But students were students—curiosity flared quickly and faded just as fast. And since the one attacked had been Filch's cat, a creature no one particularly liked, their attention was quickly swept away by the start of the new Quidditch season.
Only Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to have far too much energy. Not even Harry's Quidditch training or Ron and Hermione's mountain of homework could stop them from suspecting Malfoy and planning to use Polyjuice Potion to pry information out of him.
It left Tver rather helpless.
Staying in his office day after day, he could easily observe the three sneaking about, and from his elevated vantage point, watch them loudly plot in what they assumed was secrecy. The detection charms he'd placed around the Chamber of Secrets entrance were constantly being triggered, making it hard for him to read in peace.
Even running into Percy several times wasn't enough to dissuade them.
Fortunately, the Quidditch match arrived quickly.
Early that morning, students eagerly flocked toward the Quidditch pitch.
Tver originally had no interest in the match. He knew the outcome clearly, and without uncertainty, watching held little appeal. But Malfoy had mentioned his father, Lucius Malfoy, would be visiting the school to watch his first Quidditch game.
So Tver decided he wouldn't let this rare chance to speak with Lucius a second time slip by.
Following the crowd, he walked with anticipation toward the stands, and immediately spotted the out-of-place Lucius. Compared to the wild excitement of the students and the enthusiasm of the teachers, Lucius's composed posture and impeccably elegant attire made him look like he was attending a formal ball rather than a sporting event.
But the instant his proud gaze met Tver's, something flickered in his eyes.
Had he really reacted like this just because of a few words exchanged during the holidays?
Tver scratched his head in confusion.
As Lucius's gaze grew increasingly uneasy, Tver kindly approached, sat beside him, and greeted him.
"Long time no see, Uncle Lucius."
Lucius stiffened for a moment, but recovered quickly.
"Yes, Tver," he said with a polite smile. "How have you been? Work at the school keeping you busy?"
"It's been busy. If I hadn't seen you here, I wouldn't have considered coming to watch the match," Tver answered casually.
If you're so busy, then stop paying attention to me, Lucius fumed internally.
He and his wife had spent days discussing Tver's words from the holiday. Tver hadn't said much, but after thinking it through over and over, they always ended up with the same deeply worrying conclusion—whatever Tver intended to do would inevitably clash with the deeply rooted laws of the wizarding world.
The last time they encountered such rebellious ideology was during the Dark Lord's height of power. And now an eighteen-year-old was telling them he planned to do something on par with the Dark Lord?
If anyone else had said it, they'd have taken it as a joke.
But from Tver's demeanor, they—especially Lucius—had an absurd, unsettling feeling: he might actually be capable of it.
The thought kept Lucius awake at night. Reason told him he shouldn't believe it, let alone support it so casually. But following a potential Dark Lord was also his best chance to restore the Malfoy family's former glory.
So he ultimately chose—to wait and observe.
That was the secret to the Malfoy family's long-lasting prosperity.
Thinking this, Lucius stopped tormenting himself and instead allowed a smug smile to appear on his face.
"Well, that really is quite a task for you. If you run into any issues, feel free to tell me—I am a Hogwarts governor, after all, and I do have some authority."
Although he had a good relationship with the Minister of Magic, the only official position Lucius held in the wizarding world was that of a school governor.
Even so, it was enough to grant him considerable influence.
Tver's eyes brightened.
"Perfect. I've already submitted several teaching budget proposals, but they haven't been approved yet."
"Don't worry, I can help move things along," Lucius said, lifting his head smugly. "The other governors are more than happy to give me that courtesy."
"Thank you."
A sudden wave of cheers cut off their conversation.
The match had begun.
The Gryffindor and Slytherin teams shot into the sky the moment the whistle blew.
And immediately, reality proved one thing: money always worked.
With the finest Broomsticks currently available—the Nimbus 2001—the Slytherin players not only reached their positions faster, they even had time to taunt their opponents.
"Potter," Draco said smugly as he circled Harry, "I'm going to end this match with moves far cleaner than your sweeping!"
Right from the start, their speed advantage let them seize control, and the score spread rapidly.
Seeing this, Lucius announced proudly, "With an advantage like this, I can't imagine how Slytherin could possibly lose!"
"Uncle Lucius truly is impressive—spending such a large sum so casually, just to equip Slytherin with the best Broomsticks," Tver said with a flattering smile.
Lucius's smile froze for a second.
He hadn't wanted to spend that much money either.
If not for needing to avoid a Ministry investigation, he never would have sold so many valuable magical artifacts—nor disguised the sudden funds by buying Broomsticks.
And after all the exchanging and reselling, less than a quarter of the money remained.
"Heh. Providing Draco with the best environment is simply my duty as a father, isn't it?"
"How admirable. I'm sure Draco will grow up to be just like Uncle Lucius, raising the Malfoy family's status even higher."
Lucius stared at Tver, feeling—for the first time—that this smiling face was unbearable.
Why bring up the very thing he didn't want mentioned?
But Tver stopped there.
Teasing Lucius occasionally was fine; pushing too far would only backfire.
Their conversation continued pleasantly after that, especially when Harry was being chased relentlessly by the Bludger, which improved Lucius's mood considerably.
But it didn't last long. In an instant, his mood plummeted like a dropped stone.
"Though it was a bit messy, Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor wins!" Lee Jordan shouted enthusiastically.
"Hmph."
Lucius, face cold, said a curt farewell to Tver. He didn't even bother speaking to his son and left the stands immediately.
Harry was thrilled, but the moment he saw his own arm go limp, his smile disappeared.
"Well, yes, you see—once the bones are gone, there's no chance of fractures. Isn't that a rather convenient bit of magic?" Lockhart explained, awkward yet still trying to sound elegant.
This time, even Hermione couldn't be bothered with him. Whatever little goodwill she had regained from Lockhart's test had evaporated instantly.
Out of respect for a professor, she didn't retort, simply followed Harry into the Hospital Wing in silence.
Seeing this, Tver joined the crowd heading back toward the castle.
He still had a seminar with Dumbledore tonight.
...
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