Lucius was sitting in his library. Storm slept on his lap, and he was holding a good book in his hand. Of course he had renounced alcohol today too. He only drank it on special occasions.
.since little Niffler had moved in here, the blonde was looking forward to his end of the day. Finally there was someone waiting for him, even if it was a small animal.
.Of course, the man was also very fond of his house-elves, but additional company was nice too.
A soft knock made Lucius sit up and take notice, Storm also lifted his head.
"That's Hedwig," smiled the blonde.
.the next moment a house elf was standing in the room to let the owl lady in.
“Good evening, Ms. Hedwig. Did you have a comfortable flight?"
.the owl commented on the question with a low scream that could be considered a yes, and landed on Lucius ’armrest.
“Hello, my beautiful,” the man greeted her too.
.hedwig cuddled her head in her caressing hand and clicked her beak in greeting while Lucius took the letter from her. She also gave Storm a friendly look.
.lately the lady owl's visits had increased considerably. For this reason there were always owl biscuits and a bowl of water ready.
"Do you want to wait?" Lucius wanted to know.
.Hedwig nodded and switched to the table to nibble on the biscuits.
Harry's confidante wouldn't wait for an answer, Lucius always took his time. He didn't believe in quickly scribbled messages.
.but the white lady was always happy to keep the fair-haired company. It seemed as if the young wizard's affection had spread to his confidante.
Satisfied, Lucius leaned back and picked up the letter.
.good evening, Mr. Malfoy!
I hope the letter reaches you in the best of health.
Don't laugh, of course I know you're fine or Sirius would have already told me something. .but I've always wanted to write this sentence in a letter. I hope you will forgive me for the little joke.
But of course I only wish you the best. How else could it be?
There is a lot to talk about, by the way.
.First of all, I should send you a warm greeting from the Greengrass siblings. Then of course from Neville, Luna, Hermione and the Weasleys. The children, not the parents. Remus and the Veela sisters also convey their greetings. .not to forget my parents.
Somehow this list just keeps getting longer. See how popular you are.
But this time especially Dobby asked me to express his respect for you.
Hm, have I phrased that correctly now? .I don't know, but I'm sure you will understand.
The little elf was, of course, incredibly happy that his gifts were so well received by all of us. .and he thought it was particularly great that we wore the socks to the ball. When he heard that you had also carried his present, he was absolutely thrilled.
He is already working hard on more foot warmers. .besides, he would like to try his hand at other things as well. Sweaters come first.
By the way, Hermione put a flea in his ear that fell on fertile ground.
.she has suggested that he put his clothes up for sale. Now that all magical beings are on an equal footing, it will certainly not be long before the house-elves also come to their rights. .why should one continue to suppress these beings?
Then these narrow-minded wizards will have to provide clothing for their little helpers. .and what would be better then than a little house-elf who already has experience in making clothes?
One thing I can assure you, not only Hermione and Dobby are enthusiastic about this idea. We all support the proposal.
.and there I come to the next topic. Why have the house-elves been excluded from this law for so long? I don't just mean England now. .Other countries, which treat all other magical beings equally, made an exception for house-elves. Is that just because of the nature of these little beings?
Yes, house elves love work and they want to serve. .and clothing for free is disgrace to most of the people because then one is not satisfied with them. But hey, no elf asked their masters to be beaten. Everyone wants to hear praise for their work. .an Argus Filch is no exception. But both he and the elves only get scolded when they do something wrong. Correctly done work, on the other hand, seems to be a matter of course.
.therefore I would like to ask you to help the little guys to get their rights. They deserved it.
In addition, a satisfied employee is one who does his job well and with pleasure. I'm absolutely sure of that.
.Has Sirius already told you about the "rethinking" of some people? Or have you already noticed it yourself? After all, you work in the ministry, so you must have run into these people. .if not then read it, it is sure to make you roll eyes.
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE AND THE WEASLEY PARENTS LOVE MAGSICAL BEINGS! THEY HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN EQUALITY AND FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS IN THEIR WAY!
.sorry, i just had to capitalize this. If you tap the writing with your magic wand, you can even hear me shouting the sentences like a barker.
Isn't that the stupidest thing you've ever heard? .or should I describe these people as lying? Would definitely apply.
You can't imagine how Albus Dumbledore has been acting at school since the New Year's ball.
.he tells anyone who wants to hear it, or not, that in the past he only hunted those beings that had already attacked humans. He would never have attacked innocent creatures. Why should he? .he has always known how valuable and lovable magical creatures are.
I don't have to add that each of us gets sick from this talk.
.and that everything he dares to say out loud after all his actions. I mean what about me then? Am I not innocent? How did I deserve his attack?
.then he tries to cheer me on a friendship potion at a harmless ball and then he talks about never having done anything bad. In other words, hexing me is a good deed.
.I was really shocked when I found out who was going to give me the potions.
Does the old man think nobody would have noticed if I suddenly saw him as my personal hero again? .and that after all the things he did to me and the magical beings. My friends weren't spared by the bastard either.
And then this Molly Weasley love potion.
What's going on in this woman? .if she has no respect for me, fine. It's not nice, but I can't live with not being liked by everyone.
But this impossible woman wanted me to fall in love with Ginny. The girl already has a great boyfriend.
.even if no one could prove it, Ginny and I are sure that Molly would have put a potion on her own daughter if it had worked on me.
She only wanted the best for her daughter. If I hear that. .because she wants my money and my name, she doesn't care about her child. Percy is quite sure of that too.
It's a shame they couldn't prove anything to Arthur. I'm sure he knew about it too. How not? .who else would have paid for the ingredients for the potions? His wife has no money herself. It all went into the hunting equipment.
.well, at least the old man and the Weasleys won't be allowed to attend balls for the next twenty years. Neither on political nor on any other, they can be seen.
.At first I was skeptical whether this punishment would be enough. I mean, not being allowed to go to any more festivals sounded like a reward to me at first.
But then Severus explained it to us in class.
.it's not just about passing the time, it's also about making contacts.
You know, with Muggles, you get to know each other in bars or through third parties. Sometimes at a sports or dance event. .things like that, you can also make new friends while shopping.
I would never have dreamed that acquaintances made in this way would be viewed in the magical world as crude and not to be taken seriously.
.It's no wonder that Muggle-born people in the magical world often attract so much negative attention and offend. Two worlds collide again. Nobody told the wizards what is normal for muggles and vice versa. .kind of ridiculous, don't you think so?
Well, you know that I always have to repeat what I have learned out loud or just written in order to keep it.
.So if Arthur goes to a bar after work to have a glass of beer and has a conversation with another guest, then the acquaintance only lasts until they both leave the bar again. .if you then have to meet later on the street or somewhere else, you pretend you have never seen each other and do not know each other. If they still behave like friends, they will be looked down at. .In fact, marrying someone you get to know in this way is completely out of the question. And you should only have sex with such acquaintances very discreetly.
.sounds to me like customs in a brothel or a swinger club.
"Normal" acquaintances are only made at official events, at school, or through third parties. .But even with these, the acquaintance must never be made in a bar, not even in a restaurant. Always in the private sector.
The only exception are children and students who introduce their parents.
It's complicated.
.but at least it explains why the old man and Ron's parents are so exhausted now. This ban excluded them from any social contact. It will almost not be possible for them to get to know new people. .Only in the private sphere is it possible for them to make such acquaintances. However, they are never invited to anyone. And the only friends they have are other hunters.
It's like a prison in freedom.
.let's get to something more enjoyable.
My dad, Severus.
This man is a phenomenon, there is no other way to express it.
If I didn't know he wasn't using a time spell, I'd say his day is forty-eight hours.
.it's hard to believe what Sev can do. He's better at juggling time than Hermione. And their time management is amazing. Without your help, our year would be hopelessly overwhelmed.
.but that's nothing against dad.
I mean, the man teaches potions and manners to all grades. In addition, he manages to split up the behavior lessons so that he can also teach us defense. .and all of this without losing anything.
That's a lot of work because our current teacher is joking. We'd all rattle through the exams if Dad didn't help us.
But that's not all.
.he also brews the potions for the hospital wing, translates the book I gave him for Christmas and, most importantly, he still has enough time for Sirius and me. Neither of us feels neglected.
.how does the man do it? But above all, how much longer can he do it? At some point the end of the flagpole will be reached for him too.
Please, we absolutely need an extra teacher for the behavior lessons. .it is now an integral part of the lesson and will remain so. Just like foreign spells, for example druid magic, are part of the regular curriculum. But that's what Madame Hooch does.
.We sat down together and pondered, but we can't think of a teacher who could take on this subject as well.
Can you think of anyone? Maybe a former student?
Speaking of redundant teachers. .do you already know who will take on defense next year? Umbridge works, luckily.
We all hope that nobody will be who hunted magical beings in the past. Because unfortunately Dumbledore is still allowed to hire teachers. .whatever, Mrs. Bones did not take that privilege away from him.
Binns could also like to retire with Umbridge. Or whatever you want to call it with ghosts.
Who came up with the idea of teaching a dead person? .yes, he has experienced a lot until his death, after which ghosts get stuck. And Binns is a prime example of this.
The pupils learn in the first grade that ghosts cannot develop any further. .Centuries after their death they still harbor the same grudges as they did when they were alive. They don't learn anything.
And Binns is such a terrible teacher too. .he is always totally surprised when he realizes that someone is listening and asking questions at all.
Lexicons would be a much better teacher. She knows history and can tell exciting stories. .the ZAG students are now all learning from her. Thanks to her, nobody is afraid to rattle through the exam anymore.
I've already begged Sirius that he has to somehow get the Sphinx to school. .no one would sleep in history for a second.
There is also something to report about Luna, she was busy drawing again. That's how she relieves stress, she told us.
For me it would have the opposite effect. .I can't paint and if I try and I don't succeed it makes me angry. Then I crumple the paper and curse like a madman.
Well, like I said, Luna is great at it. I've also included some pictures for you. .at some point the girl has to do an exhibition. Even if she doesn't want to become a full-time painter, she can still see it as a hobby. As a hobby that would also bring her tons of money.
.or what do you think?
Of course, I could go on page by page, you know me. Unfortunately that does not work. Not only because I should go to sleep someday, but also and above all because of school.
.homework is becoming more and more and learning must not fall by the wayside.
Potions, in particular, really cause me problems. It will probably never be my best subject. .but with all witches and wizards, I finally want to be better than average. That must be feasible. It's not like I'm stupid or lazy. And I don't want to believe that I have no talent for it. .after all, we're not talking about fortune-telling or astronomy here.
But I won't give up, at some point I'll make it, I'm sure of that.
Unfortunately for this reason I cannot write any more letters to you for the time being. .unfortunately the school takes precedence, even if I will miss it very much. You will only get the next letters from me after the exams.
The only good thing about OWDs is that they don't make me go on silly balls. .but they will catch up with me again in the summer. Yay.
Still, I'll sometimes send Hedwig over to you. Because my girl likes you very much.
I wish you all the best, don't let other politicians annoy you too much. .not even from Sirius.
Give my regards to your dear elves and caress Storm for me.
Until summer.
Your Harry.
Lucius looked a little sadly at the last paragraph. But of course he could understand. .grades and a good education were important. That is why he would only write one answer himself and otherwise leave the boy alone.
Besides, Severus would surely tear his head off if he stopped his son from studying.
.however, Harry had given him some food for thought again.
“A Sphinx as a history teacher, not a bad idea at all. Or what do you think, Hedwig? "
.the owl clicked its beak and hopped up to the blonde, she still wanted to be petted.
“I totally agree, and we'll have to come up with something for the other subjects in the ministry as well. .it cannot be that in the end one of Dumbledore's people will actually teach the children. "
After this little conversation, Hedwig flew back to the castle.
Lucius looked at the pictures of Luna and had to agree to Harry. .the girl got better and better, she had talent. There were also some cute pictures. For example that with Harry, Blacky and Moony.
“Hm, you know, Storm, somehow I already miss the little one. .and I just got a letter from him. But I don't like the idea of not reading or seeing it until the summer. Have I really developed such a weakness for the boy? "
.the Niffler cackled his master, that had to be enough as an answer. It was really clear, at least Storm thought.
Lucius smiled and stroked the little guy's fur. He was looking forward to the summer.