Chapter 359 - 359

After thinking about everything properly, I took off my bag and reproduced the contract right on the go, the already signed version of which is in my inner pocket. A funny nuance of the contract is the responsibility of the master mentor. In general, by the way, I overreacted, calling it a "master-student" contract. This version is exactly the "mentor-student." Mentoring can be done by a wizard from the rank of an apprentice. Why did I make this one? Perhaps I didn't want to reveal my skills? And there is no doubt that I have the rank of apprentice, for my master, Lady Greengrass, when I reach the rank of apprentice, should draw up a kind of act, certify, and if desired, send to the guild. Or just put it on a shelf in a far corner because to confirm this rank, a commission is not needed at all, and the master himself decides whether his student is worthy of such a privilege, which is not a privilege at all.

However, the mentor-student contract already allows the mentor to take responsibility for the student's activities on himself, but at the same time, he has the right to refuse this responsibility. But the master's contract does not allow you to refuse if the student is not able to answer for his own actions and decisions. Another difference of the mentor's contract with the student is the opportunity of the latter to conclude other training contracts. In contrast, the master's contract allows you to have only one master, and the disciplines are formalized in the contract at once. It seems to me that such a restriction was introduced by the guilds, so that the masters would each look for their own student, eventually replenishing the ranks of the guilds, and not all pounce on one. Well, or maybe there is another reason.

Anyway, I quickly wrote a contract on parchment, and here's a fun fact — no matter how you look at these parchments, they are the same! No, it is clear that this is exactly what they should be, but it is one thing to understand and quite another to see with your own eyes.

Rowena, a friend of my severe days, can you hang marks on them through the shadow?

"Let me try... Which ones do you want?"

Like in a Grimoire, you know.

"Hmm..." I felt a slight movement of magic in my body. "Done."

I really felt fifteen targets located so far in different corners of the castle. Now I can write a note to Hermione, sign it, certify it with a spell, quickly make an envelope, put both the contract and the letter there, seal it and certify it again with a spell. Technically, such things can be faked, so I always check the magic as well. I think Hermione can do this too, even if her sensitivity is somewhat lower, but she is more than familiar with my magic. Oh, I got it!

"Timmy!" I called to the house-elf we both knew, and she appeared immediately, shaking her head from side to side in amazement. Then it was as if she sniffed and looked closely, sensing my magic, and then looked almost perfectly at my location.

"Young wizard Knight called Timmy?" she asked quietly, even leaning forward a little. There was no one around, so I wasn't afraid to expose myself this way.

"Yes. Please give this letter to Hermione Granger. You know her."

"Of course Timmy knows!" the house-elf nodded, accepting the letter.

"It's not forbidden, is it?"

"Of course not! Timmy will do the young wizard's request now!" the house-elf shook the envelope and disappeared.

Now it remains only to understand what happened and why, and what caused it in the first place.

Moving quickly around the castle, not wanting to disturb the alert system with an apparation, which is clearly there and due to which the headmaster reacted so quickly to our movement with Delphine, I moved towards the cluster of Slytherin marks. It turned out to be a spacious abandoned auditorium, into which, despite the charms of privacy, silencing, and locking the doors, I entered easily through the shadow, finding myself in a dark corner.

As befits an abandoned classroom, there were dusty old desks and chairs everywhere, but closer to the exit, where the Slytherins had gathered, the desks had been cleaned, and there were students sitting on some of them.

"The information is absolutely correct," Malfoy glanced at the gathering, sitting on one of the desks. "That scumbag Knight isn't in the castle right now. The perfect time to complete the Dark Lord's errand."

The seniors looked at each other, but none of those present seemed to notice Nott's gaze, full of a certain expectation.

"Malfoy," one of them spoke up. "What exactly do you want to do, and what does Granger have to do with it?"

"It's obvious," Malfoy waved his hand to the side. "Ah, you weren't there then... The Dark Lord personally instructed me to convey to Greengrass that their mother's refusal to cooperate could have unintended consequences. To frighten them properly. And in order not to waste time on the same thing, I decided to lure this filthy mudblood Granger into the same trap."

"But in doing so, you're afraid of Knight," the seventh-year student, whose name I don't know, nodded with a smirk.

"Don't be silly," said Malfoy with ill-concealed irritation. "I'm just avoiding unwanted conflicts with the use of magic, that's all."

"Yeah," nodded one of the younger ones from the fourth. "Do you want to say that it's normal to frighten your own classmates?"

"How could it be otherwise?" Malfoy jumped down from his desk, looking around the audience. "Our House, Slytherin, should be united. It doesn't matter how exactly we achieve this.. If in order for the noble pure-blood families of wizards to make the right decision, you need to scare someone a little — we will do it."