Harry paid little mind to Horace Slughorn's strained compliments. The more he heard about James Potter, the clearer—and more infuriating—his adoptive father's image became. In short, he wanted to punch him.
But the man was still his father, and he had died protecting him. Even if he was a conveniently placed target and his adoptive mother was the real hero, he had still given his life. This meant Harry could neither like nor truly hate James; he simply disliked him. If he ever met his unruly father in the afterlife, Harry would happily throw a punch on behalf of everyone the man had bullied, because, judging by Slughorn's stories, James had tormented more than just Severus Snape.
"... "
Slughorn studied Harry with concern.
Noticing the gaze, Harry met it unflinchingly. "Thank you, Professor. I appreciate you sharing all of this with me."
"No, Harry, actually, James had many good qualities too..." Anxious that he'd gone too far, Slughorn leaned forward, raising a hand as if to offer more praise.
But Harry simply shook his head. "No matter, Professor. It doesn't matter what he was like. I am not him, and I will never be him."
"..."
Slughorn paused, then his expression softened. "Harry, Lily would be proud of you."
"Of course!" Harry declared with enthusiasm. "Because I intend to become the greatest second-in-command the Death Eaters have ever seen!"
"..."
Slughorn's lips twitched, but he couldn't help but chuckle.
...
The sun dipped below the distant mountains. Days turned into a weekend. The Malfoy family's luxurious manor, perhaps still affected by Voldemort's downfall, seemed somewhat faded and less impressive than Volle Manor. However, with Tom's rise to power, the Malfoys' fortunes had improved, though not to the same extravagant level as the Volles.
"Oh, my little dragon, you've brought a friend home?" Narcissa Malfoy greeted Draco Malfoy and Harry enthusiastically, pinching Draco's cheek as if he were still a child.
"Mum, stop it!" Draco swatted Narcissa's hand away, embarrassed. "My friend is here."
"It's alright; Harry's a good boy." Despite her less-than-stellar relationship with Harry's parents, Narcissa liked him because he got along well with her son. "Besides, Harry doesn't seem to mind seeing my little dragon like this." Narcissa glanced at Harry, who was indeed trying to stifle a laugh at Draco's discomfort, and gently teased her son.
"Alright, Mum! I mean it! We have important things to do! We can't delay the Dark Lord's orders! Where's Dad? Where is he?"
"That's right." Remembering the Dark Lord, Narcissa reluctantly put aside her desire to spend time with her son and allowed them to focus on their task. "Draco, bring Harry along."
With that, Narcissa strode toward the manor; Harry and Draco exchanged a quick glance and hurried after her.
...
Inside the spacious living room, Lucius Malfoy had been waiting. The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace. As footsteps approached, Lucius set down the Daily Prophet he'd been reading.
Moments later, Narcissa led Harry and Draco into the room.
"I've brought Draco and his friend," Narcissa announced, settling onto the sofa. "What did the Dark Lord say? Can you tell me now?" Lucius had received Tom's letter earlier, and his grim expression had worried Narcissa, but he refused to explain until Draco and Harry arrived. This made her think that the Dark Lord had assigned them a particularly dangerous and important mission. However, Narcissa didn't know that Lucius's distress wasn't about the mission itself.
"Harry, you're here?" Lucius nodded to Harry, then gestured for his son to help Harry sit down. "Please, take a seat."
"Uncle Lucius, what does the Dark Lord need us to do?" Harry greeted him politely, using an address he would never have considered in his original timeline. Honestly, if they weren't discussing serious matters, Draco would have readily accepted being called "Uncle Lucius" on his behalf.
"Harry, this is a letter the Dark Lord sent me recently." Lucius carefully retrieved the folded letter from his pocket and handed it to Harry.
Harry took the letter, opened it, and his expression grew increasingly strange.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Draco leaned over curiously to read the letter, then exclaimed, "The Dark Lord wants us to infiltrate Gringotts?!"
"??!" Draco's outburst startled Narcissa, who instinctively looked at Lucius, silently asking whether it was a simple infiltration or something more dangerous.
Lucius could only nod helplessly.
"No! That's too dangerous!" Narcissa protested. "They're just children! Can't we do it ourselves?!" Having learned that this was a perilous mission, Narcissa, fiercely protective of her son, felt a surge of resistance.
However, she knew resistance was futile. Besides, even Lucius didn't dare to attempt to dissuade Tom Riddle this time. Heaven knows how terrified he was when he saw the Dark Lord's letter outlining his son's misdeeds. He thought the Dark Lord was informing him of the impending doom of the Malfoy family.
Fortunately, the Dark Lord was merciful and forgiving and had no intention of harming them. The task simply required his son to suffer a little. It might be dangerous, but not life-threatening, so Lucius dared not say a word against it.
Seeing Lucius's defeated expression, Narcissa sat back in disbelief.
Harry and Draco, however, were eager to begin.
"Those damned goblins are actually plotting a rebellion? They're asking for trouble!"
"Do you think they've been hiding for so long to do something from within Gringotts?" Harry and Draco speculated excitedly.
Seeing that the two understood what needed to be done, Lucius sighed and said, "We will brew Polyjuice Potion and things. The Death Eaters will help you enter Gringotts using falsified Gringotts goblin IDs; you most likely will not be suspected."
Harry and Draco listened intently as Lucius provided instructions. After giving all the necessary details, Lucius stood up, his tone suppressing barely contained anger. "Also, Draco, come with me for a moment."
Hearing this, Draco felt a chill run down his spine; he, too, had read the contents of the letter. He glanced at his best friend for help, but Harry simply offered a reassuring look…
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