Although Lucius Malfoy was wearing an expression of clear disdain toward Draco, the portraits, ones that could easily be called grandfatherly, and among whom one was very likely Draco's actual grandfather, all looked thoroughly satisfied.
Among them, the middle aged wizard who was clearly the most senior and the oldest, and who likewise bore the Malfoy surname, even gave Draco a nod of approval, looking as though he was only a step away from applauding.
If Draco knew this man's true identity, he would probably be overwhelmed by the honor...
While Lucius was glaring at Draco, that surprisingly youthful looking middle aged wizard turned and scolded one of the nearby portraits. "Not honest at all. Since when did we Malfoys become so bad at expressing our feelings? You must be the one who taught him that, Sherfley!"
"...Father."
"I do not want to hear your excuses!"
Lucius's mouth twitched.
The atmosphere had been rather serious just moments ago, but with that "first generation" Malfoy cutting in to stir things up, the whole mood instantly turned strange and almost ridiculous. If an outsider saw it, they might have thought the family was putting on some kind of comic act.
Seeing that, Draco looked curiously toward the portrait dressed in a somewhat old fashioned, almost primitive style, only to discover that the man was secretly winking at him.
That tiny gesture was enough to make Draco understand that the man was deliberately causing trouble so Draco would not keep getting lectured.
Sure enough, Lucius, who had been about to continue reprimanding Draco and warning him, could only wave a hand helplessly and let out a sigh.
He was the current head of the family, yes, and he certainly did not need to obey every word of his deceased predecessors.
But when it came to that first Malfoy, whose status was undeniably special, every head of the family tended to show him a little more tolerance and a certain degree of respect. Lucius was no exception.
Besides, this was not truly an important matter...
In the end, Lucius pretended not to hear the quiet laughter Narcissa was trying to hide behind him and looked straight at Draco, the son who filled him with both pride and exasperation.
Lucius tapped the table irritably. "Do not make that face. I am not asking you to do anything in particular."
"Not asking me to?" Draco was genuinely caught off guard.
Seeing the surprise in Draco's eyes, something he had tried and failed to hide, Lucius gave a cold laugh, clearly aware of what his son was thinking.
"Hmph. I am not so incompetent that I need my own child to step in for me."
"Then..."
"I will not stop you from doing what you have been doing. But you must understand this. In the wizarding world, strength is everything, and your stage lies in the future, not now."
He seemed to have said everything, and yet somehow nothing at all. Draco could only nod, half understanding.
The only thing he was certain of was that his father no longer intended to interfere with his actions.
Just when Draco thought that was the end of it, his father's deep, forceful voice rang out again...
"Show the wizarding world your worth. Prove your potential to everyone. Since Dumbledore has chosen Harry Potter, then you, Draco, will be the one to shatter that fantasy!"
Draco looked up at his father's blazing gaze, then at the elders in the portraits, whose faces were filled with expectation and excitement, and suddenly understood what their eyes meant.
So this was it.
They had placed the future on him.
And this plan...was called creating a god.
...
Back in his room, the shock had still not quite faded from Draco's face.
He had vaguely suspected as much before, but hearing it directly from his father, then facing all those expectant eyes in person, still hit him hard.
Responsibility. Pressure.
Even Draco, mature for his age and steady in the face of most things, could not calm himself completely right away.
For some reason, sitting on the bed, Draco suddenly had the urge to rub Pansy's little head just to relax a bit...
"If Harry Potter is the one chosen by Dumbledore... then I am..."
Muttering under his breath, Draco raised a hand before his eyes and clenched it tightly, as though trying to seize hold of something.
There was an indescribable heat in those gleaming gray eyes, along with a restless eagerness.
He had no reason to shrink back from this responsibility, or run from it.
More importantly, he had absolutely no reason to lose to anyone.
"The only question is how to avoid the Dark Lord's attention and attacks."
Since they were sending him back to Hogwarts to continue attending school, then the issue of his safety would inevitably fall partly on his father and the others, and partly on whether his own strength was enough to handle whatever came...
Perhaps it was because of that performance that they had finally started believing in him.
The battle with the Death Eaters really had been the turning point that changed everything.
Was that supposed to count as blind luck?
Before he set out, Draco had never planned that many steps ahead, and there had only been a handful of wizards who even knew what he was doing...
Wait.
"Kreacher was acting strangely, and Lockhart seemed to know something too. Could it be that those two..."
Just as Draco frowned and turned the possibility over in his mind, a tapping sound and the beating of wings suddenly came from the window.
Knock knock.
Draco paused.
Looking more closely, he realized it was an owl from the Parkinson family.
And at a time like this, the only person likely to be writing to him was probably that adorable and clingy young Miss Parkinson.
But why would she suddenly send him a letter?
He got up.
Opened the window.
After skillfully feeding the plump owl first, Draco slowly opened the letter Pansy had sent...
Some time passed before Draco finally took out his wand and lightly tapped the letter in his hand.
A closer look revealed that the scented words on the page began to rearrange themselves under his control. Little by little, the contents turned into Draco's own elegant cursive and the reply he wanted to send.
At last, he tied the finished letter to the owl's leg. Only after watching it fly out through the window did Draco murmur to himself, "Looks like they have run into a problem over there."
After reading what was in the letter, Draco finally understood why Pansy had looked as though she wanted to say something earlier, yet held herself back.
Especially just before leaving, that conflicted look on her face, like she wanted to speak and yet did not want to, had left Draco utterly puzzled.
Only now did he get his answer.
Draco had considered many possibilities, but the one thing he had never expected was that this matter was actually connected to Hermione...