May the world be kind to you

"I know the taste of loneliness too well to wish anyone else to taste it." -Harry Potter

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The once dignified lord's mansion is no longer what it used to be, and decay is everywhere.

The exquisite wrought iron gate was ajar, and obvious rust marks had begun to appear in several places.Through the opening on the door, it can be clearly seen that the once well-designed and maintained garden is overgrown with weeds, the precious flowers have long since withered, there is no water in the fountain, and the proud white peacock is even missing.

Draco couldn't believe how strange his familiar home had become.How long has it been!

A warm embrace hugged him tightly: "Everything will be fine, Xiaolong."

At the same time, a strong hand also put on his shoulder: "It's all over, Draco. The war is over, and the world will restore stability. There will be no more storms in the future."

Draco was silent for a moment, and then slowly opened his smile: "Yes, Mom, Dad. We are still together, and that is the most important thing."

If their family can be reunited, they will be able to face all kinds of difficulties, and he will no longer have any fear.After hugging their parents vigorously, they finally stepped into the house they hadn't entered for many days.

The inside of the building was well preserved and no different from before, but Lucius still frowned deeply.

"The manor needs to be thoroughly cleaned up and rebuilt, especially the living room and several other places that have been occupied. In addition, the house elves and gardeners must be arranged as soon as possible. Sissy, let me make it up to you for a few days, and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Let's get our lives back to how they were before."

"Honey, you can take your time at home, or settle the external affairs first before you can feel at ease."

Lucius nodded: "Tomorrow I will go to the Ministry of Magic to deal with the aftermath, and then..."

"Dad," Draco softly interrupted his father's words, his gray eyes fixed on his father's eyes firmly: "Let me help you. I'm an adult, and I should do my best to take responsibility for the family. I can't always hide under your protection."

"Xiaolong," Narcissa said, holding her son who grew up overnight into her arms distressedly: "Mom would rather you not be so sensible."

Lucius patted his son on the shoulder, his cold eyes that only warmed up when he looked at his family were filled with relief.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Draco. Don't worry, you can learn from the beginning slowly. But..." He pondered for a moment: "There is something that maybe it would be more appropriate for you to come forward."

"Dad, you said, I will do my best to do well."

Draco really wanted to do something for the family.

After experiencing the brutal war and the fear of almost ruining his family, he can no longer hide behind his parents without caring about the world and act recklessly as in the past.He also wants to use his own strength to protect his homeland.

Lucius looked more kindly in his eyes: "Although we were acquitted, we will still be criticized for everything before the war. Therefore, the top priority now is to establish a good image as soon as possible, and the fastest and most effective way is to let The world sees that we have a friendly and close relationship with the side of the light."

"I see," Draco nodded, "So Dad, who is your favorite?"

"Does this still need to be asked?" Lucius was very surprised that his son could ask such a thoughtless question: "Of course it is Harry Potter."

"..." Draco's face turned red in an instant, and he didn't know whether it was swelling or holding back, and it took him a while to pick up the words again: "Why him?"

"...Draco, what's going on with you today," Lucius frowned deeply, "Ask some inexplicable low-level questions?"

"Lucius dear," Narcissa picked up the topic seemingly inadvertently, with a hint of accusation in her eyes: "The war has just ended and the trial is going on right away, you have to give Xiaolong some time to calm down and reconcile. recover."

Lucius was silent.

The son was held in the hands of their husband and wife and raised up with care since he was a child, but in the end, because of his own mistakes, he suffered pain and torture that he shouldn't have to endure at his age.Looking carefully at the unconcealed anxiety on his son's tired and haggard face, Lucius unconsciously softened his tone.

"As the leader of the light side, even if Potter doesn't get the supreme power, the title of 'Savior' is enough for him to call the wind and rain for the rest of his life. It is no exaggeration to say that whoever can win him over will be the future network of the wizarding world. In whose hands..." In the middle of the sentence, I saw my son still had a dull expression and didn't know if he had listened to the words. After a pause, he shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Forget it, let's rest first, everyone is very tired. , we’ll talk about it another day.”

Draco went back to the bedroom and lay down on his bed in a daze.

Father actually wanted Malfoy and Potter to be friends, and they couldn't be ordinary friends?What a joke! !

One is as fiery as fire, and the other is as cold as water. Potter and Malfoy were destined to be hostile for life as early as the first year of sorting. Unless there is a miracle in the world, water and fire will never be compatible.

However, deep down in his heart, there was still a trace of secret delusion beyond self-control.Could this just be an opportunity for him to approach him justifiably?

Even if he will eventually be burned by the flames.

Porter.

Porter.

Porter...

Consciousness gradually blurred.

Half asleep, half awake, he saw a boundless sea of ​​flames, and a firm and powerful hand.

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Draco silently looked at the familiar or unfamiliar portraits in the memorial room.

For a long time, the pictures in my memory are the old man who fell into the night, the captives in the manor, the figure swallowed by fierce fire, the blood everywhere, and the ruined Hogwarts.And until this moment, until the moment when he saw all the victims for the first time, he truly realized the cruelty of war.

Fifty or sixty portraits were neatly hung around the not-so-spacious room, and the people inside were either standing or sitting silently. Apart from giving people a strong shock, it was more oppressive and suffocating.

His eyes moved slowly between the portraits.

The potion master with the still stern expression, the gentle werewolf, the red-haired twins who are used to pranks, and the photographer who regards Potter as his idol.Other than that, they were almost all strangers he had never known, some were older than him, most were of the same age as him, and even a few were obviously underage.They all ended their supposedly wonderful lives in that war, and lost lives that had no chance to bloom again.

"Draco, you can go."

"Father, I want to stay a little longer."

Lucius didn't straighten up until all the people in the memorial room were gone and he was sure that they had seen how he remembered.He was about to take his son to leave, but when he turned around, he saw the sadness on his son's face that could not be ignored.He frowned slightly and wanted to say something, but finally swallowed all his thoughts and left the memorial room alone.

Draco was still lost in his own thoughts.

Mother dared to deceive and defy Voldemort just because she knew she was safe. These deceased people also had their own parents, brothers, relatives and friends, but they would never have any chance and possibility to know that their families were still safe.

It was me who ignited the flames of war and started death.

I am sorry.

His lips moved silently. For the first time, he let go of all his arrogance and arrogance. Facing these so-called mixed-bloods, mudbloods, and rebellious pure-bloods, he slowly bent down and bowed deeply. bowed.

The eyes of everyone in the portrait widened in disbelief where he couldn't see.

"Draco."

It wasn't until the familiar cold voice sounded that he straightened up and walked slowly in front of the former dean.

"Professor Snape..." But he didn't know what else to say.

For a moment there was only silence.

"Don't come here again." After all, it was the potions master who broke the silence: "I don't want another stupid Slytherin after Gryffindor."

Draco responded in a low voice before walking towards the door. Before leaving, he looked around all the portraits again, then closed the door, turned around, and met a pair of emerald green eyes unexpectedly.

The completely unexpected encounter made the two pairs of eyes condense together in surprise, and then in the silent embarrassment of losing words, there appeared panic, shame, unexplainable feelings, and a flash of overjoyed... Different grays The green eyes are full of the same complexities, but no one can be sure that they have seen the facts clearly, and no one dares to take the initiative to uncover the protective color called "dead enemy" to test and verify, so they can only choose the most. Familiar ways of getting along to reassure yourself, to maintain meaningless dignity and ridiculous pride.

"The famous savior is really extraordinary. Knowing that he looks like a dead man and is not ashamed to show up at home, he dares to go out and scare people everywhere. Why, he is tired of hearing the title of 'golden boy'" Are you going to change the name to 'Golden Ghost'?"

Does he look gaunter than he did on the day of the trial?How long had it been before he could make himself so pale?Does he know how to take good care of himself?

"..."

Harry just felt itchy.

Malfoy is really worthy of his peacock attribute, he can only watch its shape but not hear its sound.I must have been dazzled just now to feel that I saw worry in his eyes.

Taking a few deep breaths in secret to control the urge to punch someone, Harry glanced at him nonchalantly, walked past him into the memorial room without saying a word, completely ignoring the entanglement and frustration of the platinum peacock.

"Damn Potter just left like this, I... oh!" The sudden pain on his shoulder interrupted his muttering, and he didn't need to look back to see Draco knew that it was Malfoy's Patriarch who beat him Cane: "Father, why did you..."

"I can't believe it," Lucius strode out of the Ministry of Magic with a bit of anger: "You actually wasted the excellent opportunity to win just now!"

"...Father, you should have seen it just now," Draco muttered and followed his father's footsteps, "I took the initiative to talk to Potter, but he didn't want to talk to me at all, and the boredom in his eyes was unwilling to even cover it up. !" The more he said, the more angry he became, and the volume gradually increased: "He is exactly the same as he was in Hogwarts, and he has not changed at all. For fear that others will not know, write 'I hate you' clearly on the face, who can bear this? I have already..."

"That's enough Draco, I don't want to hear you complaining about Potter." Lucius finally couldn't take it anymore: "You are 18 years old, please learn to solve problems with actions instead of words!"

"..."

"Kingsley praised Malfoy for donating his property for reconstruction, and tomorrow's "Daily Prophet" will report on it." Lucius probably felt that he was a little harsh just now, and then eased his tone: "But again Favorable public opinion is not as safe and reliable as a 'savior'. So, you have to complete this task, you know?"

"... yes, father."

Draco replied reluctantly, but he couldn't ignore the excitement deep in his heart.

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"It's been a long time since I tasted Aunt Sissy's handicraft," the black-haired girl said with a satisfied face while holding a plate of dim sum, "You don't even know how much I miss this taste!"

"Mom, you don't have to bother to prepare afternoon tea for them." Draco stared at the two uninvited people in front of him with dissatisfaction: "They will leave immediately."

"Xiaolong, how can you treat your friends like this?" Narcissa scolded lightly, but her loving expression was beyond words: "They are guests."

"Uninvited guest." Draco snorted.

"I knew that Aunt Sissy was the best," the girl put on a sweet smile and said coquettishly to the hostess: "It's not like some people will bully me!"

Of the two men present, one was full of sarcasm and the other was speechless looking up at the sky.

Narcissa laughed: "Talk slowly, I'm entering the room."

The figure of his mother had just disappeared from the garden, and Draco couldn't hold back his disdain: "Okay, stop pretending."

"The most correct thing I have done in my life." Pan Xi put away all the sweetness as if changing his face, and showed a flamboyant face: "It is to recognize your true face early and come out of your childish and ridiculous obsession."

Draco turned a deaf ear to his friend's sarcasm: "Tell me, what's the matter with you here?"

"Can't you come if I have nothing to do?" Pansy raised her chin provocatively: "Aunt Sissy likes me very much, and Uncle Lucius hopes that I can marry into the Malfoy family."

Bryce opened his mouth in protest, but before he could make a sound, he was stared back by his fiancée's eyes.

"I don't know how my parents will feel when they learn how their daughter-in-law evaluates their son."

"..."

Pansy choked.

Who doesn't know how much the Malfoys dote on their son. Although they are strict, they are also extremely protective. They absolutely cannot tolerate someone saying nothing about Draco in front of them-even though everyone knows Draco's problems. .

"Let's take a look at your situation." Pansy reluctantly told the whole story, looking around at the more magnificent main house with its beautiful garden as before: "It seems that our worries were in vain. After the trial, it was even worse than the war. It’s really enviable to live a good life before. The influence of the savior really cannot be underestimated.”

"What's the matter with Potter?" Draco retorted subconsciously with a slight frown: "With the ability of the Malfoy family, it is not necessary to rely on anyone's influence to have a good quality of life."

"Tch," Pansy said disdainfully, "the savior personally testified for Malfoy in court, who in the entire wizarding world doesn't know about this? Anyone with a little brain can understand what this means. I don't believe that Uncle Lucius is like that." You think so."

Draco was silent for a moment: "...Father asked me to find a way to win Potter over."

"Let's see." Pan Xi glanced at his friend with an expression of "as expected", and an imperceptible light flashed in his black eyes very quickly: "How is it going?"

"It's just a hasty meeting, what progress can be made?"

"...Then you are still idle at home all day?!" Bryce opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Are you not worried at all about not being able to complete your father's task?"

"Worry is useful?" Draco said blankly, "Besides, I don't think years of hostility will give us any chance to turn enemies into friends."

"Opportunities can be created!" Pansy's face was full of hatred: "Wouldn't it be possible to meet each other after going out and meeting a few times? You are all adults, and you can't be childish as in the past. Needle-to-seam relative, right?"

"I don't know who is naive!" Draco snorted coldly: "I completely turn a deaf ear to other people's friendly and kind questions, and even disdain for basic polite greetings..." He stopped suddenly in the middle of speaking, and looked suspiciously at There seemed to be an overly excited expression on the friend's face: "You...why are you more anxious than me?"

"..."

Draco always mentioned that Potter had a negative IQ, why did he react so quickly today?Before Pansy could figure out the reason, Bryce had already given a reasonable explanation very naturally:

"Because you underestimated how popular Potter is. Except for the Death Eaters on the run, which pureblood is not trying to get along with him? You know, everyone wants to seize the opportunity, but no one can afford it." It's a waste of time to hesitate."

"..."

Talked as if Potter was about to be snatched away.Draco pouted secretly, unaware that there was a trace of anxiety and panic in his heart.

"Don't listen to Bryce's nonsense." Pansy gave his fiancé a look of great admiration out of Draco's sight: "I bet that even if others have already started to act, the final success will definitely belong to Malfoy .Only based on the seven years of love-hate relationship between you and Potter..."

"Love? What stupid things are you talking about, Pansy?" Draco interrupted his friend with disdain: "Potter and I have been rivals since we entered school, and you can imagine that there is love between us? With Bryce Stayed so long that even your brain was assimilated by him?"

"..."

Who is fantasizing? ?

Pansy's eyes almost rolled to the sky: "Yes, yes, you are right. The point now is that Potter has resigned from all his duties and has a lot of free time. Would you like to take advantage of the fact that there are not many people? Do you act first when you know the news?"

"Since not many people know about it..." Draco narrowed his eyes slowly: "Where did you hear about it?"

Pansy was again taken aback by his unnatural acuity.

"Of course I have my channel. By the way, there is one more thing you might be interested in." Pansy casually threw out the real purpose of visiting the manor today: "Potter broke up with that Weasley."

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"Little dragon? Little dragon??"

Draco came back to his senses suddenly, and found that the refreshment carefully prepared by his mother had been smashed into pieces unconsciously by himself, and immediately put down the knife and fork in annoyance and shame.

"I'm sorry, Mom, I've been thinking too much about things."

Narcissa's eyes were full of worry.

"You've been in a trance these days. What happened or what did Pansy say to you?"

Draco froze for a moment, his thoughts ran away uncontrollably again.

From the reasons for Porter's breakup to the possible candidates for his next girlfriend, the conflicts that have never stopped since the enrollment to the unexpected testimony in the trial court... The questions that have been turbulent for several days are still in my mind, but no matter what No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't get an answer, so I had to throw them all away in annoyance again, and when I looked up, I was confronted with my mother's worries that had almost materialized.

"Xiaolong, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Mom." Draco's apology deepened: "I just...remembered what Dad said the day before yesterday. He seemed to want me to take over Malfoy's family business."

Narcissa stared carefully at her son's eyes, and after confirming that he was just troubled rather than physically unwell, she felt relieved: "You should inherit the family business. But, do you have other ideas?"

"I..." Draco hesitated for a moment. "Mom, if I say... I want to go to St. Mungo's for a while to learn something I like, will you... be angry?"

"It's good that you can have your own ideas and arrangements," Narcissa was a little surprised: "Why should we be angry?"

"I just said before that I would do my best for the family," Draco said cautiously with shame in his eyes, "but in the blink of an eye, I have to break my promise, and I don't even take on the responsibilities that should belong to me." ..."

"Oh, Xiaolong, you don't have to be so cautious in front of us." Narcissa took her son into her arms lovingly: "Do you know how much mom wishes you hadn't gone through this cruel war? Do you know that you How much does it hurt my mother?"

"Mom, I..."

"Don't say sorry, Xiaolong." Narcissa kissed her son's forehead tenderly: "We will support any decision you make, and you don't have to have any worries."

"Dad...will he be disappointed in me?" Draco's eyes sting slightly: "I know he has always expected a lot from me."

"You will always be our pride, Xiaolong. As long as you can live happily, we will be satisfied and have nothing else to ask for." Narcissa smiled and looked behind her son: "Is it, Lucius?"

Hearing this, Draco turned his head with reddish eyes, only to realize that his father had been standing behind him for an unknown amount of time.

"To get into St. Mungo's, you have to pass the NEWTs exam," Lucius patted his son on the shoulder: "Are you sure?"

"Yes. But I still plan to go back to school and repeat the seventh grade."

"Okay." Lucius nodded, paused for a moment before continuing: "You don't have to worry about the family business, it shouldn't be a problem to take care of the family business for decades at my age. The cane and ring are in your hands."

Draco finally laughed, and even pulled a tear from his eye down his face: "Thank you, Mom, Dad."

Being able to reunite with their parents and never being separated in peacetime, their family can live a stable life without any shadow——

It is already his greatest happiness.