2 Chapter 2: Pansy Parkinson
The next morning, Draco continued his studies in his study as usual.
After three knocks on the door, the old housekeeper's voice could be heard, "Young master, the Parkinson family has arrived, and the master wants you to go and greet them."
"Okay, I'll go right away," Draco replied.
Draco slowly closed his book and made his way to the living room.
As he looked ahead, he saw two figures, one tall and one short. These must be the members of the Parkinson family who were visiting today.
"Hector, it's been a long time since we last saw each other. You haven't changed at all," Lucius said with a rare smile on his face, although it was difficult to tell how sincere it was.
"Yes, it's been a long time, Lucius," Hector replied with a symbolic courteous gesture.
"Come here, Little Draco," Lucius called out to Malfoy. "I want you to meet your Uncle Hector. He's one of my closest friends from back in the day, and he still is now."
"Hello, Uncle Hector," Draco said politely, but then became quiet.
"I heard you're a bit of a dunce," a voice suddenly spoke up.
It was Pansy Parkinson, who was known for being rude.
Draco thought to himself that Pansy was predictably mean. He couldn't help but look at her as he thought this.
Pansy had chestnut hair that fell in her ears, with slightly messy bangs covering most of her forehead.
She was wearing a gothic black pleated dress and had a proud demeanor, which made her seem like a princess.
In the Parkinson family, Pansy was very popular and it was not an exaggeration to call her a little princess. However, her harsh words ruined her noble temperament.
"Pansy! Is this the etiquette I taught you in the past?" Hector's face changed and he scolded Pansy.
"Apologize to Uncle Lucius and Master Malfoy."
Pansy just huffed and didn't say anything in response.
"Don't be angry, Hector. The child isn't insensible. Draco, go take Pansy around the manor. Your uncle and I have some things to discuss," Lucius said, seemingly not having heard the insulting words spoken by Pansy.
"Okay, Father," Draco nodded slightly.
"Pansy, go shopping with Draco and remember to apologize," Hector commanded.
"I don't want to follow a Squib," Pansy whispered to herself.
"Pansy!" Hector's tone became even heavier.
"This beautiful lady, please," Draco leaned back slightly and performed a gentlemanly bow.
"I think our fathers still have some things to discuss. We don't want to disturb them right now."
"He's a true little gentleman, with impeccable etiquette," Hector couldn't help but say. "Lucius, your education has been a success. Pansy in our family, on the other hand, has been spoiled since she was young. She dares to say whatever she wants."
Lucius chuckled and said, "Children's words are uncensored. It's good for them to be lively. Just let them get along for a while."
He then turned to Draco and said, "I'm sure you two will get along well. Entertain Pansy while your uncle hector and I go upstairs. We'll be disappearing in a few days."
With that, he and Hector went upstairs and disappeared at the end of the stairs.
The scene was silent for a while after Lucius and Hector left. It was as if the sound had been turned off. But the silence was finally broken by Malfoy.
"I think even if you're not used to me, standing here must be more boring than just being with me. There might be something in this manor that interests you. Why don't you come with me and see?" As an adult, Draco couldn't be bothered with a little girl, so he broke the awkward silence with these words.
Pansy seemed bored standing there and reluctantly nodded.
"Fine, I'll show you mercy and let you be my guide," she said, with a trace of anticipation under her helpless expression.
After all, the Malfoy family was also one of the ancient wizarding families.
Something interesting might really happen in their mysterious manor.
"It's an honor," Draco replied.
"This little girl is really hard to please," Draco, who had been single in his previous life, couldn't help but think to himself.
The two walked slowly through the corridors, with the expensive lamps in the aisle radiating a gentle light and illuminating the lines formed on the gray and black walls from years of erosion.
Every time they walked, they could see a long-lost celebrity painting or a portrait of the Malfoy ancestors hanging on the walls.
Because the internal structure of Malfoy Manor is very complicated, with many twists and turns in the layout of the various cloisters and many forks, people who are not very familiar with it can easily get lost.
So Draco emphasized to Pansy, "Remember to follow me and don't get lost."
"You've already said that sentence three times. Don't worry, little Squib," Pansy said impatiently.
"You said you were going to take me to see something interesting. Where is it? Don't tell me it's just these broken paintings in the corridor." The surrounding corridors had made Pansy impatient and she complained to Draco.
"The authors of these paintings and the ancestors of the Malfoy family would cry if they heard you," Draco couldn't help thinking to himself.
"She's such a rude girl. How should I deal with her?" Draco thought as he walked.
"This room is very special," suddenly came a voice from behind.
Hearing these words, Draco turned his head suddenly and looked through the faint light.
He saw Pansy standing in front of a stone door with some strange symbols carved on it, emanating an eerie aura.
"This room is not right," Draco thought as he immediately remembered a book he had read that introduced black magic.
There were many symbols on it that were ancient magic spells.
"Pansy, don't go in!" Draco shouted out to Pansy, but it was too late. Pansy, full of curiosity, pushed open the door and walked in.
It was strange that the seemingly heavy stone door was easily opened by an eight-year-old girl.
Then something even more abnormal happened. The stone door gradually began to close itself, but Pansy, who was looking at the room inside the stone gate, did not notice.
"Alas," Draco shook his head and then rushed into the door before it closed.The tone door closed heavily with a crunch.
Previously, the room had some light from the lamps outside the door, but now it was gone.
Pansy, who had been carefully observing the secret room, couldn't help but recover from her surprise.
"Fortunately, it's not a forbidden place," Draco said after rushing into the door. He glanced around the room with a faint light and saw some magic materials and broken wands.
With his rich knowledge, he immediately judged that this was a place for studying magic.
"This kind of safety protection measures, even two people can come in. Father, do you dare to study Dark magic? Are you not afraid of the sudden attack of the Ministry of Magic?"
Based on the clues at the scene, the knowledge in his mind, and his understanding of Lucius, Malfoy quickly concluded that this secret room was Lucius' usual laboratory for studying black magic.
Draco was shocked by this discovery. But now was not the time to worry about it. The key was how to get out.
"I don't know if this lady is scared," Draco thought, beginning to feel a headache.
It would be fine to stay in this dark room without a oil lamp, but with Pansy here, it's a different story.
Although he hadn't started studying any deep black magic yet, he could still use a fluorescent flash to light up the room.
And with the time he had spent reading some of the books in this secret room, he had no problem staying a day. But now it was different.
Pansy seemed to finally recover and although it was too dark to see her expression, if there had been light, Draco would have been able to see that her slightly trembling body betrayed her fear.
Pansy tried to sound calm as she said, "This is where your family lives. There isn't even a single lamp. Don't the Malfoys have a reputation for being rich? Can't you even afford a lamp? There's no such place in my family, Mister Squib."
Despite her fear, Pansy's sharp tongue had not changed. Draco didn't reply in the dark.
Instead, he decided to give Pansy a small lesson.
"You should said something, are you not even scared?" Pansy continued.
