I sighed. "But then the Statute came into effect, and magic was hidden from countless nations and cultures. Famous men and women suddenly had their achievements erased from the minds of their adoring fans and generous non-magical patrons, and those with creative passions found themselves stifled, unable to express themselves openly or find a wider audience. The magical world has stagnated due to its isolation, and one of the many victims of this has been art and imagination. Otherwise, how else would you explain the drek and drivel like Lockhart's books becoming so popular?"
A few giggles, but nervous this time, and it was only now that I realized that it wasn't just the group I'd come in with, but the entire bookstore that was listening in on my rant. I resisted the unconscious urge to twitch or act nervous in the face of my newfound audience, and simply continued to speak, doing my best to pay the bystanders no heed.
"The magical world is starved for creativity, and Slytherin House has suffered for it. As such, the House of the Cunning and Ambitious has latched onto anything that might give them some form of identity and unity of purpose. It's why I believe Grindelwald and Voldemort's blood purity nonsense found such fertile soil in the House of Serpents."
I ignored the gasps and flinches when I spoke his name, and instead focus on the children in front of me.
"I hope you understand what I'm trying to explain to you. I was a bit longwinded, but in the end, it's important to judge people on their actions, and not just make broad calls based on things like house affiliation. Also, context is vital."
They all nodded dutifully at that, but I could tell some of them hadn't really understood what I was trying to teach them, or at least, hadn't internalized it yet. Hopefully they would, in time. And perhaps if they spoke to their parents about this, it might. Or, it might not. Only the future would tell if I'd have an effect on their minds.
Thankfully, my little speech had happened after the kids had all grabbed the books they needed, so they paid for their purchases, and then we made our way out of the shop and back to the Leaky Cauldron.
As we left, I felt many pairs of eyes lingering on me. I spared them little heed, save for discreetly checking on who was doing so, and why. Most seemed curiously as to who I was, while others were annoyed, or even outright angered at my words, though why that was, I had no idea.
However, the gazes I found the most interesting was a piercing one that came from a father and his two golden-haired daughters, who watched me closely as I left. Out of all the other stares I'd received, theirs held curiosity in them. And also a bit of respect, interestingly enough.
I recognized the father, of course. It was hard not to know the face of Cyrus Greengrass, richest man in Wizarding Britain, after all. The Blacks and Malfoys wished they had the kind of cash and influence the owner of the largest and most successful potion ingredient farms could throw around on a whim.
And it seemed I'd caught that man's attention thanks to my impassioned speech.
'Maybe something good might just come from this after all,' I mused to myself thoughtfully. Or maybe it'd turn out awful. But I'd deal with it as it came. Right now, I had to focus on herding a mob of children back to the floo so we'd be back in time for dinner.
Lucius POV
Lucius Malfoy was not having a good day. Or week. Or summer, really. Not since the Ministry had decided to crack down hard on the possession of Dark Artifacts.
From what his sources had told him, the crack-down had been initiated by a 'suggestion' by Dumbledore to Minister Fudge. Apparently, Professor Quirrell, the Muggle Studies turned Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, had gone crazy and tried to steal several powerful magical artifacts from the school.
How this exactly translated into a purge aimed at the Purebloods – and it was, no pretty language could hide that – Lucius had no clue, but Dumbledore had convinced the Minister of Magic that this was the right thing to do, and then sicced his lackey, Arthur Weasley, onto the upstanding families, trying to find any 'illegal' magical artifacts.
Then, things had gone from bad to worse when the bond between him and his House Elf had suddenly broken one day, and he had no way of knowing how or why.
'Did the damned thing kill himself with one of his punishments?' Lucius couldn't help but wonder. He was annoyed by the creature's death more for the inconveniences it had caused him than any fondness for it. House Elves were not cheap to buy, hence why even a wealthy family of the Malfoy's stature could only afford a single one.
Add in the fact that their numbers were dwindling and that their purchase was highly restricted and regulated by the Ministry, and it had cost him a considerable sum to expedite the process. And even then, it took two whole weeks for the new House Elf to be delivered! Two weeks of having to do his own cooking and cleaning like some kind of Muggle!
Well, technically, he hadn't done it himself. His wife had chosen to take over the kitchen after he'd made one too many burnt meals. And his son had been assigned to 'practicing' Scourgify and other cleaning spells. Still, it was a horrific inconvenience!
Last, but certainly not least, was the fact Lucius had been unable to get rid of a few artifacts at Borgin and Burkes. One of which he'd had no way of 'losing track of' easily.
It had been given to him by the Dark Lord himself, and he'd been ordered to protect it with his life. Lucius knew that two other families had been given the honor of protecting an artifact personally gifted to them by their lord; the Blacks and the Lestranges. He knew not what they were, only that they'd been important to the Dark Lord. And that Regulus Black had mysteriously disappeared afterwards.
Which was why Lucius had no idea what the item he'd been given was, or why it took the form of a cheap journal anybody could buy at Flourish and Blotts.
At first he'd thought it was a book of spells the Dark Lord had created himself, but it was empty. And no amount of spell work could force it to reveal its secrets. In the end, after failing to unlock its secrets, he'd decided to toss it away to hide himself from the purge going on. Sure, it didn't seem magical, but the Dark Lord was not a man who played jokes on his followers, so whatever it was, it had to be important.
He hoped Draco would follow his instructions and pass it off to another student at Hogwarts as soon as possible. He didn't want his son being accused of harboring a Dark artifact, after all.
'I do hope Tom doesn't mind that I gave him away so easily,' Lucius thought to himself. 'But at least I did as he asked. Though I wonder why Tom wanted to go to Hogwarts in the first place?'
The head of House Malfoy suddenly blinked slowly at that, his thoughts thrown into disarray.
'Wait, who is Tom, again?' he thought to himself, confused. A moment later, the Mark of his Master throbbed with pain, and he forgot whatever it was he'd even been thinking about.
It must not have been all that important, in the end.
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