Blood Pack and Pen

Edmund had no idea what Snape was thinking. After saying that, he felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew he was acting, and Snape probably wouldn't take it seriously. But if they didn't follow the script, they'd be stuck in this awkward situation.

Well, perhaps this is a Slytherin style. Inefficient, but "respectable."

After Edmund generously promised that he could even cover for Snape and Lily's collaboration, Snape's lips twitched, revealing a barely perceptible expression of gratitude.

He's incredibly patient. Edmund even admired him a tiny bit.

After the third statement that "I understand you, after all, no one wants to give up on befriending a powerful and promising witch," the two finally "had a pleasant conversation" and walked out of the old washroom one after the other.

Just then, a strange noise came, and Edmund turned around abruptly, startled.

"Why is this a women's restroom?!"

Snape didn't reply, seemingly unconcerned. Another noise came from behind him, and he finally looked up.

"...Are there rats in the castle?"

"Ha." Edmund chuckled, both at himself for having such a friendly conversation with Snape and at Snape's words.

"If you say that, the house-elves of Hogwarts will be heartbroken."

He spoke as if he cared, but Edmund was actually just trying to change the subject.

The commotion gave Edmund a strange sense of familiarity.

Upon closer listening, he felt that the sound was very much like a living thing being locked in a tin can, and that some living thing was breathing out through the container.

……

Is Hogwarts really alive?

This is perhaps a question worth asking, since he didn't read about this in "Hogwarts: A History of the School".

Edmund and Snape returned to their dormitory together, where they witnessed the biggest joke of the day: Travers.

He was taken aback when he saw Edmund and Snape coming and going together. And when he heard Edmund start calling Snape "Severus," the boy's expression was like that of an ape who had just lit a fire for the first time.

When he finally came to his senses and realized that the two had broken the ice, Travers's angry expression transformed into that of a wife who had witnessed infidelity—but don't be ridiculous, he didn't deserve it.

Edmund ignored him and let him process it on his own.

He guessed Travers would try to cause Snape some trouble, to make the half-breed "figure out his place."

However, since Travers had not demonstrated any value beyond being "good at flattering people" lately, Edmund thought no one in the academy would care about it.

Even though Snape was a mixed-race man, he was a pretty useful one.

And Travers... oh, the only redeeming quality of this kid is that he's actually willing to sell a third of his soul for an expensive robe.

What use would Demund have for Travers's soul?

Even if he wanted a megaphone, he could find a better, more expensive alternative in the inventory. Again, he didn't even bother to manipulate Snape; did Travers even deserve to be schemed against by him?

The next day, Edmund mailed the sorted magazines home.

His mother, Elena, didn't have many hobbies. She would occasionally draw some small pictures, which, from the perspective of the genie, were really not good. In addition, Elena had a nouveau riche-like love for all kinds of fancy clothes. Although in recent years she seemed to be mourning the real Edmond and had given up the overly gorgeous styles, surely liking something doesn't turn into disliking it?

So Edmund sent home several Muggle magazines related to fashion and dressing, hoping to make his mother smile.

Although Elena sent him a letter full of questions the next day, asking why he had suddenly started looking at "these...these strange Muggle things," she did not attach the magazines to the letter.

Edmund felt that this was roughly equivalent to "I really like it," and when he saw Lily again, he simply told her that his mother was very interested in Muggle clothing and asked her to have Mrs. Evans buy some more new ones, for which he was willing to pay three times the price.

"No, no, I already said I don't need it, it's not necessary."

"The Soman family has no shortage of money, so can you please stop being so polite with me?"

Now that you've said it, dwelling on it further would be disrespectful to money.

"You look really haggard," Edmund said with a smile. "Perhaps I should really reflect on myself...maybe I shouldn't have said those things to you."

Upon hearing this, Lily, whose face was pale, simply smiled and then shook her head.

Sometime later, just as Edmund had predicted, Travers did try to humiliate Snape in front of the other students. He ended up humiliating himself and being ridiculed by the other snakes.

Upon returning, Travers angrily told Edmund:

"That kid actually managed to curry favor with the prefect!"

That's funny, as if he'd turn a blind eye to the chance to befriend Lucius Malfoy.

Edmund had no intention of playing gang games with these kids, and for the next month or so, apart from the tedious and confusing history of magic and the astronomy that required him to sleep, Edmund's life was free of any other troubles.

The Duel Club is interesting, and it's not just that you can spar with older students and learn or directly ask them for spells;

Getting to know and befriend the older students who are often referred to as "blood bags" is also an essential part of the experience. These teenagers have very different personalities, and most of them can only be described as incredibly dull-witted.

However, there were a few talented mixed-race individuals among them, and Edmund guessed that they failed to submit to Lucius at the crucial moment.

Even so, Edmund still couldn't figure out what Lucius was thinking.

"I hope you don't think I'm too naive, Mother. I still don't understand why he would keep a group of people who hate and fear him by his side. It seems like he was disciplining and teasing them, but in reality, he was teaching them more spells and making them stronger."

"Well, I actually know very well why he's so fearless. The reason behind it is the same as mine: he feels that he, or the people behind him, possesses a 'power' that these young wizards can never attain in their entire lives. It's pathetic. He's probably never been truly challenged or defied."

"My God, it's so strange that someone can have such a smooth life. It makes me inexplicably jealous."

After writing this sentence, Edmund put the pen in his desk drawer—yes, he had gone to some trouble to get a pen.

Parker 75, an imported product, sterling silver, and very expensive.

It would be asking too much of Mrs. Evans to buy even this. Edmund carefully selected a half-blood wizard from the battery bank who had once possessed a clever mind.

Over the course of more than a month, he went through countless hardships—mainly because he couldn't understand the current slang and communication procedures—to sneak into London's underground black market and buy this flagship fountain pen from the United States, the same model used by the Queen.

Of course, Edmund did more than just buy pens.

Rather, the fountain pen was just an extra.