Dark_Peace
patreon
Chapter 271: Malfoy Manor, The Attention-Grabbing Banquet
🕑 Added 2025-01-19 04:06:04 +0000 UTCTime flows by.
Since the beginning of July, many new faces have appeared throughout England.
Different skin colors, different races, but they all have the same goal: the 442nd Quidditch World Cup.
Arriving more than a month in advance might be difficult for Muggles to understand.
But for wizards, it's quite normal.
Without the pressure to survive, finances aren't particularly important to many wizards.
Because no matter how poor a wizard is, as long as they have a wand, they won't starve to death.
Of course, this doesn't apply to those who are extremely foolish.
Overall, most wizards' fondness for Galleons is merely to improve their quality of life, not for survival.
...
July, the most special time of the year.
Not only because it has the hottest temperatures of the year, but also because in magic, seven represents mystery and the unknown.
A boy born in July, Voldemort's downfall in July, and also seven Horcruxes…
As the mysterious number running through the entire story, fate seems to have an exceptional fondness for July.
Similarly, on a weekend in early July 1994.
The Malfoy Manor hosted a banquet, a banquet that attracted the attention of the entire European magical community.
...
Wiltshire.
A midsummer night, the northern sky, star-studded.
Whether it's the Big Dipper in Ursa Major, the North Star in Ursa Minor, or even Cassiopeia and Cygnus, various bright stars emit dazzling starlight in the sky.
At eight in the evening.
Malfoy Manor was bustling with people, guests swarming in.
But curiously, as the hosts of the manor, the Malfoy couple didn't appear, and among the guests, there were no adult wizards.
At most, the oldest guests looked about seventeen or eighteen, just graduated from Hogwarts.
Draco, without his parents showing up, took charge of Malfoy Manor.
Dressed in a neatly tailored tuxedo with a warm and polite smile on his face, he made everyone present feel welcome.
Compared to Draco's meticulousness, Ino appeared much more casual.
He still wore his blue robe woven from spider silk, surrounded by many non-Slytherin friends.
George, Fred, Neville, Percy, Cedric, Hannah, Cho…
There was no choice. The division sentiment at Hogwarts was too strong. It was less intense among adults, but it was especially noticeable during their student years.
He could only try to take care of his friends from other houses before the banquet started.
...
The banquet venue was set up on the manor's lawn.
As night fell and the lights came on, various exquisite magical lights made the entire manor look radiant.
Fine tableware, fragrant bouquets, the air filled with the scent of perfume and delicious food, accompanied by soothing, gentle music, made the entire banquet look stunning.
At eight thirty in the evening.
Under everyone's gaze, Ino slowly walked up to the main stage.
Looking down, although he couldn't name many people, those faces were familiar.
Perhaps from the common room, the Great Hall, the corridors, or the library, they had crossed paths before.
"Good evening, everyone!" Ino took a deep breath, his voice clearly transmitted to everyone's ears with the help of magic.
"Seeing familiar faces here makes me feel like I'm hosting the opening feast at Hogwarts, perhaps I need a Sorting Hat…"
A little joke brought a knowing smile to everyone's faces.
After a brief joke, Ino spoke again, but this time his voice was much more formal.
"I'm very grateful you all could come to this banquet, and I'm also very grateful for the times we live in, a time of rapid changes…"
"But what I want to say is, no matter how times change, some things will never change."
Here, Ino paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces.
"What never changes? That's our care for each other, our pursuit of dreams, and our expectations for the future."
His deep and powerful voice and calm, unhurried tone resonated emotionally with many.
Everyone present, though they were all young, each had their own dreams and the pursuit of those dreams.
George and Fred thought of their dream joke shop, Neville of opening a herb nursery, Hannah of a dessert shop, Cedric's gaze turned to Cho beside him…
"Ahem, I think everyone knows the nature of this banquet, but I still need to emphasize it here."
Ino cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention again.
"I hope the Movie Mirror can become a tool for everyone to achieve their dreams, not just a means to accumulate wealth. Of course, this is not to refuse your investments, I welcome everyone's investment…"
In about fifteen minutes.
Ino detailed the nature of this banquet, somewhat akin to the famous Harvard alumni network among Muggles.
But unlike that, this banquet aimed to form a diversified community of interests through the Movie Mirror.
In plain terms, everyone could gain benefits from this.
Those with ample funds, like Draco, Pansy, and Marcus, could directly finance and join; those lacking funds, like George, Fred, or even Percy, could join in other ways.
Those with knowledge could participate in research, those good at socializing could handle sales, and those already working at the Ministry of Magic could use their positions and authority to gain a share of the profits.
Of course, this was just in terms of benefits.
The community of interests brought not only considerable direct money but also a kind of alliance power for the next twenty years.
In this regard, the Harvard alumni network excels, with figures like Obama, Bush, Bill Gates, and Zuckerberg. When a group produces significant influential figures in various fields, people first think of the power of this group.
And young pure-blood wizards in the magical world are never short of such wisdom.
Whether it was Marcus, Percy, or the former female prefect, Mina Burke, they all clearly saw this.
...
Though essentially this way, the initial intention was different.
From the beginning to the end, Ino never told anyone the real reason, not even Draco.
All along, he simply wanted to make the magical world more splendid.
And the grand scale of this event, besides paving the way for the future of the Movie Mirror, was more about saving effort.
Once the snowball of interests started rolling, it no longer needed any external force, just a good direction.
...
After the speech ended, the banquet officially began.
Among the relaxed and joyful conversations of everyone, two people appeared exceptionally busy.
Draco and Marcus.
Each had a table in front of them, with a thick stack of parchment on it.
Clearly, some people had already started joining in different ways.
Seeing the two busy, Ino felt genuinely grateful, thankful to have help.
Otherwise, if it were just him, doing nothing but this, he would probably be buried in it for decades.
