Ordering books and a talk between father and daughter

Saturday, 1 November 1986

02:00 pm

Covered under a blanket of books, scrolls, and cut out articles, Darcie looked pathetic.

Among the plethora of old newspapers surrounding her, today's copy of the Daily Prophet stood out. On the front page, the editors celebrated the 5th anniversary of the fall of you-know-who.

No such celebrations had or would ever happen in the Malfoy Manor.

At the bottom of the front page, a section was devoted to the brief visit of the minister of magic, Millicent Bagnold, to the Halloween feast hosted by Lucius Malfoy. Speculations were made in this article between this sudden closeness between the minister and Lucius Malfoy's appointment as a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors this very morning.

Darcie's gaze fell on that article for the umpteenth time, and she frowned.

She had guessed wrong, Darcie realized. Her father wasn't going for the post of the minister of magic, but only to become one of the twelve wizards who oversaw the running of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

'Milli hinted to me nothing,' she thought, recalling their meeting last night. 'She must have thought it wasn't of any concern to me.'

As she thought about the night, her brows furrowed further. She looked about her, at the piled-up books, scrolls, and notes. A sigh escaped her mouth, full of sleepiness, tiredness, and helplessness.

After the initial thrill of stumbling upon those otherworldly writing and the yellow sign had died, Darcie had taken her sweet time copying one page on a fresh parchment. Those were ancient documents, and she couldn't afford to damage them further by any mistake.

Then, she tried copying the yellow sign, but no matter how much she tried, or how much time she spent, she couldn't do it. The moment she drew one of the sign's arms, for it had the shape of a mixed convoluted form of number 3, a question mark, and some kind of three-pronged wheel, she forgot how she had drawn it completely.

It was even more magical, mysterious, and fascinating than anything Darcie had learned so far.

The entire night had passed away like that, trying and trying, failing and failing.

When the black of the night had turned blue, and Dobby had woken up, Darcie had made him try the same as well.

Alas! The results had been worse. Dobby couldn't even trace one of its arms properly on a blank paper. The house-elf had never held a quill in his life, and even if he had, Darcie doubted it could've changed anything.

A restless morning had turned into an anticipated afternoon, but Darcie had found nothing that could point her towards the origin of these runic letters. She had stored the original documents in the library, hiding the flaky parchments in the book, Magical Drafts and Potions.

One by one, the books kept piling up, becoming columns. As the evening approached, and her time to leave the library finally came, Darcie knew it was time to order the books that she had avoided before — Ancient Runes Made Easy and Rune Dictionary.

Ancient Runes Made Easy was a beginner's level book on Ancient Runes written by Laurenzoo, Darcie recalled the detail on it as mentioned in the Books' catalog. It provided translations for twenty-one thousand different runes and symbols. On the other hand, the Rune Dictionary was a dictionary used to aid witches and wizards in the translation and understanding of runes. Students who took Study of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts used these books to decipher the meaning of runes.

Now Darcie needed these books more than anything.

With her father's new post as the governor, she would get to see him less and less in the home, Darcie knew. So she hastily penned down a letter, demanding the said two books, to the manager of Flourish and Blotts, Mr. Pigplanter Hillam.

She found her father in his study room, reading the congratulatory letters that hadn't stopped arriving since morning. "Father," she said, knocking gently on the opened oaken door as she entered the room. "I need these books."

Lucius beamed at seeing Darcie. He had credited Darcie as part of his success in becoming the governor. The minister's visit last night was unknown even to him, but it had played out perfectly. The rumors did help him gain a reputation with the minister, it seemed.

"Of course," her father laughed, opening the letter in the setting sun's light seeping in through the windows. "Oh?! Why the sudden interest in runes, Darcie?"

Darcie had already thought of an answer. "A major part of Magical History is derived from runic texts, father," she told him. "I think I should have a basic understanding of them."

Lucius nodded, already signing the letter. He faced Darcie and smiled. "Can't you tell me for what reason the minister visited you last night?" he asked, not unkindly. "Or is it a secret between friends?"

Darcie looked thoughtful. "No," she said, shaking her mind. "It's not some secret, father. If it is, it won't remain for long."

Lucius looked puzzled. He gestured for her to sit by his side and put down the letters off his lap on the table. "What is it?" he prodded.

"Milli and I were working on the nature of the Dark Arts, father," she said, looking out the window at the dark greenery and purple sky. "I have been having some thoughts based on the books and case studies I have read and analyzed, and I have been sharing those thoughts with her in the correspondence. It's only yesterday that I could finalize my thoughts and put them on paper. Milli had come to take a look at them in person, it being a festival and all, and she looked ever so enthralled. If it works out, Milli told me we could publish it as an Argumentative Research Paper."

Lucius' puzzled and cheerful expressions had vanished. Now he looked plain, observing, and shrewd. "You are the smartest Malfoy, Darcie," he stated as a matter of fact. "And by smartest, I mean in the entire history of Malfoys' ancestry. Your only weakness is, dear, that you don't know when to hold back. We Malfoys have always remained in the shadows and look where we are now. If it wasn't the right thing to do, we wouldn't have been enjoying the luxury of being wealthy and powerful.

"Sigh! I know you must have given the minister proper reasoning on how you came to possess the books and other materials. That much intelligence is in our blood itself. But you must remember from now on that other than family, you can trust no one. Promise me."

Darcie looked down at her feet. "Yes, father," she said meekly. "I promise."

Lucius guffawed. "Come here, you little monster!" he shouted, pulling Darcie on her lap. "We won't have much time to practice on potion-brewing from now on. So don't do it yourself. And next time you write something, show me or your mother first. What do you think? If you were to shine like a sun in the wizarding community, would we stop you? You are a Malfoy, Darcie, and that much is expected of you. Now go on, wash up for dinner. And keep an eye out on your brother for me, will you? I think last night's attention is getting to his head."

Darcie nodded, some of the tiredness washing away from her heart.

There was just one thing in her mind as she left her father in his study room, only one more defiant thought.

What if she didn't want to shine like the sun?

What if… she wanted to be the Sun?

Anything below that wasn't Greatness, Darcie reflected. And no one would understand her reasoning, her aspirations, and her actions. Not even her family.

*****************

AN: An Argumentative Research Paper needs to support your stand on an issue. It is analytical, but it uses information as evidence to support its point, much as a lawyer uses evidence to make their case. The purpose of an argumentative essay is to organize and present your well-reasoned conclusions in order to persuade the audience to accept—or at least seriously consider—your point of view.

We are reaching a major turning point in Darcie's life. The next two chapters (related to Identity Period) will clear away many things. Enjoy!