Chapter 10
After the flight training, many students, including me, were hungry, so it was decided to go to the Great Hall for lunch. Since it had been a while since I had arrived, life within the walls of the magic castle didn't seem as interesting and exciting as it had originally been. It wasn't just me, who came from a pureblood family, but also the Muggleborns who had encountered magic for the first time. Though sometimes the castle held some surprises that brought a smile to my lips.
There weren't many people in the great hall, but there was Nymphadora, who I hadn't been able to talk to yet, so seeing that she was sitting at the Puffendu table, I decided to temporarily put aside lunch and talk to her.
Nymphadora was a beautiful, feisty sixth year girl, a congenital metamorph, and due to her exuberant and playful nature, she often wore her hair pink.
She was dressed in her usual Puffendui clothes, except that while the other girls' uniforms were neatly tucked in and ironed, Nymphadora's looked rather daring. Her robe was missing, her jacket was completely unbuttoned, her tie was hanging down, and her shirt also had a few buttons undone, exposing her cleavage. All in all, her appearance was quite daring, and her cleavage caught the eyes of all the guys.
- Hi Nymphadora! - Finally finished looking at her, I greeted the girl with a smile on my face.
- Call me TONKS! And who are you, anyway? - The girl obviously didn't recognize me. It's understandable, our families don't really like each other, so our parents' contact is minimized, and ours is even less frequent. But still, that didn't stop me from learning the family history and all the relatives.
- My name is Draco Malfoy, I'm sure you know my name, because we crossed paths at an event a long time ago. ¬- I introduced myself to the girl with the same smile.
- Draco? Huh. That's how you got into Hogwarts. The last time I saw you you were so little. - The girl whispered and as if to make it obvious, she showed my height then.
- I'm glad you remembered me. I recognized you right away, even at the enrollment ceremony. And I wanted to approach you much earlier, but I couldn't find the opportunity.
- Interesting. So you're the bad boy, huh? Why else would you go against your parents' words and talk to me... ¬- the girl smiled cheekily, revealing her snow-white teeth.
- What do you mean? I have no inhibitions about talking to anyone. I don't know why you think so, but it's absolute stupidity!
- Well, I'll take your word for it. But I have to go now, so we'll talk another time Draco. - The girl stood up from the table and soon left the walls of the great hall with her friends. I didn't waste any time and headed towards the Slytherin table, so I could finally fill my stomach with delicious food....
***
It was another Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, led by Patricia. And this time, we had a lesson with the Puffenduys.
- So young wizards and wizards, today you and I are going to talk about the secrets of Hogwarts. Tell me, have any of you encountered anything unusual during your wanderings inside or outside the walls of this castle?
As soon as the professor's voice was silenced, several hands were raised, signaling that the owners of those hands were ready to share their findings.
- So, your name is Agnes Monkley, right? ¬- turned to the red-haired Slytherin student.
- Yes, Professor Reikpik. Recently, while walking down one of the corridors on the third floor, I came across an opening that quickly led me to the first floor! - The girl was quick to tell me about her find.
- Ha-ha, you were lucky to find one of the castle's secret passages. And by the way, there are a lot of them, so I advise you all to keep your eyes peeled for them, who knows when you might need them!
After Agnes, the others who raised their hands quickly told about their findings, only they were all either useless or secret passages, which of course were of little interest to our professor. At least it seemed that way to me. And for a brief moment I wanted to share with her my story about the glow of the lock, the arrows and the blocked stone door, but still I was able to overcome the feeling and calm down. Soon the "useless class" because of the useless professor was over. Everyone left the room and at the same moment I was as if I had fallen from the obsession. And I think that this professor used some kind of spell or artifact to get secrets out of us. Of course, it could have been my imagination, but just in case, I decided to tell our Dean Severus Snape about it in my next Potions class.
Now, since I had nothing to do in the near future, I decided to go to the library to find and study books on the history of Hogwarts.
The Hogwarts library was large and ancient. Immediately upon entering it, the smell of antiquity, dust, wood, and old repairs hit my nose. There was the rustling of pages, from students flipping through books and from the magic that automatically sorted the books on the shelves.
After checking the signs, I didn't waste time and went straight to the compartment I needed. And, to my regret, there were not so many books of the subjects I needed, only about ten. And I felt as if I might not find the knowledge I needed, because some important books were stored in the forbidden section of the library, where it was very difficult to get in.
Sighing sadly, I took all the books and went to a free table to read them. I don't know how long I was immersed in the books, but I came to my senses only when a familiar female voice distracted me from reading. And in the same instant, my consciousness was struck by the pain from my stiff neck and back.
- Hello, Draco, are you there? - The voice came again, and only then did I bother to look up at my unexpected interlocutor.
- Angelina? - I quickly remembered the name of the girl I had met on the train. Of course, after the distribution I often saw her, as we are on the same course and in some of the classes our houses were studying together, but we never had the opportunity to talk, as she was often in the company of her friends.
- Huh, your voice sounded a little insecure. Have you already forgotten me?!? - The girl was either indignant or offended.
- No, of course I haven't forgotten you. I was just surprised for a moment. Usually you're always with your friends, so it was a surprise to see you alone.
- Well, at first I was really with my friends, we were doing homework in another part of the library, but when we were already walking, I noticed you alone, so I decided to come up to you and see how you were doing.
- That's it. Thanks for asking, I'm doing great. - I grinned, as I began to more or less understand the character of this girl.
- How are you doing, though? Do you like it at Hogwarts?
- Yeah, it's pretty fun. And Gryffindor has a lot of parties, so I don't get bored. You should make some friends, though, because you're always alone when we cross paths!
***
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