The entire sixth year Potion's class stared at Professor Slughorn, dumbfounded. Gradually, their gazes shifted toward Draco, who was staring at his instructor with a mixture of fury and shock written on his face.
Hermione didn't know whether to faint or squeal with joy.
"So—what your saying is…is that the blood…" Hermione started, finding that she was so surprised her mouth could hardly form words.
"Was impure?" questioned Slughorn, smiling obliviously at Hermione's confirming head nod, "Yes."
Every Slytherin's jaw dropped.
Draco had been torn between his conflicting emotions, yet upon hearing Slughorn malign his name, anger took control. His jaw tightened as he narrowed his eyes into a withering glare. Slughorn noticed his pupil's reaction but did not understand why he seemed so furious.
"Mr. Malfoy, is something wrong?" he asked.
"Yes, very." Draco replied, his voice cold, "How dare you imply that my blood is anything less than pure. Unlike some people in this classroom, I was born to be a wizard."
Standing sharply, Draco reached out and forcefully pushed the cauldron. It's contents spilled onto the floor, and the cauldron toppled after, landing with a loud clank. Hermione flinched at the sound, watching as Draco hurriedly gathered his things and made his way toward the doorway.
He paused in the frame, tossing a glare over his shoulder. "I'll have your job for this, Slughorn."
After Draco had left, the class sat in silence for a long moment. Not a single student moved but merely stared ahead. Slughorn recovered first, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"I believe," he said, "that Mr. Malfoy misunderstood me. I was not calling his pedigree into question; on the contrary, I know he is of a long line of wizards. There is no doubt that his blood, in that sense, is pure."
Something about the way Professor Slughorn framed that statement caught Hermione's attention, and she could not overcome her curiosity. "There is another 'sense'?"
"The blood is pumped through the heart, correct?"
The students were silent, knowing the question was rhetorical.
"Well—and of course, I make no judgements, I am only telling you what I know through my studies—if the heart is impure, the blood tends to follow." A few Slytherins seemed offended by this, but Slughorn kept speaking before they could voice their opinions, "I was going to give a lecture about this potion after everyone had finished it—it was originally concocted as a healing potion, but it's creator discovered a better use for it as a way to discover one's enemies."
"How could you tell if someone was an enemy, just using the potion?" someone called out.
"Well, of course, it's not fool proof like, oh, Veritaserum. But if the potion turns gray, it is generally thought that the person who donated their blood is, well, immoral, wicked." Slughorn quickly added, "Which is not saying anything about Mr. Malfoy's character—many people don't believe that the color change truly proves anything."
After this was said, Professor Slughorn dismissed the class, knowing that there was no point in continuing. None of his students were paying attention any longer. This episode had distracted them thoroughly, and it would be impossible to get the whole class back on track. He bade his pupils goodbye, telling them on the way out the door that they could expect to make the potion again on Wednesday.
Hermione knew, as she left the classroom, that she should be as pleased as punch; Draco Malfoy, a boy who had tortured her over the fact that she was muggle born, had just been humiliated for being just as impure as herself.
The whole situation did not sit well with her, however. Draco Malfoy was a mean boy, a rude boy, a horrible boy. He was selfish and stuck-up and branded with misplaced loyalties. He was also a product of his environment; he had been specifically bred to be just what he was: an arrogant git.
But beyond that, she wasn't so sure. He had never had problems cutting her to the core with words, or lying, or cheating. But there were many people who lied and cheated (she knew somehow Harry was cheating in Potions, for example) whom she would never deem 'immoral to the point of impurity'. No matter how much she disliked the boy and his ideas, Hermione could not pinpoint a single instance where Malfoy had been so incredibly malicious that he deserved that label.
Which made her wonder what, exactly, he had done to become so impure.
A/N: Apparently, last chapter was good, since I got five more reviews than usual. It made me smile. :D Seriously, it should happen more often. Because when it does, I start updating quickly again! Everyone wins!
Thanks go to—kazfeist, Gwinna, ferman, chichirixxx, Harry's Lil Bitch, luvHaru7, crazy-emerald-blue, Querida Goddess, Rictumsempra, Ehlonna, Erytha, Tomo Potter
I've got three tests, three labs, and a paper this week. So it will probably be a few days until the next update. Sorry! I'll get it out as soon as I can.