Leon was just about to get up and have a "friendly" chat with Draco Malfoy when a flock of owl messengers swooped into the Great Hall.
That wasn't the main thing, though.
The main thing was that one particular gray owl dropped two letters in quick succession—one landing on Malfoy's head, the other on Leon's.
Malfoy: "???"
Leon: "…"
What in Merlin's name was going on?
Surely it wasn't Narcissa Malfoy—Leon's aunt—inviting them to her second wedding or something ridiculous like that? Lucius and Narcissa hadn't divorced, had they? No one had mentioned anything of the sort.
Leon tore open the envelope.
Well, he wasn't far off—it was about attending an event. Sort of.
Cygnus Black, Malfoy's grandfather, had passed away, and Narcissa was inviting Leon to the funeral.
Leon mulled over whether to go.
Since officially taking the reins as head of the Black family, he'd skipped a few funerals to keep his identity under wraps for as long as possible. But things were different now.
After reading his letter, Malfoy shot Leon a deep, searching look, then suddenly leaped up, brimming with determination and practically radiating battle-ready energy. With a loud shout, he strode off, head held high.
Everyone around was utterly baffled.
What had gotten into Malfoy? Why was he acting like he was off to duel someone?
Leon was even more confused. It was just a funeral, not a Quidditch match or a marriage heist. Who was Malfoy getting all worked up over?
Whatever. Trying to understand a prat like Malfoy was a waste of brainpower.
Leon made up his mind—he'd attend the funeral.
For one thing, now that he was at Hogwarts, his identity as the Black family head was bound to come out sooner or later. Instead of skulking about, it was better to step into the open confidently. The Black family might be dwindling, but being its head still carried weight.
For another, the funeral was being held at the Black family graveyard just outside London. It was a perfect excuse to take a few extra days off and handle some business in the city.
The next day, at the Black family graveyard.
Not many people showed up for Cygnus Black's funeral. Leon was the only young Black family member there; the rest were all ancient witches and wizards. There were a fair number of relatives from other families, but they just dropped off flowers and left—no one stayed for the post-funeral gathering.
Of Cygnus's three daughters, only Narcissa Malfoy and her family attended. The Lestranges were still rotting in Azkaban, so no surprise there. Andromeda Tonks didn't show up either—Leon suspected Narcissa hadn't even bothered to invite her disowned sister.
Leon's presence caused a bit of a stir. Some might not have recognized him, but they couldn't miss the Black family crest pinned to his chest—a heirloom only the acknowledged head of the family could wear. Even Narcissa, who had sent the invitation, seemed shocked that Leon actually showed up.
Draco, that little git, was the only one who seemed convinced Leon would turn up, probably thinking he was there to challenge him for some imaginary inheritance.
The funeral was brief but dignified. Cygnus Black was laid to rest surrounded by flowers.
As the head of the Black family, Leon could've given a speech, but he'd never even met Cygnus alive—why put on a show now that he was gone?
As the ceremony wrapped up and people began to leave, Leon approached Narcissa and said politely, "Aunt Narcissa, my condolences."
Narcissa dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, then turned to Leon with a complicated expression. "Thank you. You… you look so much like him."
Leon didn't want to hear it. He nodded curtly, cutting her off before she could say more, and turned to find—
"Cousin Leon!" Draco Malfoy charged over, bursting with competitive energy, ready to throw down some kind of challenge.
Leon didn't even glance at him. He just reached out, pressed his hand against Draco's face, and shoved him aside with a casual flick, like kicking a pebble out of his path.
By the time Narcissa gasped and rushed to help her stumbling son, Leon was already walking past them to speak with Lucius.
"Hello, Lucius. Let's make this official—Leon Green."
Lucius Malfoy glanced at the outstretched hand, then studied Leon's young but sharply confident face. After a brief pause, he shook it. "Lucius Malfoy."
He released Leon's hand almost immediately and said with a haughty tone, "You should address me as Uncle Lucius. I can forgive your ignorance before, but now that you hold this position, you must learn the etiquette and rules of a pure-blood family—"
Leon burst into a laugh—a wild, arrogant laugh that made Lucius falter, a flicker of unease crossing his face. This was a side of Leon no one had seen before.
"Etiquette? Rules? Even laws are just chains for the weak, Lucius. My cunning friend, you of all people should understand that."
A strange fear gripped Lucius, though he couldn't pinpoint why. He avoided Leon's piercing gaze, keeping his expression neutral while his fingers instinctively brushed the gem on his wand's handle. He didn't want to dwell on what unnerved him about this kid—he just wanted to get away.
"Is there something you need?" Lucius asked coolly.
Leon dialed back the intensity, slipping into the persona of a refined, charming young gentleman. "I'd like to discuss a rather large business opportunity with you."
He nodded toward Draco, who was still fuming and being restrained by his mother. "I mentioned it to your son twice, asked him to pass the message along. Yet, here we are—no one's contacted me. Tsk. I'm not sure if it's him being careless or you dropping the Quaffle."
Lucius ignored the subtle jab in Leon's words and asked cautiously, "Oh? What kind of business?"
"I happen to know," Leon said, "that Malfoy Manor is home to a certain collection of… let's say, highly dangerous but also highly valuable restricted items."
Lucius opened his mouth to protest, but Leon raised a hand to stop him. "Hear me out."
"You're well-connected, Lucius. You must know the Ministry's been cracking down on items like these lately. And one of the people leading the charge is…"
Lucius sneered. "Arthur Weasley, that pure-blood disgrace."
Leon wagged a finger in front of Lucius's pale, pointed face. "No, no, no, Lucius. Don't judge with outdated eyes. The Weasleys aren't what they used to be. Dumbledore's got a soft spot for them."
Lucius's expression twisted, as if he'd just smelled something foul. "That bumbling old fool—the most incompetent, senile headmaster Hogwarts has ever had! I'll see him kicked out of that school!"
Leon raised an eyebrow. Even Voldemort, who despised Dumbledore, showed a grudging respect for him. After all, if you can't beat someone you call incompetent, what does that say about you?
"Is it really that serious?" Leon asked. "All Dumbledore's done is admit a few witches and wizards that past headmasters might've turned away."
Lucius didn't want to admit the real issue. "He fawns over Muggles, favors Muggle-borns, and suppresses pure-bloods. If this continues, he'll ruin Hogwarts!"
Leon's expression screamed, Are you serious?
If Lucius truly bought into pure-blood supremacy, the Malfoy family would've gone under ages ago. Their generations-old fortune, built partly on smuggling in the Muggle world, would've been tossed aside as beneath them. A proper pure-blood wouldn't stoop to dealing with "lowly" Muggles, right? Yet Lucius was raking in Galleons hand over fist, perfectly content to profit.
Most of the other twenty-eight pure-blood families were the same. They shouted about pure-blood pride, despised Muggles, and wished they'd all vanish—yet when it came to making money, they weren't so picky.
You can't judge someone's stance just by what they say. You have to look at what they do. Pure-blood families acted for their own gain—family interests, personal interests.
Everything Dumbledore did, though, served one purpose: protecting the wizarding community as a whole.
There was only one reason Lucius would hate him so much.
"Dumbledore's been cutting into the school board's power, hasn't he?" Leon asked, watching Lucius's face shift. He pressed further. "Don't tell me he's taken it all back?"
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