Filch was in his small office, a place that most students were unwilling to enter. The room was very dark, with only a single oil lamp hanging from the ceiling providing a meager amount of light. The room was windowless, and it constantly smelled of fried fish. In this respect, Filch had already mastered the essence of the dark cuisine of the British Empire.
Large wooden cabinets stood against the gray, scratched walls, where the files of disobedient pupils had been kept. Against the cabinets was a fur-covered chaise longue covered with cat hair, and in a conspicuous place behind the desk hung a pair of heavy shackles. Everyone in the school knew that Filch had often begged Dumbledore to let him hang his pupils from the ceiling.
Of course, unless Dumbledore was crazy, he would never agree.
Filch also liked to threaten to lock students up in the dungeons in the basement of Hogwarts. He kept a nine-headed whip. This whipping instrument was a favorite of the Muggle Catholic monks for self-abuse. It was also used in some missionary schools to discipline students, flogging and corporal punishment.
Malfoy glanced around in disgust. "Stinks of cat!" he said gruffly.
"Clean it up!" He did not use his wand. He just pressed his fingers slightly, and a strong suction force sucked the air out of the room and replaced it with fresh air. Gall and Crabbe were still behind him, but after a period of training from Malfoy, they were much more obedient, and had a little more awareness of being lackeys.
"Let us wait here for Filch to come!" Malfoy sneered. He pulled out a letter from his pocket, and said to the two Lackeys, "Gall, well done … If you hadn't discovered this, I wouldn't have known about Filch's secret!" He lowered his head and read the words on the envelope: "Rapid Conjuring Correspondence Course for Beginner Magicians."
Malfoy raised the letter in his hand, and announced loudly to his Lackeys, "Our gatekeeper, Argus Filch, is actually a lowly, disgusting squib! A squib even lower than the mud! "
"No wonder I've never seen him use magic!" Malfoy laughed heartily.
Gall and Crabbe also laughed. Crabbe replied to Malfoy fawningly, "A squib … In our family, if we gave birth to a squib, it would be a disgrace to the entire family. My father would definitely get rid of 'him'. Even the wizards who followed Dumbledore would banish the squib from their family … But Dumbledore actually dared to keep a squib in the school. "
"If I tell my father about this … He will definitely kick both Filch and Dumbledore out of the school. He is a trustee of Hogwarts, he has the power to do so!" Malfoy replied reflexively, but he quickly snapped out of his child-like cruel and boastful state of mind. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the black leather bound magic tome in his arms and whispered to his two followers, "When Felch returns, you two guard the door."
Gall and Crabbe thought of the knowledge he had learned from the book, how to control subordinates, how to hold power, how to control great, exquisite magical power. He reflected on his immaturity just now, and became solemn.
Gall and Crabbe saw that Malfoy had become silent and solemn, and they both shrunk their heads and hid behind Malfoy. For some reason, they were most afraid of Malfoy in this state.
Malfoy did not have to wait long before the door opened, and Filch walked in with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Harry Potter is in trouble this time!" Filch said excitedly to Madam Norris, "I've finally caught his tail! Although Mischievous did not say it, he is now so afraid of Harry Potter, which can only mean that … the one who caused trouble that night was indeed him! "His eyes turned to the inside of the room, and saw Malfoy and the other two.
Filch sprang to his feet like an old cat. "Malfoy?" he cried. Now is not the time for you to walk around … Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson … "
Filch stopped talking, and his pale face turned brick red. His mouth, which had been dutifully and caustically just a moment ago, was wide open like a dead fish. The vitality that had been mixed with harshness and jealousy in Filch's body seemed to have been sucked out of him in an instant, and he became a little dazed.
He hobbled over to Malfoy and the other two, and tried to snatch the letter away.
But Malfoy put it away with lightning speed. He gave Gall and Crabbe a look, and Crabbe hurriedly pulled the reluctant Gall to the door to hold the letter.
"Spell of Disruption!" Malfoy closed the door to Filch's office, and also used the spell on them. He did not trust Gall and Crabbe. After using the spell, even if they leaned on the door to eavesdrop, they would not hear anything.
"Filch." Malfoy remembered some of the things he had learned from the book, and decided to try them on Filch today. He sat in Filch's chair, and crossed his hands on his knees like a big boss. He whispered to Filch, "Dumbledore kept the secret well. Who would have thought that the gatekeeper of Hogwarts, a part of its glory, would actually have a squib in an inconspicuous corner of this glorious, great school!"
"No … No!" Filch stammered. Filch stammered, "This isn't mine … It's for a friend … It might look like … but …"
"I can see through people like you at a glance. This is the skill of our Malfoy family. Every Malfoy family member can see through those lowly … mudbloods full of lies and squibs," Malfoy sneered.
"Look at your eyes. Don't you see the ugly expression of jealousy and greed when you look at those noble pure-bloods, even if they are lowly mudbloods? Argus Filch, I don't know which pure-blooded family you are the disgrace of, but you must have been kicked out of the house by your family. Because of your family's leniency or negligence, you have been allowed to live in such a disgrace.
"The reason you hate those Wizards who have made mistakes is because when you look at them, your heart is filled with jealousy and resentment, like a poisonous snake gnawing at you. Those youthful auras, happy laughter … and magic, all reflect your ugly heart like a mirror … That's why you are so jealous and resentful. You enjoy the feeling of torturing them. You are born to be a traitor!
"We all know why you prepared the shackles and whips in your house, and we all know how you look forward to sending the children of Magi to the dungeon … I swear, if I tell my father about this, he, who is very concerned about the growth of young Magi, will gather the school board and let those noble pure-blooded Magi chase you out of this school!"
"I never thought of it like that," Filch said fearfully. "Master Malfoy, I never dared to think of it like that. If I were such a person, Dumbledore would definitely chase me out."
"It doesn't matter what Dumbledore thinks!" Malfoy scolded. "What matters is what my father and I think."
"You should know the legend. If the Dark Lord knew that you … a squib dared to be in the place where he once studied, the Death Eaters would kill you … Just like Dumbledore's demonstration. They won't do anything to the students, because their children are inside. They won't do anything to the mudbloods, because it will drive their parents crazy. But what about you? Filch, who cares about a squib? "
"Dumbledore will protect me," Filch said incoherently.
"He can't take care of himself … Besides, Filch … squib is an original sin, a dirty and lowly thing. It is a disgrace to Wizards, a disgrace to the family … I know, Filch. No one wants to be a squib. Look at Neville, he almost became a squib. This is all thanks to his uncle, who forced out Neville's little potential. "
"From now on, Neville's future will be completely different. No Wizard will be willing to marry a squib, but Neville, a Wizard, can study in Hogwarts," Malfoy said mockingly. "So you are still praying for these deceptive lies." He tore Filch's letter apart, and Filch was so excited that he wanted to snatch it back.
"Strangle Hand!" Malfoy roared angrily, and Filch immediately felt an invisible hand choking his throat. The hand was shockingly strong, like a giant monster, and Filch was lifted into the air. He could only helplessly struggle against the invisible hand, his pale face flushed red, and his legs kicked weakly in the air.
"Do you understand? The difference between us? "
"I am a Wizard, a powerful, noble pure-blooded Wizard, while you are just a squib … a squib that is not even comparable to mud. You should be glad that you are living in this chaotic era. If you were still living in the glorious era of pure-bloods, you would have drowned at the age of eleven!"
Filch looked at the cold Malfoy in despair, but he felt the hand on his throat loosen, and he fell to the ground.
"But you are lucky. I am not an ordinary Wizard. Even among the pure-bloods, I am more glorious. I have the power that the wizards of the past could not even dream of. My power can topple everything. As a squib, you have a new choice. Live on as a wizard, and not die like a piece of trash in the coming reckoning. "
Malfoy laughed. "I can let you regain your magic. Although magic is rooted in noble bloodlines, the mud species proved that one does not need noble bloodlines to become a pure-blooded to grasp some of the secrets of magic. This is the pure-bloods bestowing their power to their servants, allowing Muggles to have magic. "
"But unlike the pure-bloods, the magic of the mud species originates from magical creatures, from domestic elves, and from the bloodlines of magical animals."
"I know this secret, and I have mastered the magic to bestow magic to Muggles again, the Bloodline Modification Magic. It can inject those stinky, lowly blood into your veins, so that you and your descendants will have lowly magic. But you must remember that the magic of the pure-bloods is noble, while the magic of the mud species originates from beasts and is lowly by nature. People nowadays are confused about this … In the future, I will make them remember it again. "
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