Lucius looked a little confused.
From Arthur’s words, it sounded like Arthur knew the neighbor next door.
But Lucius couldn’t rember being acquainted with any Muggle neighbors.
Could it be soone from the wizarding world?
A na suddenly popped into his mind—
Draco’s godfather.
"Don’t tell ... Snape lives next door?" Lucius asked.
Arthur nodded.
Lucius couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
That cunning man...
He had quietly secured such a safe residence long ago.
Originally, Lucius had planned that if Arthur’s neighbor refused to rent the house, he could simply use a little magic to "borrow" the property.
But if the neighbor was Snape, that plan clearly wouldn’t work.
Now he could only visit Snape personally and ask whether his family could stay there temporarily.
If that failed, he would have to settle for a house further away from Arthur’s ho.
Still—
Given their friendship, it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Then Lucius suddenly thought of sothing.
Draco!
His son ca to Arthur’s house all the ti.
There was no way Draco didn’t know Snape lived next door.
Yet Draco had never ntioned it.
Clearly his son needed a serious talking-to.
At that mont, Draco—who was in the backyard talking to Hydra—suddenly shivered and sneezed.
Hydra asked with concern,
"What... happened?"
Draco shook his head.
"Nothing."
He had briefly felt a strange sense of danger.
But he quickly dismissed the thought.
Back inside the house.
After learning Snape lived next door, Lucius said his farewells to Arthur.
He planned to visit his old friend and discuss the possibility of staying at Snape’s ho.
Once Lucius left, Hermione walked out of the house.
"Finished writing the letter?" Arthur asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Yes."
"I also asked Dumbledore why the Ministry of Magic hasn’t taken action yet."
Arthur nodded approvingly.
Hermione had understood exactly what he was thinking.
It had already been half a month since Arthur gave Harry the tracking disk for Bellatrix.
Yet during all that ti—
There had been no response.
The Ministry had been as quiet as still water.
Arthur couldn’t help wondering what exactly Dumbledore was doing.
That night, the Malfoy family temporarily moved into Snape’s house.
Arthur had contributed to this outco—
Though sowhat unwillingly.
Apparently Lucius and Snape had discussed sothing privately.
Soon afterward, Snape ca to Arthur’s door.
Using the excuse that Arthur had revealed his address without permission, Snape demanded compensation.
Specifically—
Arthur had to expand Snape’s house using the Extension Charm.
After all, a single house accommodating two families was a bit crowded.
For Arthur, that task was trivial.
Besides, Leah had announced that to celebrate the Malfoys’ arrival, she would cook a grand dinner that evening.
Arthur simply accepted the al as his paynt.
With a wave of magic, Snape’s house beca more than twice its original size.
The Malfoy family moved into two guest rooms.
By the ti dinner arrived, three families had gathered together:
The Malfoys
The Snape family
Arthur’s entire household
The table was lively and full.
Thanks to magic—and Arthur’s house-elves helping in the kitchen—Leah prepared a al for more than a dozen people without much effort.
Just as everyone was enjoying dinner—
They heard a doorbell from Arthur’s house next door.
It wasn’t that the bell was particularly loud.
But everyone present was a wizard, and their senses were sharper than normal humans.
Arthur released a strand of ntal perception to check who the visitor was.
A mont later—
He saw the figure at the door.
Albus Dumbledore.
Arthur stood up and walked toward Snape’s front door.
anwhile, Dumbledore rang Arthur’s doorbell again.
Suddenly he heard a door open nearby.
Turning his head, he saw Arthur stepping out of the neighboring house.
Dumbledore pointed toward Arthur’s door.
"If I rember correctly, your house is supposed to be that one."
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Am I not allowed to visit my neighbors and maintain friendly relations?"
Dumbledore chuckled.
"Of course you are."
"Should I co back later?"
Arriving unannounced was technically rude.
If Arthur wanted him to wait, Dumbledore wouldn’t object.
Arthur waved dismissively.
"No need. Co inside if you have sothing to say."
Dumbledore glanced at the house.
"Discussing wizarding matters in your neighbor’s ho... are you sure that’s appropriate?"
Arthur replied calmly,
"Don’t worry."
"Everyone inside is soone you know."
With that, Arthur walked back into the house.
Dumbledore followed curiously.
He wondered which acquaintances Arthur ant.
As soon as he stepped inside, Dumbledore noticed the Extension Charm applied to the house.
But he ignored it.
Even as the Minister for Magic, he knew many wizards privately used such charms.
And now wasn’t the ti to worry about minor rule-breaking.
When he entered the living room, he saw more than a dozen people gathered around the dinner table.
Looking around, Dumbledore quickly recognized the house’s owner.
On the wall hung a wedding photo of Snape and Lily.
Most people present already knew Dumbledore.
Even the Granger parents had seen his face in wizarding newspapers.
So Arthur didn’t bother introducing him.
Dumbledore smiled politely.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlen."
Then he turned toward Snape.
"Severus, when did you move?"
"And why didn’t you tell ?"
Arthur raised his eyebrows slightly.
He hadn’t expected Snape to keep his address so secret.
Even Dumbledore didn’t know it.
Snape answered coldly:
"I fail to see why that information was necessary for you to know."
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