" Draco, why are you so distracted?"
Lorne saw Draco staring blankly for the fifth time, the ink from his quill spreading across the parchment.
Draco seemed to wake from a dream, and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."
"So, what have you done this time?" Lorne had finished writing down the report about Lockhart and the necessary changes. All he needed to do now was close the loop on all the issues before reporting to Dumbledore.
"Uh..." Draco stammered. He couldn't very well say that it was because he had called Hermione Mudblood, and that Director Lorne might also be a Mudblood.
Lorne glanced at Draco: "Fine, I won't force you if you don't want to tell me."
"I... I insulted Hermione, and then Potter challenged me to a duel, but we were caught by Professor McGonagall before we even started."
Draco omitted the part about insulting Hermione, but Lorne immediately thought of that word.
Mudblood.
Many people consider themselves superior, and Lorne thinks this is a normal phenomenon. Humans like to categorize, just as he has always considered himself a person from the future, out of place in the current Wizarding World.
However, having a sense of superiority is not the same as belittling others. You can indulge in your own little circle, but you cannot disrespect or even belittle others.
" Draco, I know what you call Hermione, why don't you just say it?"
Lorne asked himself, "Because you respect me, you feel it's impolite to say that word to my face, then why don't you respect others the same way you respect me?"
"They're not like you," Draco explained. "You're exceptionally talented, and you're a teacher at Hogwarts."
"So you just respect the strong." Lorne hit the nail on the head.
Draco remained silent.
"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Lorne suddenly asked a strange question.
Draco paused for a second. "Chicken? No, egg?"
"What I mean is, nothing comes from nothing, not even wizards. The first person to discover magic had Muggle parents. Besides, how can Pure-blood control their bloodlines? Sacred Twenty-Eight intermarrying will only lead to their offspring becoming increasingly insane."
Lorne added, "Besides, not everyone in Pure-blood families is Pure-blood. I think Pure-blood is just a political concept. What do you think?"
Draco didn't answer, and Lorne didn't hear his reply either, because it was Harry who came to Lorne's place the next day to enforce solitary confinement.
Why do you want to stand up for your friend?
Harry exclaimed incredulously, "Isn't this what I should do? Hermione and Ron came to the Quidditch Pitch because of me. They were hurt, so I should be the first to step up."
Lorne praised, "You're absolutely right."
Harry was confused by Lorne's strange explanation, but he didn't care about that now. Even if Director Lorne said he shouldn't have done it, he would still stand up for him next time.
But something else was troubling him.
"But Master," Harry's face fell, "I don't know how to face Colin. He defends me and praises me, but his constant following and secretly taking pictures of me is bothering me and my friends. I've told him I don't like it, and he apologized, but he just won't change."
"Then it's not your problem," Lorne concluded. "Perhaps he misexpressed his feelings."
Because of Harry's feat of driving away Voldemort once again, there were indeed many people in the Wizarding World who admired Harry at this time, including children like Ginny and Colin. However, Colin was the only illegitimate child who took pictures everywhere with a camera.
So when Colin came to enforce the confinement on the third day, Lorne served two cups of bitter tea.
Colin kept working, his eyes fixed on the door, afraid that if he went back too late, he would miss the epic scene of Harry "returning to his dormitory alone with a haughty air."
"Wait a minute, Colin, have a cup of tea, it'll wake you up."
"Thank you, Director." Colin did not refuse. He picked up his glass and took a small sip, instantly wincing at the bitterness.
Lorne calmly took a sip. " Colin, you admire Harry a lot, don't you? Why is that?"
"Yes, because he is the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, the youngest Seeker in history, the returner of the Philosopher's Stone, the wise man who uncovered the You-Know-Who's conspiracy..."
"Stop, stop, stop, there's no room for so many people here," Lorne raised his hand to interrupt, "But Colin, liking someone doesn't give you the right to bother Harry. Perhaps you could ask Harry if he could cooperate with you for photos at a fixed time. Besides, no one can guarantee you won't photograph others."
"But," Colin hesitated, "I don't have any bad intentions. I admire him and want to promote him."
"Then why don't you drink this cup of tea?" Lorne took a big gulp this time. "I didn't mean any harm. I was just looking out for you and trying to keep you alert."
Colin glanced at the tea in front of him, pouted, and sighed, "Okay, I know what to do."
"You like taking photos, Harry doesn't, just like I like drinking tea, but you don't. We both have the right to express our preferences, but the premise is that both parties are happy, otherwise it becomes a one-sided disturbance, doesn't it?"
Lorne found himself enjoying using questions as the ending to his inspirational quotes, as if that would make his quotes irrefutable truths.
Lorne ended Colin's confinement early, not because Colin had a change of heart, nor because of any special treatment given to first-year students.
The tea was just too bitter.
Lorne was eager to wash his tongue with cold water. He sent Colin away with a few words and finally rummaged through his drawers to find the toffee that Dumbledore had once given him.
When Lorne returned to Lockhart's classroom at the start of the new week, he could clearly see Lockhart's nervousness.
Most of the students around were uninterested; they really didn't want to waste their precious time memorizing Lockhart's favorite color.
Instead of introducing his own achievements as usual, Lockhart, standing at the front of the stage, introduced Lorne with his palm facing upwards, "Let us welcome Director Lorne the Hogwarts General Affairs Office to offer his guidance."
Lorne said there was no need for that.
Lockhart was, after all, a graduate of Hogwarts, and even if he had never taught, he knew how others taught. He was also able to incorporate his own experiences from the book and have his students look them up, which was a small way of defending his claim that he used novels as teaching materials.
"To combat evil magic, we must first understand it. Let's open ' Voyages with Vampires,' turn to page 38, where I'll find a detailed description of my first encounter with the evil House-elf..."
The students, who had initially been uninterested in the lesson, mechanically followed Lockhart's instructions, but after a few minutes, they suddenly realized that it was helpful.
It was from last semester's final exam, but they couldn't answer the questions.
The students below the stage gradually became more and more excited. While Lockhart was explaining, he looked at Lorne from afar, as if waiting for his praise and instructions.
Lorne simply nodded at him.