Lucius Malfoy, like his son Draco Malfoy, had platinum blonde hair. However, while his son Draco had short hair, the older father before them had long hair.

Compared to the still somewhat immature Draco, the elder father possessed a much more refined aristocratic aura. Simply standing there, he exuded a sense of lofty detachment.

However, towards Jellall, Lucius clearly wasn’t arrogant as he was with others. Looking at the young face before him, his eyes held a complex mix of emotions.

Some resentment, but also fear.

This was due to Jellall, who had made a deep impression on him when he served in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. At that time, an incident involving the misuse of dark magic had its source traced back to a group of nobles led by Lucius.

Following the usual procedures of the Ministry of Magic, this would have been considered a closed case. Justice didn’t extend to nobles; this was an unwritten rule of the Ministry and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

After all, a large part of the Ministry’s operational departments relied on the funding provided by these very nobles to function.

That was until Jellall appeared.

This young deputy director was like a bull that disregarded rules, charging headfirst and shattering the doors of the nobles that were considered inviolable. He not only turned the nobles’ homes inside out but also truly arrested some of the family heads with shackles and imprisoned them.

Lucius was among them.

If it weren’t for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement’s inability to influence the Court of Justice, he would likely be lying dead in Azkaban by now.

Even so, this incident left the face-saving Lucius disgraced. Therefore, it was understandable why he harbored resentment towards the young man before him.

Of course.

Lucius wasn’t the only one who resented Jellall; there were also those pure-bloods who were more extreme than the Malfoys. They even used various means like assassination and coercion to try and remove Jellall, that thorn in their side.

But in the end, their respective families all suffered backlash to varying degrees.

What impressed Lucius the most was the Monger family incident a year prior. Jellall, cloaked from head to toe, attended a banquet hosted by the Monger family, carrying the head of a dark wizard.

In plain sight of everyone, the young man placed the head of the dark wizard who had been pursuing him on the celebration cake. The head of the Monger family, terrified, collapsed to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

This incident finally made the nobles realize the terror of this young man. He was someone who truly ignored rules, not only possessing power beyond comprehension but also having influential connections... and with Dumbledore standing behind him.

If they truly stood against him to the bitter end, their lives might truly be in danger.

They were all powerful pure-blood families; there was no need to confront this little monster head-on. Having reached a consensus, the family heads tacitly agreed to destroy the dark magical artifacts within their homes.

Lucius included; besides the notebook he gave to Ginny, his home was now spotless.

His thoughts raced, but it didn’t affect Lucius’s demeanor at that moment. Although there was a hint of resentment and fear in his eyes, he greeted Jellall politely enough. "It has indeed been a while, Mr. Pastore."

There’s something going on between them!

As a professional journalist, Rita Skeeter’s senses were quite sharp. Even though the Ministry of Magic had deliberately concealed the information, and the outside world barely knew about the great dark magic purge, she caught wind of the unusual connection between Lucius and Jellall.

"Seize the opportunity, understand?" Rita whispered to the two assistant reporters beside her. "Take plenty of photos, but be careful not to be discovered."

"Yes, yes!"

"We understand..."

The two assistants quickly nodded and replied softly.

"Zickrein. Since you’re here, let’s go together." At this moment, McGonagall suddenly spoke up. "Dumbledore is already waiting for us in the courtyard."

"Alright, Professor McGonagall." Jellall nodded gently and replied.

They walked around two corners and entered the courtyard. At this moment, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and a few other young wizards from Gryffindor happened to walk towards them.

"Oh, heavens! Cornelius Fudge? Lucius Malfoy, and Rita Skeeter!" Seeing these people, Ron let out a stifled shriek. "The annoyances have gathered together, disgusting!"

"Who is Cornelius Fudge?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

"The Minister for Magic, and my dad’s boss!" Ron’s expression was filled with disgust, his brow furrowed. "But he’s really annoying, extremely annoying! He always acts so superior towards his subordinates! And he’s Percy’s role model, which makes him even more detestable!"

Among his family members, Ron disliked Percy the most. That guy’s life goals and ideals didn’t seem like those of a true Weasley, yet their mother adored him.

Ron couldn’t understand it; should he be favored just because he was good at studying?

"He’s the Minister for Magic?" Hermione blinked. "No wonder he seems so familiar with Professor Zickrein, but he didn’t put on any airs for Professor Zickrein."

"Because Professor Zickrein isn’t just the Deputy Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he’s also a recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class!" Ron understood the situation clearly and analyzed it thoroughly. "You know, there are very few people in the entire wizarding world who have received this medal. Each of them can be considered a prominent figure! Moreover, Professor Zickrein is so young!"

"So, this Minister for Magic intends to invest in the future?" Hermione nodded with sudden understanding.

"I don’t think the wise Professor Zickrein would accept investments from someone like that." Ron sneered. "According to my father, Fudge is just a politician skilled at opportunism. He has no real talent, he’s just for show."

"But being a showman is also a skill if it gets you to be the Minister for Magic." Hermione shook her head. "You can’t judge people just by their appearance; you have to use dialectics. Professor Zickrein taught me this, and you all should learn it."

"Yes, yes, yes, whatever your Professor Zickrein says is right." Ron’s expression turned teasing.

"You, you stop talking nonsense!" Hermione instantly blushed, her face full of maidenly shyness.

"Guys, they’re going in!" Harry looked at the courtyard ahead and whispered, "Should we follow them and hear what they’re talking about?"

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