Lucius Was Angry Again

"What you said just now was truly unpleasant. In case your hearing is bad, I'll ask again.

Is the reason you reject Muggle-born wizards so much because you're afraid? Afraid they might be better than you?" Harry said, enunciating every word.

"Do you know who I am?" the boy asked with a frown.

Harry felt that the person before him was becoming more and more like Dudley, so arrogantly full of himself.

"I don't know, and I don't care!"

Harry inwardly clenched his fist in triumph. He had long wanted to use that line Uncle Mu En always said. At last, he had the chance!!

"My name is Draco Malfoy." The boy held his head high, then slowly turned around and looked Harry and Hermione properly in the eye for the first time.

"If you had even a bit of common sense, you should...?!"

"What were you trying to say?" Harry shot back.

There was indescribable astonishment in Malfoy's voice. "Harry Potter?!"

"It's been fitted, dear." Madam Malkin patted Draco, snapping him back to himself.

Draco jumped down from the stool, put on a black robe again, straightened his collar, and looked at Harry. "If I were you, Potter, I'd be very careful." He drawled, "You ought to be more polite, or you'll end up on the same path as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either."

"Hey, you can't say that!" Hermione rebuked him.

"Hermione, it's fine," Harry reassured her, then raised a hand. "Sorry, Madam, could you stop for a moment?"

"Children, don't quarrel. You'll be classmates in the future..." Madam Malkin could only try to smooth things over.

On one side was the famous Harry Potter; on the other was the young son of the equally influential Malfoy family.

And she was merely an ordinary businesswoman...

Harry jumped down from the stool. His head felt hot, but he was no longer as reckless as he had been a year ago. He kept his emotions under control.

"I'd really like to ask what exactly this 'path' you mentioned is," Harry said.

Driven back step by step by Harry's approach, Draco suddenly felt a pressure when facing him.

Mu En glanced into the robe shop, then casually looked away again and replied to Chris, "That's right. I think David Bowie is still very avant-garde even now."

"Exactly. His style is distinctive and timeless," Chris said with a nod.

Hagrid held two ice creams. He could not understand what the two were talking about, so he paid more attention to the shop. "Oh, it sounds like things aren't very pleasant in there. I'll go take a look."

As he spoke, Hagrid shoved the ice creams into Chris's hands, bent down, and walked straight inside.

Well, there went the show. Mu En felt a little disappointed.

Before long, Hagrid came out carrying two people, one in each hand, and said irritably, "These two nearly started fighting in someone else's shop!"

"Let go of me, you giant idiot!" Draco struggled, but he could not resist Hagrid at all.

Hagrid had not intended to do anything to him. He only wanted to separate the two children, so he helplessly set them down.

"Draco!" A somewhat anxious woman's voice called out.

"My father and mother are here. You're all in for it now!" Draco shouted smugly as he ran toward the voice.

Mu En looked at Harry with interest. "What happened?"

After Harry finished explaining, Hagrid immediately became indignant. "How could he say something like that! No, he has to apologize."

"They're coming over," Mu En said with a smile.

Hagrid looked over, then said sourly, "Hah, Lucius Malfoy. They're no good. If that's the case, it's no surprise that little brat said something like that."

What Hagrid did not expect was for Lucius to walk over, look at Mu En, and give a slight nod. "I'm terribly sorry. My son said some excessive things."

Lucius was not foolish enough to fail to recognize that face.

Since their unpleasant first meeting a year ago, he had asked Borgin about Mu En's identity many times. Though he had never obtained any useful information, Lucius was certain that the man before him was not someone easy to deal with.

"An apology is enough," Mu En said with a smile.

Lucius cast a slight sidelong glance at Draco standing beside him.

Draco was like a completely different person from before. Though he still looked unconvinced, he had no choice but to step forward two paces, lower his head, and say, "Sorry, Potter. I shouldn't have said that."

"Is that acceptable?" Mu En asked Harry.

Harry was somewhat at a loss. He looked at Lucius, then at Mu En, before nodding. "It's fine, Uncle Mu En."

Seeing this, Lucius stepped forward as well. "Mu En, I wanted to ask whether you knew where Borgin—"

"Mu En?!"

Lucius was ruthlessly cut off. Mu En took two steps forward until he stood before him, his expression strange.

"How odd... Lucius, don't you know how you ought to address me?!"

Though Mu En was not one to hold grudges, he had not forgotten how this man had shouted things like "the idiot causing trouble in Knockturn Alley..." in Borgin's shop a year ago.

At the same time, Draco felt as though his mind had suddenly disconnected upon hearing those words.

Even his breathing became uneven.

Never! Never had anyone dared to speak to his father in that tone.

Not even the high-ranking Ministry of Magic officials who visited their home, or members of the other Sacred Twenty-Eight families, had ever spoken to his father that way.

Draco raised his head slightly, only to see an angry flush creeping up his father's neck. Veins had even begun to bulge on his forehead.

"Sir, I believe the Malfoy family still has some standing in Britain!" Lucius said through gritted teeth.

"Standing?!" Mu En said apologetically, "All these years, I have only ever given face to one kind of person."

As he spoke, Mu En raised a hand slightly and smiled at Lucius. His five fingers slowly curled into a fist as he said softly, "The kind that earns it through a fight."

Lucius's breath caught, and he stared fixedly at Mu En.

Draco also noticed the knuckles gripping Lucius's cane had gone white.

They were even trembling slightly from his extreme fury.

"Alright... Captain!!"

A smile immediately blossomed across Mu En's face. He shook Lucius's hand and said, "That's more like it, Mr. Malfoy. What were you going to ask about Borgin?"

"Nothing!" Lucius quickly pulled his hand back and said coldly.

He had actually wanted to ask where Borgin had gone. Since Christmas, the man had vanished as though from the face of the earth. No one knew where he had gone.

Without that channel for dealing with Dark Magic items, his family had recently run into a great many flies...

But now, he had no interest in finding out.

With that thought, Lucius turned sharply. "Let's go!!"

Watching Lucius's retreating figure, Mu En smiled, then said, "Harry, it seems you already have an opponent waiting for you at school."

Harry shook his head. "I would never consider someone who constantly brings up his family and background to gain a sense of superiority an opponent."