After entering Professor Watson's office, the heavy door clicked shut behind him with a decisive sound. Draco was genuinely surprised that Professor Watson himself hadn't come in with him, hadn't followed him inside.
But upon catching sight of his father's grim, severe expression across the room, that familiar look of displeasure—his heart grew cold with uneasiness. He understood immediately that his father probably didn't want Professor Watson present to overhear their private conversation, whatever it was about.
The temperature in the room felt cooler than the corridor outside.
The fireplace in the office was currently extinguished, and made the room cold and dark, and a simple branched candelabra was on Professor Watson's desk casting bright, flickering firelight.
Before greeting his father properly, Draco's eyes swept automatically across Bryan's office, which he hadn't visited in some considerable time. He noticed that the room still preserved its elegant simplicity, everything was in its place, except for one addition: an old standing cabinet with glass doors that had been added beside the leather sofa.
Draco had heard about this particular cabinet from other students.
Ever since Hermione Granger had been attacked by that cursed mail, the school administration had begun conducting strict routine inspections of all mail entering and leaving the school—whether belonging to young wizards or staff members.
Anything even the slightest bit related to dark magic or contraband that could potentially harm students was immediately confiscated without question.
These confiscated items were kept under Professor Watson's personal custody for safety, and Draco himself had several items locked away in this very cabinet. Items his parents had sent that had been deemed inappropriate.
"Father—"
The idea of ever getting back the confiscated contraband from Professor Watson was utterly laughable, almost absurd. Draco collected himself mentally and walked slowly toward his father and Professor Snape, who were standing close together before the cabinet, intently observing something inside it.
"Why would you suddenly come to Hogw— Oh, this is!"
As Draco approached and began to inquire why his father had come to the school so quietly, without notice or announcement, his wandering gaze swept across the display space in the upper part of the cabinet.
Draco's gray pupils dilated intensely in shock. He completely forgot his half-asked question, his eyes were fixed absolutely on an item behind the protective glass, unable to look away even if he'd wanted to.
He murmured in genuine astonishment, "This is... that dark witch's... but isn't this thing supposed to be in the Ministry of Magic's possession?"
"Cliodna's wand. The one at the Ministry is merely a fake, a replica."
Professor Snape looked at Draco lazily, his black eyes indecipherable, and his casually spoken words left Draco utterly astonished and confused.
"Perhaps it should more accurately be called a Staff, given its size," Snape continued in his typical drawl. "Bryan put it here as a war trophy. But I personally believe this may not be a wise decision, it draws attention."
"Based on past events, Severus, this student of yours is especially fond of showing off his accomplishments, so it's not hard to understand his behavior at all."
After displaying just the right calculated amount of contempt and covert disgust for Bryan Watson, Lucius turned his cold gaze from the displayed staff and scrutinized his son with intensity.
Using his habitually sharp stare to make Draco instinctively lower his head in submission, Lucius Malfoy's gray eyes briefly revealed deep guilt and sorrow before he quickly suppressed these unnecessary, dangerous emotions. They had no place here.
Pointing with one finger to a wrapped package resting on the coffee table, Lucius said coldly,
"Your mother and I went to Dijon in France a while ago on business. Your mother bought some famous cakes and sweets there. She asked me to bring them to you."
Draco blinked in confusion, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Just some sweets... you came all the way here in person? That seems—"
"That's not a question you should be asking, Draco—"
Lucius interrupted sharply, glaring at his son with authority.
"Take the package back to your dormitory immediately... Remember to focus more energy on your academic studies. Severus told me that only in Physical Education can your grades even match that Granger girl's performance."
His lips thinned with displeasure.
"I hope you can feel the deep humiliation I felt upon hearing this unwelcome news—a noble Malfoy family heir being suppressed by a Mudblood. It's unacceptable."
At some point during the past months, the word 'Mudblood' no longer sounded quite so 'pleasant' or appropriate in Draco's ears. The slur made him uncomfortable now in ways it hadn't before.
He shrank his shoulders defensively and guiltily glanced sideways at the office door, hoping Professor Watson hadn't somehow overheard.
"Go—"
Lucius suppressed his surging emotions and said coldly, and dismissively.
"Don't forget to write to your mother soon and tell her how much you love the treats she so carefully selected for you."
"Understood, Father."
Draco mumbled softly. He moved forward and picked up the wrapped treats from the coffee table—they were surprisingly very heavy, much heavier than expected, and he had to cradle them awkwardly in both arms to carry them properly.
Bryan was standing casually in a shadowed alcove in the corridor outside, hands clasped behind his back, apparently admiring the moonlight streaming through the tall windows.
When he saw Draco struggling to carry the unexpectedly heavy package, nearly dropping it, he smiled slightly with amusement.
"Your father and mother both love you very much, Draco. It's genuinely enviable—treasure that."
"Oh, hmm—"
After grunting uncomfortably for a while, not knowing how to respond, Draco finally nodded stiffly. He wasn't quite used to such direct, sincere expressions of sentiment.
Bryan didn't say much more on the subject. He simply smiled warmly and reached out to pat Draco's shoulder in a brief, encouraging gesture before turning and walking toward the still-open office door.
"Professor Watson?"
Draco suddenly called out anxiously. He watched Professor Watson pause and turn back with an inquiring, questioning look.
Draco's eyes flickered with worry and uncertainty.
"Nothing happened, right? Everything's... okay?"
Bryan raised his eyebrows in mild surprise at the question, then smiled calmly and reassuringly.
"Of course. Everything is fine, Draco."
Having said this, Bryan turned and walked into his office, leaving Draco alone in the corridor.
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere seemed to suppress even the firelight from the candelabra once Bryan entered. Its brightness seem to diminish, making the office much dimmer and more shadowed than it had been moments before.
Bryan strode confidently to the sofa and sat down, his fingers were interlacing and resting on his knees. He sat calmly watching Lucius Malfoy, who was no longer appearing nearly so composed as he had while his son was present.
"Sit—"
That simple, single word made Lucius's heart lighten considerably with relief. His loyalty was clearly valuable, clearly paying dividends—at least the last time he'd come to this office months ago, Watson hadn't offered him a seat at all.
Snape didn't intend to remain and join this particular conversation. After casting a profound, meaningful look at Bryan, he drew his wand to light the fireplace with a gesture.
Flames sprang to life immediately.
Then he left directly through the school's Floo Network in a rush of green flames.
"You just told me that Voldemort learned from Nott that I entered Salazar Slytherin's vault at Gringotts?"
The name Watson spoke so casually, that name—made Lucius shudder violently, his entire body was jerking. He gasped several times, trying to control his breathing, and said with carefully lowered head and eyes fixed on the floor,
"That's correct, Mr. Watson. Before Nott brought this precise information back, the Dark Lord was very nervous and agitated about the vague news that you had opened some vault belonging to an ancient family... but strangely, after knowing the specific details about it being Slytherin's vault, he seemed somehow more relaxed... but also disbelieving."
Lucius paused, organizing his thoughts.
"He thought that if there was truly a Slytherin vault at Gringotts, then he should have known about it already. He's the heir, after all—or so he believes. He's very curious, about what exactly you obtained from it, so I was sent here specifically to ask Severus about it."
He swallowed nervously.
"And he asked me to use the pretext of visiting the Malfoy family vault to create a plausible opportunity for him to go underground into Gringotts' depths himself."
Bryan closed his eyes in deep contemplation. The flickering light and shadows from the fireplace carved an authority and power on his young face that made Lucius genuinely fearful, made his palms sweat.
"Did you follow him into the depths? See where he went?"
"No—"
Lucius shook his head quickly, almost too quickly.
"After opening the Malfoy family vault for appearance's sake, he casted the Imperius Curse on the goblin guide without hesitation, then left on his own into the tunnels...
I don't know where he went exactly, but when he returned perhaps an hour later, he demanded that I find Severus as soon as possible to get to the bottom of what you'd discovered."
"I'll give Severus a reasonable explanation to pass along."
Bryan opened his eyes and looked calmly at Lucius Malfoy with his purple gaze.
"Is there anything else I need to know about? Any other information?"
Lucius began to hesitate, his hands were clenching. The most recent task he'd directly participated in was traveling to Dijon to recruit the giants to the Dark Lord's cause, but there was no need to mention this again in detail, because Watson must already know that they had encountered that big fool Hagrid in the mountains of Dijon.
Dumbledore would have been informed immediately.
"There is one thing—"
Hesitating still, considering his words carefully, Lucius said slowly,
"The Dark Lord seems to be planning to do something significant on the day of the third Triwizard Tournament event at Hogwarts. When he learned that you would be personally preparing for the Triwizard Tournament next, focusing your attention there, he had Nott notify MacNair and Avery specifically, ordering them to speed up their assigned task."
"—MacNair, the executioner of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures..."
Bryan murmured thoughtfully.
"What task exactly? What are they doing?"
"I don't know the specifics—"
Lucius said with some unease and frustration at his own ignorance.
"The tasks the Dark Lord assigns to each team are kept strictly confidential. We're not allowed to communicate with each other about our missions. Only he knows everything."
"Hehe, so he's not completely stupid after all—"
Bryan smiled coldly, without humor, then asked with focus,
"So, regarding MacNair and Avery's task, do you have any guesses? Speculation based on what you know?"
"It must be somehow related to the Ministry of Magic, otherwise the Dark Lord wouldn't have specifically selected two Death Eaters currently working at the Ministry in positions of minor authority to carry out the task."
Lucius pressed his thin lips together and said softly, almost reluctantly,
"Perhaps... based on the Dark Lord's recent series of actions—of course, you surely know already that he's desperate to strengthen his forces, rebuild his army. So... I guess, and this is only speculation, that he might be planning to attack Azkaban prison."
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