Mudblood

The moment Madam Hooch disappeared from sight, Malfoy broke into a smug laugh. "Look at that idiot. I'm embarrassed for his parents. What a complete moron!"

The other Slytherins joined in with loud laughter.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" said Parvati Patil, a Gryffindor girl. She was Indian, and it was said that she and her twin sister had both come all the way from South Asia.

Patil immediately flushed crimson with anger, unable to say a word.

The Slytherin first-years burst into laughter again. Slytherins shared a common trait: they were practical. Put less kindly, they were snobbish, bullying the weak while fearing the strong. So after only a few days, Malfoy had naturally become the leader among the Snake House first-years. Perhaps his magical talent was not the most outstanding, but his family was wealthy, powerful, and influential. Mention the Malfoy family, and almost everyone in England's wizarding world knew the name.

Ron glanced at Harry. Their eyes met, and both nodded angrily. Then they looked at Li Mu, unsure whether he would join their side. But they thought that if... if Malfoy's two hulking lackeys made a move, Li Mu would never let the Slytherins use their numbers to bully his friends.

Just as they stepped forward, preparing to quietly "surround" Malfoy, Hermione moved in front of Harry and blocked them.

"What are you doing? You can't..." Hermione cried shrilly, her face full of worry and agitation. As a result, several Slytherins turned their attention toward Harry and the others. The "Savior" Harry was already watched closely in everything he did... Their actions had been exposed, and their sneak attack was ruined in an instant.

Harry and Ron saw Hermione's righteous expression and hesitated, stopping in their tracks. But what Malfoy did next completely ignited their anger.

"Look!" Malfoy proudly picked up a round ball from the grass. "Isn't this the thing that idiot's grandmother gave him?"

"Put down the Memory Orb!" Harry shouted, charging forward in a single stride.

But Malfoy clutched the Memory Orb, mounted his broom, and kicked off into the air. "Heh heh, I think I should hide it somewhere and let that idiot search for it properly. How about putting it in a tree?"

To be fair, although his flying posture was still somewhat off, his skill in the air was quite impressive. Before long, he had risen to the height of the treetops.

"Give me the Memory Orb!" Harry roared as he mounted his broom.

"Oh! You can't!" Hermione screamed. "You can't... Madam Hooch will expel you!"

Her voice had no effect whatsoever. Harry's face darkened, and with a swoosh, he shot into the sky like lightning.

Ron mounted his broom as well, but the moment he floated up a little, it tilted to the left and began slanting downward. Ron had no choice but to jump off, still cursing under his breath. "This damned broom!"

He wanted nothing more than to smash the broom to pieces—though the truth was that his inability to fly had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Shut up, Mudblood! Since our Savior wants to get himself killed, let him." Malfoy sneered from the air. His goal was to provoke Harry into charging at him, preferably getting Harry Potter severely punished for breaking school rules. Then, at the most critical moment for the poor Savior, he would offer a helping hand. After all, his father was one of this school's most important governors.

Then the famous Harry Potter would understand whom he should choose as a friend—ever since Harry had rejected his friendship to his face, Malfoy had been waiting for this moment.

Yet aside from the Harry he had planned for, Malfoy also received an unexpected visitor.

Another swoosh sounded, followed by astonished cries of "Wow!" from the direction of Hufflepuff. It was Li Mu. He suddenly returned to his place, mounted his flying broom, and rose into the sky.

Li Mu had been watching the situation unfold with a frown since earlier. He was not worried about Harry. He knew Harry Potter's talent for flying better than anyone present, and he also knew better than anyone how much Professor McGonagall favored him. Since Neville had already been hurt, Li Mu could have stood by and done nothing—at first, that had been his plan. In his eyes, Harry and Malfoy's feud was nothing more than childish horseplay. But then Malfoy said those words. He was only a first-year, yet he had called Hermione a "Mudblood."

Hermione herself did not understand the meaning of the word, but in that instant, she saw the expressions of most of the students around her change. Especially those born into the wizarding world: they looked at her with unease, even pity. Hermione's expression gradually turned cold as well. She was a clever girl, and she immediately understood that it was not a good word.

But Li Mu understood exactly what that word meant. Pure-blood believers called someone of Muggle blood a "Mudblood," just as certain races had once called Chinese people "Chinks." The moment that word left Malfoy's mouth, this was no longer merely childish horseplay, nor was it simply a matter of the Malfoy family's upbringing. Just hearing that word made anger rise within Li Mu.

No matter how many people liked Malfoy, or even affectionately called him De Dian, and no matter how many good qualities Malfoy possessed, nothing could change the fact that he was a racist. Li Mu felt it was necessary to help Malfoy break free from his family's influence while he was still young, and set his outlook on life, the world, and values straight.

In midair, Li Mu and Harry had already trapped Malfoy between them, one in front and one behind. They heard many girls screaming below, while Ron shouted in praise, "Wow! You did... that was incredible!"

When Malfoy saw the two catch up so quickly, he actually stared blankly for a moment before being struck with alarm. In his panic, fear showed on his face. Hadn't one of them never flown before, while the other could only ride a sword? Why did they now look like seasoned fliers?

"There's no Goyle or Crabbe here to protect you," Harry sneered.

Malfoy realized that too. And with Li Mu here, he felt that Crabbe and Goyle would not be much help anyway. His eyes darted around, and suddenly he hurled the Memory Orb far into the distance. "Want it?... Go pick it up yourselves!"

Then Malfoy immediately descended toward the ground. Unfortunately for him, Li Mu did not care about the Memory Orb at all. Harry swooshed after the ball, while Li Mu accelerated and rammed straight into Malfoy.

With a loud bang, Malfoy was struck and sent rolling through the air once amid everyone's cries of alarm before landing awkwardly, baring his teeth in pain. Fortunately, Li Mu only wanted to teach him a lesson and had not intended to hurt him badly, so Malfoy suffered only minor injuries.

Even those minor injuries made the pampered Malfoy's brows twist together in pain.

(End of chapter)