Chapter 533 Christmas Eve
Chapter 533 Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, Shaylin originally planned to return to Malfoy Manor alone to spend Christmas with his family. But Eleanor, who was reluctant to part with him, insisted on going with him, and her attitude was so firm that Shaylin could not refuse. After thinking for a moment, Shaylin decided to invite Akabane Sakurazuki as well, and spend Christmas with them at Malfoy Manor.
It was already evening when they arrived at Malfoy Manor in the Thestral carriage.
Malfoy Manor has long been decorated like a dream, with a strong festive atmosphere everywhere. This towering noble mansion looks even more solemn and elegant in the winter night. The black iron gate is wrapped with silver-green magic ivy, occasionally flickering with tiny lights, like flowing stars. On both sides of the cobblestone main road, several silver magic lanterns float gently, casting a warm and soft glow, illuminating the snowy night.
Walking into the interior of the manor, the luxurious Christmas decorations are dazzling - a huge magic Christmas tree stands in the center of the hall, two stories high, and all the decorations on the tree are magical products: silver flying snakes are winding around the branches, and the scaly luster appears and disappears with the changing light and shadow; the glass ball contains a miniature starry sky, and if you look closely, you can even see a shooting star; a pure white female angel statue stands on the treetop, and every midnight, it will sing a distant and moving melody.
On the walls hang floating ribbons that occasionally change color; fairies fly in the air, dropping gold powder; a warm magic flame burns in the marble fireplace, creating a cozy festive atmosphere; from the ceiling hangs silver and green decorative vines, from which crystal clear magic snowflakes fall from time to time, which melt instantly when they touch the human body, leaving no trace of moisture.
The restaurant has been decorated. An extra-long oak dining table is covered with a dark green velvet tablecloth. Golden candlesticks emit a soft glow. An exquisite Christmas feast is placed on the magic plates - roast turkey, pumpkin pie, honey cake, magic candy, and Lucius's collection of top-quality French, Italian and Spanish red wines. Every dish exudes an enticing aroma.
When Schelling arrived at the manor with Eleanor Hohenheim and Akabane Sakurazuki, the large living room was already full of family members.
Lucius Malfoy sat by the fireplace, shaking a glass of red wine in his hand, looking normal, but his eyes paused slightly when he saw Eleanor, obviously recognizing her identity. As the heir of the Hohenheim family, her arrival undoubtedly added a touch of meaning to this Christmas.
Narcissa Malfoy smiled and walked forward, saying gently, "Shaylin, you're finally back. Did you have a smooth journey?"
"It went very smoothly, mother." Sherin took off his cloak and smiled slightly. He then turned his gaze to Andromeda Tonks on the sofa and the middle-aged man sitting next to her. Sherin had seen his photo and knew that he was Mr. Ted Tonks. He then greeted them politely, "Uncle, aunt, hello, are you also coming to Malfoy Manor to celebrate the holiday this year?"
Andromeda was obviously in a good mood. She smiled cheerfully and joked with Xie Lin: "Why? You don't welcome us?"
"Of course not, I'm just a little surprised." Sherin shrugged.
Nymphadora Black-Tonks leaned on the sofa. At this moment, she had returned to her original appearance. Her hair turned black again and she held a Christmas candy cane in her mouth. When she saw Sherin, she rolled her eyes and said with a mischievous smile, "My dear little cousin, why haven't you introduced your two beautiful female companions to us yet?"
"Oh, I almost forgot." Sherin turned slightly and introduced, "This is my fiancée, Eleanor from the Hohenheim family in Germany. Her ancestor is the legendary alchemist Paracel."
Eleanor nodded politely, and Xie Lin immediately gestured to Yingyue and continued, "This is my overseas pen pal who I have known for many years. She is a top student from the Mahokuro School of Magic in Japan. She came to Hogwarts for a one-year exchange student study program."
"Oh?" Mr. Ted Tonks raised his eyebrows at the right time, with a hint of teasing on the corner of his mouth, and teased in a tone that every man could understand: "I seem to have seen a French girl behaving intimately with you in the newspaper, Xie Lin, you really have a wide range of friends!" Eleanor still maintained an elegant smile on her face. She looked at Xie Lin lovingly, but Xie Lin only felt a faint chill on his back. Yingyue still maintained a polite smile and did not deny her relationship with Xie Lin. She even seemed to be happy to accept it.
Xie Lin could only cough twice to hide his embarrassment. Eleanor was fine, after all, she was his legitimate fiancée, but Yingyue was just his pen pal, and there was nothing innocent between them.
Draco Malfoy came over at this time, and standing beside him was a tall and delicate girl - Pansy Parkinson. She held Draco's arm, and glanced at Eleanor and Akabane Sakura with a slightly scrutinizing look, and said with a slight smile, "Sharin, when did you start bringing 'girl companions' home?"
Xie Lin glanced at her nonchalantly and said calmly, "Pan Xi, don't talk nonsense. A few days ago, we went to Cairo, Egypt to attend the International Alchemy Conference. I just invited them to our house to celebrate Christmas."
Pansy was about to say something else, but Draco gently pulled her arm, signaling her not to say anything more.
Sherin and Draco are brothers, there are things he can say, but Pansy can't. Although Sherin and Draco both tacitly acknowledge that Draco is the next head of the family, the two brothers actually know that this is based on the premise that Sherin will not fight.
Draco said in a deep voice: "Sherin, we have heard about your great achievements in Egypt. Congratulations on winning the 'Gold Medal for Pioneering Contribution' and the 'International Merit Award'. I heard that you also defeated the extremely terrifying local dark wizard forces?"
"Fortunately," Sherin said lightly, "I just happened to grasp the weakness of the Dark Wizard leader and luckily defeated him. The rest of the gang was subdued by the Aurors from the Egyptian Ministry of Magic who arrived later."
Everyone present looked at each other.
The "Beast Priest" Anubi is a terrifying existence that can stop children from crying at night. His power has been wreaking havoc on the entire African wizarding world for decades. His notoriety is so loud that even people as far away as Great Britain have heard of it. How could he be defeated by Schelling "coincidentally and luckily"?
In fact, in the eyes of most ordinary people, Xie Ling is very strong, but no one can give an accurate idea of how strong he is.
Although Schelling had fought against four wizards, Armand Malfoy, Voldemort, Morgan Le Fay, and Barbarossa, these amazing achievements were not known to outsiders. In fact, the only direct battles that were made public were his performance in defeating the dragon in the Triwizard Tournament and rescuing Harry and Hermione from a group of unidentified dark wizards in Little Hangleton Cemetery.
A little closer was the plot to thwart the Russian contestant Mozolov in the Potions Championship, and finally the feat of defeating Anubi in Cairo. If you count it this way, Anubi is indeed the strongest enemy he has ever defeated in his life, no wonder everyone is so surprised.
Even though Anubis was not a Grand Magus, he was not someone that an ordinary elite Auror could deal with. Otherwise, he would not have been able to run rampant in Egypt for so many years, leaving the Egyptian Ministry of Magic helpless.
Even if it was just a matter of "coincidence" and "luck" that Schelling was able to defeat him, it was still quite remarkable. Doesn't that mean that Schelling's strength has surpassed that of ordinary elite Aurors, at least to the level of Mad-Eye Moody or Scrimgeour?
