bookbashuk Chapter 325 "The Heirs"
Chapter 325 "The Heirs"
Chapter 325 "The Heirs"
The Hamilton family estate was heavy with tension late at night. The banquet hall on the second floor, which was usually filled with splendor, was now empty. The elders of the Hamilton family, who rarely returned here, sat at the table looking at each other.
"Edward—things have gotten far too bad," an old man said slowly, looking dejected. "If she comes with the Ministry of Magic—we'll have no choice but to give in."
"Fight them!" An old man slammed his fist on the table. "Our Hamilton family will never allow a foreign, half-blooded freak to take control!"
"This is an insult!"
"Fight to the death?" An elderly woman beside him raised an eyebrow. "What can you possibly use to fight her?"
"And putting that aside—are you trying to fight the Ministry of Magic or Dumbledore?"
"Peterson and so many elite wizards are no match for them."
"Then what do you suggest we do?!" The old man glared at her, banging on the table. "Are you suggesting we surrender?"
"To grovel before a mixed-race Veela?"
"You might be able to do it, but I can't. My back is straight!"
"That's hard to say." The old woman closed her eyes and shook her head. "If she really comes—I'll choose an easier path."
"She's all alone," she said, blinking. "A little girl who's barely a teenager—"
Support will definitely be needed.
"Aurelia, you rascal!" The other old men stared at her in astonishment. "Have you already sided with her?"
"Hehe." The old woman shrugged, looking at these people. "That's hard to say—"
"You damned traitor!"
"Being a traitor is better than waiting to die. Do you think stubbornly holding onto your temper will drive her and Dumbledore to their deaths?"
"Even if you kill her, can you guarantee Dumbledore won't come looking for her? Can you guarantee the Ministry of Magic won't come looking for her?" The old woman seemed to be expressing some anger as she glared at them and said, "You old folks didn't deal with her beforehand, and now that things have blown up, what are you thinking about?"
"And Philip, if you had contacted that girl earlier and shown enough sincerity, we might have had a chance to talk."
"Look at the mess you've made now—" the old woman said, looking at Edward. "Your son is really something, causing all this trouble!"
Seeing the chaotic scene unfolding before him, and even himself being attacked, Edward slammed his fist on the table, the loud noise silencing everyone.
"I've had enough—enough with Philip! Don't talk to me about him!" he said angrily, "and about the heir."
"As long as I live, she will never inherit the Hamilton family fortune, never!"
"I'm not leaving here!"
He picked up the wine glass on the table, but found it was empty as soon as he picked it up.
"Damn it, where are the servants?"
"The Hamilton family isn't finished yet!"
"I'm so sorry, Master Edward—" Miss Xirui, Loila's former personal maid and the one who advised her, pursed her lips and quickly came over with a wine bottle.
Just then, the banquet hall door opened, and the wizard who entered pursed his lips and nodded slightly, saying:
'
"The Edwardian family—Master, the Ministry of Magic has arrived."
"Ministry of Magic?"
Upon hearing this name, the elders present exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if the man had arrived so quickly.
"Only the Ministry of Magic?" Edward asked slowly.
"Besides the Ministry of Magic—there's another woman."
"woman?"
"It must be her!"
"Let's go fight her!"
"Are you crazy?"
The banquet hall was thrown into chaos once again, with the elders of the Hamilton family each having their own ideas.
Edward, looking pale and seemingly at a loss, leaned on his cane and stared at the banquet hall door that had been closed again, lost in thought.
But before long, the sound of footsteps could be heard.
"Clatter".
The banquet hall door was pushed open again, and walking in was someone they didn't want to see.
Rufus Scrimgeour — a tough guy, the Auror Chief of Staff — many of them were tried by him more than a decade ago.
"Director Scrimgeour." Edward nodded calmly when he saw him.
"Good evening, Mr. Edward Hamilton." Scrinker's expression was unreadable; he simply nodded and stepped aside slightly.
The person who came out of there was none other than Mr. Parkinson.
He nodded to the Hamilton family members and said, "We are here today to discuss matters concerning the head of the Hamilton family."
"This is an internal matter of the Hamilton family—I don't think it should be handled by—" the old man who had been the most agitated at the beginning retorted.
But he had barely opened his mouth when a cold female voice interrupted him.
"This is no longer an internal matter." A woman with long black hair walked in. She had dark eyes that looked coldly and sinisterly at everyone present.
Those snake-like eyes sent chills down the spines of everyone present.
"This is Miss Nagini," Parkinson coughed and introduced, "She is here on behalf of Miss Loila Hamilton."
"She doesn't even dare to come see us in person? What a coward—" the agitated old man said indignantly. "We will not be managed by her!"
"The honor of our pure-blood family cannot be tarnished like this!"
He waved his cane as he spoke, looking quite passionate, as if he were about to fight Nagini to the death.
Nagini simply stared at him with her snake-like, vertical pupils until he gradually fell silent and pursed her lips before slowly speaking.
"Are you done talking, old man?"
"What did you say?!"
"Let your nonchalant farce end here." Nagini said, looking at Scrimgeour. "Director Scrimgeour, if I'm not mistaken, he should be Gro Hamilton, right?"
"Hmm." Scrimgeour nodded slightly.
"Then let's not waste any more words on him." Nagini smiled slightly. "I remember we already saw that in Mr. Peterson's memories, didn't we?"
"Hmm." Scrimgeour nodded again and waved to the Aurors behind him.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, the Aurors rushed in, wands in hand, and pinned down the shouting old man.
"What are you doing?!" he roared. "Even the Ministry of Magic can't arrest me like this! I'm going to file a complaint!"
"I want to withdraw my funds!"
Parkinson chuckled softly upon hearing this, and walked over to the terrified elderly people: "First of all—I need to explain something."
"You are not qualified to do anything on behalf of the Hamilton family because you are not the head of the Hamilton family."
"Secondly—" he coughed lightly, "your arrest has nothing to do with Miss Hamilton."
"Based on the Ministry of Magic's investigation and evidence provided by Peterson Hamilton, you funded Voldemort's terrorist activities thirteen years ago."
Parkinson's words stunned everyone.
Funding Voldemort's terrorist activities—this is a crime that is neither too serious nor too minor.
The major point is that anyone with this crime will go to Azkaban; the minor point is that a large portion of pure-blood wizards have some kind of ambiguous relationship with Voldemort.
"What evidence do you have?" the old man retorted. "This is slander."
"Didn't you hear me, old man?" Nagini bent down, looking at him with icy eyes. "Peterson Hamilton has confessed to your crimes."
"He has memories of you."
"Wh-what?! This is false evidence, I didn't—"
Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was sealed shut by the Auror's wand.
As he was escorted out of the banquet hall, silence descended upon the place.
No one dared to say anything more, fearing that if they did, they would be the next to be sent to Azkaban.
"Can we continue, Mr. Parkinson?" Nagini asked him.
"Of course." Parkinson nodded slightly and continued, "According to the law—Miss Loila Hamilton, daughter of Mr. Philip Hamilton, has the right to exercise her inheritance rights."
"Regarding the succession to the Hamilton family."
"Do you have any further objections to this matter?"
"————" Everyone remained silent, not even Edward.
"Since no one has any objections, then Miss Nagini, please announce the agent chosen by Miss Hamilton."
He looked at Nagini as he spoke.
His words left the elderly people stunned once again.
agent?
They all instinctively looked at the old woman, who looked at Parkinson with surprise.
She seemed to have never expected such a thing to happen.
"My friend, Miss Loila Hamilton, doesn't have the time to manage such a large family—so she has decided to choose a proxy to manage it in her place," Nagini said slowly, and as she spoke, the old men fell silent again.
"She has already chosen a replacement." Nagini said, pursing her lips, her expression suddenly turning strange, or rather—she was also very confused about this choice.
"Is Miss Shirley here?"
"Um?"
Upon hearing this name, everyone paused for a moment—
hope Rui?
Does the Hamilton family have such a person? Everyone looked at each other.
Wait a minute—they suddenly remembered something and all looked at the girl standing at the door holding a bottle of wine.
"Are you Xirui?"
"Hmm—Hmm!" Xi Rui, holding the wine bottle, nodded somewhat blankly. She didn't quite understand why her name was suddenly brought up.
"Ah—you are a maid of the Hamilton family, and also Loila's personal maid, right?"
"Mmm—Mmm." Xirui nodded again.
"Then that's it." Nagini smiled gently, her face not cold but rather quite warm. She reached out and took Shirley's hand, saying, "Then you are Miss Hamilton's chosen agent."
"From now on, you will be in charge of all affairs of the Hamilton family."
"Um?!"
"ah?!"
All the Hamilton family members present stared at the maid in astonishment.
To have a maid act as a proxy—that's a bit much—
"This—" Edward pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but Nagini seemed not to see it and handed a necklace to the bewildered Shirei.
"This is a magic array item. It can help you resist spells and also allow you to communicate with Miss Hamilton at any time—if you encounter danger—it will also notify Miss Hamilton." Nagini's voice was exceptionally loud, as if she were specifically telling these people this.
"So don't even think about doing anything bad." Nagini said, glancing at Edward, whose face was extremely pale. "After all, it seems there's still a lot of information about Peterson Hamilton that hasn't been extracted yet—"
"Also—" Nagini nodded slightly as she spoke, and seven or eight robed wizards walked in from behind her. They all looked serious and had a cold expression on their faces.
"Miss Shirley, these are the wizard bodyguards that Miss Loila Hamilton arranged for you. Please feel free to give them any instructions."
"They will help you with anything."
"Ah—okay—okay—" Xirui, who hadn't come to her senses yet, pursed her lips as she looked at the wizards.
"Ah—" Suddenly remembering something, Nagini's gaze fell on Edward: "You must be Edward Hamilton, right?"
"Loila specifically asked me to tell you this."
"She's very grateful to you for taking care of the Hamilton family for so long. Without you, the Hamilton family—oh?"
"Mr. Edward, why did you faint?"