Malfoy's Secret

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Malfoys Secret

On the first day of school, after poison lesson in the dungeon. Snape: "Malfoy, I want to have a word with you. Please stay a moment." Malfoy waited while the other students left the classroom. Snape ordered the last one to close the door. "Mr. Malfoy," said Snape bluntly, "If you have a problem with greasy hair, then I would strongly recommend that you try washing it instead of combing your hair back with the grease and pretending to wear hair gel. Nobody will buy that lie. Believe me, I was in your situation once myself. I know it all too well. The looks from others, the contempt and the way they laugh at you. But as luck would have it, I have created my own anti-grease and dandruff shampoo, and I would be willing to give you a sample bottle of it."

"Excuse me?" Malfoy's words echoed loudly through the empty dungeon. "I must have misheard! The hair gel that I use was also used by my father back in his school days! You can ask him if you want!" Malfoy looked uncertain. "I have no problem with," Malfoy tried to put as much contempt as possible into his next words, "greasy hair. But now I know your secret, Professor! I want to be given preferential treatment in your class for the entire time I am at Hogwarts, or the whole school will find out about it! But just for a friend, can you give me the bottle? Äh, please?"

"I'm going to make your friend a very special mixture. I assume he has roughly the same hair as you?" - "Er, yes, Professor. Basically exactly like me, same length, same color, same grease, er, just with real grease, Professor, you understand. In my hair is real hair gel." - "You already said that. I'll give you the mixture tomorrow after class. Tell your friend to be careful with it."

Two weeks later: "Professor, the potion doesn't work on my friend." - "Oh, no? Then I must have accidentally mixed you a perfectly normal apple spritzer because I was distracted by your threat to embarrass me in front of the whole school! I'm not someone you play games with, Mr. Malfoy. Or should I call you by your friend's name?"

"You're accusing me of lying? Well, just wait until I tell my father! And in my next test, I want to see an A, or I'll" Malfoy thought for a moment "just tell everyone that you-" "Shut up!" Snape barked, striding towards Malfoy and stopping in front of him. Then he spoke in a slow and deliberate voice: "I have the ability to recognize liars when I see them. Only you are informed of this, Mr. Malfoy. You will get your A! But since, as you now know, I am a little interested in hair care products and where to buy them, please allow me to ask what the name of the gel you and your father use is and where to buy it? In Diagon Alley?"

"No!" Draco Malfoy said quickly, but then didn't know what to say. He seemed to be under big strain. Then he suddenly said: "From my mother's hair salon!" Snape raised an eyebrow. "Your mother has a hair salon?" - "Yes, for years, it's the best in the whole city!" Malfoy thought for a moment. Then he continued: "And she always gets her hair gel delivered by her friend, who my father bought the gel from when he was a child. That's how my parents met." - "Oh really? I would love to see your mother's salon. I'm looking for a good hairdresser. One, who really understand my vision! What do you think about if I make an appointment there, say, on Saturday afternoon? Would that be possible, Mr. Malfoy?"

Malfoy looked like he would rather be dead than in his own skin. "Sure!" said Malfoy. "Saturday. No problem! Let's say 3 p.m.?" - "That's fine with me," said Snape and smiled gently. "Then I just need the address." - "Uh, yes, the address," said Malfoy and scratched his head. "I think it was Beauty Street 6, 5555 London" - "Then I look forward to Saturday," said Snape, tidying up the papers on his desk.

The next day, Draco Malfoy was sitting with the Slytherins in Defense Against the Dark Arts class and reluctantly copied a boring chapter from the book. Suddenly the door burst open with a loud bang and Lucius Malfoy entered the classroom. He looked angry. He looked around and recognized his son: "Draco!" Lucius snapped. "Come here immediately. We're going home. We'll talk about everything when we're not disturbed. Please forgive the interruption," he said to the teacher and bowed slightly. "There's a small, let's call it a family problem. I've already informed the headmaster that my son Draco," he looked contemptuously at his son, "can't come to school for at least a week. So then, boy, come on!" The two went out into the corridor and Lucius slammed the door behind them.

"Father," Draco began as they walked down the corridor, but Lucius interrupted him: "Not a word until we're off the school grounds. It's a shame to be a Malfoy!" 

At home with the Malfoys: "Draco, son, what do you have to say about this letter?" Lucius asked while Narcissa, Draco's mother, held up a letter that Draco had written to his parents the night before to tell them about the whole story with Snape. He only didn’t mention Snape’s secret.

Lucius continued, "Do you realize what could have happened if the letter had been intercepted? If the whole world knew that my son was not only a liar, but also combed his greasy hair back instead of washing it and told everyone it was hair gel? And what if people thought that I do that too, or did that when I was young and hadn't yet found my place in society? Well, it's not like that, I mean it was never like that, but you know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Like father, like son. At least that's what people think. Whatever.

What you did brings shame on our family and must be treated as a scandal. No one must ever know about it! Your mother and I have already discussed this and unfortunately we see no other option than to continue playing your embarrassing game and show Professor Snape a hair salon on Saturday that he will not question. But first, boy, you go take a shower and wash your hair. Try this shampoo your mother brought back from Knockturn Alley this morning when she was shopping. The saleswoman said it was the best-selling hair shampoo in her store. And then you rub this hair gel into your hair." He gave Draco a tube of hair gel. "And from now on you'll do this regularly, understand? At least until Saturday. Our family has a reputation to lose."

Friday evening 6pm: Narzissa and Lucius apparated to Beauty Street 6. It was a laundromat in a moderately busy shopping street on the outskirts of London. They placed an Imperius Curse on the owner and turned the laundromat into a hair salon.

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