode had visited Hogwarts spread through Slytherin. From that point onward, Sean's standing within Slytherin rose sharply. He was roughly on par with Malfoy, and even faintly surpassed Millicent, becoming the person who represented the Bulstrode family.