Harry felt awful about this detainment because Malfoy kept muttering in his ear and constantly provoking him. This made his efficiency plummet, and it’s nearly noon, but he had only copied ten sheets of parchment.
The thickness couldn’t even catch up to one little thumb.
At lunchtime, Harry complained to Hermione and Ron about this. He broke down a little and said, “I never thought he’d talk so much, and be buzzing around non-stop.”
Ron offered him advice, “You could harass him too.”
Harry looked speechless, he didn’t have that much to talk with Malfoy.
Hermione pondered, “You could probably provoke him and use the opportunity to ask him if he’s the heir of Slytherin.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, how could he say, unless it was someone close to him.” Ron retorted.
Harry agreed that this idea is not plausible, rather it would be easy to spook him. “By the way, Hermione, what do we do about the sign?”
“How about you get it from Professor Hap?” Ron suggested.
“That’s not a good idea.” Hermione sighed, “He’s not like Professor Lockhart, like that …”
“-like a twat.” Ron answered, getting a glare from Hermione.
“But I can try tonight, just so you know, try.” Hermione didn’t give a positive response.
After lunch, they returned to the Ancient Runes office and continued their own scribing tasks.
And Harry had to endure the provocative looks from Malfoy, as he tried several times to draw his wand and inflict a vile spell on him; one wasn’t enough, it was better to do what Professor Hap had done and send out three spells in a flash, leaving him defenceless …
By the afternoon, Felix looked at the results of a few of them and nodded in satisfaction, “Not bad, you three will be done by tomorrow afternoon. And Mr. Malfoy, you’re making even faster progress, just seven or eight sheets short.”
Draco Malfoy nearly burst into tears, thanks to how much he had paid for his slip of the tongue, two whole large books, the kind that is copied completely by hand.
Almost two months before and after, although in between he skipped a lot of detainment to go to Quidditch training …
The following, Malfoy wrote so hard that even Harry couldn’t be bothered, and finally finished copying the entire thing before dinner.
Felix couldn’t help but compliment him twice, “Very good, well Mr. Malfoy, your detainment ends here.”
“Yes, Professor,” Malfoy whispered.
Seeing him sort out his stationery made Harry and the others very envious, they still had a full day of detainment tomorrow.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Malfoy,” Felix called out to him, startling Malfoy.
He isn’t going to be given a few more books, is he?
Fortunately, Felix had no such thoughts as he waved his wand and out of the corner flew a thick pile of parchment – covered in dense handwriting. Under his magic, the parchment split in two and got quickly bound together in midair.
Two book covers flew out of the suitcase and wrapped the parchment together, hot gold writing slowly emerging on the cover and looking, like two books.
“Mr. Malfoy, here are the fruits of your labour, a present for you.”
The two books landed in front of him, and Malfoy looked stunned.
Felix said, “Although you come from a glorious pureblood with exceptional talent, Muggles are not inferior, as I think you have learned.” He pointed to the two handwritten books in front of Malfoy.
“Through this detainment, I hope you will remember one thing, weakness or strength is not an obstacle to survival, arrogance is.”
Malfoy held the two books, his lips opening and closing, but he said nothing.
When he left, Felix said to the trio who were watching, “Alright, you’re done for the day, we’ll continue tomorrow.”
Hermione whispered and asked Felix, “Professor, can I continue studying magic runes with you tonight?”
Felix got somewhat surprised as he thought for a moment and said, “In principle, I have no objection, but your homework …”
Hermione said cheerfully, “That’s okay, I’ve finished all my homework.” She looked as if she had hit the jackpot.
As the trio exited the office and made their way to the great hall, Ron looked at Hermione with an incredulous look on his face, “Did you really finish your homework?”
“Of course!”
“When did you write it?” Ron seriously doubted that his own clock is different from Hermione’s, did she have a few more hours in her day than he did?
Hermione is in a rather good mood, and she said, slightly condescendingly, “Now that I know I’m going to be detainment for the rest of the week, of course, I have to finish my homework early, isn’t that common sense?”
Ron mumbled something and Harry looked ashamed.
…
Malfoy returned to the Slytherin common room and put his book bag down.
He sat in his chair with a grim look on his face, his eyes looking out the window at the dark lake through the green light of the common room, with a fish or two swimming past the window now and then.
Two followers came over, “Draco, want to go for supper?”
“Crabbe, Goyle …” Malfoy shot them a serious look, “Never mind, you guys go ahead.”
Crabbe and Goyle shrugged and quickly left.
Malfoy shrunk himself into his chair, his pale blonde hair and slightly pale face half-hidden in the shadows.
He is still thinking back to the few words of Professor Hap.
Despite his attempts to refute the ridiculous idea, the two months of copying as punishment had put parts of the book into his head.
It reminded him of the time when his mother had taken him as a child to a pureblood wizard, and he had run into his aunt.
That aunt is his mother’s second sister, but had been removed from the family because she had married a stupid muggle.
There was a terrible argument between them and his mother urged her to go back and confess her mistake, which was unceremoniously rejected.
He remembered very little of it, and the only words he remembered were his aunt shouting at them, “What have you got to be superior to, apart from magic?”
That twisted expression he remembered to this day.
Somehow, he suddenly grabbed his book bag and pulled out the two books, staring at the covers.
One, The Muggle Struggle: from a Million Years Ago, and the other one, How Muggles Think.
The covers were familiar to him, after all, he had been holding and copying them for two months, but they were also slightly different –
Underneath the author, a few new words had been added – transcribed by: Draco Malfoy.
Malfoy picked up the book, How Muggles Think, and turned the page from the first. Looking at the familiar font on it, he set aside his prejudices for the first time and read carefully.
———-
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