There was a girl in Lucius Malfoy's year whom he felt drawn towards. Indeed, he liked her so much that he was seriously considering asking her out on a date. The problem being: how did you propose to a daughter of the noble and most ancient house of Black without making a complete fool of yourself? Between classes, in the corridors? Most certainly not. During a Quidditch game? Possible, but still not likely. The danger of rejection was too high to actually choose a location full of high-spirited teenagers and bad-tempered teachers. No, this had to be done with subtlety. - What was the very place avoided by students of all ages, now the term had gone into its second round (week, that is)?
On Monday afternoon, right after the day's final lesson (Defence Against the Dark Arts) Lucius sat in the Hogwarts library and waited for Andromeda Black and, unavoidably, her chatty friends to appear. With him was only Madame Pince, who seemed highly preoccupied with a whole new bunch of books she seemed to have received only this morning, and a couple of first-years. Gryffindors, he noticed without much enthusiasm, who seemed to be discussing one of their fellow students' disappearance.
'...only the second week,' he heard one of the girls say. 'He must have planned this.'
'Perhaps his aunt fell ill during the weekend?' a small, mousy-haired boy suggested. 'But I don't see why he'd have to go home for that.'
'Maybe he didn't go home at all,' whispered another girl. 'Maybe he has been murdered and they're keeping us in the dark.'
'Don't be stupid, Rebecca,' hissed one of the other boys. 'James Potter', Lucius recalled. 'He told me beforehand - that he would have to leave for the night, I mean. He wouldn't have known someone was going to kill him.'
'Still, it is strange,' said a third girl, whose head was covered with thick, dark red hair. 'Did he say when he'll be back?'
The conversation was then interrupted by the library doors opening and a whole bunch of students filing in. Lucius stared at them, surprised and most severely displeased.
'Why now?' he sighed, watching one after the other take their seats around the tables and behind the larger bookshelves near the restricted section. The library was crowded within seconds. His plans would have to wait. Lucius noticed Brad Bayd and Vitali Nemec, Seeker and Beater of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, enter and look for a place to sit down. Two annoyingly friendly and very reserved fourth-years whose presence he did not usually mind since neither of them had given him much reason to. Belonging to rather highly appreciated pureblood families, both boys greeted him with all due respect and seated themselves in earshot at his table.
'Evening, Malfoy.'
He gave them an acknowledging nod, still trying not to look too disappointed about the unexpected interruption. What were all these students doing in the library at this time of the year? What did all the first-years want? His gaze fell onto the chair to his right, where a small, black-haired boy was sitting down at this moment, returning his gaze with great caution, as if expecting to be shooed away.
'Severus. What are you doing here?'
'Homework,' said Severus with an air of surprise about him. 'This is the library, isn't it?'
'Exactly,' retorted Lucius. 'I have never in my life seen this many students near these bookshelves - safe for exam times, of course.'
Severus shrugged. 'The common room is deserted, so I thought I'd come here. I have been looking for you.'
'Why?'
'I was going to ask you if I could borrow your owl. The school ones keep trying to hack my fingers off.'
'Well, Zabina won't be much different. You are just too reluctant with them,' said Lucius shruggingly. 'Haven't you got an own owl, by the way? Your father could afford one.'
'He says I might get one if I behave and bring home acceptable grades. But I am not sure I want one. I'd much rather have a... a werewolf puppy.'
Lucius lowered his parchment and gave Severus a mystified look. 'What on earth do you want with a werewolf?'
'I've read all about them,' said Severus eagerly. 'I find them fascinating. Did you know there was a special breeding where the individuals turns into human beings only once - at new moon?'
'No, curiously,' said Lucius slowly, taking good care not to laugh at this particular moment, 'I have never heard of them. But in any case - I am rather sure you will not allowed to keep one as a pet. You can only have an owl, a cat, or a toad. Hang on - I think rats are allowed as well. And ravens. The typical wizarding animals, you know. But no magic beasts. No werewolves.' Severus looked disappointed.
Meanwhile, more and more students were entering the library. Lucius thought this had to be the most unusual start of term he had seen in years, but he did not say anything and continued reading his last assignment instead. It had earned him a profitable eighty-six percent. A respectable result, he thought, considering that most of the class had barely passed the fifty percent line.
'Hey, Brad!'
Lucius glanced over the edge of his parchment to see who had spoken and discovered that Vitali Nemec had got up and was looking through the open library doors into the corridor outside.
'I think Diddy and Dung have returned from their little adventure.'
'You sure?' said Brad disbelievingly. 'Weren't they going to stay until tonight?'
'Dunno,' shrugged Vitali. 'But look - here they come.'
And indeed, through the library doors stepped a pair of Gryffindors who were famous among students of all years for being the last remaining rebels of their age ('troublemakers,' as teachers liked to call it), Mundungus Fletcher and Dedalus Diggle. Very unlike their usual loud and noticeable behaviour, however, both boys were looking strangely subdued, and did not speak until they had reached the table where the other Gryffindors were assembled, seating themselves opposite Potter and his friends in what Lucius thought was a curiously cautious manner. Brad and Vitali, obviously feeling like they were being left out, strode over to the Gryffindor table to hear what Diggle and Fletcher had been up to earlier this morning.
'Well,' they said, impatiently tapping the rebels' shoulders. 'Tell us what happened to your little... uhm... trip.'
'Got caught,' muttered Fletcher, so that Lucius could only just hear him. His teeth were clenched and he looked angry. 'Got caught. It's... it's not funny.'
'And?' Vitali pressed on, sitting down next to Dedalus Diggle. 'Will you be serving detention again?'
'Naa,' said Fletcher darkly, as Diggle seemed in no fit state to speak. 'Caught out of bounds for the third time in two weeks gets you into the thrashing vault, mate.'
Several people backed away. The first-years, however, looked around in puzzlement.
'What is a thrashing vault?' asked James Potter curiously, bending his head forward in unrestrained excitement. 'I've never heard of it.'
'It's where they deliver the canings,' said Gilligan Shacklebolt, the Gryffindor teamcaptain, drily. 'But they rarely do it these days. Not to sixth formers, anyway.'
'Well, they certainly 'aven't stopped doing it to fourth-years,' hissed Fletcher, pulling out a quill and some parchment as he spoke. 'And you'd better not get yourselves caught, should you ever 'ave any serious rule-breaking in mind. I mean it - it's no fun.'
Lucius raised an eyebrow. Hearing that certain implements of correction were still in use these days seemed somewhat disquieting, though not surprising at all. And if applied on the backside of a Gryffindor, he thought, the cane might actually serve a worthwhile purpose. Everyone knew that Gryffindors regarded school rules to be beneath them.
With a side glance at Severus, who was gaping open-mouthed at the Gryffindor table, he decided to finish his lecture in the Slytherin commons. 'Come, Severus,' he said coolly, 'we're leaving.'
And he left the library in a few big steps, well aware that Severus had got up as well and was obediently following him through the corridors towards the staircase to the dungeons.
'Where are we going?' panted the scrawny first-year. 'Lucius! Wait for me.' Lucius did not stop until they had reached the Slytherin common room.
'Vos stultis,' he said to the bare castle wall and the entrance opened. 'I am not in the mood of hearing a couple of Gryffindor fools giving detailed descriptions of their heroism,' he explained shortly. 'That's all.'
'Are they really beating students?' Severus asked in an urgent voice. 'I didn't know that.'
'It used to be quite common,' replied Lucius thoughtfully, seating himself in front of the fireplace. 'Though I seem to think it's gone out of fashion over the years. But with insufferable ones like Dung and Diggle - I don't know, they seem to keep it as some sort of last resort. Before suspension, you see. Or expulsion.'
He grinned. Severus' expression was unfathomable.
'As if the cane would keep anyone from fooling around,' Lucius added after a short break. 'Take those two, for example. They're incorrigible. The thrashing vault used to scare the living hell out of people. But that was before Dumbledore's time. As I say - it's gone out of fashion. And you see - because they happen so rarely, no one's really worried about the thrashings these days.'
'I am,' whispered Severus.
'Yeah,' said Lucius loftily, 'but you're... sort of... you're afraid of everything, if you know what I mean.'
Severus did not seem to know what to say, so he remained silent and stared at the floor.
'Lucius,' he said after a long while when Lucius had long returned to his paper, 'what's it feel like? The cane, I mean. Is it bad?'
Lucius felt a shudder run through his body. He shrugged. 'I wouldn't know.'
'You've never been beaten?'
'No.'
There was a little pause in which Severus looked up at his elder friend with what seemed to be a suppressed grin. 'You sure?'
Lucius frowned and looked down at him. His first intention was to hit the younger Slytherin for being so meddlesome, but on second thought he found it fair enough that Severus was worried about the old punishments, especially after what he had heard in the library.
'Of course,' he said, bending down his head and motioning the smaller boy to move closer towards his lips. He considered for a moment and then said in barely more than a whisper, 'Believe me, Severus - you don't forget.'