Chapter 41: Malfoy
Chapter 41: Malfoy
Harry found the detention terrible because Malfoy kept whispering in his ear, constantly provoking him. This drastically reduced his efficiency, and by midday, he had only managed to copy ten parchments.
The thickness barely matched that of a pinky finger.
During lunch, Harry complained to Hermione and Ron about this. He said, somewhat exasperated, "I never thought he'd be so talkative, buzzing non-stop."
Ron suggested, "You could harass him back."
Harry was speechless; he didn't have that much to say to Malfoy.
Hermione mused, "You could try provoking him and ask if he's the Heir of Slytherin."
"Come on, he's not going to say anything unless it's to someone he trusts", Ron countered.
Harry also thought this was a bad idea, as it could easily alert Malfoy. "By the way, Hermione, what should we do about the autograph?"
"Maybe you could ask Professor Hup?" Ron suggested.
"That's not a good idea", Hermione sighed. "He's not like Professor Lockhart, who is so..."
"Naive", Ron finished, earning a glare from Hermione.
"Still, I can try tonight, but I can't promise anything", Hermione said, not giving a definite answer.
After lunch, they returned to the Ancient Runes office to continue their copying task.
Harry had to endure Malfoy's provocative glances. Several times, he almost drew his wand to cast a hex, and not just one—ideally, he wanted to cast three spells at once like Professor Hup, leaving Malfoy defenseless...
By the afternoon, Felix inspected their work and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad, you three should be able to finish tomorrow afternoon. Mr. Malfoy, you're making the fastest progress; you only have about seven or eight pages left."
Draco Malfoy was almost in tears, thinking of the price he had paid for his mouth. Two thick books, completely hand-copied, over nearly two months, with only a few detentions skipped for Quidditch practice...
Malfoy then wrote furiously, paying no attention to Harry, and finally finished all the content before dinner.
Felix couldn't help but praise him. "Very well done, Mr. Malfoy, your detention is over."
"Yes, Professor", Malfoy murmured.
Seeing him pack up his writing materials, Harry and the others were envious, as they still had a full day of detention ahead.
"Oh, right, Mr. Malfoy", Felix called out, making Malfoy jump.
Was he going to be assigned more books?
Fortunately, Felix had no such intention. He waved his wand, and a thick stack of parchment flew from the corner, covered in dense writing. With a flick of his wand, the parchment split in two and bound itself together mid-air.
Two book covers flew out of the suitcase, wrapping around the parchments, and golden letters slowly appeared on the covers, making them look like two books.
"Mr. Malfoy, these are the fruits of your labor. I'll give them to you as a gift."
The two books landed in front of him, leaving Malfoy stunned.
Felix said, "Although you come from a prestigious Pureblood family and have outstanding talent, Muggles are not entirely worthless. I believe you have already come to understand this." He pointed to the two handwritten books in front of Malfoy.
"Through this detention, I hope you remember one thing: weakness or strength are not obstacles to survival; arrogance is."
Malfoy held the two books, his lips moving, but he said nothing.
After he left, Felix turned to the Golden Trio, who had been watching the scene. "Alright, your task for today is done. Continue tomorrow."
Hermione whispered to Felix, "Professor, can I continue learning Runic Script with you tonight?"
Felix was somewhat surprised. He thought for a moment and said, "In principle, I don't object, but what about your homework?"
Hermione beamed. "It's fine. I've already finished it all." Her expression was as if she had just won a grand prize.
As the three of them left the office and headed to the Great Hall, Ron looked at Hermione in disbelief. "You really finished all your homework?"
"Of course!"
"When did you do it?" Ron seriously doubted that he and Hermione shared the same time. Did she have a few extra hours in her day?
Hermione was in a great mood. She said, somewhat arrogantly, "Since I knew I would be serving detention over the weekend, I naturally finished my homework early. Isn't that common sense?"
Ron was speechless, and Harry looked ashamed.
...
Malfoy returned to the Slytherin common room and put down his bag.
He sat in a chair with a gloomy expression, his eyes gazing through the greenish light of the common room at the dark lake outside, where a few fish occasionally swam by the window.
Two of his cronies approached. "Draco, do you want to have dinner?"
"Crabbe, Goyle..." Malfoy glanced at them seriously. "Never mind, you go ahead."
Crabbe and Goyle shrugged and quickly left.
Malfoy huddled in his chair, his pale face and light blonde hair half hidden in the shadows.
He was still thinking about Professor Hup's words.
Although he had tried to refute this absurd notion, the two months of copying punishment had already ingrained some of the book's content into his mind.
This reminded him of a time when he was a child, and his mother had taken him to visit a Pureblood Wizard. They had run into his aunt during the visit.
His aunt was his mother's second sister, but she had been disowned by the family for marrying a foolish Muggle-born Wizard.
They had argued fiercely that day. His mother had urged her to return and apologize, but she was firmly rejected.
He remembered very little from that encounter, but one phrase stuck with him: his aunt had shouted at them, "What else do you have to be proud of besides magic?"
The twisted expression on her face was etched in his memory.
For some reason, he suddenly picked up his bag and took out the two books, staring at their covers.
One was titled Struggle of Muggles, and the other How Muggles Think.
He was familiar with the covers, having copied them for two months, but there was a slight difference—
Below the author's name, a new line had been added: Copyist: Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy picked up How Muggles Think and opened it to the first page. Looking at the familiar handwriting, he set aside his prejudices and began to read it seriously for the first time.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
