Sacrilegia minuta puniuntur, magna in triumphis feruntur.*
SENECA
– Epistulae Morales
He was
unfamiliar with the whole concept of sadness. He had a faint acquaintance with
frustration when things didn’t go the way he wanted them to take, but mostly
they did anyhow. Disappointment and depression were new for him and he had no
clue how to handle them. And he was depressed, there could be no doubt
about it.
So far,
he had comforted himself with the notion that deep down, she might like him a little,
enough to allow him to make her like him a little more – damn it! He was charming!
He could be! All those girls were crazy for him, so why couldn’t she
be?! But no, no, she wouldn’t stand to be in his company for more than five
minutes! She’d rather go to a nunnery than go out with him only once! Why had
he even bothered all spring to learn potion recipes and spent his evenings
poring over fuming cauldrons, if she didn’t deign to give him the time of day
anyhow! She –
In his
fury, he knocked over a pile of books, making the lunatic librarian throw a
tantrum, but he wasn’t in the mood to simply beg her pardon or leave. Instead,
he yelled back at her, that it was her damn job to collect books and
store them away, that it wasn’t his fault in the first place that the
entire place was a mess, topping it all by calling her an ‘evil vulture’. He
received three nights of detentions from Professor McGonagall for this, who had
heard the argument – well, hardly anyone in the castle could have missed it,
they had both been screaming at the top of their lungs – and rushed by.
“Have you
taken leave of your senses, Mr Malfoy?!” Her lips were thinner than he had ever
seen when she jerked her head to indicate he should follow her to his Head of
House.
“And if I
have?!”
She drew
her breath, doubtless to give him an exhausting lecture on manners and rules,
but for now he was spared this because she had found another object for her
anger. “Mr Tonks!” she snapped. “You, too, are Prefects! You ought to
set younger students an example! And as for you, Miss Black – I am very
surprised at you!”
Lucius
suppressed a laugh; there stood Narcissa’s big sister, and three seconds ago
she had still been tightly entwined with her Hufflepuff Mudblood boyfriend.
That sister at least knew how to have fun! Even if she had bad taste in
choosing with whom to have it, but that was another story! McGonagall
docked five points each from Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and another five from
Slytherin because Andromeda had given a saucy reply – “We are giving a
good example for cordiality among the Houses, Professor!” – but then his
reprieve was over.
“Just
because you are your father’s son, Mr Malfoy, or because you are Captain of
your House Team, does not entitle you to any privileges! Speaking like this to
Madam Pince! You, a Prefect! I wouldn’t have believed it, if I
hadn’t heard you with my own two ears! I’ve never met with such insolence, and
if you were in my House –”
“Which
luckily I am not –”
“Oh, be
still! I know that Professor Slughorn thinks very highly of you, but don’t you
believe you will get away this time!” She continued in this manner, and he
simply did what he was used to – his father couldn’t get through the day
without at least one of those speeches – he completely ignored her and let his
thoughts trail back to his real problems. Narcissa Black. How was she to
be worked on? What should he do? He made a mental note to send her some
flowers for a start. He didn’t believe it’d work, that was the crux of
it, and he racked his brains what else he could try.
One good
thing had come out of this – he smiled at the notion. For so long he had
wondered how her eyes would look close up, and at last he had had the chance to
inspect them! Good Lord! Her eyes were of the darkest blue on the outside,
getting brighter closer to her pupils, and tiny sparkles of turquoise were
sprinkled in. Had the world ever seen such eyes? Certainly not! Like a well
reflecting heaven, like –
He was
rudely disturbed in his romantic reverie because McGonagall furiously hammered
on his Head of House’s door. Predictably, old Slughorn wasn’t exactly pleased
with his favourite’s performance, but also far from McGonagall’s level of just
outrage. He tried to placate her, but she wouldn’t calm down. “Such behaviour
must have consequences, Horace!”
“Three
nights of cauldron cleaning will surely do the job, Minerva.”
“No, they
will not, and you know it! I demand that he be banned from the next match,
perhaps that would suffice to make an impression!”
Both the
old Potions Master and Lucius gasped. “What?!” Lucius burst out,
goggling at her incredulously.
Old
Sluggy stared, too, but then broke out in merry laughter. “That was a good one,
Minerva, I give you that! Yes, you’ve given him a good fright there!”
“I was
perfectly serious!”
Lucius
protested heatedly, “That’s not up to you to decide!”
“Seriously,
Minerva! I know you must be sore from losing the Quidditch Cup once again,
I must say, to Slytherin, but sabotaging the team in such a blatant way should
be out of the question!”
“I don’t care
for the Cup – not in this case, anyway! But you, as the Deputy
Headmaster, cannot possibly allow any student to walk around and mortify staff
members in such a way! And mere detentions are a joke for him!”
“No!”
Lucius knew when it was the right time to proverbially fall down to his knees,
and this was it. “Professor McGonagall – Madam – I know I’ve behaved
very badly, and I can only assure you that I do not take detentions as a joke!
Make it a week if you will! A fortnight! I will do whatever you think is right,
but please! You only want to punish me, and I surely deserve it,
please do not punish the whole team, I pray you!”
“Spare
your smooth talking, Mr Malfoy! I have no wish to punish your team, but
if I do, you’ve only got yourself to blame!”
Dishonest,
but all the more eloquent repentance on Lucius’ part, dextrous negotiating on
Professor Slughorn’s and most of all, a soft core underneath McGonagall’s
iron-hard case, finally achieved a fair deal, or the best they could get out of
it. A whole month of detentions – two weeks with Mr Pringle, two with
McGonagall herself – and a formal apology for Madam Pince. The punishment was
ridiculous, compared with the offence, Lucius still found, but he would not
complain, as long as he could play. There was one condition though – the next
major offence, and he’d be banned from the team for the rest of the year.
As soon
as McGonagall had grudgingly left, Lucius inquired what exactly constituted a
‘major offence’. Slughorn grinned slyly. “You will not insult staff members,
and this includes Mr Ogg and Mr Pringle. You will not curse anyone –”
“Oh, come
on!”
“No
curses, Mr Malfoy. I may perhaps turn a blind eye on the occasional
jinxes and hexes, but you really shouldn't try your luck. And if I might give
you a word of advice – try to avoid all other Heads of House, they could want
to better the chances for their own House Team by taking you out.”
Lucius
nodded and trotted out, back to his dorm. To be honest – he was pretty certain
that McGonagall, as well as Flitwick and Summerby, were above such sneaky
tricks. That was rather Slughorn’s domain. Still, he had to be careful; sometimes
he tended to act a bit too rashly, or too strongly. He was more inclined to
curse someone than endure cheek – or mediocre performances from his team-mates
– and every now and then he would curse someone because he didn’t like their
faces, okay, okay. So he had to give up that habit. Term was about to end, he
would get along without cursing anyone in the coming two months. Should be
easy, shouldn’t it?
* Sacrilegia... Little crimes are punished, great ones
celebrated.
*****
Useful Links: previous chapter, next chapter, Dramatis Personae
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen