Chapter 43 Malfoy Under the Dark Star
The entire topic veered off course.
It went from asking Hermione if she knew about the Archmage to proving his existence.
But even as curfew approached and Hermione left Basil's quarters, she still didn't believe in the Archmage's existence.
Basil had racked his brains, finding the wave-particle duality of light in his past life memories and using it as an example.
He said magic might be like light, both wave and particle—
it both exists and doesn't exist,
observed by wizards.
Magic manifests because the Archmage, being a strong observer, causes it to collapse from a state of non-existence, manifesting in reality, within the wizard's body.
Even at this point
, Hermione only nodded occasionally, out of respect for Basil.
Harry, Ron, and later Neville and Seamus,
all thought Basil's explanation was possible.
Because Basil's concept of wave-particle duality seemed incredibly profound to them.
And what is profound and complex is generally true.
Furthermore, they also disliked Hermione. She
constantly monopolized Basil,
leaving them no chance to even ask questions or do quizzes.
She barged into their dorm room without a care in the world.
Arrogant and always tattled.
For example, after Seamus exploded the object he was supposed to transform into during his thirtieth Transfiguration class,
he inexplicably learned to mute the sound and power of the explosion,
making sure his face wasn't blackened and his hair wasn't standing on end.
Sometimes, even Professor McGonagall wouldn't notice Seamus's explosions.
But Hermione would always point it out without hesitation, "Professor, Seamus exploded XX again."
In short, they had long suffered under Hermione's thumb.
However, in the days that followed,
everything went against their expectations.
The meddlesome know-it-all, Hermione Granger, stopped tattling.
She no longer pointed out others' mistakes or violations of school rules.
Of course, this didn't include Ron, Harry, or Basil.
But in the eyes of others, this Hermione became much more endearing.
Her roommates started talking to her too.
After all, good grades, cute looks, quiet, extra points for the house, and a source of copying—who wouldn't love that?
But in Ron's eyes,
Hermione's face grew increasingly ugly.
"She's targeting us!" Ron, who also wanted to copy homework but was refused, said.
Harry nodded repeatedly.
Because of this, even the state-of-the-art Nimbus 2000 that had been delivered directly to Harry in the dining room that morning didn't seem appealing anymore.
They felt discriminated against.
Ron saw that Malfoy only received a broom that swept seven stars, but he didn't mock him.
This surprised Basil.
First, he was surprised that Ron had such a strong obsession with copying homework.
Second, the Malfoy family couldn't afford a Nimbus 2000 now.
But Basil had misunderstood.
The Malfoy family was indeed poor now,
but that was relative to their past.
No one would have imagined that Draco Malfoy had chosen to sweep seven stars himself.
Lucius Malfoy recently spent a fortune in Galleons, through an intermediary, to commission a book cover made of precious unicorn tail hair from a highly skilled white magic wizard.
As a result, Draco Malfoy's snack rations decreased,
leading him to suspect that his family was becoming relatively poor.
Even so, after learning that his son had become the Seeker through his own efforts, Lucius Malfoy
planned to spend another large sum of Galleons on the best flying broomstick.
However, Draco Malfoy anticipated this and wrote in advance, requesting a sufficient broomstick—one that could be considered excellent among current broomsticks—the Seven Stars Sweeper.
In his letter, he advised, "The Sweeping Broom Company is the progenitor of racing brooms, the oldest racing broom company. The Seven Sweeping Stars is their newest broom launched this year. It's excellent enough. Its ease of handling is slightly better than the Nimbus 2000. Although its speed is relatively slower, it can still make a 360-degree turn anywhere in the air."
Lucius Malfoy was deeply moved by this.
But what he didn't know was that Basil was also preparing a surprise for him, to 'move' him.
...
Voldemort had recently been feeling like he was getting old.
Besides Dumbledore, three other people had discovered him.
His trail had been discovered by Dumbledore.
He was mentally prepared.
After all, Quirrell, that fool, wasn't honest. He
was still wavering back and forth,
frequently trying to hint at his presence to Dumbledore.
Heh heh heh! What a fool! Just as foolish as the trolls that fool was best at dealing with! Did
he really think Dumbledore didn't know?
He was already one with him, the greatest wizard, the Dark Lord who had gone the furthest on the path beyond death.
Did he still expect to turn back?
However, Quirrell's ridiculous, naive wavering came to a complete halt after the opening banquet.
Because that damned savior—Harry Potter, whom he saved entirely by luck and the sacrifice of his lowly mother—had directly pointed out his existence! Harry Potter
was one of the people who knew his whereabouts!
Could this brat really possess power he didn't understand?
That useless Snape!
Why didn't he listen to the prophecy in the end?!
Quirrell is so useless.
Snape might still be his spy, but due to Quirrell's weakness,
he, the Wizarding King who almost ruled the British Isles, dared not acknowledge his subordinate!
Snape loved that Mudblood, but not her son, and constantly targeted him.
What does this mean?
It means Snape, no, Severus, is still loyal to him!
Severus must have gone to the Potters' house afterward, discovered it, and he was actually prepared to let the Mudblood go.
Cough cough! We can't be careless! What
if Snape is still Dumbledore's man?
Speaking of who discovered his trail,
that despicable Basil Granger who killed his dog must be among them.
Even worse, Granger mocked him to his face for not having a nose!
He'd better wait until he's resurrected; Granger seems quite friendly.
Hmm, maybe even talented.
A pureblood, perhaps!
Maybe he could torture Granger with the Cruciatus Curse and turn him into his Death Eater?
However, there's another guy he absolutely cannot let go!
Dumbledore's loyal follower, the youngest son of the Weasley family—Ron Weasley!
This Weasley claims Quirrell isn't a bad person, that it's a resonance of the power he left behind.
Hmph! Does he think he's a fool like Quirrell?
He's trying to lull him into a false sense of security!
This Weasley is playing dumb!
He's done his research.
Arthur Weasley's sons are all excellent!
How could Ron Weasley be an exception!
But none of that matters.
Today is the real deal!
Today, he actually found Granger's diary on his future Death Eater!
His most precious Horcrux!
"Lucius Malfoy, you've met your end!"
"Is this how you keep my Horcruxes?"
"You've allowed my Death Eater to be possessed by my younger self ahead of time!"
"Abraxas, for your sake, I'll spare Draco's life. Hmm, for Bellatrix... spare Narcissa too."
In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, at such close range, Voldemort, sensing the Horcruxes from the back of Quirrell's head, roared in his mind.
Here, Abraxas refers to Lucius Malfoy's father, Abraxas Malfoy.
He was Voldemort's senior and the first generation of Death Eaters.
Many fanfictions portray him and Voldemort as having a good relationship.
But the only information available is this:
[In 1968, Nobby Leach (the first Muggle-born Minister of Magic) was forced to resign due to a mysterious illness. Abraxas Malfoy is believed to have been involved in this affair, but there is no evidence to prove it.]
Sometime before September 1996, Abraxas died of dragonpox, a relatively common disease among the elderly. Horace Slughorn was saddened upon hearing of this.
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