Chapter 31 – The First Ritual (2)
"So... if I get you these..." Draco asked in a hushed voice as we stood outside our Dark Arts classroom, the last to leave a particularly dull and useless exercise.
By now, we all realized how inept Professor Lockhart was, and his sole purpose seemed to be constantly creating chaos... and then we had to clean up after him. I was already suspecting that this curriculum was about nothing but honing our skills to deal with accidents and sudden misfires of spells. A crash course on how to deal with dark magic and its effects, directly tailored for us first-year students. It was a practical class to deal with accidents when practicing curses. As I was thinking about this, I only half-listened to Draco. He constantly mumbled as he read through my ingredient list multiple times, trying to weigh how expensive this would be. I couldn't help but smile inside as I also added some... extra stuff to the list. It wouldn't hurt to have some profit for ourselves!
"I know you don't believe me." I yawned, "So I have another proposal."
"I'm listening." He looked up, rolling up the parchment but did not give it back nor pocket it, showing his hesitation.
"Follow me! It is going to be easier to show you!"
I know Quincy was against showing this to him, but to achieve our goals, I had no better idea. This had to be something that would convince Draco and ignite a fire in his heart to become unique. His family was feeling the heat already, getting marginalized by the Death Eaters after repeated failures. Draco himself was punished multiple times already by Professor Umbridge, and unlike Quincy or me, he couldn't take it without complaints. He even involved his father in it, resulting in Professor Umbridge's even more severe punishment raining down on him.
I actually thought of thanking him for it, as it meant Quincy and I had less chance of ending up in detention or under some kind of painful curse from the tip of her wand. I was surprised to hear Draco's father, Lucius, did go and complain to HIM. Directly. Of course, he was made to regret such a decision as HIS wrath exploded out of HIM, blinding Draco's father into one eye for having the gall to trouble HIM with trivial things like his son being punished.
I won't lie; I was highly entertained when Professor Umbridge retold the incident, taking up the first half of her Charms class. She made a clown out of Malfoy before all of us, and I saw it in her eyes... she was enjoying it immensely. Especially the fact she could flaunt her own importance. She was a valuable asset to the Minister of Magic, going by her words, that outranked everything when it came to teaching future generations.
No background mattered in Hogwarts, as the old saying went... although I am sure it meant something else back then. From Professor Umbridge's mouth, it took an entirely new meaning. No matter what the teachers did here, nobody would bother with it. I guess only deaths would give any grounds for complaints. While attending school, we were under their care... their mercy. This realization was hammered into us with Draco's painful example.
"We are here," I said calmly, ending my thoughts and arriving where the entrance to the Room of Requirements was. I made sure to look like I was searching for something, so he won't catch on how to make the door appear; I even pulled out my wand, tapping against the tapestry in different intervals, giving the impression I was casting a spell. I may reveal a secret of ours to him, but I am not going to hand it over on a silver platter.
"What are you doing?" He asked, watching me with suspicion.