"Alright, Lucius, the child knows he was wrong now. For Merlin's sake, stop being so angry," Narcissa said as she tenderly embraced a trembling Draco Malfoy.
"This wasn't his fault; it was that Muggle who insulted the Malfoy family first. Draco only ordered Dobby to attack out of anger."
Draco, his face streaked with tears, nodded in agreement, but Lucius glared at him, making him shrink further into his mother's arms. He couldn't understand what he had done wrong. After all, he had been defending the honor of the Malfoy family. While it might have been wrong to attack a Muggle, surely it wasn't something that would make Lucius so furious?
Defending the family's honor was something his father had always taught him, and now he had done exactly that. Yes, it happened in front of Professor McGonagall, but still… Draco became more and more upset, tears rolling down his cheeks as he sobbed into Narcissa's embrace.
Narcissa shot an irritated look at Lucius and bent down to comfort Draco, "This isn't your fault, it's all because…"
Lucius, too, felt guilty as he looked at his wife and son. He knew Draco had been trying to uphold the family's honor. However, commanding a house-elf to attack a Muggle in front of Professor McGonagall was a serious offense.
He and Narcissa were once Death Eaters, and they had been criticized for it by society. Only in recent years had things started to improve. If word of this incident got out, the public would undoubtedly blame them for corrupting Draco. They might even start calling Draco a Death Eater, which was something the couple absolutely couldn't allow.
Lucius clenched his fists, torn between guilt for Draco and a growing hatred for Cro and Hermione. If not for them, Draco wouldn't have done such a thing!
[Detected: Intense feeling of hatred!]
[Reward: Golden Treasure Chest!]
Cro, who had been counting his rewards, froze in place. Once again, he experienced what it felt like to be rewarded while doing nothing. Treasure chests just keep falling into my lap! He thought for a moment and quickly realized that this latest treasure was likely connected to Draco and his family—probably a reward from either Lucius or Narcissa after Draco had complained to them.
This made Cro both excited and a bit disappointed. Why did only one of them contribute a treasure chest? he wondered. Is the other too busy comforting Draco to hate me right now?
Shaking his head, Cro smiled as he looked at his growing collection of treasure chests. By now, he had two diamond chests, eight golden chests, one silver chest, and four bronze chests. And this was only after half a day, and he hadn't even officially entered the wizarding world yet. Once he was at Hogwarts, wouldn't the treasure chests just... pour in?
"Cro, look! This big cat is so weird! Its face is completely flat!" Hermione excitedly tugged Cro over to the cat enclosure, pointing at a yellow Persian cat. The cat's face looked squished, as if it had slammed into something, and its chubby body made it look extra cute.
Hermione's voice drew the attention of everyone nearby.
"Do you really like that cat?" Angeloi, the shopkeeper, asked gratefully. "I can give it to you as a gift, Cro can pick one too—any pet, it's on the house! Consider it a thank-you for what you did earlier."
Without Cro and Hermione, Angeloi would likely still be suffering under Malfoy's wrath, or worse, his shop might have already been forced to close down. Though Cro had upset the Malfoys in his store, Professor McGonagall had witnessed the whole incident. With her around, the Malfoy family wouldn't dare act against him. His shop was safe!
"Really? Thank you, Mr. Angeloi! I love this big cat, I'll definitely take good care of her," Hermione said happily as she picked up the chubby feline.
Seeing this, Cassandra's eyes flickered with jealousy. Earlier, when Hermione had asked Cro if he found her or Cassandra prettier, Cassandra hadn't heard the answer. But based on Hermione's joy, it seemed like Cro had chosen her instead of Cassandra. This reignited Cassandra's competitive spirit.
"Mr. Angeloi, I want that big cat as well. I was here first, so technically you should sell it to me," Cassandra said, her words instantly freezing the joyful atmosphere.
Hermione glared at Cassandra, unwilling to back down. She tightened her grip on the cat, squeezing it so hard that its eyes rolled back in protest. The cat seemed to silently beg, Just put me out of my misery!
Cro found the situation amusing. He could easily guess what was going on in Cassandra's mind. She wasn't satisfied with losing and wanted to prove she was better than Hermione. A smirk appeared on his lips as he thought of another clever way to farm treasure chests.
"I'm sorry, Miss Cassandra, but I've already promised this cat to Miss Hermione. There are plenty of other cats in the store—perhaps you'd like to choose one of those?" Angeloi asked nervously.
"No! I want this one! I'm willing to pay three times the price for it!" Cassandra lifted her chin defiantly, her face filled with triumph as she looked at Hermione.
"Um... Miss Hermione, would you like to choose another cat?" Angeloi hesitated as he glanced at Hermione. He wasn't greedy for the three-times price—after all, five Galleons tripled only made fifteen—but he hesitated because of Cassandra's status. Anyone who walked with the Malfoys was likely a pureblood aristocrat.
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T/N:
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