Harry Potter: Glory Bows to Me

When all the guests had arrived, it was time for the dinner to begin.

The night was bright, with stars dotted on the sky. Several magical fireworks were set off in front and behind Malfoy Manor, with sparks flying and scattering over the mansion that was brightly lit by candles, leaving behind colorful Christmas greetings or the Malfoy family emblem.

Guests arrived at the restaurant one after another amid the sound of fireworks.

A magic spell to expand the restaurant's space had been cast a few days in advance, making the restaurant look much larger than usual so that it could accommodate so many guests at the same time.

In addition to the restaurant, many things in the restaurant have also been cast with magic, such as the two long tables on both sides of the restaurant, which are almost as long as the long table of Hogwarts School. At the front of the restaurant is a main table with a large open space in the middle.

I guess this is the open space specially reserved for the dance party after dinner.

Lucius and Narcissa were already sitting at the main table, but Draco did not go to the main table this time. Instead, he sat at the front of the long table on the side with Harry and Amanta.

The classical orchestra had arrived long ago, and the trumpet player was tuning his instrument in the corner.

After all the guests were seated, Lucius stood up.

As Lucius stood up, the restaurant gradually went from noisy to silent, and the musicians in the orchestra also stopped their instruments.

Under everyone's gaze, Lucius held high a golden goblet inlaid with emeralds.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, my dear guests, friends, and your families. Welcome to spend this Christmas Eve at Malfoy Manor. I guarantee that this will be an unforgettable Christmas for all of you."

Lucius mentioned them after he had spoken at length about his time at the Ministry of Magic and his former classmates and friends.

Amanta couldn't help but prick up her ears and listen.

"Well, I still want to talk about some personal matters as usual. As a father, the happiest thing for me this year is that my little dragon entered Hogwarts this year and became a freshman in Slytherin. He also made two good friends, Amanta and Harry. I believe you have heard rumors about them a long time ago. During this period of time, the wisdom and sharpness they showed made me feel deeply..."

"Our time has passed, and theirs - the time of the young people - has just begun."

"In addition, my dear Sev, thank you very much for taking care of my little dragon. Time waits for no one, and Sev is still alone. Single women here, I hope you can consider this genius, this handsome Hogwarts Potions Professor."

As he said these words, Snape looked at him as if he wanted to eat him alive.

It may be that Lucius' words have a built-in filter, or it may be that Snape's appearance has improved significantly since he washed his hair.

After Lucius said these words, many ambiguous glances were cast at Snape.

Snape gnashed his teeth in anger and his whole face turned blue.

At this time, Lucius was still reading the Christmas speech with a smile on his face.

"Merry Christmas! I wish everyone can realize their wishes in the new year."

"..."

"This is an amazing and exciting Christmas. The peaceful time in the wizarding world is always short-lived. Even though the road ahead is dark and uncertain, who knows if this is not the dawn?"

"...Anyway, in this long-lost peaceful time, let's gather here and have fun!"

"Well, everyone, I won't say any more. Please enjoy your meal."

As soon as they sat down, Amanta noticed that Harry was looking at the food in front of him with a wolf-like gaze.

After Lucius announced that they were ready to eat, Harry couldn't help but reach out to the roasted turkey leg in front of him.

Seeing that Harry was about to grab it, Amanta quickly knocked his hand away.

"…Don't forget what Mr. Finney said," she reminded in a low voice.

"Right..." Harry seemed to have lost the air in his mouth. "I almost forgot about those troublesome rules."

"Harry, I hope you can pay more attention to your behavior. There have been many people watching us since this morning."

"Uh... Is anyone looking at us? Even if there is, let them look. I'm already used to a bunch of people staring at my head with stupid eyes."

Harry curled his lips, picked up the knife and cut off a small piece of meat with difficulty.

"..."Amanta looked at Harry helplessly.

This time is different from usual when they are in Hogwarts. Although there are usually many people looking at them from time to time in Hogwarts, these people - the group of students in Hogwarts cannot be compared with them.

She glanced around casually.

Since they were in the front hall, many people had been looking at them quietly. Now that everyone had gathered in the restaurant, even more people were focusing their eyes on them.

Among these gazes, there are those of curiosity and exploration, those of confusion, those of interest, and those of ill intent.

But it was obvious that these silent glances did not attract anyone's attention at all, and this became even more obvious when he sat down at the table.

"I dare say this is even more sumptuous than the dinner at Hogwarts."

Harry looked at Draco with sparkling eyes.

"There's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time, Draco. Does your family still... still need a house-elf?"

Draco's expression almost broke.

But years of training enabled him to maintain his composure.

"Harry, I understand that you want to compliment the Malfoys' food, but you don't have to..."

Amanta turned her head.

"Harry, after all, house elves are not allowed to eat their master's food."

Harry suddenly felt like a deflated ball.

"Then...what other ways are there to join this family?"

"House elf? Good, just the thing for you, Potter."

Snape, who was sitting across from them, sneered.

He had a sullen face and was fidgeting with the mashed potatoes in front of him - the ambiguous looks from people around him made him feel uneasy.

Harry glanced at Snape angrily but dared not say a word, then lowered his head and continued to work hard.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to eat, Amanta observed briefly.

Sitting near them were Blaise, Syrio, Goyle and Crabbe... all familiar faces to them in Slytherin.

It can be seen that this was specially arranged by Draco.

This arrangement obviously takes into account the attention of others and tries to keep them from being disturbed as much as possible.

But after a while, someone stood up from his seat and walked towards them.

This person is extremely strange and weird in every way.

He limped towards them, and it was obvious that he was missing a leg, which was supported by a wooden prosthesis. He had thick dark gray hair, a scarred face, and a large piece of flesh missing from his nose.

But his most obvious and strangest feature is -

One of his eyes was normal, but the other was large and round, showing a distinct and fake bright blue color, moving up and down and left and right constantly - it was obvious that this was not an ordinary eye, but a demonic prosthetic eye.

With such a unique and distinct feature, Amanta hardly had to guess—

He is Mad-Eye Moody, an extremely outstanding and experienced retired Auror.

"I suppose you are the famous Harry Potter."

"Yes."

Harry stared at Moody with wide eyes, and it was obvious that he was frightened by Moody's appearance.

"Excuse me, my name is Alastor Moody."

Moody was holding a rose-colored curved hip flask in his hand. As soon as he said his name, he raised the hip flask and poured a sip into his mouth.

"Uh… hello, Mr. Moody, what can I do for you?"

Harry stared into Moody's magical eye in horror.

The evil eye jumped back and forth in Moody's eye socket, looking upwards for a while, then turning back, leaving only the white of the eye for them.

"Nothing, Potter. I just wanted to discuss something with you - something about the mysterious man who must not be named."

Moody got straight to the point and asked, "Potter, do you think the You-Know-Who will come back again?"

Harry looked at Amanta hesitantly, and Amanta nodded slightly at him.

He then said to Moody: "Of course... he will come back, it's just a matter of time."

"What would you do if he came back?"

"Of course, we must do our utmost to fight him and never let his evil plot succeed."

Harry said without hesitation.

Moody nodded slightly.

"very good."

"Then this is another famous person - Miss Merlin."

Moody turned to look at Amanta, but his magic eye was still jumping around, and it was obvious that he was always observing the situation around him.

As expected of an experienced Auror, he never slacked off at any moment.

"I heard that you are from the Merlin family, but as far as I know, the Merlin family disappeared hundreds of years ago. How do you know your identity?"

"My background was told to me by the orphanage director and Dumbledore. Although I am an orphan, you don't have to doubt it."

Amanta raised her hand and showed him the Sage's Ring on her wrist.

Moody's magic eye turned and stared at her wrist without blinking.

"The Sage's Ring? Miss Merlin...excuse me."

He took out his wand and tapped the sage's ring on her wrist.

She could tell without Moody's introduction that he was checking the condition of the Sage's Ring to see if it had been cast under any spell like the Confusion Charm.

"Mr. Moody, you should know that this powerful magical artifact with a blood curse cannot be confused by an ordinary Confusion Charm."

Despite what Amanta said, Moody, a suspicious person, only trusted his own judgment.

He tested it and seemed to find nothing.

He had no choice but to retract his wand and said gruffly in a hoarse voice: "Yes, I just did it in case. Please forgive my behavior."

"So, Miss Merlin, what do you think of the You-Know-Who's claims?"

He scanned her face with a sharp look.

"What do you mean? Are you saying that Muggles and Muggle-borns should be exterminated?"

This question somewhat confused Amanta.

Apart from the pursuit of pure blood and the slaughter of Muggles - she really didn't see what Voldemort advocated. After all, most of Voldemort's actions were out of his own interests.

"Purebloods first," Moody said simply.

"I am not against certain concepts of bloodline. For example, according to statistics, wizards of pure-blood origin have higher average magical power and more elites. But I don't think bloodline alone gives you an absolute advantage, nor is it a reason to kill or cruelly abuse others."

"Really? You really don't think that blood alone is enough to make you above any Muggle or law?"

Moody asked sharply.

"Are you questioning the prisoner, Moody?"

A man wearing a dark green bowler hat and pinstriped clothing walked over and interrupted Moody's questioning.

He looked very kind and patted Moody's shoulder with a smile.

"Relax, who brought you here?"

"it's me."

Before Moody could answer, a dark-skinned, hairless man nearby spoke in a gentle voice.

"Fudge, don't be like this. You know Moody's current situation - a bachelor living in a messy house. It's terrible there, and no one can spend Christmas with him. It just so happens that I received Malfoy's invitation, so I brought him here."

His deep, slow voice was unconsciously calming, but Fudge was apparently immune to it.

In stark contrast to his previous amiable expression, he suddenly looked a little irritable.

"So, Kingsley, that's why you brought Moody here? - You'll upset Lucius."

Kingsley grinned, the gold earring in one ear gleaming against his dark skin.

"Lucius has invited enough people. I don't think he cares about Moody."

After listening to Kingsley's explanation, Fudge's expression was obviously a little angry.

Just when Amanta thought he might lose his temper, a man with meticulously combed gray hair came over and patted Fudge on the shoulder with a stern face.

"Fudge, are you planning on ruining Lucius's dinner?"

"..."

After interrupting Moody's questioning of Amanta, they ignored her and Harry and chatted among themselves.

From their conversation, she already knew their identities.

Fudge, Kingsley, Moody, Crouch...

A bunch of bigwigs from the Ministry of Magic were chatting and laughing in front of them.

Moody was invited by Kingsley to go to Malfoy Manor with him for Christmas dinner - it was obvious that he was not there to spend a lively Christmas, but to find an opportunity to get in touch with them.

It is not difficult to see Moody's purpose from the questions he asked them.

He was trying to determine their stance and inclinations, and to find out about Voldemort.

Amanta had to admire his keen sense of smell, and was also grateful to Fudge and others for their help, even though they only did it for Lucius's sake.