Chapter 11: History of Magic
Chapter 11: History of Magic
The afternoon lesson was History of Magic, taught to both Ravenclaws and Slytherins together. Seated just in front of Wade was a boy with pale blond hair, flanked by two chubby sidekicks. Wade recognized him as Draco Malfoy, the minor antagonist from the original story who had a rivalry with the protagonist for seven years. However, the relationship between Slytherin and Ravenclaw was amicable, and Malfoy didn't go around spewing venom. Instead, he maintained a polite demeanor in the classroom, aside from his haughty tone and tendency to flaunt his family background and wealth.
Of course, his attitude toward his arch-nemesis, Harry Potter, was an entirely different matter.
As Professor Binns appeared through the wall to enter the classroom, Malfoy was still gossiping about Harry Potter with his cronies: "Always flaunting that scar on his forehead as if it makes him so special—and hanging around with that smelly Weasley gang, picking up their second-hand embarrassment—”
The surrounding Ravenclaws shot disapproving glances their way and subtly created some distance from the Slytherins.
—Regardless of what the future holds, Harry Potter is currently a hero in the eyes of many witches and wizards, and most of the students here have grown up listening to stories of his exploits. Draco Malfoy's words naturally elicited some resentment, but they also served as a reminder of certain facts that had been swept under the rug.
"I heard that Malfoy—I mean, Draco Malfoy's father was a Death Eater who followed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Michael whispered to Wade. "After He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated by Harry Potter, his father claimed that he had been Imperiused and even donated a lot of money to the Ministry of Magic to avoid imprisonment. Judging from his behavior, it's clear that his father still holds a grudge against Harry Potter for defeating his master, and Draco has inherited that resentment."
Wade shook his head inwardly. He knew that Draco Malfoy probably hadn't given it that much thought. Initially, it seemed like he even wanted to be friends with Harry Potter, but his arrogant attitude had earned him a snub—a proud young master wasn't used to such treatment. Thus, he relentlessly opposed the 'Chosen One.'
"Don't take it lightly, and don't get too close to Malfoy," Michael warned. "His family is one of the most fanatical about pureblood status among the Sacred Twenty-Eight."
"The Sacred Twenty-Eight?" This touched upon a gap in Wade's knowledge.
"They're the twenty-eight pureblood families with no Muggle ancestry, and no one in their family has ever married a Muggle," Michael explained nonchalantly. "But my dad says it's a load of rubbish because many of the families on that list actually have Muggle ancestors, or they claim to have Muggle ancestors."
……………………
It had to be said that History of Magic was an incredibly boring class. This was due to the ghost professor, Binns, who droned on in a hypnotizing monotone, reading directly from the textbook without asking questions or paying attention to what the students were doing. His speech was accompanied by wheezing sounds, and his diction was unclear. Within five minutes, half the class had dozed off, and the remaining students were either dozing off or secretly playing board games on the parchment they were supposed to be taking notes on.
Wade, however, had tuned out Professor Binns' hypnotic voice and was drawing a timeline on his paper, listing important dates, historical figures, and major events in wizarding history—the very topics that the History of Magic O.W.L. exams focused on. On Wade's desk was a borrowed library book, 'Hogwarts: A History,' which he was using to cross-reference the information. It sparked curiosity about the adventurous and turbulent lives of the four Hogwarts founders and the impact the school had made over the past millennium.
History itself was fascinating, but Professor Binns managed to make the subject utterly unappealing.
As soon as the class ended, Professor Binns' voice trailed off, and he drifted out of the classroom at a leisurely pace. Wade woke Michael up, and the two of them headed to the library to work on their History of Magic assignment—a one-foot-long essay on the reign of terror of the demon Emeric the Evil.
"There's no one more diligent than you in all of Hogwarts," Michael muttered as he worked on his essay. "I bet the other students are all waiting until the last day to start."
Before he could finish his sentence, a wobbling figure passed by them. It was Hermione, carrying a tall stack of books. She stopped when she saw Wade and placed the stack of books on the table with a thud, causing Michael to feel as if the entire desk was shaking.
"Hi, Wade," Hermione greeted him and sat down without ceremony. "How's Ravenclaw?"
"It's great, except for the endless stairs," Wade replied. "Hermione, this is Michael Corner. Michael, this is Hermione Granger, a friend I made on the train."
"Hello," Hermione said with the courage of a little lion. She reached out her hand and introduced herself. "Are you also in Ravenclaw?"
Michael swallowed nervously as he looked at the towering stack of books. He shook her hand and replied hesitantly, "Um... maybe?"
In front of these two, he felt unworthy of calling himself a Ravenclaw.
"Maybe?" Hermione frowned.
Michael felt a strange suppression in their academic chain of command, and his posture unconsciously became a little smaller. He asked in a low voice, "Can I ask... why did you bring so many books? Are you planning to read all of them?"
"Of course! These are the books I plan to finish this week," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.
Michael's face turned ashen, and he glanced at Wade, silently asking, "What's going on?" Was she even more intense than Wade?
Wade raised his eyebrows slightly in response.
Michael stopped complaining about Wade dragging him to do homework and focused on finishing his essay. Wade, who had already completed his, continued working on his timeline.
"Oh, that's a useful method," Hermione said, leaning over to take a look. She suggested, "But I think it would be more insightful to combine it with Muggle history."
"Yeah, I plan to add that later," Wade said, pushing his completed portion towards her. "You've read more books than I have. Can you take a look and see if there's anything that needs to be modified?"
"Sure," Hermione agreed without hesitation and carefully reviewed his work. "Here, the exact time of the wand's birth is unknown. Melena Simms' main contribution was researching the magical properties of eighteen wand woods, proposing the wand compatibility theory, and the Simms formula..."
She pulled out a book from her stack and flipped it open. "In 382 BC, the Ollivander family began making wands. To this day, the best wand maker is still from the Ollivander family. I think this could be an exam topic..."
Her quill flew across the parchment as she took notes, while Madam Pince occasionally shot them warning glances, ready to kick them out if they made too much noise.
Michael, who was rushing to finish his essay, felt increasingly insignificant. He listened for a while, then quietly pulled out a piece of parchment, intending to copy Wade's modified timeline of magical history. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he nudged Wade with his elbow, whispering, "Look!"
Theo was standing outside the library, peeking in. He had probably just finished Herbology class, as he was still covered in dirt from the greenhouse. Madam Pince refused to let him enter, but when he spotted Wade and Michael, he happily waved at them.
Wade bid Hermione farewell and gathered his things to leave with Michael. Seeing Ryan and Theo waiting at the door, both covered in dirt, Wade asked, "Is something the matter?"
The two Hufflepuffs exchanged a glance, and Ryan nudged Theo with his chin, indicating that he should speak. "Well, you mentioned wanting to find a quiet place to practice spells, right? Professor Sprout from Herbology is our Hufflepuff Head of House. After class, I stayed back to help her, and then I gathered my courage to ask her—"
(End of Chapter)
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