- Only in an authorized location and under the supervision of experienced students, ma'am.
"Remember," the professor said to everyone, casting a heavy gaze around the class, "don't perform any magic on your own under any circumstances-it could be dangerous! School rules prohibit magic in the hallways."
"Uh-huh," Richard thought wryly, "don't do magic in the corridors, don't do magic yourself, and turn a match into a needle, even if you have to turn it inside out. Nobody follows those rules! Anyone who wants to can practice their spells in their dorm. Even older students from such a close-knit house as Hufflepuff are still children. They have no interest in wasting time watching over little kids while they practice spells. Everyone knows this, yet Professor McGonagall pretends everything is fine, since no rules have been formally broken."
Richard concluded that wizards are taught the rule from school: "Not caught, not a thief" or "If you can't, but you really want to and no one sees, then you can."
***
A couple of days after Hermione's birthday, Richard received a large package of mail by owl, which he immediately put in his bag.
Rich Jr. only got to the letter shortly before breakfast and discovered a dossier on the Malfoys inside.
To put it simply, the Malfoy ancestor arrived in England with William the Conqueror in the eleventh century.
According to some sources, Armando Malfoy was a close friend of William's, though most likely he was a court wizard. For his loyal service, Malfoy received one of the finest plots of land in Wiltshire, near Stonehenge.
After conquering England, William the Conqueror divided the country into "manors," whose owners became known as barons. Those who owned many manors were called "greater barons," while those with fewer were called "lesser barons."
Dukes and marquesses appeared in the fourteenth century, viscounts in the fifteenth. Although life peerages were created earlier, they were not legally created until the passage of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act of 1876.
Without delving into British law, one thing can be said: Lucius Malfoy holds the hereditary title of Baron of Malfoy Manor, but does not have a seat in the House of Lords.
Lucius Malfoy does much the same as the Richs, but on a much smaller scale. He continues the legacy of his ancestors, leasing land and officially paying taxes to the Crown. But that's all.
The Malfoys' income is quite modest by ordinary standards. For example, last year they earned a net profit of seventy-five thousand pounds in rent. Not bad for a landowner, but not exactly astronomical. By wizarding standards, it's a fortune-fifteen thousand Galleons. That's a whopping fifty times the monthly salary of the head of a major department at the Ministry of Magic.
Lucius converts twelve thousand pounds of his rent into wizarding currency through the official channels of Gringotts, and with the rest he pays a bribe of five hundred Galleons (presumably, but almost certainly) to the Minister of Magic. Ultimately, through shady schemes, he converts the remaining pounds into wizarding currency. Apparently, Lucius's arrogance prevents him from reaching an agreement with the goblins, but it's more likely that he's bribing the Minister in this way, giving him a formal pretext for the bribe.
So, little by little... In the wizarding world, large expenses are not required, so generations of Malfoys have managed to accumulate a considerable fortune, but only by wizarding standards. In the world of ordinary people, the father of the Patil twins, not the richest man, but still among the world's top, is already richer.
On the downside, Lucius Malfoy was a member of a far-right wizarding terrorist group in the seventies and early eighties. After Tom Riddle's death in '81, raids and arrests of terrorists from his Death Eaters group began. Lucius was also arrested, but managed to buy his way out. He was eventually released under the pretext that he had been under the influence of the Imperio spell. He also managed to exonerate his comrades Goyle and Crabbe, whose children are now in Draco's class. Lucius was rumored to be a member of Riddle's inner circle and, after his boss's death, almost succeeded in taking over the decapitated terrorist group. But the wizards from the Ministry of Magic, thwarted by the Queen's ultimatum, acted decisively.
After reading the dossier, it became crystal clear to Richard that he shouldn't have anything to do with the Malfoys, Crabbes, and Goyles. As an aristocrat, Lucius Malfoy had tainted himself. He himself received rent from ordinary people, yet he fought against them. At best, his racist anti-Muggle views could be overlooked if it were extremely profitable, but not a clinical case of idiocy. Fighting those who bring you income is beyond comprehension.
Incidentally, it's worth noting that Arthur Weasley currently earns more than the Malfoys. His Ministry salary is two hundred and fifty Galleons, while the workshop manager's salary is a thousand, plus a hefty bonus for producing useful magical technology samples once or twice a month.
And the dossier revealed that there was animosity between Lucius and Arthur, and that Baron Malfoy had repeatedly veiled insults in public, calling Mr. Weasley a pauper. Richie would have seen the idiot Baron's face when he learned that his enemy earned more than him.
***
Richard considered this Sunday morning wonderful. The beauty lay in the leaden clouds on the ceiling of the Great Hall... Meaning, the weather outside was terrible, but inside the castle it was relatively comfortable and almost warm, and there was no need to go outside since it was a day off and there were no astronomy classes, which were held in the open air at the Astronomy Tower.
"Richie, why are you so happy?" asked a gloomy Justin. "Look at the clouds!"
"Justin, you're not romantic," Richard replied, warming his hands on a hot cup of tea. "The weather is just whispering, 'Take some tea and a book, wrap yourself in a blanket, and enjoy the fire.' What do the clouds and the heat matter to me when my friends are with me?!"
There was applause behind Richard and a joking voice said:
- Lord, you are a poet! We are delighted!
Richie turned around smoothly to find the grinning faces of the Weasley twins.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Richard said, raising his teacup. "Lovely weather. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Oh, how can you?!" Fred pretended, placing his hand on his chest near his heart. "Sit at the same table with Your Excellency..."
It dawned on Richard that this was a subtle hint at a private conversation.
"Gentlemen, I know a place with excellent tea. If you'd like, I can take you there."
"We can't refuse Your Excellency," George bowed in a playful manner.
- Justin, I'm going for a walk. Don't be bored.
Richie, accompanied by the twins, headed towards the exit of the Great Hall.
"Gentlemen, if you know of any more interesting places..." Richard raised his right eyebrow suggestively.
"That's true," Fred said more seriously. "Let's go."
The boys reached the fourth floor of the north wing and found themselves in one of the abandoned classrooms, which didn't look at all neglected inside. It was clean, with several boilers, two chairs with shabby upholstery, and plenty of empty bottles.