I left the tumbler on my desk, asking the owner to come claim it. I had to worry about who took it all day, and as the night grew late, not a single person came to claim it. What kind of person was he? I was starting to get annoyed.
Oh, but... maybe it was because I wasn't a student that I couldn't come to class and take the tumbler? If not a student, then a professor? If not that, then Death Eaters? My head was spinning, thinking that things had gotten even more complicated.
At that point, I started to wonder. What was inside that tumbler?
Why, there's an item, but no owner? Was it just someone's prank? No, the timing was too weird to be a prank. What the hell, what the hell?
“Professor, professor? Professor-”
“···”
"professor!!!"
“Yeah, uh, okay. Why did you come all the way here?”
I sat in my seat, carefully examining my tumbler, trying to see if any magic had been cast on it. It required such intense concentration that I didn't even notice who was calling me. I looked ahead, wondering who it was, and there stood Malfoy.
“This is what my dad told me to give you.”
“Do you really have to come at this late hour to tell me that?”
I looked back and forth between Draco and the paper in his hand. It occurred to me that Lucius had sent something strange again.
"I appreciate you coming to tell me, but it's against the rules to be out at this late hour. If you do this again, you'll lose ten points, even if you're a Slytherin."
"Yes, Professor. I won't do it again."
“Do you have anything else to say? If not, go to bed quickly.”
"yes,"
I opened the paper as soon as he left. It read:
"I had someone watch you yesterday. It seems you still can't let go of her obsession. The Dark Lord disappeared because of her son. If you're truly loyal, why don't you just leave? What's so great about someone who abandoned you for Lee Ga-eul? Remember, I'm always watching over you."
So, the owner of this tumbler is Lucius' subordinate.
I could understand the surveillance. I was called a traitor among the Death Eaters, and Lucius wasn't one to trust me. But why was he spying on me with this tumbler of all things? Tumbler... wait, tumble? Tumble is the English word for crash, and if... really, if my guess was right, wouldn't Lucius want me to fail?
I was dumbfounded when I thought about it that way. I'd been racking my brain over this for so long, and now it was nothing. I'm not a complete idiot... I threw the tumbler in the trash and decided to just shrug it off.
I returned to my normal routine. Because of the troublemaking Gryffindors, I never got to sleep with my legs stretched out. They didn't play pranks that could hurt anyone, but they were countless, annoying enough to make you want to close your eyes. Whenever something like that happened, I'd run over to see Fred and George laughing like spoiled children. I'm still young... and already, I'm starting to get gray hairs and wrinkles on my face. But Fred and George weren't the only ones with the problem. Daehwi and Woong, who giggled at their childish antics, were also a problem. Every time that happened, I'd blurt out a single phrase out of habit:
“You guys again, Gryffindor, 10 points deducted.”
But this wasn't just a Gryffindor problem. Hufflepuff was full of good kids, and Ravenclaw was just full of bookworms, so it wasn't a major problem. Disappointingly, the Slytherins were the ones who bullied Neville so much. Why on earth would they do that... I find it hard to understand. Still, I'm not giving them deductions because I need to reinforce the image that I favor Slytherins. If anything, if there's something I habitually say...
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Even I think I'm trash. No, even trash can't be this dirty. I'm dirtier than all the filth in this world, and I'm a more trashy human being than all the trash in this world. Nothing works out, what the heck.
"Professor, I heard Lee Dae-hwi is going to be a Gryffindor Seeker? Is that true?"
“That’s true, but is there a problem?”
"Me? I've ridden more broomsticks than Lee Dae-hwi, I know more about Quidditch than Lee Dae-hwi, and I can do it better than Lee Dae-hwi! Lee Dae-hwi can do it, so shouldn't you let me do it too?"
Draco, hearing it somewhere, started to whine, demanding to be a Seeker too. I told him it was dangerous and that if he was going to do it, he should take a proper test in his second year. But Draco wasn't the type of kid who would listen to me and say, "Oh, yes. I understand." It was getting annoying.
“If I become a searcher, my father will be proud!”
"Well, Draco. Maybe you'd rather be healthy and go to school?"
“Professor... please, I will never lose to Lee Dae-hwi. So please let me do it, okay?”
He's drowning in an inferiority complex. Why should Draco do what Daehwi can do? Why should Draenico defeat Daehwi? Yeah, there's no reason for any of it. He's probably just jealous of Lee Daehwi, the kid who survived. It's really boring.
And it's much more natural and expected to start playing Quidditch in your second year than in your first year.
“Can you at least speak to Professor Dumbledore? Yes?”
"···i get it,"
Wow... Your persistence is truly remarkable. I applaud your passion...! Who wouldn't be a Slytherin to go to such lengths to achieve their one dream?