Hi! This happening. I am totally doing this for real. (I'm sort of excited, if you can't tell.)

This universe I splash around in still isn't mine.

Harry had no idea what to say to Malfoy. Why had he decided to walk with him again? Ah, yes, he'd wanted to make sure Malfoy knew Harry wasn't going to abandon the Slytherins just because there'd been some bad memories brought up. Well, he'd done that, and now he was stuck with Malfoy with nothing to talk about.

Harry cast his mind about wildly, desperately hoping something would come up. He didn't want to talk about being held prisoner in a basement, or how many parents of students were in Azkaban, or the lingering hostility between their respective friend groups.

"So… why was Bill doing the permission-asking thing?" Oh yes. That was smooth. Well done, Harry.

Malfoy evidently agreed, and wasn't afraid to show it with a haughtily arched eyebrow that was somehow very different from Parkinson's earlier disdain. "I believe we already discussed why asking permission was necessary, unless you really were as inattentive as you looked, Potter?"

"Yeah, but… I thought Bill was a curse breaker. Legal documents don't really fall under that, do they?"

"They do."

Harry looked at Malfoy, incredulous. "Oh, come on. Isn't the whole point of being a curse breaker that you get to go have adventures and not have paperwork?"

Malfoy looked at him blankly, then sighed, seeming to resign himself to explaining. "Curse breakers are required to fill out all legal forms associated with their business, know all the local languages and dialects in the region where they specialize, be able to perform surgery on themselves, and negotiate trade deals. Oh, and they break curses sometimes, too."

"…Why would anyone ever decide to do that."

"Ask Weasley," Malfoy smirked.

"Which one?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes and muttered something but didn't seem inclined to continue the banter. At least, Harry hoped it was just banter.

"Hey, Malfoy?"

"What."

"Are there other schools to go to after Hogwarts?"

Harry received a strange look with his answer. "Yes, but they're really just for people who didn't understand what was being taught. They don't teach anything new." Malfoy paused. "You really have no idea what happens after graduation?"

"None at all," Harry answered honestly. He realized that his goal had always been killing Voldemort, and he'd never really thought of what would come after that. "I was kind of, you know, busy with other stuff… So, what, we're expected to get jobs at the end of the year?"

Malfoy snorted. "I wouldn't say "expected to", since you already, ah, did that "other stuff", and I can afford not to… but yes, students are expected to be ready to go into whatever field of work they chose fifth year."

"Fifth year?" Harry echoed. "But that was just a brief meeting! I don't know anyone who has their career planned out!" Not even Hermione, Harry wanted to say, but bringing her up didn't feel like a good idea at the moment. "Are you seriously not going to get a job, ever?" And that probably wasn't a good idea either, but Harry wasn't exactly known for thinking things through.

"Oh, I will," Malfoy said grimly. "The Ministry's been making comments about how none of the Purebloods have earned their gold. The way things are going, they'll be demanding a monetary compensation for what we did in the war any month now, and if they don't, I won't exactly be helping my public image."

"Huh," Harry managed. This was definitely not a safe topic, but he had a terrible feeling that it was necessary. "What are you going to do, then?"

"No idea."

Harry glanced at him sharply, then looked away. "What were you going to do in fifth year, then?"

"Something in the Ministry," replied Malfoy.

The short answer annoyed Harry, for some reason. Although Malfoy was always ready with an answer, he didn't seem to be putting much effort into maintaining the conversation, making Harry ask all the questions. "And you're not doing that now because…"

"Because the Ministry is sure that all Purebloods are evil and manipulating the system."

Okay, so maybe Harry could excuse some of Malfoy's shortness. He knew he probably shouldn't push the issue, but Harry had never held back from pushing Malfoy past his limits before, and he still felt this was something he needed to know. "Are they?"

"Probably."

Harry refused to respond. It helped that he had no idea what to say to that, but he wanted elaboration.

Malfoy looked a little irritated, which gratified and mollified Harry at the same time. "Families that have a history in the Ministry- like mine- make sure that the heirs get a proper education in politics, and get introduced to the right people. Other families- don't. So since they don't learn anything outside of Hogwarts- or Durmstrang or Beauxbatons or Ilvermorny or-"

"Where?"

Malfoy waved him off. "The point is, the old families have been trained in politics and the rest haven't. They think we know something they don't, which we do, so they don't trust us.

"A lot of positions became empty after the war- and all the trials- and people realized that all of the Death Eaters in the Ministry had been Purebloods from the old families. So. They're pressuring everyone from old families in the Ministry now, even if they had nothing to do with the war. So it would be very difficult for me to get in now, even without…"

He trailed off. Harry tried not to meet his eyes, but Malfoy was looking down anyway. He might not have been looking at his arm, but Harry could see the street and it wasn't that interesting.

"Shouldn't… shouldn't the people in the Ministry be able to tell if they're being tricked?" Harry knew that the discrimination stuff was important, and appreciated that Malfoy was talking to him instead of hexing him, but thought that maybe, for once in his life, he'd be safer stepping back a little.

"There are plenty of people in power who got the job because of connections, not skill… and no one's kicking them out, because their families aren't old enough to have records of ancient magics, so they can't be Dark."

Harry very much wanted to ask if Malfoy's family, and Malfoy himself, were Dark, but deferred to his newfound sense of self-preservation. "You keep mentioning old families. What's the difference between them and Purebloods in general?"

"The old families… well, there's no official definition, but they tend to be families who can trace their heritage back to before Hogwarts was founded. At least. Before Hogwarts, there wasn't any standardized education, so teaching was left up to the family. And since there weren't textbooks, every family's style of magic was a little different. The families that have records of how they used to cast spells, and who use their family's style, are known as the old families, informally."

Harry noted Malfoy's raised eyebrows. Although he hadn't sounded patronizing, Harry was sure that Malfoy was not impressed by Harry's lack of knowledge. "So why have I never heard of this before?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Ask whoever brought you up."

"That would be my aunt."

A pause. "Your… Muggle aunt?"

"I can understand why she wouldn't mention anything, even if she knew it, but why have I never heard anything at Hogwarts?"

"Because the majority of people aren't from old families, so they know nothing about the ancient magics, and assume that since it's Dark, it's not worth learning or even talking about."

"…You never said it was Dark magic."

"Potter, all ancient magics were Dark magic. Dark magic is simply magic fueled by intent rather than precise instructions. The Ministry… has defined Dark magic rather differently, but it has nothing to do with morality."

Harry was quiet for a while, and Malfoy seemed content to let the silence stretch. Light and Dark magic had always been so important to distinguish between, but Harry couldn't remember ever learning a proper definition for the difference. He probably shouldn't be taking Malfoy at his word for all of this, but it was inescapable that Harry's instruction in magic had had some major holes in it.

If Harry's education wasn't complete, he was sure that his wasn't the only. Most Muggleborns would probably be just as clueless as him, if the Pureblood families were doing so much of their education at home, before Hogwarts. And if it was really just the old Pureblood families, that meant that plenty of Purebloods, and probably most Halfbloods, also knew nothing. It just didn't work to let some wizards study magic and the magical world their whole lives, and others for just a few years before they were all expected to get a job.

"It's not fair," Harry said quietly. He hadn't meant to say it, and waited for Malfoy to mock him, but it didn't come.

"No," Malfoy agreed, just as quietly. "But it might be fairer this year."

Harry had to ponder that. He doubted that Malfoy meant everyone would be getting the extra education outside of Hogwarts Harry had been contemplating. But this year, those with the additional training for the Ministry, at least, probably wouldn't be getting the jobs they'd readied themselves for, which would level the playing field for those who hadn't been taught by their families.

It may be fairer for the majority of wizards, but it wouldn't be for all of them.

Chapter word count: 1565

Total word count: 23624

I am just so excited I'm finally writing again? It's incredible? Thanks for sharing this awesomeness with me by reading. Also, my writing style may be a bit different... tell me in a review? Tell me anything in a review, and I'll be grateful, really...