213: Chapter 213 VIP Box

"I didn't invite you into the box."

Lucius stood at the entrance of the Malfoy box, his silver cane barring the doorway. The pure-blood ladies behind him stopped talking, and several gazes fell on Allen simultaneously. Draco's face stiffened, and just as he was about to speak, Narcissa glanced at him first.

"Draco invited a classmate," Narcissa said. "A few minutes before the match starts, it's not worth making a scene at the door."

Lucius's cane moved aside by an inch. "A few minutes."

When Allen entered, he didn't touch any cups or sit down. The box was carpeted in dark colors, with pumpkin juice and pastries placed on silver platters. The children of several families showed the utmost politeness, but out of the corners of their eyes, they were all watching the Malfoy father and son.

Draco stepped half a step closer. "If you're going to look, make it quick. My father's patience is measured in seconds."

"He's already endured for two years."

Draco was stung into silence. Lucius stood by the window, the rim of his cup pausing in his hand; he had clearly heard it.

Narcissa slipped a small potion vial into Draco's palm. "If the crowd is too chaotic after the match, drink half a bottle of Awakening Potion first. Don't go with any upperclassmen, don't go looking for your father—find me first."

Draco agreed in a low voice. "I remember."

Allen glanced at Narcissa. She didn't ask about the diary, nor the Chamber of Secrets, only pushing her son closer to the exit. The most clear-headed person in the Malfoy Family was never standing beside the silver cane.

Outside the box, people were already taking their seats in the Minister's box. Fudge was wearing a comical striped hat, Ludo Bagman was waving exaggeratedly, and Barty Crouch was dressed impeccably, like a walking departmental document. The Weasley family was arranged on a farther side, and Harry stood by the railing, just in time to see Allen.

Harry raised his hand, but put it down upon seeing Lucius. Hermione stood beside him, her gaze quickly turning to Crouch's seat, then shifting to Winky. Ron stared at the Malfoy box, his face reading, "How unlucky."

Draco lowered his voice. "Potter is looking at you."

"Let him look."

"Granger is looking too. Her staring is more annoying than a Professor taking attendance."

"She'll be looking at the chairs."

Draco looked in the direction of Allen's gaze. Beside Crouch, Winky was shrunk onto the high seat, her toes unable to touch the ground, yet her hands tightly pressing against the edge of the seat. The empty space beside her had no figure at all, yet the cushion was depressed by half an inch.

"What's wrong with the empty seat?" Draco couldn't help asking.

Allen didn't answer. The gold patterns on the north side of the Portable Space spread out against the stand structure, the golden threads avoiding skin, taking only temperature, weight, wand position, and corridor echoes. Beside Crouch's seat, a cluster of adult wizard body heat was covered by an invisibility cloak, its outer circle half-obscured by Winky's body.

Peter let out a short gasp inside the cage. "Height matches, posture matches, magic pressure is erratic. Barty's spell-casting when he was young was just like this, like a fire trapped in a cage."

The tip of the void tail pressed down on the cage, and Peter immediately swallowed the second half of his sentence.

Nott passed by outside the box, his fingers tapping two shorts and a long on the spine of an old notebook. Allen received the relay: Exit 7 had no anomalies, Crouch's attendant list was missing one person, and Winky refused other House-elves from approaching.

Zabini was more direct. He carried a teacup past the adjacent seats, a small piece of paper turned upside down at the bottom of the cup. Fine weather, shadows high up. Ludo Bagman's betting ring was overheating, Fudge was busy taking photos, and the Bones Family sat far away. Brody was on the Department of Mysteries safety list, but had not taken his seat.

Allen dissolved the paper into his palm, the Spatial Thin Layer swallowing the ink marks.

Lucius finally spoke. "Mr. Potter doesn't seem very interested in the match."

"The match will be written about in the newspapers."

"Then what are you looking at?"

"Who wouldn't want to be in the newspaper."

For a fraction of a second, no one in the box replied. Several pure-blood children pretended not to understand, but Draco understood, his fingers pressing against the copper knut on his cuff. Lucius's cup was placed back onto the silver platter with a soft clink.

"Young people should touch adults' old accounts less," Lucius said. "Especially on international occasions."

Allen turned around. "If adults managed their old accounts well, students could write a lot fewer reports."

Draco nearly choked. Narcissa looked toward Lucius, her gaze quickly withdrawing, but she pushed Draco another half a step closer to the exit.

Ludo Bagman's cheers came from outside as the mascots prepared to enter. The Veela's song drifted along the stands, and many male wizards stood up and waved. The Weasley Twins laughed so hard they doubled over, and Ron was yanked fiercely back into his seat by Hermione. Draco wanted to mock, but swallowed it back down forcefully.

"You're very well-behaved today," Allen said.

Draco gritted his teeth. "Mother is behind us."

"Good reason."

When Crouch sat down, Winky's shoulders tightened sharply. The heat source under the invisibility cloak shrank backward, knees hitting the bottom of the seat, and the subtle vibration traveled along the stands to the golden patterns. Crouch himself showed no reaction, simply placing his gloves on his knees and nodding in polite small talk with Fudge.

Peter was almost crying inside the Portable Space. "It's him. Crouch can use the Imperio, Winky guards, and Barty is sitting right beside them. If Master can contact him, he will crawl right back."

Allen wrote "Barty, confirmation probability increased" into the thin wall. The next line listed the danger points: invisibility cloak, House-elf, Crouch's control, Harry at close range.

Harry's seat was not far from Crouch. Hermione had already noticed something was wrong with Winky and was speaking in a low voice to Harry. Harry turned his head to look at Crouch, then looked at Allen, his brow furrowing. Ron was still complaining about the seat, completely out of the loop.

Draco asked again, "What do you see?"

"Crouch brought family."

"His son died in Azkaban."

"Dead on the ledger."

Draco's breath hitched. Hearing the words "Azkaban," the tapping of Lucius's cane skipped a beat. Narcissa finally spoke. "Draco, do not leave my side after the match ends."

Draco's Adam's apple bobbed. "Yes, Mother."

Allen didn't stay any longer. In the corridor outside the box, Nott was leaning against a pillar flipping through notes, and Zabini's teacup was already empty. Neither asked useless questions, simply waiting for the result.

"There's a living person in the seat," Allen said. "Winky guards. Crouch knows."

Nott pressed a heavy mark with his pen tip. "If made public?"

"No evidence. If the person under the invisibility cloak disappears, Crouch can claim the House-elf is saving the seat."

Zabini cursed in a low voice. "The Ministry of Magic is best at turning living people into paperwork procedures."

Draco chased out from the box, suppressing his anger. "If what you're saying is true, will my father be dragged into this?"

"As long as he leaves his seat tonight, he will be recorded."

Draco stared at Allen. "I'll record him too."

After saying these words, he fell silent first. The young master of the Malfoy Family put his father on an observation list for the first time, like tearing an old badge off his robes; his hand remained steady, but his fingertips were pricked by the pin and drew blood.

The cheers of the stadium suddenly exploded. The match was about to begin, and everyone looked up at the sky, except for Allen, who looked toward the empty seat beside Crouch.

"The Crouch family: there's one more living person than on the list."