"So what if I am?"
With the commotion drawing all eyes toward him, Marius Cloud gently took hold of Hermione's small hand, which was still clutching the hem of his robes. "Nothing much," he said coolly. "I just wanted to point out your ignorance."
"Have you ever considered," Marius continued, his voice firm and clear, "that no one is born a wizard? The very first witches and wizards were, by your standards, just Muggles."
Aug's face turned beet red, but he was at a loss for words. After all, wizards weren't a separate species—they were still human.
"This prejudice and discrimination from pure-blood families toward non-pure-bloods isn't something that will vanish overnight," Marius said, pausing for effect, "but what I truly don't understand is why pure-bloods continue to act so superior."
He narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly: "Remember—Voldemort, the one who brought all the great pure-blood families to their knees, was himself a half-blood!"
The moment Marius uttered that name, the entire shop fell into a stunned, almost eerie silence. Never in its history had Flourish and Blotts been this quiet.
Customers stared at one another in disbelief, then turned toward Marius, gasping in unison—not sure whether to admire his fearlessness or fear his audacity in speaking the Dark Lord's name aloud.
Marius could feel the weight of every gaze in the room upon him. In this moment, he was indisputably the center of attention.
Sensing the atmosphere had reached its peak, he continued, voice ringing with authority:
"The future of the European wizarding world does not lie in the hands of those who cling pathetically to bloodline theories, entertaining themselves with delusions of grandeur. It belongs to those who possess true strength—regardless of whether they are pure-blooded or not!"
"Only in this way can our world continue to grow and thrive. Otherwise, it will slowly decay… and eventually vanish into the dust of forgotten history!"
For several long seconds after he finished, no one spoke. Some eyes still held disdain, others disbelief, and a few were full of deep thought. But there was no doubt that the image of Marius Cloud at this moment had etched itself into everyone's memory.
Then, slowly, applause began to trickle through the silence… until it swelled into thunderous applause that shook the very walls of the bookstore.
"Wow…"
Hermione, cheeks burning, stared at her hand—still gently held by Marius. Then, lifting her eyes, she looked at him with admiration, observing this boy she had only met earlier that day.
To her, he now seemed to radiate brilliance, as if born to lead. He carried an innate charisma and power that could move hearts with a single speech.
"What… what a brilliant speech!"
Mr. and Mrs. Granger finally came back to their senses, still wide-eyed and half-confused. They hadn't followed half of what Marius had said, but they felt it was something incredibly important and impressive nonetheless.
And though Marius' impromptu speech had caught them off guard, it was obvious he had spoken in their defense.
Naturally, all this commotion drew the attention of the shop manager. Covered in sweat, he jogged over angrily, muttering under his breath about troublemakers—things were chaotic enough already!
"What's going on here?!"
Before Marius could respond, Aug, still red-faced from embarrassment, jumped in first, seizing the chance to shift blame. "Manager, it's these Muggles! They're causing a disturbance!"
The Grangers paled instantly. "No, no! It's not like that!" they said, frantically waving their hands. "We didn't mean to—"
But the moment the manager pushed through the crowd and laid eyes on Marius, his already-pale face turned deathly white.
Ignoring Aug's complaint and the Grangers' explanation, he marched straight toward Marius Cloud.
Aug, still smirking triumphantly, assumed the manager hadn't heard him clearly. He tried again. "Manager, I'm telling you, it's these people—"
"Shut your mouth!"
The manager finally exploded, spittle flying as he roared into Aug's stunned face. "You idiotic fool! Do you even know who this distinguished young man is?!"
"Wh… who is he?" Aug asked blankly.
"You complete and utter moron!" the manager bellowed, not holding back in the slightest. "I've never seen anyone as dense as you! This is Mr. Cloud—his family is one of the most prominent wizarding families in Britain! A symbol of pride for all pure-bloods! The Cloud family has registered over a hundred magical patents with the Ministry!"
"And who the hell do you think you are?! Just a low-ranking pure-blood with a big mouth, and you think you have the right to speak to Mr. Cloud that way!?"
Aug's head spun. Even in the magical world, this kind of dramatic reversal felt surreal. A noble from the very top of the pure-blood hierarchy… was defending Muggles?
What had he done?!
He had just insulted one of the wizarding world's most powerful young nobles!
His blood drained from his face. Meanwhile, the manager continued his tirade:
"Even if he weren't Mr. Cloud, you'd still be in the wrong! Is this how a staff member of Flourish and Blotts treats our customers?! Do you have any idea what this kind of behavior could cost us? You couldn't pay back the damage even if we sold you to Knockturn Alley!"
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T/N:
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