The Secret Between Malfoy and Me

"All... all right, we... we'll begin class now."

Quirrell picked up the textbook, casually flipped to the first chapter, and began reading in a stammer without caring whether the Little Wizards in class were listening.

This was Defense Against the Dark Arts Class? Come on, man, you were an undercover agent!

You were worse at teaching than even Professor Binns, a ghost. At least the History of Magic classroom didn't smell strangely of garlic.

With a class this watered down, weren't you afraid Dumbledore would fire you?

Well, judging from the movie's plot, Quirrell had at least taught through the entire term.

Andy suddenly found himself puzzled. Why had Dumbledore hired someone like this to teach at Hogwarts? Wasn't this leading students astray?

Could it have been solely to let Harry face Voldemort? On one hand, it could temper Harry's courage and abilities; on the other, it could test whether the protective magic on Harry still affected Voldemort.

But those were only Andy's guesses.

Or perhaps Dumbledore knew nothing about any of it.

But whether Dumbledore knew or not, and whatever plans he had, Andy decided to defend his own rights.

Andy tore a sheet from his notebook, picked up his quill, and wrote:

Hello, Mr. Malfoy.

No offense intended, but I happened to overhear what you said earlier. You want your father to file a complaint against Professor Quirrell.

I agree with that.

We came to Hogwarts to learn magic. Having a professor like Quirrell teach us is no different from wasting our precious time.

As a student, I will defend my right to learn to the death.

I know your father is a School Board Member at Hogwarts, but his influence alone will likely be insufficient to sway Headmaster Dumbledore's decision.

I think we should do something.

For example: we can unite the students of the Four Great Houses and submit a joint complaint. Then Old Malfoy can raise the matter at a school board meeting, recommending that Headmaster Dumbledore dismiss Quirrell and replace him with a more capable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor! Dumbledore may be Hogwarts Headmaster, but Hogwarts does not belong to him alone.

This school belongs to everyone in the Wizarding World, and even more so to us students.

We should make our voices heard.

—Andy Collins, Ravenclaw.

After writing the note, Andy took out his wand and cast a spell on it.

Spell setting: burn after reading! This was a secret letter that could not be seen by others.

It would be fine if Dumbledore found out, but if Voldemort learned of it, he might come looking for trouble with Andy after his resurrection.

Andy had not watched the plot of "Harry Potter" beyond Second Year, nor did he know exactly when Voldemort would return.

If he had the ability, Andy naturally would not mind going solo against Voldemort—at the very least, that would earn him enormous prestige and help him become Minister of Magic someday.

But if he lacked the ability... then naturally, he had to lie low. If he couldn't lie low in Britain, then he would go abroad and lie low there.

So, it was better to leave the task of offending Voldemort to Malfoy. His family was not only pure-blooded, but also very wealthy.

They should be able to withstand Voldemort's retaliation... right?

Putting away his wand, Andy folded the note into a paper crane. With a gentle lift of his hand, the paper crane flapped its wings and flew toward Malfoy.

Malfoy was somewhat surprised when he received the paper crane. He glanced at Andy, and Andy returned the look.

The two gazed at each other across the room.

Malfoy unfolded the paper crane in confusion.

At first, he did not think much of it, but he was soon deeply drawn in by its contents. The more he read, the more his blood surged with excitement. He was so thrilled he could barely contain himself, and his little face flushed bright red.

He was definitely doing this!

Just imagining himself gathering all the students to submit a joint complaint against Dumbledore, ultimately driving Professor Quirrell out of Hogwarts and dealing a massive blow to Dumbledore's reputation...

How utterly wonderful would that be?

From then on, he would gain immense prestige among the students, become a prefect, then Head Boy, dominate Hogwarts, graduate and become Minister of Magic, ruling the entire Wizarding World.

Voldemort? Dumbledore? No matter how impressive they were, had either of them ever been Minister of Magic?

"Whew—"

Malfoy took a deep breath and prepared to read the note again.

Every letter on it captivated him.

The writing on the note suddenly began to change. Some letters vanished, while others rearranged themselves, quickly forming new words.

"Burn after reading. Loose lips ruin great plans. Headmaster Dumbledore has immense influence and many eyes and ears. Be careful and proceed with caution."

"Uh..." Malfoy froze.

The note burst into flames without fire and quickly turned into a pile of ashes.

Malfoy was visibly excited. He swiftly tore off a sheet of paper, dipped his quill in ink, and prepared to write back to Andy.

As he wrote, he sighed inwardly. This Little Wizard named Andy Collins truly deserved to be in Ravenclaw.

Not only was he courageous and resourceful, but he was also so cautious and meticulous.

He was clearly someone meant for great things.

So this was why I hadn't been able to dominate First Year—I lacked an adviser like him! Malfoy felt that he already had Goyle and Crabbe, two great generals. If he could bring Collins under his command as well, then he would have both civil and military wings at his side.

Wouldn't that let him soar straight to the heavens? Minister of Magic? Dark Lord? President of the International Confederation of Wizards? Wouldn't he be able to become whatever he wanted? Malfoy quickly finished his reply. Using the same method, he folded the note into a paper crane and sent it flying to Andy's desk.

Quirrell had naturally seen all of it.

But he did not care in the slightest, nor could he be bothered to intervene.

He was engaged in the grand task of helping the Dark Lord return to life, stealing the Philosopher's Stone right under Dumbledore's nose.

Two Little Wizards passing notes in class?

Heh heh!

Andy unfolded the paper crane and read its contents.

That kid Malfoy was even more enthusiastic about this than Andy had expected. He could not wait to launch a joint complaint and take down Dumbledore.

Andy glanced at Malfoy. This kid had guts!

Malfoy nodded excitedly at Andy, leaving Andy rather baffled.

Andy continued reading the letter.

Although Malfoy wanted to rise up immediately, he also understood Dumbledore's strength and influence. Acting rashly would only lead to failure at the last moment.

He asked Andy in detail about the specific contents of the plan and swore repeatedly that he would follow Andy's plan exactly, without the slightest deviation.

At the end of the letter, he also requested a private meeting with Andy and asked Andy to call him Draco.

Like Andy's letter, this one also burned after reading.

As long as he had taken the bait.

Andy's lips curved slightly as he tore off another sheet of paper, preparing to write Malfoy another letter.

Hermione leaned over and asked curiously, "What are you and Malfoy being so mysterious about?"