HP: The Shadow Returns

The birthday party was still very grand, with guests from all over the world and high status, and everyone sent insignificant blessings.

After all, they all knew it.

The banquet is followed by important work reports and intelligence negotiations with other countries. Gunter's birthday banquet is basically like this every year.

The effect is greater than the surface

Theodore stood on the soft carpet in the hall and talked to them.

The gray-blue suit gave him a cool softness. Almost many people familiar with him said that he had changed a lot after having children.

He did not deny this. Saphira was not only the apple of Gunter's eye, but also Nott's treasure.

Blaise Zabini was bored and leaning in the corner with a glass of red wine, because his wife Daphne was also here, and as Huerta's right-hand man, this scene was naturally indispensable.

So he came with him. Daphne was very busy right now. She was working or going out to socialize almost every day.

The two children, one year younger than Saphira, were timidly clinging to the feet of their father, Blaise, watching all this.

Unlike Saphira, who was standing next to her mother and could communicate elegantly and calmly with the representatives of West Asia in front of her.

This Greengrass boy was very timid and did not inherit Zabini's innate social talent. He was just like Daphne when she was a child.

Of course, this is what old Mrs. Greengrass told him.

"Little Gala~are you happy to see your aunt?"

Astoria happily came over to tease the little nephew. She was wearing a dark beret and her short blond hair just reached her shoulders.

As an Auror, he is extremely capable.

Then he slowly straightened up and looked at Zabini, his eyes full of teasing.

"I'm so glad he didn't inherit your dark skin."

Zabini glanced at his shy son on his lap, picked him up and twitched the corners of his mouth.

"Even if he inherits it, he will never be ugly."

"Ha ha"

Astoria's two unexplained smiles gave him goosebumps. He looked around and couldn't help but ask.

"Where's Draco?"

"He will come over in a moment. The Malfoy family's property has been in a mess recently. He has not fully mastered the skills after so many years."

She shrugged and then asked

"Why did you and my sister suddenly want to get married? After all these years, I asked her and she never said the reason."

Facing her sister-in-law's confusion and questioning, Zabini had no intention of solving the puzzle. She recalled her determination when she returned and the scene where she blocked Daphne from expressing her feelings.

Although it was many years ago, it is still clear in my mind. Her voice at that time was terrifyingly cold.

"You know very well, Blaise, that I am now the head of the Greengrass family——"

"I know, I hope you can give me a chance... I want... to be with you... nothing else matters."

After picking up the child, Blaise turned his face, looking for Daphne in the crowd, and casually said

"Don't you know very well? We were very close when we were at Hogwarts."

"Come on, that's not the same thing."

After Astoria finished speaking, Blaise quickly took his son to find Daphne when she wanted to get to the bottom of it again.

...

As the banquet ends, the guests disperse

Amos Diggory, who was preparing to retire in a few years, slowly carried some desserts from the banquet to a house in the suburbs of London.

The person who welcomed him in was a handsome man wearing a red and white Christmas-colored sweater.

"Dad, you're here"

This is Cedric, now a doctor at St. Mungo's

Not only that, but also——

"grandfather!"

A girl with curly chestnut hair squeezed past her father and ran out, giving Amos a big hug. She had obvious oriental features on her face.

Then came Mrs. Digory. Qiu Zhang, who had a gentle face and long hair, walked out. The apricot yellow dress on her body made her feel particularly warm.

"Jatier, grandpa is getting older, you need to be gentler, you know?"

“Not in the way, not in the way”

Amos picked up Jatiel with a smile, slowly walked up the stairs and entered the room, asking questions as he walked

"El is going to Hogwarts next year, right? Are you excited?"

"Happy! I want to go to Ravenclaw!"

The girl hugged her grandfather's neck. Old Mrs. Digory, who had prepared the food, saw them coming back and opened the hot soup can in the middle of the table.

Dinner table

With cream in his hands, Jatierre ate the small cake that his grandfather brought back from the banquet without any scruples. The Christmas tree behind him was twinkling with light, and the adults were talking to each other happily.

It seems that there is nothing better than this.

But when night fell and only Digory and his son were left in the living room, Cedric looked out the window at the new Gaunt family emblem drawn by two giant snakes beside the store in the distance.

The hand holding the hot cocoa couldn't help but tighten.

"Father, are you okay at the Ministry of Magic?"

Amos folded his hands on his fat belly, seeming to be thinking

"It's much better than before, especially when Fudge was there, people were going crazy. In the past few years since Gunter took over, the happiness index of wizards has increased by 35%..."

After he finished speaking, he sighed deeply

"The world today is pretty good..."

Cedric didn't speak. He stared at his reflection in the cup for a long time without speaking.

But Amos knew what his son was thinking, and he turned his head slightly

"If you want to visit the Weasleys - just go tomorrow."

"Oh, I don't know what Arthur was thinking at the beginning. He insisted on hanging out with people from the Ministry of Magic, and he didn't care about the future of the children."

“Really confused”

Confused....

Listening to the comments of his father who was completely ignorant of the truth, Cedric's mood became more and more complicated. He had heard about Harry's death from Weasley a long time ago.

It's Huerta - she is now the leader of the entire wizarding world, and she is also a ruthless executioner with a butcher's knife in her hand.

But now few people know the truth hidden under the layers of blood.

Suddenly, Amos asked next

"By the way, that girl, Sansaro, I haven't heard from you for a long time. How is she now?"

Cedric silently sipped the hot cocoa in his cup and sat under the sofa shrouded in moonlight.

With the sound of wind whistling in my ears, I stared at the swaying wind chimes by the window in silence for a moment and replied in a deep voice.

"Very good, father, she is doing well now"

"Ah - that's good. She was so good before, and now she should be able to shine even more in the Gunter family."

"That's what you said"