NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27: Meetings
The Malfoy family, minus Dante, made their way to Diagon Alley. Lucius decided to stop by Gringotts first to retrieve some funds from the family vault. Narcissa and Draco, meanwhile, headed to the apothecary to gather potion supplies for the upcoming school year.
As Lucius descended into the depths of Gringotts, the goblins guided him to the Malfoy vault with their usual air of indifference. The massive door creaked open, revealing piles of gold, rare artifacts, and heirlooms accumulated over generations. Lucius's eyes scanned the vault until they landed on a small, unassuming object tucked away in a corner—an old, leather-bound diary.
He picked it up, his brow furrowing slightly. He had almost forgotten about this item. It had been given to him by the Dark Lord years ago, though its purpose had never been made clear to him. All he knew was that it was a dark artifact, one he had no use for. After the recent debacle with Arthur Weasley, the memory of the diary had resurfaced, and now, holding it in his hands, Lucius decided it was time to get rid of it.
"Best to be rid of such things," he muttered to himself, slipping the diary into his robe pocket.
Leaving the vault, Lucius made his way to Flourish and Blotts, where Narcissa and Draco were browsing for books. As he entered the shop, he immediately spotted Draco standing with a group of children. Among them were several redheads—Weasleys, no doubt—and a boy with messy black hair and round glasses. Harry Potter, Lucius realized, his lips curling into a sly smile.
This was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Lucius approached the group, his cane tapping lightly against the floor. He placed a hand on Draco's shoulder, interrupting the conversation.
"Draco," Lucius said smoothly, "aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"
Draco stepped aside, his expression a mix of pride and mild embarrassment. "Father, this is Harry Potter," he said, gesturing to the scrawny boy.
Lucius extended his hand, his smile polite. "Mr. Potter," he said, his voice dripping with false warmth. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Lucius Malfoy."
Harry shook his hand hesitantly, his expression wary. Lucius pulled the boy closer to him while saying "excuse me"
Lucius used his cane to show Harry's forehead and spoke "Your scar is a legend, and so the one who gave it to you"
Harry looked warrily at Lucius as he replied "Voldmort killed my parents, he was nothing more than a murdered"
Lucius smiled and said "You must be very brave to mention his name or just foolish"
"Fearing a name only increases fear for the thing itself" A little girl standing to the side spoke.
Lucius looked at the girl with amusement, he replied "And you must be… Miss Granger" Draco who was standing right next to her nodded to his father.
"Draco told me all about you and your parents, muggles aren't they?" Lucius said with a warm smile.
Hermoine glanced at her parents then back at Lucius but she said nothing. Lucius' smile remained unaffected, his eyes scanned the other children.
"Let's see, red hair, vacant expression" he paused then looked at Ginny and picked her second hand transfiguration book while saying "a second hand book, you must be the Weasleys"
Lucius' eyes drifted to a man who just walked closer behind the children group and paused. It was Arthur Weasley but his state surprised Lucius, Arthur's eyes were rounder and wider than he remembered, his eye balls were bulging almost as if they were going to fall out of their sockets. The current appearance of Aruther could give any child a scare. Lucius immediately realized this was the work of Dante, he did something to Arthur and it seems the healers at St Mungo couldn't undo it.
"Weasley Senior, I hope the ministry didn't treat you too harshly Arthur. You had to do extra raids Aruther" Lucius said with a smile, he paused for a moment and looked at the book in his hand then continued "I could think only of overtime, after seeing the state of this. What is the point of being a disgrace to the name of a wizard if you are not being paid for it?"
"We are very different idea on what being a disgrace to the name of wizards Malfoy" Arthur said his bulging eyes filled with anger.
"Clearly, a wizard got beaten by a child. In my books, that's a disgrace" Lucius replied with disdain, knowing what Dante truly is won't prevent him from insulting Arthur.
Lucius shook his head with the smile on his face as if he found Arthur to be amusing, he put back the transfiguration book and alongside it the diary in Ginny's cauldron.
Lucius turned around and left confidently, Draco smiled disdainfully at the group as he said "I am looking forward to this school year"
Then followed his father.
Outside, Lucius was smiling happily, he had rid himself of a dangerous artifact and dealt a blow to the Weasleys in one fell swoop. Lucius turned to look at his son and asked "Where is your mother?"
"She went to purchase robes for Dante while I waited for you father" Draco replied.
Lucius nodded and the two made their way to join Narcissa.
___________
The next day, Dante and Draco boarded the Hogwarts Express, the bustling platform filled with students and their families. As they stepped onto the train, Dante's eyes flickered toward a nearby compartment. He could feel it—his cloak was there. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he walked in that direction, Draco following close behind, assuming they were simply looking for a place to sit.
When Dante opened the compartment door, he was met with the sight of four younger students—two girls and two boys, three of them wearing Gryffindor robes. Draco paused behind him, his eyes narrowing as he recognized them. "Potter," he said, his tone laced with disdain.
The four children—Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny—didn't look friendly. The two boys stood quickly, their expressions wary. Dante's gaze drifted to Harry, the famous 'Boy Who Lived.' His eyes focused on the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, and he froze.
[A Horcrux], Dante realized, his mind racing.[The boy is a living Horcrux.]
In all his lives, Dante had never encountered such a thing. The idea of creating a living Horcrux was not only reckless but utterly foolish. Was it an accident? If so, how had it even happened? The concept made no sense to him.
As he studied Harry further, he noticed something else—a faint trace of sacrificial magic woven into the boy's blood and body. During his second life over 7,500 years ago, Frigg had created this magic to protect Baldr. Dante couldn't help but feel melancholy at their memory.
While Dante was lost in thought, Draco stepped forward, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "This is Harry Potter, the so-called savior and vanquisher of the Dark Lord."
Ron, his face showing anger, stepped forward. "What do you want, Malfoy? Jealous of Harry's fame?"
Draco snorted and opened his mouth to retort, but Dante raised a hand, silencing him. Draco obeyed immediately, his eyes flickering to his elder brother in confusion.
Dante stepped closer to Harry, his silver eyes filled with curiosity. "Your body is quite interesting," he said softly.
Harry stepped back, feeling uncomfortable under Dante's intense gaze. Hermione and Ginny moved closer to Harry, as if to shield him, while Ron pulled out his wand. "You are Dante Malfoy," Ron said, his voice shaking with anger. "The one who cursed my father!"
Dante's eyes shifted to Ron, his expression amused. "You must be the son of the blind redhead," he replied calmly. "I didn't curse him. I simply gave him what he lacked—bigger eyes to see things properly."
Ron's face turned crimson with rage. He raised his wand, but before he could cast a spell, Draco disarmed him with a quick 'Expelliarmus'. Ron's wand flew into Draco's hand, and the younger Malfoy smirked. "You should know your place, Weasley," Draco taunted.
Dante, however, raised a hand again, silencing Draco. "We're not here to fight," he said, his tone calm but commanding. "Let's keep things civil."
The four children exchanged uneasy glances. They had heard stories about Dante Malfoy—the prodigy, the creator of Magic Circuits, the boy who had humiliated Aurors and left them in St. Mungo's. His presence alone was enough to make them nervous.
Dante turned his attention back to Harry. "I didn't expect to see something interesting after hearing Draco's stories," he said, his voice thoughtful.
Harry frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"
Draco, lowering his wand, looked at Dante with a puzzled expression. "What's so interesting about Potter?"
Dante's gaze remained fixed on Harry as he explained. "The boy isn't the vanquisher of the Dark Lord, nor is he anything special. But his mother… she must have been a brilliant witch."
The compartment fell silent as Dante continued. "She cast a very old sacrificial magic—one that cost her life in exchange for protecting her child from a specific harm."
Draco's eyes widened. "What kind of magic is that?"
"It's a Blood Magic born of the purest Love," Dante replied. "It requires an intense love and desire to protect someone you hold dear. In the process, the caster pays with their life to achieve that protection. This magic was created by a great witch named Frigg to protect her son, Baldr. Sadly, despite her sacrifice, Baldr died not long after."
Dante's gaze had a hint of sorrow as he looked at Harry. "Your mother loved you so dearly that she burned her life to defend you. And her magic still do till now years after her passing"
Harry's breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding. Hermione and Ginny looked at him with wide eyes, while Ron's anger seemed to fade into shock.
Dante's smile returned, though it was tinged with something else. "And the scar on your head… it's more interesting than I thought. To think I would see a living one." He didn't elaborate further, leaving the group to wonder what he meant.
With that, Dante turned and left the compartment, Draco dropped Ron's wand on the floor and followed close behind. The younger Malfoy had a thoughtful look on his face, clearly processing what he had just heard.
The four children sat in silence, the weight of Dante's words settling over them. Harry, in particular, felt a mix of emotions—grief, gratitude, and a strange sense of unease.