Crabbe's (Ron's) jaw dropped open with a clack, making him look even more foolish than usual. Before Malfoy could notice, I fired off a question.
"Then you have some idea who's pulling the strings behind the scenes, don't you?"
"No, I don't. Goyle, don't make me repeat myself."
Malfoy answered curtly.
"Father seems to know about the previous incident, but he didn't tell me anything. He said that if I knew too much, people would get suspicious. Still, when the Chamber of Secrets was opened in the past, apparently one 'Mudblood' died."
"Do you know what happened to the person who opened it before?"
"They were expelled and are probably in Azkaban now."
"Azkaban?"
I stared blankly with my mouth open, and Malfoy looked at me as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"It's the wizarding world's prison, floating in the North Sea. Goyle, if you get any slower, I'll start worrying that you'll forget how to walk forward."
Malfoy let out an exasperated sigh, and I tried to move Goyle's facial muscles into an apologetic expression as best I could.
"And as for the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin… Father told me to keep a low profile and let things run their course. You see, he's swamped with Ministry inspections right now. Well, I seriously doubt those dim-witted Weasleys could ever find our family's 'Chamber of Secrets' beneath the drawing room floor."
At that last line, Ron almost let out an impressed "Whoa!", but I saw Hermione pinch his side to shut him up. Fortunately, Malfoy didn't seem to notice and continued speaking smugly.
"Father believes this school needs a purge of 'Mudbloods.' But ideally, he thinks it would be most convenient if they withdrew voluntarily."
Those words made Elaina (Hermione) react.
"If only Muggle-borns are targeted, then naturally their parents would think, 'We can't send our children to such a dangerous school,' and voluntary withdrawals would increase. As a result, fewer Muggle-borns would enter the wizarding world. Is that the idea?"
"You're sharp. It really helps. If Crabbe and Goyle had even ten percent of Elaina's brainpower, life would be so much easier."
Malfoy shook his head from side to side in a theatrical show of weariness.
"Dumbledore has always favored Muggle-borns. Even though Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic are supposed to exist for the benefit of wizardkind."
"So, Draco, you think Headmaster Dumbledore prioritizes the interests of Muggles and Muggle-borns over those of wizardkind?"
"It's not just Dumbledore. 'Blood traitors' like the Weasleys are just as guilty. It's a betrayal of wizardkind."
"Oh?" Elaina (Hermione) looked surprised.
"Wizardkind? Not 'pure-bloods'?"
"Humans over half-breeds, wizardkind over Muggles among humans, and pure-bloods over Muggle-borns among wizardkind. It's only natural that those who have contributed more to the wizarding world should be favored, right?"
In short, the argument was that old pure-blood families had contributed to the wizarding world for generations, so it was only natural they should be privileged. There was no way they could be equal to Muggle-borns, whose ancestors had contributed little to nothing.
Moreover, since Muggles are the majority, wizardkind, as a minority, suffered witch hunts in the past and even now must live in secrecy. Therefore, wizardkind and pure-blood families see themselves as victims of Muggles and Muggle-borns.
Despite that, Dumbledore tries to treat long-standing pure-blood wizards and upstart outsiders like Muggle-borns as equals. In their eyes, that amounts to aiding the enemy and betraying the nation.
That, apparently, is the stance of Malfoy and other pure-blood supremacists.
"So I think Elaina's family should take better care of their own people and look after them more. Otherwise, someday it'll be too late."
"Hah…" Elaina (Hermione) gave a vague response. Her acting skills really were impressive.
"If I feel like it, maybe that day will come."
"I don't think it's that far off. Because of the Dallas–Steven Act from a few years ago, I hear the Celesteria family took quite a hit too."
"The Dallas–Steven Act?"
I asked with a blank look, only to be met with exasperated expressions from both Malfoy and Elaina (Hermione).
"Goyle, you don't even know that?"
"Well, he is Goyle. It'd be too much for Crabbe too."
"…"
I never imagined the day would come when Malfoy would come to my rescue.
Then Malfoy placated Elaina (Hermione), whose look of exasperation somehow suited her, and began explaining slowly.
"The Dallas–Steven Act is a law pushed through by Muggle-born politicians Dallas and Steven. It separates commercial banking from investment banking."
"Commercial banking and investment banking…"
I shot Elaina (Hermione) a pleading glance, and she responded with a rapid-fire barrage of technical terms.
"Banks like Gringotts that mainly handle deposits and loans are commercial banks. Investment banks handle high-risk securities business like mergers and acquisitions, investment consulting, and asset management."
"I-I see?"
"And in the Muggle world, to ensure that losses from high-risk investment banking don't endanger commercial banking, which deals with everyday deposits and savings, regulations separating the two have been in place for over fifty years."
"Huh… wow…"
I quickly averted my eyes from Elaina (Hermione), who was giving me a cold look that clearly said, "This is basic knowledge, Harry. You lived in the Muggle world, didn't you?" When I turned to Malfoy instead, he once again threw me a lifeline.
"Elaina, don't bully Goyle too much. He's an idiot."
I couldn't believe Malfoy had saved me twice in a single day.
"Come to think of it, Malfoy, your family's—"
"Father's 'Wiltshire Insurance' is under fire too, over something like the 'pension' or 'industrial accident insurance' systems."
"Draco, you mean the pension system and workers' compensation insurance."
Elaina (Hermione) added the clarification, and Malfoy nodded. "Yeah, that's it."
(Now that I think about it, I've never heard of pensions in the wizarding world…)
When you really consider it, Muggle society is far more liberal and advanced when it comes to social systems like that.
"Oh, right. What about the National Health Service, the NHS?"
"Yeah, I remember Daphne's father complaining about that at some party once. He said developing new medicines costs a fortune, so if it's nationalized, drug development will grind to a halt or something like that."
At that point, Malfoy shifted his gaze to Ron. When I followed his eyes, I saw Ron turning red.
Completely red.
Even his hair.
The three of us jumped to our feet in a panic.
"Hey, what's wrong with you three?"
"Don't make a girl say it!"
"Huh? Oh, uh… sorry. Crabbe and Goyle too?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
"Wait, wouldn't the one installed in the common room be closer?"
We pretended not to hear Malfoy's suddenly calm remark and sprinted across the common room without looking back.
We slammed bodily into the door, dashed down the corridor at full speed, thundered up the stairs, and headed straight back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
***
"In the end, we still don't know who the 'Heir of Slytherin' is, but it wasn't a complete waste of time."
Hermione, still panting for breath, pulled a thick book from her bag and began researching furiously.
"No wonder they hate Muggle-borns… I see now."
Muttering to herself, Hermione stuck one bookmark after another into the pages.
"Do they really have a reason for hating Muggle-borns?"
"At the very least, there's a trigger or two."
Here, Hermione said, showing us the book. The title read: Revised Edition: List of Pure-Blood Families – Modern Era.
"For example, the Greengrass family. Just as I thought, they're the founding family of that 'Greengrass Pharmaceuticals.' Of course they'd oppose a public medical insurance system."
At the exact same time I asked, "Greengrass Pharmaceuticals?", Ron asked, "What's public medical insurance?"
"Well, Harry, Greengrass Pharmaceuticals is the largest potion manufacturing company in the wizarding world."
When I replied, "Oh, I see," Ron immediately followed up with another question about medical insurance, so I explained the National Health Service, the NHS. The Dursleys use it when they get sick, so even I know about it.
"Public medical insurance is a system where you pay insurance premiums to the government in case you get sick, and when you actually do, the government covers your medical fees. In the wizarding world, it'd probably be the Ministry of Magic."
After my explanation, Ron stared blankly.
"Why would the Ministry of Magic do something like that?"
"Uh…"
I hesitated, and Hermione answered in my place.
"It used to be similar in the Muggle world long ago, but nowadays people believe the government should also be responsible for citizens' health."
"Sounds kind of meddlesome, that Muggle government."
"Well, the United States is a bit different."
Hermione flipped to another page.
"Basically, Slytherin has a lot of rich families, right? Especially old pure-blood families. They run all kinds of family businesses and have become conglomerates. So when Muggle-borns try to bring Muggle-style social systems into the wizarding world, their interests clash."
Hermione pulled out another book and started flipping through the pages at an incredible speed.
"Just as I thought… the Parkinsons too."
"Oh, right. Their family runs a big tutoring school, doesn't it?"
Ron's unexpected answer surprised me.
"A tutoring school?"
"Yeah. 'Parkinson Private Academy.' Kids from wealthy families usually get private tutors there before they enter Hogwarts."
"There aren't any elementary schools in the wizarding world?"
"What are you talking about?"
Apparently, there's no formal primary education in the wizarding world before Hogwarts. Parents either teach their children themselves or hire tutors or send them to academies.
"According to this book, there was a movement a few years ago to establish primary education, but it was crushed by fierce opposition from the Parkinson family."
There were plenty of other dark stories too. Millicent Bulstrode's family owns a major construction firm called Bulstrode Construction and resisted antitrust laws to the very end. The Nott Works, which exploited werewolves and half-giants as cheap labor, is currently being sued by Muggle-born civic groups over human rights violations. One grim tale followed another.
(The more I hear, the more it feels like the wizarding world being so outdated is the fault of pure-blood families…)
Hermione seemed to think the same, but from Ron's perspective, who isn't very familiar with the Muggle world, it was the opposite.
"Honestly, the Muggle world sounds cramped, like everything's regulated."
"I'm not saying I agree with Malfoy and the others, but if we were Muggles, my family wouldn't even have money left to buy food after paying all those whatever-insurance premiums."
"There is welfare and stuff, at least…"
"But isn't that doing things twice over? Sounds like it'd be hard to live unless you're good at memorizing tons of detailed rules."
"So complicated," Ron muttered. On the other hand, the wizarding world might be too vague and loose. But considering that witches and wizards can solve most things with magic, while Muggles can't, it makes sense that there'd be a difference in perspective.
"That's probably why."
Hermione closed her book and spoke.
"If the number of Muggle-borns increases, Muggle ways of thinking and values will naturally spread. As wizarding customs are gradually replaced by Muggle ones, some people won't be able to handle the change. Especially for 'pure-bloods' who aren't familiar with Muggle society, it'll become a very uncomfortable world to live in."
"And that's not all," Hermione added, crossing her arms with a serious expression.
"I don't fully agree with what Malfoy says, but pure-blood families have pride in the idea that 'we've supported the wizarding world all this time.' So to Malfoy and the others, being favored is only natural, and being treated as equals feels the same as being looked down on."
That reminded me of something. I suddenly recalled Uncle Vernon once complaining about new management at his company.
"I told you, Petunia! Did you hear about the new executive they decided on at the last shareholders' meeting? Some young upstart in his forties, and an American on top of that! I've supported Grunnings all these years, and they pay him the same salary as me! And now he's talking about IT systems and digitization and all sorts of nonsense. After we finally installed fax machines in every department, too. What a pain!"
Grunnings probably wasn't doing anything wrong. Still, if someone asked whether Uncle Vernon's anger was completely nonsense, I couldn't say I was confident enough to dismiss it entirely.
"Well, even so."
Sensing the mood growing heavy, Ron deliberately put on a cheerful tone.
"Pure-blood supremacy and all that aside, Malfoy's still a jerk. Right?"
For a moment, Hermione and I just stared blankly. Then we looked at each other, still caught off guard, and burst out laughing.
"True. That attitude is inexcusable, regardless of the content."
"Anyone who hexes Neville with a Leg-Locker for fun doesn't get to act all high and mighty."
We understood that pure-blood families might have their reasons for disliking Muggle-borns, but even if Hermione were a pure-blood witch, would Malfoy really change his attitude? Probably not.
He'd just come up with some other insult like "know-it-all." In fact, even with pure-bloods like Ron and Neville, he freely throws around insults like "poor" and "dead weight."
Seeing our expressions lighten, Ron grinned.
"For now, we still don't know who the 'Heir' is, but I'll write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the floor of the Malfoy family's drawing room."
(End of chapter)
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