This ti around, Edward's main goal was to purchase every chanical and electronic product available on the market—along with beginning to stockpile food.
Most of the items on the goddess's procurent list were electronics, chanical devices, and various related technologies and principles. As for food, the goddess had clearly specified on the list: buy as much as possible. It was an obvious preparation for the coming era of war and upheaval.
Whether the intention was to stabilise her own anchor or out of sympathy for ordinary people, the end result would ultimately benefit them. So Edward was more than happy to help.
But when it ca to actually carrying it out, things weren't that simple. For food, rchants were more than happy to sell within a certain quantity—business was business, and profit was king.
However, once they began buying in bulk, it started to attract attention. Either vendors would outright refuse to sell, or worse, it would trigger investigations from the relevant authorities.
"This won't work. Looks like next ti we'll need to switch cities…no, countries," Edward concluded.
"Where to?" Audrey asked.
"France, Romania, Moldova…All of them are major grain-producing countries in Europe. We can just buy what we need in one place and then move to the next—shouldn't raise too much suspicion that way."
Audrey frowned. "Do you still have enough money for this?"
Edward shrugged. "Of course not. Expecting a few people to save an entire city—or even a country—is just not realistic!"
—If it weren't for Bellatrix's vault contributions, he wouldn't even have a penny for food!
Audrey puffed out her cheeks indignantly. "My father could've done it."
Edward laughed, "Wow, you really are the Earl Hall's best daughter."
In the original story, when war broke out, Audrey had ruthlessly drained her old man's gold reserves, forcing the Earl to open the granaries to pacify protesting civilians.
"…." She turned her head away, pretending he had been praising her.
"Anything else we need to buy?"
Edward took out the procurent list. "Hmm, the rest of this stuff doesn't seem like it can be obtained through normal channels."
He pointed at one of the items and laughed bitterly. "An F-35 fighter jet? Not only does that not even exist in this era, even if it did, how the hell am I supposed to get it without outright stealing one? Why not ask to hijack an aircraft carrier while we're at it? This is insane."
Audrey said nothing. Edward had never explicitly told her who she was, but it wasn't hard to guess. Even though this was another world, Audrey didn't dare to speak casually about a deity.
"All right, forget the list for now," Edward said, rubbing his cheek. "We should be getting ready to head to the Malfoys."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of 'surprise' Lucius has prepared for us."
———
By 6 p.m., darkness had already fallen.
Malfoy led Audrey and Edward—along with Lilith and Susie—through the Floo Network to the Malfoy Manor, located in Wiltshire.
The estate was a lavish lord's manor, surrounded by ticulously designed gardens. In the centre of the courtyard was a massive fountain. Despite it being winter, thanks to what was likely magical maintenance, the grounds still retained so greenery. Elegant white peacocks road freely through the estate.
Lilith's eyes lit up instantly. She crouched down in a hunter's stance, tail flicking in excitent. Susie mimicked her, ready to pounce the mont Lilith gave the signal.
"Ahem! Lilith," Edward chided, "we've just arrived—you need to show so basic etiquette."
"ow~"
Lilith gave the white peacocks one last longing look before reluctantly rising, trotting in small steps to Edward's side.
Clink!
Edward casually flipped a coin to double-check there was no danger.
As they stepped into the luxurious manor, everything in sight scread opulence. Every surface that could be gilded was gleaming with gold, and nearly all of the stone floors were covered with extravagant carpets.
Audrey couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "This place is way bigger than my house."
"Nonsense. The Hall family is far wealthier than the Malfoys," Edward replied.
She laughed, "Well, that's Empress Borough for you—it's the closest area to the King of Loen. No matter how rich we are, we can't live in a house bigger than the King's, right? But we do have quite a few grand holiday estates spread across several counties in Loen. We visit them once every year or two."
Ah yes, the kind of vacation hos that are used once a year, with upkeep costs that run into tens of thousands of gold pounds annually. If the god of poverty, Klein, ever heard of it, he'd definitely lodge a formal protest!
Draco, now dressed in an elegant formal suit, led them with the deanour of a refined host. He guided them into the sitting room where tonight's dinner would be held.
—As Hogwarts students were typically only allowed ho during the Christmas or sumr holidays, this was quite an exception.
"Father, Mother."
As soon as she saw her son, Narcissa's usual cold and dignified expression lted away. She rushed forward to embrace him. "Oh, I knew it—I just knew you must've had a tough ti at Hogwarts."
Malfoy frowned, awkwardly shrugging off her arms. "I didn't!"
He then turned to Lucius Malfoy and said, "Father, this is Audrey Hall. And this is Edward."
Lucius, though even more arrogant and self-important than his son, knew better than to let those feelings show. As an adult, he was adept at masking his true emotions and spoke with impeccable courtesy.
"Welco, Miss Hall. Mr. Edward, is it?"
He gave Edward a quick but sharp glance, then smiled.
"I've heard of you. Miss Hall never seems to travel without you, is that right?"
Edward nodded. "That's correct."
"And may I ask…your surna is…?"
"I grew up in an orphanage. Just call Edward."
Lucius's lips curled up, clearly about to say sothing, when Edward added, "Oh, it's the sa orphanage where Voldemort grew up."
"…"
Lucius's smile froze, and Narcissa's face instantly went pale. She clapped her hands over Draco's ears. "You…how could you say that?"
Edward shrugged. "You an calling Voldemort by na? Don't worry, he's not Adam. What's so unspeakable about saying his full na?"
He tossed out a joke they couldn't possibly understand, then waved a hand casually. "Alright, don't just stand there. Let's sit."
Edward had decided this beforehand—when it ca to the Malfoys, there was no point in being overly polite. If you tried to play nice, they'd just drag you into their own territory and wear you down with their wealth of experience in manipulation.
Rather than get humiliated and then blow up, it was better to just go in directly from the start.
After all, they weren't here tonight just for dinner.
Lucius looked at Edward with suspicion and curiosity. He found himself unable to see through this boy at all.
"Narcissa, take Draco back to his room."
Draco imdiately protested. "Why, Father?"
"Darling, be good. Listen to ." Narcissa stroked his hair and gently pushed him out of the dining room.
"I'm not a little kid anymore!"
Once Narcissa and Draco had left, Edward said, "Mr. Malfoy, let's cut to the chase. Why exactly did you invite us here tonight?"
Lucius raised his wine glass. "Allow , on behalf of the Malfoy family, to offer a toast to the two of you."
"Sorry, we're underage. We can't drink alcohol. Juice, please."
Lucius clapped lightly. "Dobby, bring so juice."
"Yes, Master."
A shabby-looking house-elf brought over a bottle of juice on a tray and placed it on the table. "Please enjoy, sir."
"Thank you."
Dobby froze for a mont. A flicker of light passed through his bulging eyes. "You…thanked Dobby?"
Edward also pulled out a few Knuts and handed them over. "This is your paynt."
His eyes grew even wider and rounder. "You…you're paying Dobby?"
"Silence, you fool. Leave at once."
"Yes, Master."
He bowed and vanished with a pop.
Edward poured juice for himself and Audrey, and a small glass for Lilith, who was watching curiously. Only then did he clink glasses with Lucius. "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Malfoy."
Lucius cleared his throat and said, "The reason I invited you here tonight is because I'd like to ask Miss Hall a question."
Audrey put down her glass. "What is it?"
The words reached his lips, but he hesitated. He adjusted his tie nervously. "It's just…did you really see…You-Know-Who?"
"You an Voldemort? Yes."
"He…he's still alive?"
"Professor Dumbledore said he is."
Lucius's face turned noticeably paler.
Edward smiled and asked, "Is Mr. Malfoy worried that if Voldemort returns, he'll co after his forr followers?"
He quickly replied, "I…I was under the Imperius Curse back then. I wasn't truly one of his followers."
"Well then, if Voldemort cos back, do you think you'll be placed under the Imperius Curse again?"
"..."
Lucius fell silent.
Without hesitation, Edward used Legilincy on him. What he saw was a whirlwind of thoughts—Lucius was struggling to read Edward, he was clearly terrified of Voldemort's return, and there was an obvious sense of unease about the future.
But that wasn't what Edward was truly interested in.
So he asked directly, "Mr. Malfoy, you an to tell that you invited us all the way here tonight just to ask that question? If you just wanted to know whether Voldemort is alive or not, surely there were easier ways."
"..."
"And now that you know he's still alive…then what? What exactly does Mr. Malfoy plan to do?"
Lucius's gaze sharpened at once, but he didn't reply.
But through Legilincy, Edward had already seen the truth: this dinner hadn't been Lucius's idea. It had been a joint request from the families of other forr Death Eaters, who had asked him to help verify one thing—whether Voldemort was really still alive.
Because recently, soone who was supposed to be long dead had shown up at their doors—Barty Crouch Jr.
He claid he was acting under the Dark Lord's orders, demanding that they all follow him from now on and prepare for the Dark Lord's resurrection and return.
These forr Death Eaters—whether they had bribed their way out of trouble or feigned ignorance back in the day—were clearly not die-hard loyalists. So they didn't believe Barty Jr. right away.
After all, he couldn't produce a single shred of evidence. At the very least, shouldn't the Dark Lord show his face and say a few words?
They couldn't just throw their entire lives into this based on one guy waving a flag and shouting slogans.
So they began applying pressure—through the newspapers and the Ministry of Magic—trying to gauge Dumbledore's stance and determine whether Voldemort really had returned. At the sa ti, they instructed their children at Hogwarts to provoke Harry and Audrey in order to force answers from them.
Harry, of course, had already been questioned a few tis, and he adamantly stuck to his story.
But Audrey was the tricky one. During a recent Defence Against the Dark Arts practical lesson, she had demonstrated overwhelming power—so who would dare try anything forceful with her?
As Barty's demands grew more aggressive with each passing day—he'd even issued an order to cooperate with goblins in attacking Hogwarts—the situation grew dire.
Attack Hogwarts?
Even during Voldemort's peak, they hadn't dared to go that far!
That was suicidal.
But if these were truly the Dark Lord's orders, then refusing to obey would undoubtedly lead to a worse fate.
After much anxious deliberation, the group finally reached a consensus: confirm it one last ti.
One final confirmation.
And that was the real reason behind tonight's invitation.
"So that's how it is."
Edward withdrew from Lucius's mind, finally understanding the whole picture—though, even now, it all still struck him as rather foolish.
A forr Death Eater, inviting students close to Dumbledore into his ho, right under Dumbledore's nose, just to confirm Voldemort's status?
No matter how you looked at it, it was utterly absurd.
———
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