He Almost Believed It

Redstone was soft in texture, and the sound of filing it down was not all that grating. With the door shut, it could barely pass as white noise for sleeping at night.

And so it went on until the latter half of the night, when Kayson woke up thirsty. Still groggy, he picked up a glass of water and drained it in one gulp, then thought it over and stepped out of the bedroom anyway.

Draco was kneeling in the corner of the office, a file in his hand, slumped against the wall and already asleep.

Seeing this, Kayson returned to the bedroom, took out a blanket, and carefully draped it over Draco. However, he still had no intention of preparing a bed for him or letting him return to his dormitory.

Everyone should pay some price for what they did. Draco did not understand how deeply a vicious remark could hurt someone, so as his professor, Kayson kindly helped him understand just how heavy the price of his actions was.

And so, the next day...

Draco felt sunlight shining on his face and opened his eyes in confusion.

He held deep respect for the nightmare from the previous night. There had been no blood, no darkness, no jump scares. Yet a huge piece of Redstone and a file alone had been enough to fill him with profound terror.

But fortunately, the dream was over.

He instinctively tried to stretch, only to feel his body stiffen. Looking down... the Redstone... after half a night's filing, only two-thirds remained.

That small file was still in his hand.

"..."

He stood up, and the blanket draped over him slipped to the floor. On the verge of breaking down, he kicked the Redstone in front of him.

Unfortunately, while Redstone was soft compared to ordinary stone...

It was not soft compared to Draco's foot...

"Aah!!!!"

He instinctively staggered backward. One foot happened to step on the blanket, while the other got tangled in it. The forces pulled in opposite directions, and he fell stiffly backward.

The back of his head hit the floor hard, though fortunately, there was a thick wool carpet beneath him.

The string of misfortunes, coupled with the grievance of filing Redstone all night, finally piled up until Draco broke down and cried.

Kayson, holding a stack of Stamina Potions, stopped outside the office door and pressed his ear against it to listen.

Only after the noise inside had died down somewhat did he push the door open and walk in.

"Drink this Stamina Potion, or you'll probably catch a cold after spending the night here." Kayson placed the potion on the coffee table, along with a sandwich and a bottle of pumpkin juice.

"Oh, and breakfast."

After filing Redstone all night, Draco was already starving. He picked up the sandwich and took a bite, but when he tried to swallow, pain shot through his throat.

He had already caught a cold.

"Judging by your progress... it'll take about another twenty-one days before you're free of detention." Kayson examined the worn-down Redstone, rubbed his chin, and sat on the sofa opposite Draco.

He looked at the fear and resentment in the young wizard's eyes, shrugged, and had no particular thoughts about it. Just like a prisoner hating a guard—it was only natural.

Still, an explanation was necessary.

"Do you regret it?"

"What?" Draco looked up as he endured the pain and ate.

"Do you regret insulting... Miss Granger with such a filthy word?"

Draco did not answer and merely lowered his head to keep eating.

"Do you know what Mudblood means...?"

Draco shook his head.

"Of course. Your father and mother might occasionally use a word like that, but they would never deliberately teach it to you. In any case, that word is filthy. It isn't just an ordinary slur aimed at Muggle-born wizards."

"You can take every word you can imagine—genitals, livestock, insults to one's character, humiliation, curses, and more—and pile them all together, and they still would not be as vicious as the true meaning of that word."

"I understand." Draco kept his head lowered as he answered dryly. Kayson had no idea whether he truly understood or not.

"Remember to drink that Stamina Potion after you finish eating. I prepared fourteen bottles for you, but at your current pace, I'll need to get another seven from Madam Pomfrey... which means you still have twenty days of this ahead of you."

Hearing Kayson's cold words, the tears Draco had barely held back burst forth again. The sweet sandwich turned salty in less than five seconds.

"I hope you remember this lesson, Mr. Malfoy. After you eat and take your potion, you may wash up here, or return to your dormitory to wash up before going back to class. After class this afternoon, finish the labor Professor McGonagall assigned you, then come back here and continue until you've filed down all seven Redstone blocks."

Draco listened tremblingly, then looked up with a wounded expression. "Can I take leave and stay here filing them the whole time?"

"If you do that, the other young wizards will learn far more spells than you. You wouldn't want to be utterly unable to fight back in your next wizard duel or brawl, would you?" Kayson did not refuse. He simply laid out the pros and cons.

"I'll come back after class."

"Of course. If you don't, I'll have no choice but to personally ask Snape for you."

After Draco left the office, Kayson waved his hand and gathered up all the Redstone powder scattered in the corner. It could be used directly as teaching material for fifth-years.

Soon, the first-years' morning classes were nearly over. Draco returned to the Alchemy office dejectedly, picked up the little file, and began filing again.

Kayson, meanwhile, continued to sit on the sofa as if he saw nothing, brewing himself a pot of green tea.

When afternoon classes began, Draco would leave dejectedly again. In just half a day, another third of the Redstone had been filed away.

Kayson was fairly satisfied with this. If Draco could maintain this pace, he might not need to get another stack of Stamina Potions from Madam Pomfrey.

Of course, the Redstone was secondary. He sincerely hoped that this young wizard who spoke without thinking would properly absorb this lesson.

After all, he was only eleven. The little brat had not yet become a fixed and permanent brat. There was still time.

And so, the naive Professor Kayson believed everything was developing in a positive direction.

Especially one day a week and a half later, when Draco had already filed down all but the final Redstone block.

If not for Gryffindor's four little lions showing up, he almost would have believed it.

Really.