HP's Platinum Temptation

Seeing Lucius, just thinking about his time, Clarence almost didn't squeeze it out.As for the birthday surprise guessed by Sirius, of course there was none.

At the end of November, Dumbledore announced that a Christmas dinner will be held on Christmas Eve this year. Visiting students from the three schools, Hogwarts students in the fourth grade and above, and all personnel related to the four-school joint wizard duel will be held. Attend.Because there was a dance, Dumbledore also kindly reminded the participants to invite their dance partners as soon as possible.

From that day on, Clarence's side became even more crowded.Coupled with Williams' constant intense marking every day, Clarence did not have any chance to observe the other visiting students for any abnormalities.

There was a huge number of men and women who wished to be Clarence's dance partner.But Clarence had only one dance partner in mind.Therefore, the undecided choice of a dance partner kept the noise around Clarence until the eve of Christmas Eve.

For nearly two months, Clarence failed to touch Lucius' hand.Despite the comfort of the nightly water mirror calls, Clarence's mood did not improve at all.Because the referee team will start to frequent Hogwarts after the Christmas Eve dinner.On Sunday, Clarence was so entangled by Williams that he couldn't get out.Lucius has always been gentle and patient in comforting him, and he has always said that if he has the opportunity to go to school, he will try his best to meet him.

Behind Lucius' gentle words, there was bitterness in Clarence's heart.If it weren't for the fact that he had witnessed Lucius entering and exiting Hogwarts many times on the Marauder's Map, perhaps he would not have noticed Lucius' implied alienation at all.

Just when everyone was cheering for the upcoming Christmas dinner the next day, Clarence finally made up his mind, turned to a remote corner, knocked Brown Sugar unconscious and tied him up, gaining a temporary freedom.

On the Marauder's Map, Lucius' name had remained in Snape's office since the dinner.

Clarence dared not and was unwilling to guess why Lucius went to Snape frequently.

"Are you at school, Lucius?" Quickly coming to the door of the cellar, holding the mirror in the phone, Clarence stared at the tightly closed door, with a hint of pleading in his helpless tone: " If you're at school, I'll come find you."

******

"I... will go to Hogwarts for the dinner tomorrow, and I'm at home now, what's the matter?" Lucius' throat stiffened because of Clarence's voice, and finally he refused cruelly.

"Mr. Lambert is standing at the door of my office." At this moment, Snape's voice sounded softly from Lucius' side.

Hearing these words, Lucius' pupils shrank sharply, and he looked in the direction of the office door.

One step, two steps, walking slowly behind the door, Lucius couldn't help stretching out his hand, his fingertips lightly touched the cold surface on the door.

At the same time, Clarence was also putting his hand on the door with a gloomy expression.

Across the door, the two of them were only a few feet away from each other, but they were separated by a door.

Clarence standing here at this time can only show that he already knew the whereabouts of Lucius now, or earlier, but he never exposed it.

"I don't want to hide our relationship anymore, Lucius." Holding the door of the cellar, Clarence seemed to be able to see Lucius' face through the door: "Tomorrow night's Christmas dinner, you will be my dance partner okay?"

"Don't be so childish, Clay. Tomorrow night is not a suitable opportunity. Isn't it good for us to maintain this state for the time being? It's better to face this trouble."

"Even if our relationship is made public, it won't cause much trouble for our affairs. Is there anything we can do together? I've had enough of pretending in front of others that we're just a normal partnership, Not even friends." Clarence slammed his fist on the cellar door, and the muffled sound and vibration of his body's close contact with the iron plate was faithfully transmitted.Lucius, who was standing on the other side, was shocked: "I can't pretend to see you again like this through so many people." The deep exhaustion was faithfully conveyed by the voice: "I love you, Lucius .”

"I..." The palm of the hand on the door was clenched into a fist, the muscles tensed quickly, and finally loosened slowly. Lucius leaned his forehead against the door, as if he could really feel Claren Si's breath: "I know..."

I know, but it's not that I love you.This was already a silent refusal.Clarence slowly withdrew his fist, and his gaze towards the door slowly turned into despair: "I want to see you."

"I... I'm already on my own bed. It's not good to change clothes to disturb Severus now, so..." On the other side of the door that had been silent for a long time, the sound of pattering footsteps sounded slowly, being interrupted by the door The sound that was so blocked that it was almost inaudible seemed to be magnified countless times, pounding on Lucius' heart little by little. What was heard along with the sound of the water mirror hanging up was the slow steps of the footsteps standing at the door, Lucius Si put on a smiling face, and said to the other end of the water mirror that had lost his partner: "Anyway, I will attend the dinner party tomorrow, and I will see you then. By the way, you are also an adult this year. Last time your birthday Time has been busy, I didn't have time to talk to you. You can drink at the dinner party tomorrow, how about I bring you a bottle from the estate?"

Snape looked at his friend who was talking non-stop to the water mirror abnormally, and only let out a long sigh: "He's gone."

☆、136 Prom

Terrible silence fell because of Snape's words. Lucius put down his hand on the door a little dejectedly, took a deep breath, and walked back to the sofa: "Where did we just talk?" Talk about business in a calm tone.

"I still don't agree with your decision to hide Mr. Lambert. As one of the Dark Lord's targets, wouldn't it be more dangerous if he didn't know anything about it?" Snape shook his head, but he didn't take the initiative to speak. Get rid of Lucius' disguise.

The only obvious change in the Dark Mark was the one before the arrival of the three schools.

After that, the always high-profile Dark Lord disappeared.This abnormal behavior was the most important reason why Lucius insisted not to tell Clarence.

If the Dark Lord had enough power, even if he had no choice but to take Clarence in school, he would not let Lucius go.In the original British wizarding world, apart from Dumbledore, there was no existence that made the Dark Lord afraid.

Thinking in this way, if the Dark Lord regains his mobility, he will definitely summon all the old troops. After cleaning up the team, the first target must be Malfoy Manor.

But in fact, because of a savior living in Malfoy Manor, it not only has a large-scale defense built by Clarence, but also has been protected by Aurors in the dark for a long time.If the Dark Lord, who has not yet recovered his full strength, collides with him, he will be seriously injured even if he is not dead.

If the Dark Lord really did this, there was nothing to worry about.

But the Dark Lord didn't.The name of the Dark Lord himself still does not appear in England.After obtaining the lists of all the personnel of the three schools, Clarence checked them one by one to confirm the authenticity of their identities.

This can only show that the Dark Lord controlled one of these teachers and students through the Imperius Curse and other methods.

The Dark Lord did not avoid Dumbledore, did not go directly to the Savior, and even let go of Lucius who betrayed him, but entered Hogwarts with all his heart.Then there are two possibilities, one is that the purpose of the Dark Lord is to obtain something in the school, and the second is that there will be an opportunity in Hogwarts for the Dark Lord to catch all his goals.

Lucius has always been known for being good at guessing the mind of the Dark Lord, and with the support of Abraxas, this advantage can be brought to the extreme.

At first, Abraxas didn't agree to help.

"You shouldn't betray him!" The reason for the portrait's refusal was actually a bit far-fetched.

"Before he failed, all my actions were supported by you. Father, is it too late to say that I should not betray?" Lucius snorted coldly, but his actual attitude was not as good as words As respectful as the word.

"Are you in a hurry? To protect that kid?"

"In addition to him, the Malfoy family is not immune. If we appear in front of him at the same time, the Dark Lord will definitely give priority to dealing with the betrayer."

"Then why did you agree to be the referee to enter Hogwarts? Hiding in the manor, nothing happened." Abraxas's figure did not always appear in the landscape paintings. In many cases, even if he hid, His voice can still be heard accurately.

Lucius was silent for a short while, he couldn't find a suitable reason to explain his behavior of voluntarily bumping into the gun: "I can't let Clay deal with him alone."

"People may not need you at all." Abraxas snorted coldly.

"That's not something I need to pay attention to. Father, he once betrayed you," Lucius lightly tightened his hand on the table, and the platinum ring was tightened between his fingers, leaving an obvious mark. Inside, Clarence's name is tightly attached to the skin there: "Now, I want to send him to accompany you. Maybe then you can ask him yourself if he ever needed you at all."

"You..." Abraxas choked for a moment, unable to answer: "I object!"

"You are just a portrait now, father." Lucius turned around when he was talking to Abraxas for the first time, and looked directly at the familiar face in the painting that didn't even change his face: "My choice, I'll do it myself."

******

After the dinner on Christmas Eve, the four-school joint competition will officially begin.

The previous time was not only to allow the exchange students from the three schools to adapt to the environment and characters of Hogwarts, but also to allow students from different places to have a close contact with the live duel system and select the most suitable personnel for the competition composition.

The competition in the previous summer vacation was to highlight the effect of the training methods adopted by different teams in dealing with actual wars.So only team events are set up.

However, the exchange competition between students naturally cannot be used directly.What students need are more opportunities for performance and growth.

Therefore, in this exchange competition, each school's team has to select a total of ten people to form a participating team. The official competition includes three individual duels and one team duel.Among them, the group duel is a team of five people, and the mode is the same as that of the adult competition.Individual duels and team duels can be repeated.

There are up to 8 players in each game, and the remaining two are substitutes.

The roster for each team is announced at the Christmas dinner and cannot be changed afterwards.This rule is mainly to limit Hogwarts, which has home court advantage.

The way Clarence formed the team is also quite special. He first announced his choice of ten-man roster and posted it outside the auditorium on the second day after he became the captain.Anyone who has any objections to the personnel involved in the battle can write a letter to Alvira, the head of logistics, specifying the challenge.Every Friday, Alvira will notify the challenger and the challenged object to compete in the next day.Those who win stay, and those who lose are eliminated.Challenge results are announced at breakfast on Sunday.

This is not only an open selection, but also allows the selected members to have more formal training experience.

Before the Christmas Eve banquet, when the list was finally decided, except for Clarence, the other nine places were all selected after fierce fighting.

According to Sirius, the principals of the other three schools admired Clarence's actions, but at the same time were deeply wary.Since they came so far away, everyone hoped to be able to step down Hogwarts in this match.In the second year, the school's enrollment quality will definitely increase significantly.

Clarence, who left from the cellar door, turned back to the place where Williams was placed.

Williams was very obedient and stayed where he was. Although he was unlikely to have the ability to get out of trouble on his own, he still waited where he was, as if he was sure that Clarence would come back to find him.

Seeing Clarence turn back, Williams showed a big smile, but before he could say anything urgently, he was too scared to speak by Clarence's unprecedented bad face.Desperately released, he was driven back to his residence.

Lucius was obviously just across the wall, but he refused his request to meet.This can no longer be concealed with the reason of 'to avoid relationship exposure'.

Although it is not possible to doubt the possibility of cheating between Lucius and Snape, it is inevitable that Lucius avoided him for some reason unknown to Clarence.Finalizing his guess didn't make Clarence one iota happy.

As a result, Williams was so overwhelmed by the terrifying aura surrounding Clarence that he dared not mention his partner.

Just like the Goblet of Fire ball requires the warriors to dance with their partners, in order to follow this tradition, the opening dance of the Christmas dinner this time is given to the captains of the four school teams to complete.This is why there are so many inviters around Clarence.

Lucius declines Clarence's offer to dance.So in the end Clarence's dance partner was Alvira who was planning to go home.

Williams, the captain of Salem, was originally jealous of Clarence's partner.But when he found out that the object of his jealousy was Clarence's own sister, he resolutely retracted his anger.

The captain of Durmstrang is a boy from the Liman family in Germany. It is said that the Liman family is a high-level member of the Saints organization.And the dance partner he invited was a seventh-year girl from Slytherin.

What was more surprising was that Beauxbaton's captain was not a girl, but Bernard, who was almost the shortest among the five boys.Bernard's female companion was a student of Beauxbaton's own.In Beauxbatons, where girls are absolutely dominant, if boys want to stand out, they must have something to be proud of.

The eight dancing students gathered in the foyer before the dinner began.The expressions of Clarence and Alvira were exactly the same, very calm, with only a polite smile on the corner of their mouths.Williams put his partner aside heartlessly, and insisted on talking to Clarence.

In this regard, Clarence kept his eyes on his nose, his nose on his mouth, and his mouth on his heart, and turned a deaf ear.

Next to him, Li Man seemed to want to have a conversation with Bernard, but was gambled back by Bernard's more direct and indifferent expression than Clarence's.On the contrary, Li Man's partner and Bernard's partner chatted happily.

In the end, Liman had to strike up a conversation with Williams' partner, who was also a friend he was familiar with, so that the scene didn't become too embarrassing.

Before going to the cellar to find Lucius, Clarence would show negative emotions such as impatience towards Williams.After that, the negativity escalated into outright ignorance.

For more than a month, Williams' dedication to Clarence was visible to everyone.Add to that the words that resounded through the auditorium when Mr. Smith arrived on the first day.Rumors about the affair between the two school captains have been flying all over the sky.

Although enthusiastic Americans can easily win the favor of strangers at the beginning, as time goes by, the favor gradually escalates into overwhelming disgust.

Students at Hogwarts know more or less about the ambiguous relationship between Clarence and Lucius.Although the two look closely, the difference is too great.But compared to Williams, it is clear that Hogwarts students are more inclined to Lucius.

So when Lucius appeared alone at the dinner party, most Hogwarts students thought that Williams finally got his wish and became Clarence's partner.Correspondingly, the gaze falling on Lucius gradually turned into an indisputable reproach.

Feeling the hot eyes around him, Lucius could only smile wryly in his heart.

Lucius used to wear black clothes all the year round, but this year, every time he appeared at Hogwarts, he was almost dressed in white.This was a far cry from the impact he had left on the British wizarding community in the past.The white clothes not only softened the lines on his body, but also softened the sense of distance he exuded.This is undoubtedly a dress that can win the favor of others.

Seeing Clarence and Alvira dancing on the dance floor, Lucius, who still maintained a gentle smile on the surface, couldn't help clenching his fists hidden in his long sleeves.

After the opening dance, in order to get rid of Williams, Clarence bowed his head and whispered something to Alvira, then hid in the crowd.By the time Williams reacted, Clarence's figure had been blocked by students entering the dance floor one after another.

Lucius, who never took his eyes off Clarence, only hesitated for a moment, then raised his feet and followed the figure who wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle.

"I thought you would avoid me today." Lifting the curtain made of tulle, Clarence, who was immersed in the night, realized who was following him without even turning his head.

"Clay, I... am not..." Lucius actually didn't know what he could say after following up, but he subconsciously followed his own mind.

Clarence turned around slowly, and the dark blue dress made his figure even more straight. At some point, two glasses of champagne appeared in Clarence's hand. He looked at Lucius seriously, and then, one by one Ordered, with a smile on his face: "Here, champagne." Putting the wine glass into the flustered Lucius' hand: "I haven't heard you say happy birthday to me this year."

"I said it. Did you forget?" Lucius blinked, remembering the night he said his congratulations.The scene in the memory was only more than a month ago, but it feels very far away.

"Have you? I don't remember." Before the rim of the glass touched Clarence's lips, the words were spit out softly.

"Of course." Lucius suppressed the wry smile on the corner of his mouth, "while you were busy complaining about Mr. Williams."

"Then what was the gift you promised to give me? Why don't I seem to remember?" Clarence looked at the liquid shaking in his wine glass seriously, and asked for the gift like a child in a very low tone Said it out: "After all, it's a coming-of-age ceremony, do you want to remind me what it is?"

"Clay, I didn't mean it..." Feeling the urging in those words, Lucius sighed, but his confession was stopped by the warm palm.Clarence had already taken off his gloves at some point.In addition to the body temperature of the fingers, there is also a faint coldness felt by the delicate and thin lips.

Youyou's eyes came into sight, making Lucius unable to look away.No grievances, no injuries, just a smile full of anticipation.

At that moment Lucius understood that what Clarence wanted was never an explanation.

Putting the wine glass aside, gently pulling off the glove, Lucius raised his hand, starting from the fingertips, and sank into Clarence's warm palm little by little.As the arms are pulled back tightly, white and dark blue fit together.

"I love you, Clarence." Feeling the strength of the other's five fingers tightened and the raised chin, Lucius murmured softly, not worried that the other party would miss it.

Seeing the light gradually brighten in Clarence's eyes, Lucius finally felt relieved and let himself show a sincere smile.

The moment before the two lips were pressed together, the sound of hasty and hasty footsteps came.In the next second, the curtain was quickly pulled open by someone without vision: "Clarence!"

Lucius chuckled from his nasal cavity, and was not surprised to see Clarence's cracked expression.

The entangled figures separated quickly, and before Williams could say a second word, Clarence let go of Lucius and left through the curtain.

With his back facing the direction of the curtain, Lucius squatted down and picked up the white gloves that he didn't know when he dropped on the ground.

"Malfoy! What are you doing?" Williams's angry voice had a significantly lower volume.This surprised Lucius.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Williams?" Lucius turned his head with a smile and chewed, and slowly put on his gloves bit by bit, forming a strong contrast with Williams' emotions.

"Stay away from Clarence in the future! He's mine!" Lucius' calmness made Williams frowned deeply, and he uttered a threat: "Although there is no winner or loser in the matter of the partner, but..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Williams, I don't think I understand what you're talking about. What's wrong with Mr. Lambert?" Lucius asked perfunctorily, interrupting the other party's unfounded harsh words.

"You wait, I'll go to Clarence to confess now, I won't let you take the lead!" Williams growled in a low voice.

"Did you misunderstand something?" Lucius laughed and asked politely.

"Stop pretending, I know, you like Clarence." Williams hummed demonstratively: "You are so much older than Clarence, how can you succeed. Give up!"

Lucius' eyes darkened instantly, he lowered his head, and quickly suppressed the hostility that hadn't had time to surface, just smiled contemptuously, and was too lazy to respond.One step is to leave this small terrace.

"What are you laughing at? Do you think I won't succeed?" Although Williams seemed mature among the students, the bloody impulse of the young people still hasn't faded away.

Just a contemptuous smile can easily be teased.Lucius was not surprised by this.The initial investigation revealed that although Williams behaved strangely, he was definitely not the target of the Dark Lord's soul.That kind of bold and shameless backlash, even if it was done by the soul-captured object, is not something the Dark Lord can allow to happen.

This is probably the reason why Clarence was so disgusted with Williams, but never really dealt with him harshly.In some respects, Clarence and Lucius' sympathy exists even when they're at odds.

"I'm laughing because I think you will succeed." Raising his hand and brushing his hair behind his ears, Lucius looked up and showed Williams a very seductive smile: "If you haven't been killed by him." After speaking, Lucius returned to the hustle and bustle of the ball.

When Williams came to his senses, Lucius was nowhere to be seen.

One second he was still being threatened by himself to stay away, and the next second, Lucius deliberately showed his extremely lethal attractiveness.For youth, such behavior is tantamount to direct provocation.

Probably really aroused by Lucius' aggressive method, Williams decided to follow after seeing Clarence's figure walking towards the gate of the venue out of the corner of his eye.

"Clarence!"

"My last name, Mr. Williams. I never promised you to call me by my first name." Clarence was caught up by Williams just a few steps away from the venue. In an extremely bad mood, Clarence couldn't speak. became impolite.Especially against someone who willfully sabotages their own good.

"but……"

"If you make a mistake again, don't follow me anymore."

"Okay, then, Lambert, wait a minute, I have something to tell you." Williams hurriedly grabbed one of Clarence's hands and tugged hard.

"Let go."

"I like you!" Williams saw Clarence throwing himself away and walking to the dormitory again, and he didn't care about the foreshadowing in desperation, so he opened his mouth directly.

"You're annoying." So Clarence's answer was straightforward.

"But... I really like you! Actually, I used to be on top, but if it was you, I can also be below." Williams, who couldn't find the words for a while, repeated again: "I I really like you."

Clarence took a deep breath and continued walking without looking back: "I hate you."

"Huh? Why? Then...then I can also be on top...if you insist, but it's actually more comfortable on top..."

"..."

"No, do you really like being down here?" Williams exclaimed, and then explained in a panic: "Uh, I don't mean anything else, even if it is, I like you too, I'm not... ...I like you anyway!"

"I said, I hate you, and I don't like Americans."

"I... I can come to England after graduation, it's okay." Williams was completely sweating, and began to speak indiscriminately.

"..."

"Is it because Malfoy confessed to you first? But, but..." The more Clarence became silent, Williams's mind became more wild: "But he is so old, he can't hold on to it A few years...well..."

boom--

There was a sudden sound of dull ** crashing, and Williams, who was pushed hard into the stone wall, stared at stars. Before he could recover from the dizziness, the gravity of his body brought a strong sense of suffocation and engulfed him bit by bit. He lost his clear vision.

"Remember, what you said just now, if you dare to say it again..." A strong murderous intent surged out, like the eyes of a poisonous snake staring at its prey, and the trembling feeling crawled from the tailbone to the back of Williams who was close to the wall , the hand that stuck his throat tightened his five fingers without hesitation: "I will definitely not let you have time to struggle to the death."