Chapter 13: There's a Spell Called—Avada Kedavra
Harry didn't much like the boy in front of him, not since their very first meeting. The boy was always pointing fingers at others, looking down on everyone and everything. But now, Harry's opinion of him had changed slightly.
'This guy must have something wrong with his head, right?'
After hearing from Ezio that many wizarding families in the magical world often practiced intermarriage or marriage between close relatives to maintain their so-called blood purity, he had developed a different view of the so-called noble wizarding houses. Having attended school and read history books, he was, of course, aware of certain events that had occurred within the royal family.
Marriage between close relatives leads to a higher probability of offspring suffering from various congenital diseases, and even deformities. The boy in front of him had skin as pale as a vampire's; it was likely an external manifestation of some defect caused by inbreeding.
A look of pity entered Harry's eyes. After all, the children were innocent; they couldn't decide what kind of 'debuffs' they would be born with.
Evidently, Harry, who was not skilled at hiding his thoughts, had a look in his eyes that stung the other boy. A flush of red struggled to appear on his originally pale, bloodless face. The pride and superiority that had been plastered on his face vanished. The boy frowned and snapped, "What are you looking at!"
"Hahaha." Ezio, who had witnessed this rather comical scene from the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Two without brains, and one who's unhappy."
This was because the two boys standing behind Malfoy were big and brawny, with fierce-looking expressions that completely failed to conceal the air of foolishness radiating from them. When they saw Ezio laugh, they also inexplicably started to smile, as if they wanted to laugh too.
The scene had a certain artistic beauty to it; Harry couldn't help but be amused.
"And who are you!" the pale boy, who couldn't get the joke, snapped, turning to glare at Ezio.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself first, Mr. Unhappy?"
The boy's eyes narrowed. He was indeed very unhappy right now, but looking at Ezio's attire, he felt this person might have some background. Perhaps a wizard from another country studying here?
"Malfoy," the pale boy said, lifting his chin proudly. "Draco Malfoy."
"Oh, the Malfoy family that claimed to be under the Imperius Curse and stuffed the Ministry of Magic with a lot of money to get acquitted, right? His old man is a Death Eater, Harry. One of Voldemort's lapdogs."
A cold wind, as if from Siberia, seemed to blow through the compartment. The three standing boys shuddered, apparently terrified by a certain word.
"Is that true?" Harry's eyes turned cold in an instant, staring straight at the boy whose face had once again become pale.
"A Study of Modern Dark Magic. There's a chapter in it about the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy was accused of being one of them, but the book describes his father as having 'used clever means to buy off the judges and escape punishment.' As a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Malfoy family certainly has the resources to do so. After all, from what I've read, almost all the accused members of pure-blood wizarding families used similar methods to escape justice."
Ezio rummaged through his bag and pulled out a book that was two fingers thick.
"You're talking nonsense! My father is not—" Draco practically shrieked, but he was cut off before he could finish.
Ezio opened the book to a page with a photo of his father on trial and showed it to him. Lucius was younger then, but his expression was haggard. Even in the black-and-white photo, his uniquely pale complexion was visible. He was wearing shackles, sitting in the defendant's chair.
"See? Your old man has the Dark Mark on his arm. That's the sign of a Death Eater."
Draco looked as though a Dementor had just sucked out his soul. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed.
"Want to teach him a lesson, Harry?" Ezio asked with great interest.
"Are we going to fight?" At this point, Harry didn't care that the two bodyguards behind Malfoy had arms as thick as his legs. He took deep breaths, as if that would give him more strength to use.
"A fight won't be necessary. But I can make this guy wet his pants."
Harry stared blankly. Upon hearing this, Malfoy, whose legs were already weak, became enraged. Feeling the solid presence of Crabbe and Goyle behind him, his courage returned.
"Listen up, Harry. There's a spell called—"
Ezio was not one to dawdle. As he spoke, he raised his hand, his wand instantly ejecting into his palm.
An ominous green light emerged from the tip of the wand, shining with a ghastly brilliance!
"Avada Kedavra!"
The moment the green light erupted, Harry's head felt like it was splitting open with pain. He once again recalled the nightmare that tormented him at night. In it, a woman's voice screamed his name, begging someone to spare him. At the same time, a slender figure tried to throw herself in front of him, but a blinding green light flashed, and the slender figure fell.
Tears streamed down Harry's face in that instant, but he didn't understand any of it. Yet at the same time, he knew. That was his mother's voice.
The muffled thuds of two heavy bodies hitting the floor brought Harry back to his senses. He clutched his forehead, his wrist wet with tears. He hastily wiped his face and saw Draco, kneeling on the ground, completely stunned, and the two large boys who had fallen backward onto the floor, their condition unknown.
"See? He wet his pants," Ezio said lightly. With a wave of his wand, the two fallen boys were lifted by an invisible force and casually tossed into the corridor outside. The compartment door slammed shut with a 'snap', startling the kneeling Draco.
"Shh, don't scream. It's noisy."
Ezio put a finger to his lips. The scream Draco was about to let out died in his throat. He clutched his neck, stifling any possible sound.
"Ezio, you… what was… what was that?!" Harry's eyes were red. He didn't quite understand what had just happened, but his intuition told him it wasn't anything good.
"It's the Killing Curse… That's an Unforgivable Curse!" Draco whispered, his voice trembling. "You killed Crabbe and Goyle… You killed them!"
There was no way the two heavy thuds from behind him could have escaped Draco's ears unless he was deaf. And after hearing that incantation, Draco had already imagined the entire scene.
"You'll be sent to Azkaban!" he said, looking at Ezio in terror, but he immediately lowered his head.
The smell of urine began to spread through the compartment.
"Ventus."
Compared to a simple cleaning charm, this spell was much more effective against strange odors, and even toxic gases. But Draco's wet trousers would ensure the smell continued to linger.
"Now then, let's talk about why you came here to find Harry."
Draco flinched, but he didn't dare refuse to answer. Fighting against the fear that was welling up inside him, he said in a trembling voice, "I just… I just came to make friends with him, to get to know him."
"Your father is a Death Eater, and you came to make friends with the boy who defeated Voldemort?" Ezio raised an eyebrow.
"I'm telling the truth!" Terrified that Ezio would hit him with an Avada Kedavra too, Draco said hastily, his words so sincere it was as if he was about to tear out his own heart. "I know my family has some connection to the Dark Lord, but it's not just us. Many wizarding families are like that. I didn't even know my father was a Death Eater, it's true! I've heard stories about Harry Potter since I was little. He defeated the Dark Lord. I was curious about him. I just wanted to meet him."
Hearing this, Harry's expression softened slightly. The probability of Draco lying in his current state was very low. And deep down, Harry was a good kid.
"You shouldn't talk to people that way anymore. And don't point fingers at people, like at Hagrid," Harry couldn't help but say to Draco.
"I'll change! I will! I swear it! I swear on Merlin's name!" Draco, who had already wet himself in fear, wouldn't dare say no now, even if it was Harry speaking and not Ezio.
"So now…" Harry's gaze fell on Ezio. "Maybe you should run for it, Ezio."
******
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