"Pfft!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione burst out laughing almost at once, and even Neville, timid as he was, lowered his head and snickered quietly from the side. The name itself was not that funny, but Draco's grand manner of announcing it made the whole thing impossible to take seriously.
Draco's pale face stiffened. His pride had clearly taken a hit, and the way his grey eyes narrowed made him look even more unpleasant than before.
"Think my name is funny, do you?" Draco said coldly. "No need to ask who you are. My father told me all about the Weasleys. Red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford to feed."
Ron's face turned scarlet with anger. He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles whitened, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to leap up and punch Malfoy straight in the nose.
Draco only looked more pleased with himself. He turned his gaze away from Ron and let it fall on Neville, who immediately shrank back.
"And you, Longbottom," Draco said with a cruel little smile. "I heard you barely showed any magic until you were nine. Plenty of people thought you were a Squib. Are you sure you didn't only get into Hogwarts because Dumbledore felt sorry for you?"
"I didn't…" Neville forced the words out, but his voice shook. He leaned closer to Ron without meaning to, unable to look directly at Malfoy or the two hulking boys standing behind him.
Draco's gaze shifted again, this time landing on Harry and Hermione. His eyes were filled with the easy disdain of someone raised to believe blood and family name meant everything.
"As for you two, I've never seen either of you at any proper pure-blood gathering," Draco said. "So I suppose that explains enough."
Hermione and Harry glared at him. Neither fully understood all the layers behind his insult, but his tone alone was enough to make its meaning clear.
Draco Malfoy really was impressive in his own way. With one sharp tongue and a few careless sentences, he had managed to offend four people at once. Tyler wondered vaguely whether he had learned that talent from Snape, who was said to be his godfather.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter," Draco said, turning back toward Tyler with a smug lift of his chin. "You don't want to make friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand toward Tyler.
It was a strange sight. Draco clearly wanted to make a connection, but he still wore that arrogant expression, as if offering friendship were a favour he expected others to be grateful for. He cared, but he wanted to look as though he did not care at all.
It was almost a little funny.
"You may have mistaken me for someone else," Tyler said with a smile. "I'm not Harry Potter. This is Harry Potter."
He pointed calmly toward Harry, who blinked in surprise from the opposite seat. Then Tyler added, "Do Malfoys always recognise people by guessing?"
In an instant, Draco's pale face turned red. Embarrassment flashed across his features, followed almost immediately by anger. For someone as proud as him, making such a mistake in front of others was clearly unbearable.
"How dare you…" Draco sputtered. "How dare you mock me like that! I'll make you regret it!"
"You're the one who recognised the wrong person," Hermione said before she could stop herself. "What does that have to do with anyone else?"
"Shut up!" Draco snapped, rounding on her. "You filthy little—"
The final word was ugly, a cruel pure-blood insult aimed at Muggle-borns. Even before Hermione fully understood it, the atmosphere in the compartment changed.
Ron shot to his feet. "How dare you say that?"
Even Neville, who had been frightened only moments earlier, clenched his fists. His face was pale, but there was anger in his eyes now, and that alone made him look braver than before.
Hermione and Harry did not know the full meaning of the word, but they knew it was something vicious from the way Ron reacted. Hermione's lips tightened, and Harry's expression hardened as he stared at Draco.
"Jamie," Tyler said with a smile.
The smile on his face had not changed much, but something cold flashed deep in his pale-blue eyes. That chill was so sharp that even Ron, who had been furious a moment ago, instinctively went quiet.
"What should be done when spoiled children don't know how to behave?"
"That's simple," Jamie said, narrowing his eyes. "They need a lesson."
He lifted the snakewood wand in his hand. A thick red light burst from the tip and struck Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle before any of them could react.
"Bang!"
The three boys were knocked backward together and hit the wall of the corridor with a heavy thud before tumbling to the floor. Their robes twisted beneath them, and for a moment none of them managed to get up.
Harry stared. Ron stared. Neville froze with Trevor clutched tightly in both hands, and Hermione's mouth opened slightly as if she wanted to object but had forgotten the words.
"You… you…" Draco's face went white as Jamie walked toward him. "Don't come any closer!"
He tried to retreat, but there was nowhere to go. Crabbe and Goyle trembled beside him, suddenly looking far less like bodyguards and far more like frightened children. They had never been treated like this before. They were used to being the ones who scared others, not the ones lying on the floor.
Jamie stopped in front of Draco and placed one foot lightly against his chest, just enough to keep him down without truly crushing him.
"Ah—!"
Draco could not bear the pressure and immediately cried out, tears springing to his eyes.
"Quiet," Jamie said coldly, pointing his wand toward Draco's face. "Unless you want to give your mouth even more trouble."
Draco snapped his mouth shut at once. He still shook, and tears still ran down his face, but he did not dare make another loud sound.
"Listen carefully," Jamie said. His voice was soft, which somehow made it more frightening. "If your mouth stays clean in the future, then nothing else needs to happen. But if you keep throwing around disgusting insults, I will make sure you remember this conversation."
"I… my father…" Draco sobbed, trying desperately to summon the one name he believed could protect him. "My father will—"
"Lucius Malfoy?" Jamie leaned down slightly, his smile thin. "Do you think that name frightens me?"
Draco stiffened.
"Your father may look impressive in front of children, but in the end, he was still one of Voldemort's followers," Jamie said in a low voice. "When the Dark Lord was at his height, men like Lucius bent their knees, kissed robes, and called it loyalty."
Draco stared at him in horror. Most people avoided even saying Voldemort's name, yet Jamie spoke of him as if discussing an unpleasant old rumour.
"The Malfoy family, the so-called pure-blood families, all those grand names and polished manners…" Jamie's eyes were cold. "In my eyes, none of them matter as much as strength."
He tilted his wand slightly, and a tiny spark of red magic crackled at the tip. "Money, influence, family history. They all look powerful until the moment someone stronger decides to take them away. A dead man owns nothing, Malfoy."
Crabbe and Goyle shook even harder. Draco's breathing became uneven, and his earlier arrogance had vanished completely.
"Go ahead and complain if you like," Jamie continued. "Tell your father everything, if you have the courage. But make sure you also tell him that if he comes looking for trouble, the Malfoy name may end up like a firework."
He flicked his wand toward the air beside Draco's head.
"Bang."
A small burst of harmless light exploded near the wall, bright enough to make Draco flinch and squeeze his eyes shut.
"Gone in a flash," Jamie said. "Nothing left but ash and noise."
"You…" Draco whispered, trembling as he looked at Jamie. "You're a monster."
"Not unless you give me a reason to be," Jamie said pleasantly. "I don't bother people who don't bother me. Stay honest and mind your words, and your seven years at Hogwarts can pass peacefully."
He crouched slightly, bringing his gaze level with Draco's terrified eyes. "But if I hear you use that kind of filthy insult again, I'll make sure you regret it. There are spells in this world that can teach pain without leaving a single mark, and I know enough of them to make the lesson unforgettable."
Jamie smiled and patted Draco's slightly fleshy cheek.
.....
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