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“Hagrid, what happened?
Why did you rush after them like that?”
Harry did not understand what had made Hagrid so anxious, but he was certain it had something to do with Aurelian and Catherine.
“Harry, do you know who those two were?”
Hagrid did not answer directly.
Instead, he asked Harry a question.
“Aurelian Pendragon and Catherine, his maid.”
Harry looked at Hagrid blankly, unsure why that mattered.
“Do you still not understand what the name Pendragon means?
He is a descendant of King Arthur, the only heir of House Pendragon, and a genius the wizarding world sees once in centuries.”
“K-King Arthur?”
Harry was stunned.
Of course he knew who King Arthur was.
“But what does that have to do with you chasing after him in such a hurry?”
Harry still did not understand Hagrid’s anxiety.
“When I went to buy your ice cream, I heard something.
The heir of House Pendragon was attacked inside Gringotts by an unidentified wizard.
He was nearly kidnapped.”
“What?
Then that means…”
“Yes.
Aurelian Pendragon.
Harry, you need to understand this.
House Pendragon has enormous prestige in both the wizarding world and the Muggle world.
They keep a low profile, so people rarely hear much about them.
But if the future heir of House Pendragon had an accident, both worlds would be dragged into a storm.”
“Is it really that serious?”
Harry found it hard to believe.
“Never underestimate House Pendragon.”
Hagrid’s voice was unusually solemn.
“But I worried too much today.
If the news has already spread, there is no way House Pendragon would not have heard.”
He laughed at himself.
“Come on.
You still have a lot of things to buy.”
After resting long enough to catch their breath, Hagrid led Harry away.
As they walked, Harry hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Him?
Truth is, I do not know the details.
Before today, I had never even met him.
But I have heard plenty about him.”
Hagrid thought for a while, then told Harry what he had heard from Dumbledore.
“According to Professor Dumbledore, Aurelian’s talent is something that comes along only once in centuries.
Even Dumbledore says he cannot compare in that respect.
He has the ability to become the next pillar of the wizarding world.”
“Professor Dumbledore also said that although Aurelian is young, his mind is far beyond others his age, and even beyond most adults.
He thinks things through, has strong judgment, and knows his own mind.
His temperament is a little unusual, but he is courteous, polite, and worth befriending.”
“In short, I have never heard anything bad about him.”
After hearing Hagrid’s description, the slight knot in Harry’s heart over Aurelian’s friendship with Draco vanished completely.
He happily followed Hagrid to buy the rest of his school things.
…
On the other side, after Aurelian and Catherine returned home, Elaine inspected him from head to toe several times.
Once her scolding finally eased, Miles took Aurelian to the study.
“Aurelian, tell me exactly what happened.”
Miles’s face was extremely serious.
“I do not know.
He was certainly aiming for me, but whether he tried to kidnap me after breaking into Gringotts as a way to escape, or whether kidnapping me was his goal from the start, I cannot say.”
Aurelian shook his head.
He could not determine the man’s purpose.
“Could it have been House Lancelot?”
Killing intent surfaced in Miles’s expression.
In his eyes, House Lancelot was a very likely suspect.
“Probably not.
When I tested him, he showed no flaw, but if he were from House Lancelot, he likely would have tried to kill me directly instead of taking me away.
Also, he had already subdued Catherine but did not attack her further.
That means he did not understand me.”
Aurelian shook his head again.
House Lancelot had plenty of motive, but his instincts told him this matter probably had little to do with them.
“Still, his target was very clear.
It did not feel like a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Catherine and I may have been watched from the beginning.”
“Damn it.
Someone truly dared to target you.
Has House Pendragon been quiet for too long?”
Seeing that even Aurelian had no real lead, Miles’s anger grew hotter.
He and Elaine usually gave Aurelian a great deal of freedom, but only because he was mature enough to reassure them.
“Whoever it was, someone must pay for this.”
Miles spoke with a murderous edge, and Aurelian knew the wizarding world was about to be thrown into chaos.
“Father, we may be able to use this incident.”
Once Miles’s anger had vented somewhat, Aurelian gave him a sly smile.
“How?”
Miles knew that expression.
Someone was about to have a very bad day.
“For this attack, the other party’s true identity is not the most important thing, is it?
What matters is who we say we believe he was.”
Aurelian raised an eyebrow and laughed softly.
Miles reacted at once, and an equally wicked grin spread across his face.
“You little brat.
That is not bad.”
“Like father, like son.
I learned from you.”
“Nonsense.
When have I ever been that devious?”
Soon, a pair of unsettling laughs drifted from the study.
“Those two are definitely planning something unpleasant again.
I wonder who is unlucky enough to be caught in it this time.”
Hearing Miles and Aurelian laughing, Elaine spoke in annoyance.
Beside her, Catherine only smiled.
At that same moment, Hall Lancelot, who was also sitting in a study discussing the matter with his son, suddenly shivered.
“Why do I feel as if someone is plotting against me…”
…
Early the next morning, Miles stormed into the office of Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.
Ministry staff outside heard the sound of things breaking inside for quite some time.
Afterward, Miles strode out.
Not long after that, Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office, received an order and entered Fudge’s office.
When he emerged a while later, his face was iron-black, and a large number of Aurors were dispatched.
After leaving the Ministry, Miles gathered a considerable force and marched straight to House Lancelot.
Just as everyone thought House Pendragon and House Lancelot were about to go to war, Hall Lancelot appeared and invited Miles into his study.
Several hours later, something happened that left everyone stunned.
Miles walked out of House Lancelot cursing under his breath.
Just when people thought battle was inevitable, he actually took his people and left.
The next day, rumors spread through the Ministry that Cornelius Fudge had been scolded by the head of House Pendragon for more than an hour without daring to answer back.
Even the Muggle Prime Minister received an order from the Queen demanding severe punishment for the culprit.
At the same time, part of House Lancelot’s holdings were transferred under House Pendragon’s name, while Gringotts paid a number of precious antiquities to calm House Pendragon’s anger.
Only then did people understand how Hall Lancelot had settled the incident, and only then did they truly grasp how much power House Pendragon possessed when it chose to act openly.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.