Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0267 Lucius’s Visit

Before retracting his gaze, he casually glanced at the monitoring screen opposite, which showed the live feed of various locations in the castle. His gently furrowed brow suddenly showed a slight wrinkle, as he noticed something unusual.

Near the Slytherin common room, Professor Snape was standing at the door of his office, talking to a wizard with disheveled blond hair and a haughty expression. The wizard was wearing a long black cloak, and holding a silver cane with a snake head.

Following Bryan's gaze, Sirius also noticed the wizard who should not have appeared at Hogwarts. 
"Who is that, a school professor?"

"Lucius Malfoy, the current head of the Malfoy family—" Bryan said expressionlessly. He had no emotion in his voice, but his eyes were cold and sharp.

"Oh!" Sirius's exclamation was full of hatred. "It's this guy. I know him. He's a Death Eater. He openly advocated for Voldemort's ideals during school. After graduation, he gained Voldemort's appreciation for his unwavering support of pureblood supremacy. When Voldemort wasn't overthrown, there were many clues pointing to him in the torture and killing of Muggles, but he was very cunning and good at using the power of money. So, the Order of the Phoenix could never catch him. Is he here to catch up with Snape, his old colleague?"

The last sentence was spoken by Sirius very naturally, and it was only after the words were spoken that he realized what he had said.

Bryan did not escalate the situation, and in fact, Sirius was not wrong. Snape did have experience as a Death Eater.

The conversation between Snape and Malfoy probably already had a result on the screen. Bryan could see a hint of doubt in Snape's expression, but he seemed to have agreed to some request from Malfoy. They stopped talking, and Snape led Malfoy out of the basement, where the Slytherin common room was located. They walked up the stairs from the side of the hall, and appeared on the third floor, where Bryan's office was.

"Are they here to see you?" Sirius stood up alertly from the sofa and looked at Bryan, who was sitting cross-legged with his hands resting on his raised knees.

"What do you think?"

"I'm as puzzled as you are," Bryan said honestly. "I don't have much friendship with Lucius Malfoy. Strictly speaking, we've had a bit of a feud, but I think he's definitely not here to cause trouble for me."

'Who would have the guts to cause trouble for you?' Sirius was about to say this, but a flickering electric light from Bryan's sleeve turned him back into Tom, his cat form.

After meowing discontentedly a few times, Tom jumped onto the sofa, cleverly maintaining the posture a cat should have.

As expected, the office door was soon knocked on. After closing the black curtain, which concealed the monitoring screen and the manuscripts, Bryan walked over to open the door. 

"I heard from Pomona that you returned to school," Snape said, as he entered the office, followed by Lucius Malfoy. He did not need to hide anything from Bryan, given their relationship. He narrowed his eyes and asked, stroking his chin, "I thought you went home for Christmas. How did that guy end up here with you?"

"We just met on the train—" Bryan shrugged indifferently and said casually.

Then, he turned his gaze to Lucius Malfoy, who was maintaining a greatly restrained posture, and his mouth curled up into a cold smile.

"This is Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy—"

Snape stepped aside half a body, glancing quickly at the expression between Bryan and Lucius, immediately confirming that what Lucius had told him about having some acquaintance with Bryan was a lie, but obviously, the two did know each other.

As Snape's gaze turned away, Lucius also cast a covert glance, and receiving the signal, Snape said somewhat reluctantly, "Lucius told me he has some private matters he wants to discuss with you alone."

'What does Lucius Malfoy want to do? Is he trying to inquire about that notebook from?'

In an instant, this thought came to Bryan's mind.

'Because he knew I wouldn't pay attention to him, he wanted to use Professor Snape's relationship?'

"In that case—"Bryan nodded. "Please come in, Mr. Malfoy."

Since Lucius was planning to talk to Bryan alone, although he was curious about the topic of their conversation, he couldn't stay here now.

Perhaps noticing Bryan's cold and somewhat excessive attitude, Snape glanced at Lucius, who was waiting in front of the desk, and lowered his voice to a whisper and said, "When I first entered Hogwarts, Lucius was the prefect of Slytherin."

Bryan raised his eyebrows slightly, and pondered for a moment before nodding slightly, indicating that he understood Snape's implication. He said, "I understand, Professor."

Every detail of this office made Lucius uncomfortable. The reason was that it was too "shabby" compared to the influential figures in the wizarding world that he had encountered before. The walls were covered with dusty books and jars of mysterious ingredients. The furniture was old and worn, and the fireplace was barely lit. If it weren't for his purpose in coming here, he would have criticized it in his usual style, making some sharp comments about the lack of taste and elegance.

At this moment, Lucius noticed the cat squatting on the sofa, staring at him with a gloomy gaze. The gaze was strange, as vivid as a human's, revealing some hidden thoughts. Lucius tried to squeeze out an awkward smile at Tom, hoping to appease the feline.

Meow! Lucius didn't expect that his friendly gesture would somehow anger the black cat. It immediately changed from a crouching position to an attacking posture, with its tail raised high and the fur on its neck standing on end. It hissed and bared its teeth, ready to pounce on Lucius.

"It doesn't like dealing with strangers." Bryan said, as he closed the door behind him. He had just finished his brief exchange with Professor Snape, who had left with a curt nod. Bryan walked into the office, and saw the grinning Tom and the somewhat bewildered Lucius Malfoy. He casually said, "Please have a seat, Mr. Malfoy. I'll make some tea for you."

As Bryan approached the fireplace to make tea, he flicked his wand lightly from his sleeve, and a swirling black shadow appeared out of thin air. When it landed on the ground, it turned into a low-backed armchair, matching the one that Bryan was sitting on. However, this scene made Lucius Malfoy, who had shadows in his heart, immediately break out in a cold sweat and his heart raced. 

If he hadn't been a wizard who had seen many powerful figures and grand scenes, he might have taken out his wand and prepared to fight back. 

It wasn't until Lucius saw the cup of green tea emitting wisps of smoke in front of him that his breathing returned to normal. He took the cup with trembling hands, and thanked Bryan with a forced smile. He hoped that the tea would calm his nerves, and not poison him.

"As you can see, Mr. Malfoy." Bryan calmly said to the pale-faced Lucius, "The conditions here are harsh, unlike the Leaky Cauldron or those high-end parties, where there are more beverage choices. I'm afraid you'll have to make do with what I have."

Bryan's attitude was clearly not welcoming, but it was already much better than Lucius had expected. In his speculation before the visit, Lucius thought that when he met Bryan, the best-case scenario would be to be driven away, and in extreme cases, be tortured in that terrifying space.

But now, Bryan didn't do any of that. Instead, he invited him to sit down, made him a cup of tea, which already exceeded his expectations. 

Perhaps it was because the influence of Severus Snape on this young and formidable wizard, Bryan Watson, was higher than he had imagined? 

"Your taste is very unique, Mr. Watson." Lucius said, after a moment of silence. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to sound polite and interested. He said, "In Britain, most people prefer black tea, while green tea is more in line with the habits of the Asians."

Bryan lowered his eyes and didn't pay attention to Lucius's performance. He gently blew on the green tea leaves floating on the tea soup, took a few sips of hot tea, put down the teacup, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his fingers on his knees. His gaze finally locked onto Lucius' gray eyes, that were trying hard to hide fear and humiliation, but he still didn't speak. 

Seeing this scene, Tom put down his tail and sat on the sofa, full of confusion. He didn't understand why Bryan was being so nice to Lucius.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Mr. Watson. I came here to apologize for our unpleasant encounter at the Leaky Cauldron last time--" Lucius said, breaking the silence. 

Lucius had mastered the skill of speaking to different people in different ways, depending on their status and temperament. He could say it was second nature to him, as a wizard who had been involved in many intrigues and schemes. He had hoped to use this skill to open up the conversation with Bryan.

But unfortunately, he encountered Bryan Watson, who had been a shrewd businessman in this life and the previous one. Bryan had seen too many people like Lucius, who tried to manipulate him with flattery, lies, or threats. He knew how to deal with them, and how to avoid falling into their traps. Now, he had the initiative, so he decided to use silence as a weapon to intimidate the other party.

And indeed, Bryan's calm scrutiny made Lucius uneasy. He felt Bryan's eyes piercing through his soul, exposing his secrets and weaknesses. He fidgeted as if there were thorns hidden in the cushion under his buttocks, making him restless and uncomfortable.

'This won't do!' Lucius realized his predicament. If the meeting continued in the current situation, he would only be humiliated and gain nothing from this trip.

In that case, it would be better to take a gamble. 

Lucius took a deep breath, extricated himself from his chaotic thoughts, and faced the immense pressure brought by Bryan Watson. He withdrew his hand from his sleeve and, after a moment, took out a bag that had been expanded by an Undetectable Extension Charm. The bag looked ordinary, but it contained a fortune that could make anyone's eyes widen.

Under the gaze of Bryan and Tom, Lucius reached into the bag and took out a ruby the size of a quail egg. The gem was crystal clear and emitted a dazzling light under the pale sunlight. It was a rare and precious stone, worth a lot of money in the muggle and wizarding markets.

After gently placing the gem on the table, Lucius reached into his pocket again and took out another gem of the same size and quality. He repeated this action, until there were fifteen gems of almost the same size and value in front of Bryan. The gems formed a small mountain on the table, sparkling and shining like stars.

When Bryan saw the first gem being taken out, his eyelashes trembled. He was not immune to the allure of wealth, and he recognized the quality of the gems. However, he showed no further reaction and maintained great composure, enjoying Lucius Malfoy's performance. 

"In fact–"

Bryan's reaction made Lucius Malfoy's heart skip a beat. In that instant, he thought that today's visit had completely failed. He thought that Bryan was not impressed by his offer, and that he would reject him without hesitation. However, unwilling to give up, he said another sentence,

"I came to visit you to seek advice on something–"

'Seek advice?'

Bryan's mind stirred. He had a hunch about what Lucius wanted to ask him. It must be related to that notebook, that he had destroyed. Lucius must have wanted to figure out what "precious treasure" of Voldemort's he had damaged.

But, to his surprise, Lucius's next words made Bryan realize that he might have guessed wrong.

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