Chapter 13
Draco
„No, no, no! You don’t get to do that!”
Draco rolled his eyes and reluctantly let go of Hermione, whom he had just been kissing, to look at Potter, Weasley and Ginevra, who had just returned to school. It had been nice to have the common room to themselves.
“Do we need your permission, Weasley?” He drawled in a bored tone.
“I’ll have to wash my eyes out with soap now, you prick!”
“Do that. Nice seeing you. Hi Potter, Ginevra.”
“Malfoy.” Potter had the nerve to grin. “Can’t say I’m surprised, but if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you.”
“I’m trembling. Oh no, my mistake, it’s called shivering, it’s cold. When did the fire burn down, love?”
Weasley groaned at the endearment and Hermione chuckled before getting up to hug her friends. “You’re all impossible.”
Since the fire had indeed gone out, Draco cast a quick Incendio.
“I guess I don’t have to ask how your holidays were,” Ginevra said cheerfully as she let herself fall on the sofa opposite Draco.
“No. But if your new year’s resolution is about being less of a pest, you may profit from it.”
“Oh, really?”
Draco grinned, got up and retrieved his brand-new Firebolt II. He had tried it out on the empty Quidditch Pitch twice and it was amazing! Pity he couldn’t leave the grounds to go on a flight. Hermione had refused to fly with him, it had turned out she didn’t like heights.
“Is that a Firebolt II?” The Weaslette’s voice was so high it almost made him deaf. Even Weasley forgot to be outraged in favour of having a closer look.
Devon McNair
On Tuesday, the potion was done, and it turned out not to be quite right yet.
But under the circumstances, Devon didn’t really mind. Most of the apprentices he’d had had reacted frustrated or at least disappointed after a few failed trials with a new or improved potion, some of them had given up altogether.
Draco had shown neither frustration nor disappointment when he had stepped to the cauldron in which the potion had been left to brew on a small flame for 48 hours. He had immediately seen that the result wasn’t what they had hoped for, but instead of moaning about it, he had started analysing what was wrong with it and how it could be fixed.
Potion development took time and patience and quick results were rather rare. Devon had always enjoyed the process, getting closer to the solution, having setbacks and getting back on track. Success had felt sweeter when he’d had to work for it.
From what he could tell so far, Draco seemed to be the same and even though he had personal interest in finding the solution, Devon had not once seen him become impatient.
After stating what was still wrong with the potion – and he was spot on – Draco sat down on the small desk and looked thoughtfully at the current version of the recipe. “We’re close. It’s closer than we’ve ever been before.”
“That’s true.” Devon pulled up a chair next to him. “I wouldn’t mess with the ingredients for now. Instead, we should try again with different brewing times, more heat.”
“Yeah, that may be it. The colour being so … muddy, may be because the dragon horn powder didn’t reach its full potential. Maybe the brewing time was ok and it just needs to be left on a bigger flame?”
“Maybe, but increasing the brewing time by a day won’t harm. If it works, we can still see, if we can decrease it again.”
“Ok. Let’s try again.”
Draco
“Man, I pity the first years.”
“Thank you for your confidence, Weasley.”
It wasn’t serious, though, they both grinned. Lately, none of the usual bickering between him and the redhead was anywhere near serious.
Today, Draco would skip a double lesson of Charms – Flitwick had kindly agreed to see him after dinner and cover the practical part, Hermione would once more copy her notes for the theoretical part. While the others had Charms, he would teach some Hufflepuffs and Slytherins Potions under the watchful eyes of McGonagall. He was more than a little nervous, but covered it up well.
On his way to the dungeons, he met the Headmistress. “Good morning, Mr Malfoy. Are you ready?”
“Good morning. I think I am.”
She smirked. “I’ll tell you a secret. We were all nervous at first.”
He laughed quietly. “That’s comforting. Thank you for giving this a try. I know it’s an unusual solution.”
“It is. But if it works well, we all benefit. You get your apprenticeship and I get to keep Professor McNair as a teacher.”
“He’s really good at it.”
“So I’ve heard from several students. I’m glad it worked out so well.”
“Am I allowed to give points?”
“Yes, within reason. And don’t favour your own house.”
“Of course.”
They arrived at the classroom where the first years (had they always been so bloody small?) waited in the hallway.
“Good morning, everyone. Professor McNair had an urgent appointment and Mr Malfoy kindly agreed to take over the lesson.” The first years looked surprised. They certainly hadn’t expected to be taught by a fellow student today. And most of them would have heard about him, the good and the bad. “Since he has obviously no teaching experience, I’m going to sit in, but unless my interference becomes necessary, I will just observe. Please ignore me, it’s Mr Malfoy you will answer to today.”
With that, Draco greeted them and led them into the classroom, where McGonagall took a seat in a corner. The lesson was about the Antidote to Common Poisons, one of the simplest antidote recipes there was.
He started with the theory and asked a few questions to the use and attributes. While doing so, both he and the students relaxed. He was also grateful for his father’s lessons on public speaking and how to keep your audience’s attention. It was certainly beneficial now and it made him more confident than he would have been otherwise.
“So, we have established that one of the main components is the powder of a bezoar. What exactly is bezoar?”
That was the first question no one seemed to have an answer for. Severus would have had a field day with that.
“No one?” His eyes fell on a small Hufflepuff girl with short black hair, and she did look like she knew but didn’t quiet dare to raise her hand. “What’s your name?”
“Keira Gordon, Sir.” Her voice was very quiet.
“Very well, Miss Gordon. Do you know the answer?”
She swallowed, then nodded. “Yes, it’s a hard mass from the stomach of a goat. Like a stone.”
“Good, five points to Hufflepuff.” That got a tiny smile from her.
“What needs to be observed regarding the brewing temperature?”
This time one hand went up, hesitantly, but it was there. “Miss Gordon?”
“I know the answer, too!” A Slytherin boy glared at him. He knew that one. At least he recognised the family resemblance. “Then you should have raised your hand, Mr Selwyn.”
“I know better than her. She’s a mu …” His eyes went to the Headmistress and Draco knew what had wanted to say.
“Ten points from Slytherin, Mr Selwyn, and if you’d like to hear my advice, you better reconsider your attitude because believe me, it sucks to learn too late how very wrong you were.” He didn’t raise his voice, but it was cold and calm. He looked the boy in the eyes until Selwyn looked down.
Then he calmly turned back to the Hufflepuff side. “Miss Gordon, I believe you were going to answer a question I can’t quite recall.”
At that she gave a very small grin. “You asked what’s important about the brewing temperature. And the answer is that it can’t be too hot or the potion will become ineffective.”
“Very good, another five points to Hufflepuff. You can all start brewing now. If you have any questions, please ask at any time and by the end of class, please bring a vial with a sample of your potion to the teacher’s desk. Don’t forget to label it with your name. I’m awful at Divination.” A few giggles and then they all got busy.
He walked from one cauldron to the other, tried to have an eye on everyone to prevent accidents and answered a few questions. By the end of the lesson everyone left a vial with more or less successfully brewed potion samples and the class emptied. When Keira Gordon left her vial, she gave him a quick smile before turning around and following her classmates outside.
When the children were gone, McGonagall, who had been tired the entire time, got up from her chair. “That was an excellent lesson, Mr Malfoy.”
He smiled. He had had the feeling that it had gone well, but it was good to hear it. “Thank you, Headmistress.”
“I especially liked how you handled the situation with Mr Selwyn, very appropriate. I do hope you made an impression on him. I also like how you encouraged Miss Gordon. I heard about her. A smart girl, but very shy. Really, well done. Did you enjoy teaching?” Draco briefly wondered whether it was hard for her to not be directly involved with the students anymore after so many years of teaching.
“I actually did, yes.”
She gave him a smile. “It showed. I’ll talk to Professor McNair and the three of us will meet in my office later this week. You can return to your own classes now.”
“Alright, thank you.” He gathered the vials and McGonagall looked slightly surprised.
“Will you mark the potions as well?”
“Yes, Professor McNair asked me to mark them, he will double-check and then hand them back to the students in the next lesson.”
xxx
Draco met the others on their way to Transfiguration and Hermione smiled and came to meet him.
They kissed briefly – the Weasel groaned again and was ignored. “How did it go?” She asked.
“Great! The Headmistress also thought it went very well.”
Now it was Potter who grinned. “You probably went all Snape on them and glared them into submission.”
“Would it work to glare you two into submission?”
“You’ve tried for years. You should know the answer.”
Devon McNair
Devon left the Great Hall with Minerva and they made their way to Hogsmeade for a planned visit in the Three Broomsticks. “How did he do?”
“He surprised me. I’ve never actually seen you teach, but I can’t imagine your lessons are better than his was. His explanations were clear and on point, he involved the children and he solved a slightly problematic situation very well.”
“Problematic? With first years?”
“Yes, Mr Selwyn felt the need to share his opinion on Miss Gordon’s blood status.” Her voice sounded slightly bitter and Devon understood. The War was barely over and some people still hadn’t learned.
“Yes, he is indeed a bit difficult.”
She nodded. “Mr Malfoy shut him down immediately, though. Took ten points from Slytherin and called him out appropriately.” She was silent for a moment. “Even told him to reconsider his attitude because it’s hard to find out you were wrong when it’s already too late. That boy is barely recognisable. When he was younger, he was very much like Mr Selwyn.”
“People change and he had a very unpleasant wake-up call.”
“Yes. I wish it hadn’t been quite so unpleasant, but it is nice to see what kind of young man he’s turning into.”
xxx
The next day after dinner Draco came to him and brought the vials he had received from the students.
“Finished already?”
“Yes, I didn’t have much homework yesterday, so I got them all done.”
“Very good. What are these?” There were notes attached to the vials with Sticking Charms.
Draco gave him a small shrug. “I thought it would be helpful for them to know what they have done right and wrong and since I was analysing that anyway for the marks, it wasn’t that much more work to write down a few cues.”
“That’s such a good idea. I didn’t even think of that.”
“None of our previous teachers did it either. I just thought it would tell them more than just the mark.”
“Definitely. Very good. Minerva was also quite impressed with you. And I heard you liked it.”
“I did, more than I thought I would.”
“Great, so it won’t be too much of a task then to teach four classes in addition to your apprenticeship?”
“Absolutely not.”
xxx
On Thursday evening they met with Draco in Minerva’s office. He had checked Draco’s notes and they had all been accurate, the marks he had given for the potions had been fair. Devon didn’t think his student would need much supervision when he took over the classes assigned to him next year.
Draco now sat in front of her desk, Devon had taken a seat next to him.
It was Minerva who first spoke after the initial greeting. “I discussed this matter at lengths both with the current staff and the Board of Governors. They all approved. What the Board of Governors did not approve of was payment for you for teaching. I don’t like it, since you will be teaching like everyone else. Devon will of course compensate you for your work within your apprenticeship, but Hogwarts will not pay you for teaching.”
Devon supressed a smile. Draco did not look like he really understood what the problem was. “It was kind of you to bring that up, Headmistress, but I don’t really need the money.”
Considering they were in the company of the heir of one of the richest Wizarding families, the situation had a certain kind of humour. But Devon knew that Minerva was a woman of principals.
“While I know you don’t depend on a teacher’s payment, I still think it’s not right. But it is what it is. If you still want to go on, we had a contract prepared. It combines the apprenticeship and your work for Hogwarts during the three years of the apprenticeship.”
Draco looked at Devon in surprise. “Already? Isn’t it common to wait for the NEWTs results before signing the contract?”
“It is, but I’ve seen you working for months now. Even if you for some unimaginable reason get bad NEWTs results, I’ll still want you as an apprentice. That doesn’t mean I want you to get bad NEWTs results.”
Draco grinned. “Don’t worry, I don’t want that either.” He took the contract and read through it. Devon could imagine that his father had taught him a thing or two about contracts already and had most certainly drummed into him not to sign anything without reading it. Considering most of his apprentices had had to be told to read before signing, this was refreshing.
“That sounds great. And don’t worry, Headmistress, I really don’t mind not being paid for teaching.” Without further hesitation, Draco signed the contract. Devon and Minerva had already signed.
“Good, but I do mind enough for the both of us. However, you will be included in teachers’ activities, like staff meetings, and you will have access to the staff room while you’re at Hogwarts. You can floo to and from Malfoy Manor from Devon’s office. He already agreed to giving you his password for the entrance.” To his credit, Draco didn’t bat an eye. He already had access to Devon’s office so he could check on the potions they were currently working on. He still voluntarily helped out with brewing potions for the Hospital Wing in addition to working on the Wolfsbane Potion. “If you have any questions at any point, I’m sure any staff member will be happy to help you out.”
Narcissa Malfoy
“Lucius, I’m fine!” She wasn’t, not really. She felt sick, exhausted, and annoyed by her husband who wouldn’t leave her alone for a single moment.
She hated the Wizengamot for giving them house arrest, she hated the Minister for not giving Lucius anything to do – what happened to good old forced labour as punishment? – and even Draco and Hermione didn’t come up with anything to distract him for a few hours, so his current sole purpose in life was fussing over her, which caused her to remind herself several times a day that she did indeed love her husband.
“You don’t look well.”
“Thank you.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. You’re too pale.” He sat down next to her and gently brushed a strand of her out of her face.
He didn’t even let her be properly angry at him. Damn him.
She looked out of the window and saw an owl approach. Draco’s Hermes. Lucius took the letter and gave him a treat before he flew off again.
When he sat back down, she leaned in to read.
Mother,
Father,
I have great news! I signed my apprenticeship contract today! Teaching went well, too. I liked it and I really don’t mind doing it for three years.
Hermione insists that we start studying for NEWTs – and I thought I usually start early. She even made a studying plan for Weasley and Potter. It looks like so far I’m still trusted to make my own. That may change, if I don’t show the appropriate enthusiasm. My grades are back to my old standards, though, and I’m not really worried. Even Muggle Studies is going well, thanks to all the hours Hermione spent explaining to me what I missed since third year.
She probably told you already, but she followed your advice, father, and applied for a post in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She doesn’t say it out loud, but I believe her end goal is Minister for Magic. And I have no doubt she can do it. Imagine, father, Minster Malfoy. I want to propose to her once school is over. I hope with your blessing.
How are you doing, mother? I hope everything is well. What does the healer say?
Love,
Draco
Narcissa smiled. “It really seems to be going well for him.”
Lucius nodded. “Is he trying to trick me into giving him my blessing by dangling the potential of having a Minister Malfoy in front of my nose?”
“He will have to work on subtlety,” she said dryly.
“You try to teach him then. I failed. I think he’s right, though. We can hope to finally have a minister in the family for the first time. But it will not be our son. We’re lucky, if he attends a Wizengamot meeting now and then. Once he has finished the apprenticeship, he will want to focus on potioneering.”
There was no disappointment in his voice, nothing in his body language spoke of disapproval, and she knew him far too well for him to be able to hide such a thing. All remaining irritation drained out of her. It would return, but right now, she just felt incredibly lucky for being married to him. She kissed him and smiled when they parted. “He’s lucky to have you as a father.”
~tbc~