Hogwarts: Bloodline Legend-Chapter 585 - 166: The Banquet! Am I About to Be Crowned?
It had already been ten minutes since dinner started, and she’d only eaten a few beans—if you could call it that. Every time Ian looked over, she’d pretend to be calm, stick her head practically into her plate, and suck up some beans with her mouth.
"Parkinson, yes, she has Parkinson’s! Since she was a kid! It’s really serious!" Daphne, seeing her little sister’s performance, had a face full of panic and distress.
She already regretted spicing up her stories and painting Ian as some terrifying Demon King. Who could have guessed that this campus tyrant would actually show up at their house!
This is all Mom and Dad’s fault!
"What nonsense are you talking about, Daphne?" Madam Armand Greengrass, their mother, shot Daphne a fierce glare, then looked a bit worriedly at the little blonde girl.
"Astoria is usually quite cheerful." Madam Armand Greengrass had actually noticed her little girl’s oddness for a while, and now finally seized the chance to ask Astoria Greengrass about it.
"What’s wrong, sweetheart? Are you feeling unwell?" The caring tone made Astoria Greengrass’s pale little face lift ever so slightly.
"I... I..."
She looked over at her sister.
"I’ll go take her to see the family doctor! Maybe she caught a cold last night! Yes! That must be it!" Daphne, her heart pounding, leapt up from her seat.
No wonder her parents were giving her weird looks—she grabbed Astoria and dashed out with her.
"Sorry! Sorry!"
While she ran, Daphne kept apologizing to Ian, her eyes full of terrified panic—as if she could feel Ian’s slightly teasing gaze following her.
"What a nutty girl."
Lupin, sitting beside Ian, commented in a low tone.
"She’s a girl who’s been scared out of her wits."
Ian corrected him; he could easily guess what was going on. Plus, he figured Madam Armand Greengrass and Mr. Theodore Greengrass surely had a good idea too.
"Maybe they really did catch a cold last night, and were up all night so their brains are still a little fuzzy." Mr. Theodore Greengrass tried to make excuses for his daughters.
"It’s alright, I understand."
Ian went back to scooping up dragon meat.
"How does today’s food taste?" Madam Armand Greengrass, full of enthusiasm, used her knife and fork to help Ian, who was energetically tearing at the dragon tenderloin.
"It’s absolutely perfect—you can tell your family’s done in a lot of dragons." Ian blurted out his heartfelt praise, making Madam Armand Greengrass and Mr. Theodore Greengrass both look a bit embarrassed.
"Sometimes farm-raised creatures are just like that... yep, that’s right." Mr. Theodore Greengrass tried to explain, but even he knew that was a hard sell.
"I get it, I really do."
Ian quickly offered his total understanding.
"If you like dragon meat, we still have plenty left from yesterday’s butchering. Of course, if you ever want some more, we always seem to ’accidentally’ find a dragon that’s taken a fatal fall."
Mr. Theodore Greengrass said this with a very sincere tone.
Clearly, he was beginning to shell out the big promises—after all, just like Lupin had said, even among the Pure-blood Nobility, a single dragon was an incredibly pricey commodity.
"A gift like this, I suppose, isn’t just because I’m Daphne’s classmate, right? In fact, I think you know that Miss Daphne and I even had a bit of a falling out at first." Ian looked rather surprised at Mr. Theodore Greengrass; after pausing to consider, he decided to just cut to the chase.
No other choice.
The other side was just too composed.
And he was still a kid.
Didn’t have that much patience to spare.
"Kids’ squabbles are nothing—when you look back as an adult, they become fond memories. It’s nothing major, and I’m sure Daphne understands that."
Mr. Theodore Greengrass set down his cutlery, looking completely unconcerned. Madam Armand Greengrass, sitting beside him, nodded in agreement.
"Uh... you’re not trying to set me up with your daughter, are you?"
Ian looked a little wary.
Hearing this.
Mr. Theodore Greengrass gave a helpless chuckle.
"Let’s not even talk about how we can all see that’s never going to happen—just looking at your school’s...," Mr. Theodore Greengrass trailed off and glanced carefully at Lupin.
"Who would dare even try?"
He abruptly switched the subject.
The little wizard only half-understood, half didn’t.
But still.
"Oh, as long as it’s not what I was thinking, that’s fine—go on." Ian dove back into his dragon meat, even pulling out his homemade chili sauce.
Mr. Theodore Greengrass paused to ponder a moment before speaking again.
"We all know your reputation at school, and we’re well aware of the astounding things you’ve already accomplished. Clearly, you have a future none of us can even imagine."
"Your future is unstoppable, limitless... So, Daphne’s mother and I both hope that she and her sister can stand by your side in the years ahead."
"I firmly believe this will be the best decision the Greengrass Clan has ever made." Mr. Theodore Greengrass’s tone was resolute, his eyes burning with a barely concealed passion.
"What did he do?"
Lupin sensed that the vibe wasn’t quite lining up with his expectations. This smug, proud Pure-blood Nobility was blatantly trying to swear allegiance.
Swearing fealty to a twelve-year-old kid? Suddenly realizing there was some vital bit of info he must be missing, Lupin found even the delicious spread in front of him hard to swallow.
However—
His question got no response from Mr. Theodore Greengrass, leaving Lupin feeling a bit awkward. After all, he and the man had crossed swords long ago.
"Yeah, what did I do?"
Luckily, Ian himself was also confused.
Apart from having knocked off one-seventh of Tom...
He really hadn’t done anything drastic enough for the Pure-blood Clans to suddenly come out and show their cards like this, had he?
Where’d the Twenty-Eight Holy Races’ pride and glory go?!
"Mr. Prince, we are one hundred percent sincerely hoping to get close to you, so there’s no need for you to keep hiding things anymore. In fact, a lot of us have already guessed your intentions."
Seeing the little wizard’s ever more confused expression,
Mr. Theodore Greengrass’s tone turned even more helpless.
"Not long ago, when you took in that pack of werewolves in Knockturn Alley—even though you did it quietly, that’s still our territory. So we’ve pretty much figured out what you’re plotting."
"Your ambitions are clear as day now, there’s no need to keep pretending... It’s obvious wizards are on the brink of a new order, and all I hope is that my clan will once again be on the side of that order." Mr. Theodore Greengrass’s speech was absolutely heartfelt, without any guile—a truly naked confession.
"?????"
Only—
The little wizard sat there, mouth agape, feeling at a total loss for words. He was raising those werewolves just to study the value of werewolf blood, for Merlin’s sake.
How did that—according to these Pure-blood Clans—turn into a bid for kingship or something? As the little wizard prepared to explain, and maybe even drag Lupin up as his witness—
"I get it! Now it all makes sense! I knew it! I was wondering why you were messing around with that kind of... that kind of thing!" Lupin, whom he’d been about to call as his witness, straight-up switched sides on the spot. Face ashen, the look on his face said it all—I have achieved enlightenment—and he gazed at the little wizard like he was looking at a monster.
"You get it my ass!"
Ian really wanted to kick him.
Look at that!
Just look at that!
This was exactly the kind of brainless reaction that prompted Mr. Theodore Greengrass to give an all-knowing, "I knew it" expression.
"..."
Ian honestly wanted to know—
If he jumped into the Yellow River now, would it even wash him clean?
