Chương 94: Chapter - 95 : Shadows of the Past
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As soon as the dance was over he led Daphne back to her parents. To ensure he made a good impression while at the same time avoiding showing Daphne too much attention, Harry next asked Astoria to partner him for a waltz. Then, duty done, he gratefully made his escape from the ballroom and joined Nott and Draco at the refreshments table. When it came down to a choice between spending time with the other Slytherin boys and dancing with a prepubescent witch, Harry knew which he preferred.
Unfortunately it didn't take long before Melania found him again and ordered him to mingle. Harry obeyed with a sigh, knowing he had a duty to fulfil. He moved through the crowd, nodding and smiling at the guests, having quickly learnt to keep conversation to a minimum if he didn't want to discuss the chances of his father marrying or the possible contents of Sirius' Gringotts vault. Sweeping his gaze over the gathered wizards and witches, it became obvious to Harry that Melania had carefully chosen her guest list to further her matchmaking plans. He wondered how Sirius was holding up under the onslaught of single witches hunting for a husband.
Harry didn't have much sympathy to spare, however, since he had guests of his own that he was eager to avoid. He swerved around a determined looking Lady Greengrass, unwilling to endure another interrogation by the woman, and ducked out of sight behind a group of older wizards. He recognised only a few members of the group, but with Lucius Malfoy among their number Harry intended to quickly move on to a safer hiding place. He hesitated, however, when their conversation caught his attention.
"Such a suggestion is preposterous, Yaxley," Lucius Malfoy said sharply. "You cannot seriously be insinuating that my sister-in-law Bellatrix bowed down before a half-blood?"
"I believe he's also implying the same of you," Nott senior said with a smirk.
Lucius gave him a chilly smile. "I am not the only wizard here accused of Death Eater activities, if you recall."
"Although of course we were all acquitted," Walden Macnair hastened to say.
"Indeed and rightfully so." Lucius acknowledged Macnair's words with a regal tilt of his head.
"Be that as it may," the wizard named Yaxley spoke up, immediately gaining the group's attention. "It does seem as if the Dark Lord was at least partly of Muggle descent. His real name is said to be Tom Marvolo Riddle, after his muggle father I believe. Certainly that name is not linked with any of the Ancient or Noble families."
Harry watched with interest as Lucius paled. "Riddle? Are you certain?"
Yaxley nodded. "I found it hard to credit at first, but all my investigations have shown that the rumour bears out."
The subject turned to other things and Harry slipped away from the group, mulling over what he'd heard. It seemed Arcturus' efforts to discredit Voldemort were well underway, though Harry wasn't yet certain how successful the rumours would be in turning the Death Eaters away from their master. Some might not be willing to believe that the Dark Lord was a half-blood, while others would have too much to lose if Voldemort ever returned and discovered their abandonment. Harry noticed that at least Yaxley was taking the rumours seriously and seemed to have quite a bit of influence over the other wizards. Harry was also pretty certain he wasn't a Death Eater, which was reassuring.
Harry searched the crowd for Sirius, wanting to discuss what he'd overheard. He eventually found the older wizard in an out of the way corner, where he was busy flirting with a blonde witch who was hanging off his arm. Harry rolled his eyes and interrupted the pair. Sirius tried to shoo him away, but the woman seemed to lose interest now that a child was involved and left to find another wizard to bat her lashes at.
"Thanks a lot, Orion," Sirius said sarcastically.
Harry was unrepentant. "Don't you and Hestia Jones have a thing going on?"
"It's only casual. And really, what's the point of a party if you can't flirt with the guests?"
"Well I don't know why you'd choose that particular woman to charm. She's so dim she wouldn't be able to cast a simple Lumos charm, and she has absolutely no sense of humour."
Sirius sighed. "Yeah, I noticed that. She didn't laugh at a single one of my jokes. But how did you know?"
"I…" Harry began, then stopped. "I have no idea." He searched his memory, wondering if he'd overheard something about the witch. Then he considered whether it had simply been a lucky guess. But no, he'd been so sure that he was right. Slowly an idea began to form; small hints from over the last few weeks coalesced into a solid theory.
Harry stared at the wizards and witches around him. There was Lady Parkinson, who was prepared to throw herself at any male under the age of eighty; Paterfamilias Yaxley, a man of determination and strong ideals; Walden Macnair, whose bloodthirstiness was sure to get him into trouble one day. Harry shouldn't know any of that, but he did.
"I think I may be an Assessor," Harry said faintly.
Sirius laughed. "Yeah, right."
"I'm serious."
"Huh?" Forgoing the usual joke, Sirius stared at him. "How the hell did that happen?"
"I don't know," Harry said, beginning to feel panicked. "I've always been a fairly decent judge of character but recently it's been more than that. I took an instant dislike to Professor Footswitch, and managed to read Snape even though he's a brilliant spy, and well, lots of things. It all adds up. Merlin! I really am an Assessor."
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