Chapter 21
Many of the students looked at me with a dose of fear and wariness. All in all, I guess I could even understand them a little. After all, one of them had just accused me and my family of being Death Eaters, and the very next moment he was being pinned to the wall by a rather powerful spell that they probably hadn't even heard of. Luckily for me, though, not everyone had that look on their faces. For example, the Weasley twins were showing thumbs up, and Angelina was just surprised. In addition, most of the Slytherins were showing a proud smirk, as if they were proud of the fact that a Gryffindor had suffered because of me.
Under their gazes, I made my way through the crowd that scattered in front of me and then disappeared behind the office door. As soon as I closed it behind me, there was a clamor of chatter outside, breaking the eerie silence.
I didn't want to make any excuses, so I just sat down at one of the desks and stared boredly around the room under Professor Snape's gaze.
- Is there anything you want to say, Mr. Malfoy? - Professor Snape finally decided to break the silence first, after several minutes of silence. It was hard to tell from his face what he was thinking, so one could never guess what his next move would be.
- If you think I have any regrets and want to blame me for the attack, I have nothing to regret. No one has the right to sully my family's honor. - It was certainly not my intention to apologize or repent. If I had the choice to turn back time, I would have attacked the arrogant asshole just the same. And God knows I'd give him a good one.
- Rebuke him? No, I wouldn't do that. After all, young men of your age are prone to temper tantrums and shortsightedness. But still, in the future, if you're going to attack someone else, I advise you to use weaker spells. Especially if your opponent can't respond to your attack in any way. - Snape didn't swear or talk about the consequences of my prank. Apparently this happens a lot, but I decided to heed the professor's advice, and then, in my spare time, to find and study less traumatic, but at the same time quite good spells. Still, if I thought about it logically, if Towler had hit the wall with his temple, he might have been seriously injured.
- Maybe I would have, but it's the only spell in my arsenal that can subdue others. But rest assured, Professor, I will remedy that situation soon enough!
- Well, let's not dwell on that. Moreover, I'd like to praise you that you were able to not only study, but also put into practice the spell "Depulso", which by the way is studied in the fourth year of training. Who taught it to you, Malfoy? Was it Lucius or Narcissa or someone from Hogwarts? - Snape was clearly interested.
- No one tutored me. I often like to read books in the library and in one of the books I came across a spell and believe me, there is a lot of entertaining and useful stuff there. Well then it was just a matter of practicing. It took me only a few minutes to successfully reproduce the spell for the first time, and then I had to work on fixing the result, so that my hands automatically waved the wand correctly, thus allowing me to use it instantly and without mistakes in any situation. And I usually spend my weekends on such training, there was nothing else to do at Hogwarts anyway.
- Well, not everyone is as hard-working and diligent as you are. Sit here for about ten minutes and then you can go. By then, all the students should be out of shock and calm. Besides, don't mind if there are rumors about you. Students like to talk about everything, and after a while, when they realize that you used a spell for the fourth-year students, perhaps their fear will be replaced by admiration.
Hearing the professor's words, my heart instantly warmed. After all, I had originally thought that the professor had called me into his office to scold me, but it turned out that he did it for my own protection. At times like this, it's hard not to feel warm and realize that you really care.
- Thank you, Professor! - I finally thanked him, my eyes stinging a little, and my voice trembling slightly from the restrained emotions.
- Thank you? What are you thanking me for, Mr. Malfoy? My duty as a teacher is to help students and guide them on the right path. Especially hardworking and diligent ones like you. - Snape made it sound like it was a common thing for him, and maybe it was, but still, it was important to me.
- Professor, if the other students knew you were like that, maybe they'd be more enthusiastic and diligent about your subject. Almost everyone thinks you're mean and moody.
- Hmm, I don't want their esteem. My subject is for those who really want to learn potions, I don't care about the rest. And I think you should go now Mr. Malfoy, I have some urgent business to attend to. Oh yes, we won't have any more extra classes until next year, so you can spend your free time on other useful pastimes. - Professor Snape started to rush me, apparently my words embarrassed him a little, or maybe I just imagined it. But in any case, I didn't try his patience and left the Potions room after saying goodbye.
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When I came out of the dungeon, I couldn't believe my eyes. Before the potions class had started, everything was as it always was, but now the whole school was festively transformed. There were small decorated fir trees everywhere, bells were ringing here and there, and knights' armor was decorated with beautiful hats and scarves all over Hogwarts. But it was the Great Hall that was most transformed. In the middle of it stood a giant fir tree, reaching almost to the ceiling, on which Professor Flitwick used his wand to hang golden orbs that also appeared from his wand. But it wasn't the only one. There were a dozen smaller ones besides it. Some glittered with unmelted icicles, others shone with hundreds of candles attached to the branches. The picture was completed by the traditional Christmas wreaths made of white mistletoe and witch hazel branches that hung on the walls. In general, everything was incredibly beautiful, giving a magical festive atmosphere.
My arrival did not go unnoticed, so many freshmen and sophomores began to whisper. The older guys, on the other hand, didn't care. Their more mature brains and experience realized that anything is possible in our magical world. So learning some spell intended for upperclassmen by a freshman definitely couldn't attract their attention.
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