That night, what kept Draca from falling asleep was the conversation she’d had with Daphne after they returned to the dormitory.
“Granger.
Why isn’t she popular?”
“She’s too serious.
She wants to be the best in every single class.”
“Is that so?
Then in Potions tomorrow, I’d like to see how she plans to manage that.”
“D-Draca…”
“What is it?”
“There’s something else.
Apparently, she’s Muggle-born.”
The instant she heard those words, Draca fell silent.
Daphne became a little nervous as well.
Daphne’s gentle temperament was different from Draca’s.
And unlike the Malfoys, the Greengrass family had never held particularly strong opinions about Muggles.
The problem was that the Malfoys were one of the oldest families in the British wizarding world.
And the Malfoy family had responsibilities of its own.
Just as her father had told her, and just as she herself had once told Harry Potter, as the future head of the Malfoy family, she had a responsibility to remind the wizarding world to reflect on one question—
Why should wizards, after suffering centuries of oppression at the hands of Muggles and being forced to hide and live in silence, still be expected to open their arms and accept those born in the Muggle world who happened to possess magical talent?
The class Draca had truly been looking forward to finally arrived four days after the start of term.
Like the Slytherin common room, the Potions classroom was located in the dungeons beneath Hogwarts Castle.
The moment she entered, the darkness and mystery so characteristic of Severus filled the room, surrounding the many cauldrons wreathed in rising steam.
This was their first class shared with another House.
It was also the first time since their confrontation before the Sorting Ceremony that Draca would spend an extended period in the same room as Harry Potter.
She watched with satisfaction as he and Weasley looked around the dungeon uneasily, just like the other Gryffindor students.
At the same time, however, Draca carefully observed the girl from the Granger family.
Hermione merely kept her head lowered, her bushy brown curls hanging over her face as she buried herself in her Potions textbook.
She didn’t seem to belong to any of the little groups formed by the other Gryffindor first-years.
“You are here to learn the precise science and exact art of brewing magical potions.”
The bell had barely rung when the dungeon doors slammed shut.
Severus’s languid voice echoed through the chamber in time with his footsteps.
“There will be little opportunity here for foolish wand-waving.”
“And because of that, many idiots fail to understand how this can possibly be considered magic.”
Draca was pleased to see that, beneath Severus’s voice, little more than a whisper, most of the first-years had fallen completely silent.
“Of course, I don’t expect many of you to truly understand.”
“The subtle beauty and mystery of a cauldron simmering over a low flame, white steam curling from its surface.”
“How a mere drop of refined liquid can creep into your veins, cloud your mind, and deceive your senses.”
“That is true magic at its most exquisite.”
By the time his almost poetic murmur ended, Severus had reached the front of the classroom.
“I can teach you how to extract fame, brew glory, and even halt death itself.”
“Provided, of course, that you are not the usual collection of hopeless, astonishingly stupid fools I so often have to teach.”
From the corner of his eye, Severus glanced at Draca, who sat perfectly straight and listened with complete concentration.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
Then, just as Professor McGonagall had done, Severus transformed the ring on his hand into a roll of parchment.
The Slytherins responded with appreciative murmurs.
Clearly, Slytherin’s Head of House had deliberately demonstrated one of Gryffindor’s Head of House’s tricks in front of the Gryffindor first-years.
Severus paid no attention to the reactions around the room and simply lowered his head to begin taking attendance.
When he reached Draca’s name, he passed over it as quickly as he did anyone else’s.
But when he reached Harry Potter, he deliberately paused.
“Ah.
Yes.
Harry Potter.”
“Our new…
celebrity.”
Severus raised his head and swept a cold gaze over the visibly nervous Harry Potter.
At the same time, his eyes quietly flicked toward Draca.
Once roll call was finished, Severus suddenly spoke.
“Potter.
What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
Every gaze in the classroom immediately shifted toward Harry.
Draca leisurely took out her folding fan and rested it against her lips, waiting with keen interest to see Harry Potter’s performance.
Just what kind of ability would someone with that kind of fame possess?
Harry’s bewildered response left Draca disappointed— and satisfied.
“I don’t know, sir.”
“It seems fame clearly isn’t everything.”
Severus spoke coldly, glancing toward Draca from the corner of his eye.
For some reason, however, Draca had the distinct feeling that, like her, Severus’s attention had been drawn away from Harry by a slender pale hand stretched high into the air.
Hermione Granger’s.
“Let’s try again, Potter.”
“If I asked you to bring me a bezoar, where would you look for it?”
Hermione rose onto her toes and stretched her raised hand as high as she could.
Draca couldn’t help frowning.
Harry Potter clearly didn’t know the answer.
But what bothered Draca even more was Hermione’s excessive eagerness.
Why was there any need to chase attention so desperately?
It ran completely contrary to the refined social etiquette expected of a great family.
“I don’t know, sir.”
Just as expected, Harry Potter’s answer was every bit as ignorant as before.
By now, Draca’s attention had almost completely shifted away from the supposedly legendary boy.
He was nothing more than an ordinary mediocrity living off an undeserved reputation.
He hadn’t even bothered to preview the textbook.
“I suppose you’ve never opened your textbook before term began, have you, Potter?”
As expected, Severus had reached the same conclusion.
“Then tell me, Potter.
What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?”
Severus continued questioning Potter without acknowledging Granger.
Hermione had already half-risen from her seat. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Draca’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“I don’t know.
But I think Hermione does, Professor.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
Potter’s answer made Draca’s eyes widen.
She had always thought he was merely ignorant of the wizarding world.
She hadn’t expected his natural lack of manners to run this deep.
Several Gryffindors laughed.
The loudest laugh, unsurprisingly, came from Weasley.
What surprised Draca, however, was Granger’s reaction.
Hermione slowly lowered her hand, her brows drawing tightly together.
Before Draca could figure out what she was thinking, Severus’s voice, now carrying a cold edge of anger, rang out.
“Silence, Potter.”
“You may be famous, but you do not decide how lessons are taught at Hogwarts.”
“I can give you the answers, Potter.”
“But I think having one of your classmates do so might help Gryffindor’s foolish courage understand—”
As Severus spoke, he turned toward Hermione.
“Yes, I’m speaking to you, Granger.
Lower your hand and sit down.”
“True wisdom knows how to keep one’s opinions to oneself with grace.”
Then he called another name.
“Draca Malfoy.”
The sudden summons surprised Draca, but she was fully confident in her answers.
“Yes, Professor Snape.”
“Powdered asphodel root combined with an infusion of wormwood produces an extremely powerful sleeping potion commonly known as the Draught of Living Death.”
“A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat.
It is one of the most effective antidotes against many common yet deadly poisons.”
Draca kept her voice restrained and cool as she answered steadily.
“As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they’re actually the same plant.
Another name for it is aconite.”
These were all answers she’d learned as a child while pestering Severus with questions about what he taught at work.
“Very good, Malfoy.”
“Why are the rest of you not writing this down?”
Severus spoke softly, then added,
“Now then, Potter.
For talking back to a professor, Gryffindor will lose one point.”
“For relying on empty fame, acting arrogant despite your talent, while possessing no actual ability to support it, you will lose another four.”
“And finally, Malfoy.”
“For setting aside House rivalry and rescuing Potter from his ignorance, Slytherin gains ten points.”
The Potions lesson ended beneath the Gryffindors’ barely suppressed anger.
During the lesson, the Longbottom boy had also managed to set his cauldron completely ablaze and had to be sent to the hospital wing, giving Severus an excuse to take another ten points from Harry Potter.
What left Draca somewhat troubled was the Gryffindors’ reaction.
For some reason, they seemed convinced that Severus’s blatant favoritism came entirely from his fondness for her.
Of course, the young heiress of the Malfoy family had no reason to concern herself with the prejudiced gossip of ordinary people.
It really helps the fic grow!