Die or kill...

— Miss Granger, I didn’t expect you to be so dismissive of your studies,” Professor McGonagall frowned at me and looked at me with displeasure, “how can you skip such an important topic… — Strogiform, the spell of turning an owl into a theatrical binoculars, — I replied in a bored tone, not looking at the professor, — is unlikely to be useful in everyday life. Because there are enough binoculars in theaters anyway, and after such bullying, the poor bird will have no desire to work as a postman. But if you want, I can depict him on the nearest test subject. — If you think that after reading the textbook in advance, you do not need to delve into all the subtleties of magic, then it does not make you beautiful, — folding her arms over her chest, she waited for her lips in a thin stripe. — Strogiform, — waving my wand along a curve ending in a sharp peak downwards, I directed a small amount of mana into the object of enchantment. —Commendable, Miss Granger,” the stern professor immediately relented, “very good, especially for the first attempt. —Upstart, — drawled Malfoy venomously from across the aisle. — I can turn you into a ferret, apparently you liked being white and fluffy, — throwing a dismissive glance at him, I returned to my interrupted occupation. For some inexplicable reason, it was only after I changed my fourth decade that I realized that cosmetic charms and fashion, in fact, were invented to make our lives easier, and not for stupid and naive fools like Lavender Brown. Turning over the pages of a glossy magazine with concentration, I tried to figure out what I needed to change in myself in order to look more like a normal witch. Still, Weasley’s last words hurt my ego and pride a lot. As it turned out, it’s not enough to be just an intelligent woman who strives to change the world. As it turned out, in order to be treated normally, first of all you have to be a beautiful cover. And what lies beneath it is not so important. No matter how hard I strained my memory, I couldn’t remember anything useful that could make the shaggy hair on my head look divine. How stupid I looked with a crow’s nest on my head. At thirty, it turned out to be very easy to take care of yourself if you have money. And at forty, it’s generally beautiful: everyone around you is running around and ready to bow to their feet. Remembering her luxurious dark blue one-shoulder dress with a scattering of crystals and pearls, she realized with longing that she had never put it on. Two months were not enough for forty… Now, at the age of sixteen, I had to somehow solve these grandiose problems on my own, while having neither money nor influence. And I’m not allowed to go to any salon that works for aristocrats. They won’t even let you in the door. It seems like twenty years have passed since the battle, and the people have not assimilated in terms of magic and technology. How blind and naive I was. No wonder Ginny called me dumb. She didn’t notice anything under her own nose, and she was proud of how smart and far-sighted she was. That I will bring this world to its greatest flourishing. You fool! In a word… and I couldn’t say anything else about myself in the circumstances. I was distracted from my sad thoughts by a note that suddenly flew to my desk. After looking around the class in surprise, I realized that no one was directly watching me and my actions. Shrugging her shoulders, she threw a diagnostic spell on a piece of parchment and, finding no signs of dark magic or curses, boldly unfolded it. The beautiful, ornate handwriting could belong to only one person out of all possible options. Besides, I had been having nightmares about these smooth letters for so long that I was ready to bet my entire fortune that Malfoy scribbled them in a hurry and even with a distinctly noticeable laziness. And yet it intrigued… “Did you decide to turn into a beauty? I’m afraid even all the magazines in the world are not capable of such a feat. Make a normal lady out of a crammer))”. “And you decided to play fairy godmother and help me with the transformation? I didn’t expect such senseless nobility from Malfoy. Just a knight on a white horse… Ha!” “If anyone is capable of such a thing, then I…” “Oh, now I’m going to cry with emotion… Also tell me that you will pour me a family potion from the generosity of your soul, so that at one hundred and fifty I look a little younger than your mother, who at that time will be under two hundred”. “FROM WHERE?” “Don’t get mad, because now the heart won’t stand it, the heart attack is enough, you haven’t drunk the potion yet. " “Don’t piss me off!!!!!!! FROM WHERE!!!!” “I propose a deal.” “I’m listening!” “You help me get into the Efeya salon, and in return, I will forever forget not only about the potion of eternal youth, but also about the fake safe behind the ceremonial portrait.” “I’ll strangle you!” “Then also to the best boutique “Enoliza”, where your mother dresses. I’m not asking you to pay for me. Only aristocrats with a pedigree going back as far as the last millennium, if not further, can get there)) It’s a small favor).” “Okay, as long as you keep quiet about everything… So be it, I’ll be a knight on a white horse… But don’t think that the conversation is over. " “By all means)))”. — Am I bothering you? Professor McGonagall’s voice interrupted such an exciting conversation. “I’m sorry,” we answered in unison and turned away in different directions. Professor McGonagall’s reminder deprived me of such a good chance to understand what Malfoy was like. After all, it was only for his death that Ginevra Weasley was sincerely grateful to me and even graciously replied that the last of the twenty-eight was a favorite of magic. But why the last one? There are a lot of people: the same Slughorn, who will teach potions next year, was proud of his status and, in general, poked his nose at everyone and everything. And nothing bothered him.… And here is just some kind of mystery of the century. Yes, in my forty years I have never been interested in the history of the magical world and ancient traditions. It seems that it was only after dying under the bullying of my best friend that I finally appreciated Professor Snape’s words about the fact that I didn’t know a damn thing beyond textbooks and dry facts. Here… How can I argue with him now, when it really was like that. I wasn’t interested in anything. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, but in fact I was used by everyone, and even my best friends. Harry and Ron’s laughter behind his back made him grimace. If Potter was not noticed in any such way, then my own husband suddenly appeared in a completely different light. How many times has he cheated on me? Hundreds? Every time he fell on his knees, begged for forgiveness, said that alcohol had confused his memory. And I forgave… Like a fool, she stroked his red curls and forgave him… Isn’t she a fool? You fool! And if I had opened my eyes earlier… Would anything have changed? After all, I had his last name… The Weasleys are one of the twenty–eight magical families that appeared on the continent before the creation of the magical society. Would I fit into all this without having a hint of ancient origins? Rootless and lonely… Thrown on the sidelines of life, I could only move forward. And I didn’t divorce him for the same reason. If men were constantly hanging around Ginny or Malfoy’s widow, they didn’t notice me. They ignored and did not communicate more than necessary. I considered it respect and my status as Minister of Magic. In fact… I was not considered a person with whom a gentleman and an aristocrat could stand next to. That’s what made me angry… And at the same time, it clarified everything. Shaking her head, she tried to throw these memories in the trash… But it just didn’t work out. They clung to the soul like a sticky film and pulled away with great effort. Like blood-soaked bandages that have practically fused with the wound with leaking blood. And it hurts, and you understand that you need to change, but you don’t have the guts to jerk off in one motion. We need help here… The one whose hand does not tremble to peel off the frozen clot and look at how the blood begins to flow over the skin with renewed vigor. There are few people capable of this… You can count on the fingers of one hand. And once again we returned to Malfoy. Here’s someone who could definitely get comfortable with the devil in the center of hell. Show a finger to such a person, and he will chop off his hand up to his ass and say that it was so. At least, I had to go through all the cunning of this family on my own skin. They put him in jail because of the nonsense they could get to. And there, under the guise, when the dust settled, they were sent to the firing squad. She signed it with her own hand and thought that she had made the world a little bit better. Fool… I was once again convinced of this. To take such a person, yes, to withdraw funds offshore? Three times ha! Only at that moment I didn’t care. Now the nervous tension reached its peak and began to creep up to the throat with cold and tenacious paws of panic. I didn’t want to die a second time. I didn’t really get into the first one either. So I would prefer to refrain from experiments of this kind and keep my opinion to myself. But now, knowing the story in advance, I didn’t want to repeat it. There were still two years left before all the events. It took me several years to figure out and decide what to do with the knowledge that was stored in my head. Blackmail of aristocrats is a small part of it… Shaking her head, she banished the harmful thoughts and concentrated on the lesson. If I start to change my character abruptly, every dog will notice it. I have to remember what I was like when I was sixteen.… Not only my life depended on it now, but also the prospects for further cooperation with Malfoy. As it turned out, it was advantageous to have an inveterate scoundrel on a short leash who did not want his secrets to become public. All the better, as long as it’s not a toothy shark that I’ve been butting heads with in the House of Lords for ten years, but just a small and arrogant ferret whose teeth have just been honed on others. My thoughts once again returned to how my morning began. Rebirth, second chance, hit–and-run, whatever you want to call it. But the point was, they gave it to me. To fix everything… or turn it into an even bigger tragedy? I’ve been asking myself this question since this morning. After all, I did not know the full-fledged plans of the director and the Weasley family. And the fragmentary memories of the past forty years are a vague help. In addition, the life of the Minister of Magic was rich and fruitful — it’s not so easy to keep track of everything. The numbness and awareness of everything immediately fell on my fragile shoulders. They needed Harry to execute the plan, they needed me as a screen, and they didn’t need Malfoy, who was too influential and powerful a magician. The last of the twenty-eight… This phrase once again scratched my consciousness and rolled down in a cold wave into my stomach. What could have happened in the future that they did not disdain to use me and dirty methods for this. More precisely, I’m not sure that there was even a drop of sincerity and truth in all this. One big lie! Unable to withstand such tension, she was the first to reach for a piece of paper. “Why are you called the sacred twenty-eight?” “And you decided to join the dark side?” “Don’t be silly, it doesn’t suit you… And anyway, I’m serious. Not a single book says where it came from and why more sacred families cannot appear. It’s stupid: it’s not just about the pedigree!” “Granger, did you get hit on the head in the morning?” “Why?” “Do you even realize who and what you’re writing to right in the middle of the lesson? Aren’t you afraid that your McCoy will freak out?” “Well, it will be her difficulties… And yet why exactly twenty-eight? And why are you the last of the twenty-eight? After all, there are a lot of representatives of other surnames. The same Weasleys, though with the stamp of blood traitors, but still Weasleys.” “I offer a deal)))”. “Tell me who blabbed, I’ll rip his head off and, so be it, I’ll tell you about how twenty-eight great families appeared.” “Then you’ll have to rip your own head off! I can even swear by magic that you told me everything yourself))”. “Have you decided to mock me in such an idiotic way now? The joke is not funny. I would never forget that I told an outsider about family secrets!” “A secret for a secret? Okay?” “I’m listening.” “You tell me the real state of affairs, and I tell you how I know your dark secrets and half of those present here. And then we’ll talk. Which side is there, bright or not…” “And you decided to beat everyone and have your own? Listen, I’m even wondering what the hell bit you in the ass that you started such tricks” “As I said, a secret for a secret…” “Oh, okay, so be it, I agree to listen to your secret and decide whether it is worthy of telling such an uneducated fool about the great beginning of this epic, long in the creation of the magical world.” “How much pathos, just can not be expressed in words ((”. “And you really thought that by signing a contract with the devil, you risk remaining a white and fluffy bunny?” “Oh, oh, oh)))”. “What’s funny?” “It’s still unknown which of the two of us will eventually turn out to be the devil!” “To listen to you, so you’re going to try on the role of the most desperate villainess of modern times.” “I definitely won’t beat your aunt.” “And yet, what happened to you overnight that turned you from an infantile nerd into this? I’m really interested.” “Start punctuating already! I don’t have to guess your twists in your head!” “Look at her)))”. “And yet you agree to my terms?” “Okay, let’s try to find common ground and figure out this issue. You see, I’ve even made a point.” “Malfoy…” “What’s Granger?” “Infuriating!!!!!” “Well, you’re the one who dragged out this kind of conversation. In general, I calmly listened to your cat and was not going to be distracted from the lesson. Now I don’t know how to turn owls into theatrical binoculars. Assess the extent of my suffering)))”. “I’m even wondering under what conditions an arrogant ass like you would need such a spell? When will the owl bring a parcel of sweets again?” “By the way, it’s good that I reminded you, do you eat sweets?” “Is that why I shouldn’t eat it?” “Yes, the devil knows you women… There’s neither Parkinson’s nor Greengrass eating and only snorting when I try to stuff pies into them. " “With a potion?” “With a potion…” “To hell with Parkinson’s and small Greengrass, come on, I’ll eat everything and those with cranberries and those with pineapples. I especially agree to hamster those with dried apricots and raisins for four.” “I’ll see if your lip is not stupid…” “So, unlike them, I know what potions your mother stuffed in there, who, for a moment, is the former Black and who is bypassed in anger by even the most frostbitten Eaters. When Lady Malfoy expresses a desire to be angry, it seems to me that only your father remains calm… Used to… Poor guy!” “I can’t do it with you, it’s a fucking walking joke, listen, what are you doing on Saturday?” “And what are you interested in? Throw me down the stairs and bury me under a weeping willow tree so that no one will ever find me?” “Actually, I had other plans.… But yours also sounds very interesting, we can try it if the original version does not suit you.” “And what did you have?” “Do you think your red-haired kondrashka will be captured if the day after tomorrow, say, at eleven in the morning, one witch keeps me company and goes to the promenade to the village?” “Ah-ha!!!!!!!” “So?” “There’s this whole school the most kondrashka is enough. Malfoy is asking anyone out on a date, but me… damn it! It’s going to be the show of the century.” “And what answer will I get?” “Okay, so be it, for the sake of Ginny’s heart attack, who’s snotting all over you, I’ll let you drag your carcass on a date!” “Then Saturday at half past ten at the entrance.” “It’s coming))”.