Public Opinion, Judgment, and the White Dark Lord (I)

In the dungeon of the Slytherin Common Room, emerald-green flames burned quietly in the fireplace. Dark green drapes hung from the low ceiling, swaying gently in the breeze seeping through the cracks in the door, like some creature floating underwater.

Draco leaned against the sofa, holding a cup of black tea. Daphne sat beside him, her fingers tapping against her knee. Nott stood by the window, watching the night outside. Zabini flipped through an old magazine, but his eyes were not on the pages.

The reason everyone in the common room was in low spirits lay on the table: a sheet of parchment—an official notice from Acting Headmistress Professor McGonagall regarding the punishment for the Slytherin students' public class strike.

Draco picked up the parchment from the table and read it unhurriedly. After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice especially clear in the silent common room. "Let's see... hmm... To impress upon them the seriousness of the matter, Slytherin loses twenty points, and everyone must copy out their Transfiguration reflections ten times. Due next Monday."

Zabini reclined on the sofa, an old magazine in his hands. At those words, he raised his eyelids.

"That's it? A collective strike, talking back to a professor, blowing up the door—and only twenty points deducted plus lines?" His tone carried a mocking contempt. "Has Headmistress McGonagall been possessed by Peeves? I thought she was planning to give us a few rounds of detention."

"Headmistress McGonagall is only trying to maintain balance." Daphne sat opposite Draco, her long golden hair falling over her shoulders. Her fingers were interlaced on the table, and she looked as composed as if she were analyzing a spell problem. "She probably thinks Dumbledore went too far as well. She can't say it outright, but this notice is her