Chapter 18: Back to Home and Checking Out at Riddle's Home

"Baby, are you kidding me?" Narcissa gave an incredulous scream as she sat at the table.

"I don't think I'm joking," Draco said calmly.

"I don't agree. How can you still have homework on Christmas and have to go so far away? You said you were arranged by your giant teacher. I must let your father fire him. It's hard to imagine Hogwarts would willingly hire a murderer as a teacher," Narcissa said as she slammed her hand on the mahogany table.

"Oh, mom, he's just a janitor now," Draco explained slowly.

"This is just extra homework in the potion class, it's not mandatory, but shouldn't your son be the best? Any task should be perfectly completed, right?" Draco added,

"The potion class teacher is Severus Snape, you should know him..."

"Snape," Narcissa said the name once.

"It seems he has dealings with your father, but I still disagree. Are you willing to leave your mother alone at Christmas and go by yourself at Christmas?" Narcissa seemed to squeeze some tears from her eyes as she spoke.

Draco was momentarily speechless.

"I'm back," a gloomy voice from a middle-aged man suddenly came from the marble fireplace.

"Mother, I think we have a father who can accompany you now," Draco couldn't help but bring a hint of joy.

Narcissa expressed her dissatisfaction with the fact that someone was absent when they should have been present and then suddenly returned at an inappropriate time. Draco , on the other hand, appeared confused and approached the table to drink some honey tea and then Draco explained to him.

"The people of the Malfoy family are not reckless, but they are not lacking in courage," Lucius turned and said to Draco: "Of course, Dad supports you."

"Think back then, I was too..." Then he had a nostalgic look and seemed to think of his student days.

Narcissa, who is now in a bad mood, scolds Lucius and implies that he may be slightly ruined.

Lucius, who was interrupted, smiles awkwardly and ends the conversation, seemingly not wanting to argue with Narcissa further.

Narcissa then asks why Lucius has early leave in his work.

After finishing lunch, Draco said goodbye to his parents and began his journey for the day.

Before leaving completely, he went to a vegetable market for Muggles, bought some beef bones, and it is unclear what he plans to do with them.

~~~~

The villagers of Little Hungerton continue to refer to a certain house as "Riddle House" even though the Riddle family has not lived there for many years.

The house is situated on a hill and offers a view of the entire village.

Some of the windows of the house have been sealed and the roof tiles are missing, while creepers cover the house.

Riddle House was once a grand mansion, the largest and most impressive building in the area, but it is now abandoned and dilapidated, with a damp and desolate appearance.

A young man with light blond hair and carrying a black pocket arrived in the village. As he walked down the wide road, several villagers asked him where he was going.

It was unusual for a stranger to appear in such a small village.

When the man, named Draco, told them his destination, the villagers all had a reaction of surprise and unease.

This was because the house he was headed towards had a reputation for being eerie, possibly due to a murder that occurred there fifty years ago.

After attempting to persuade the villagers without success, they left in confusion, puzzled by the boy's behavior since no one was willing to go near the abandoned house.

The only exception was Frank, the housekeeper and gardener, who was the prime suspect in the murder case that took place fifty years ago.

The villagers believed that Frank's time on the battlefield may have affected his mental state and led him to commit the murders.

The police believed that Frank was a suspect in the Riddles' deaths, so they took him to the police station for questioning. Frank maintained his innocence and repeatedly denied the accusations.

He claimed that on the day the Riddles died, the only person he saw near the house was a teenage boy with dark hair and a pale face.

However, no one else in the village had seen this boy, leading the police to believe that Frank had invented him.

The police were unable to start an investigation due to the strange results of the autopsy report. The report stated that the Riddle family had not been killed by poison, sharp weapons, guns, suffocation, or strangulation.

In fact, the doctors noted that the three members of the Riddle family appeared to be in good health, except for the fact that they were all dead.

The doctors also noted that all three had a frightened expression on their faces, but the police had never heard of anyone being scared to death simultaneously.

Frank was released and returned to his cabin in the garden of Riddle House, which is owned by a wealthy individual who does not reside in the house and appears to be handling some tax matters, according to the villagers.

Despite this, the owner continues to pay Frank to be a gardener. Suddenly, a knocking sound is heard at the door of the house.

Frank slowly stood up from the chair in the yard and limped towards the gate with his walking stick.

It's possible that he had a wound from battle or that he was simply old and had issues with his leg.

He relied on crutches to help him walk. As he walked, Frank wondered who might be coming to the house.

Frank thought to himself that it couldn't be the group of ghosts because they weren't so polite.

The boys in the village enjoyed throwing stones at the windows of Riddle House and running over the grass that Frank worked hard to keep flat.

They had even broken into the old house on occasion to play a game of daring. Frank believed that these boys tormented him because, like their parents and grandparents, they thought he was a murderer.

The door to the old house slowly creaked open, making an unbearable friction sound as it scraped against the ground.

Frank opens the door to find an unfamiliar boy with pale skin and light blond hair standing there.

He is struck by the boy's demeanor and is reminded of a pale, black-haired child from years before.

The boy, Draco, apologizes and then raises his wand, saying "Stupefy!"and shooting a red blaze from the tip of the wand towards Frank.

Frank's body falls to the ground and he loses consciousness.