Chapter 26
Returning to Hogwarts was no big deal. As usual, because of the time of day, we listened to the Headmaster's speech, had dinner after which we went our separate ways. There were two weekends ahead, which I enjoyed spending in the library, after which my days went back to normal.
On one of those days, I ran into Nymphadora as I strolled around the school grounds, looking at the white-washed scenery and breathing in the fresh air after being lost inside the books in the musty library for a few hours.
- Hey Draco! How are you? - A girl greeted me with a smile on her face. She was wearing a warm robe, specially made for the colder seasons, and had a scarf like mine around her neck, the only difference being the Puffendu coloring.
- Hello Nymphadora! It's good to see you and thank you for the scarf! I really liked it! - I immediately decided to thank her for the gift, while pointing my finger that I was wearing it right now.
- Huh, I'm glad. By the way, I could really use your book too! I couldn't find answers to my questions for a long time. And was pleasantly surprised that you picked the perfect book for me. You are my lucky star!
- Phew, I'm glad you found it useful! When I saw your gift, I thought you'd be disappointed with mine.
* Knock* She hit me on the head.
- Ow! Why? That hurt!
- Stupid! Don't say those words again! How could I not like your gift?!? You like to read, so you chose a gift based on what you would like the most. So I knew right away that you took your gift choice more than seriously!
- Oh, okay. But why did you have to hit me? You could have just explained.
- It's so you don't think stupid thoughts like that again. Well, it was nice seeing you, but I guess I should be going. See you, Draco!
- Yeah, it was nice talking to you too...
***
They say time flows like water when you're doing what you love. That's what happened to me. All the time I was reading books in the library, practicing spells found in the public domain and given to me by my father, I didn't notice how quickly the weeks and months flew by. Winter was over, and so was the final Quidditch game. Slytherin vs. Puffendui, a match I had successfully missed. The match was said to be quite hard and long, but the Slytherin team still managed to prevail, thus becoming Hogwarts champions once again.
The Easter vacation is about to begin. And the school, as always, was transformed to match the holiday. There were Easter bunnies everywhere, and in their baskets you could see a lot of colorful eggs and sweets. But the students were not happy about it at all. Because it was nearing the end of the school year, the teachers literally piled the students with homework, and so the Easter vacation was not fun at all compared to the Christmas vacation. Even I felt a little depressed by the constant studying. I had little time to read the books I was interested in and study spells. Besides that, I saw the glowing signs again a couple times, which were supposed to lead me to the mysterious stone door. But remembering my last experience, I decided not to go there. There was obviously powerful magic being used there, and my beginning skills were clearly not worth even mentioning. So I didn't bother with it anymore. Especially since the Hogwarts history books didn't say anything about it. At least in the books of the public section of the library. But there might have been something in the forbidden section, but access to it was forbidden for me for a couple more years for sure.
***
- Hey Draco! - Graham Montague called out to me during dinner.
- What do you want, Montague? Didn't they teach you not to talk with your mouth full? You come from a family of pure-blooded wizards.
- Oh, who cares about rules? We're at Hogwarts, not at home, so there's no one to punish me. That's what I was going to say! Remember our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Patricia Rakepick?
- Yeah, you'd never forget her... she was crazy, and how did they get her into the school... so what about her? Did they finally give her her punishment?
- Yeah, she got her punishment. There was some compulsory work, but it doesn't matter and it's not about the punishment! Yesterday it was reported that she escaped from house arrest. So now she's wanted by the Ministry of Magic and they say she'll be sentenced for this offense. She's really crazy, isn't she?
- Yeah, you're right. She should have been sent to St. Mungo's to get her head fixed. - A slight chuckle escaped my lips, and at that moment I caught sight of Kenneth Towler, the Gryffindor who'd been actively trashing me and my family. Of course, after I'd beaten him up, he didn't do it explicitly, but he still threw in the occasional slur. And he had my attention because he was leaving the Great Hall alone right now, whereas normally he was always hanging around with someone.
- Draco, where are you going? What about dessert? - Adrian Pusey was surprised at my movements.
- I'll be right back, I'm going out for a few minutes. - I answered without turning around, and in a few moments I left the Great Hall.
As it turned out, Kenneth was heading to the men's room, so I stealthily followed him without giving away my presence, and as soon as we got inside, I pulled out my wand and used a spell:
- PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!
The spell of complete immobilization successfully hit my enemy, after which he fell face first into the cold floor. I wasn't going to do any damage, but that didn't stop me from punishing him a bit.
So right after that, after making sure Kenneth didn't notice me, I used the following three spells:
Deletrius, an object-destroying spell, I used it to remove all of the Gryffindor's clothes.
Following it was the Vomitare Viridis spell that Nymphadora had taught me. And coupled with it, I used the Intestinal Defecation spell.
These spells instantly made the toilet stink horribly. And the funny thing was that Kenneth was fully conscious, so he'd properly marinate in that odor both outside and inside. And while no one came here, I quickly erased all my traces with a special spell, and then with the help of secret passages as if nothing had happened I returned to the Great Hall, where desserts were just being served when I arrived...
***
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