Harry Potter and Ron had more to deal with than just their strained friendship with Hermione.
Now, they were beginning to understand the fallout from acting on impulse.
After all, they had cost their house 100 points...
That morning, the Gryffindor students stood stunned in front of the massive hourglass.
Their score was nearly wiped out.
Just one night—one mistake—and Gryffindor, already at the bottom, had lost any chance of winning the House Cup. Even stellar Quidditch performance wouldn’t change that now.
Harry Potter and Ron had single-handedly crushed Gryffindor’s hopes of victory.
If the point deductions from the earlier group scuffle had been sowhat understandable, this ti there was no such excuse.
“It’s them, the ones who lost us all those points.”
“I never thought it’d be Harry Potter...”
“Fred, isn’t that your brother?”
Though so watched with a kind of idle curiosity, the majority of the student body couldn’t understand or forgive Harry and Ron’s actions. Unsurprisingly, they’d beco quite unpopular.
Well—except with the Slytherins, who were probably “grateful”...
Thanks to his fa, Harry had once been one of the most admired and well-liked students at Hogwarts. But after this incident, his reputation plumted. To many, he was now just a reckless fool.
That opinion seed to originate from Slytherin House—and had spread quickly.
The only silver lining? Harry wasn’t completely alone.
And no, that didn’t an Ron Weasley, who was equally miserable and increasingly short-tempered...
“In a few weeks, people will forget,” Ron muttered. “Fred and George have been losing points since their first year, and everyone still loves them.”
Unlike many others who were now keeping their distance, Hermione didn’t pile on or join in the bla.
She knew Harry and Ron were going through a rough ti. For now, she put aside her anger over what they’d done to Draco and did her best to comfort Harry.
“Thanks, Hermione.”
Harry had assud this would ruin their friendship. But instead, everything that happened after only made Hermione’s kindness and compassion shine even more. It left him feeling quietly guilty.
And yet, the more Harry valued sothing, the more it weighed on him.
He’d even considered quitting the Quidditch team.
Naturally, Oliver Wood shot that idea down without hesitation—and gave Harry a furious scolding in the process.
“Harry, why don’t you go to the library for a bit? Read sothing. Take your mind off things.”
“…”
Harry’s gloomy expression shifted into one of exasperated helplessness. Ron, sitting nearby, simply turned his head away and pretended not to hear.
Co to think of it, Ron had been oddly well-behaved lately. He hadn’t even picked a fight with Hermione once. Maybe her way of “repaying anness with kindness” had made him feel too embarrassed to keep it up?
“No thanks, Hermione. Just let sit here with Ron for a while.”
“…Alright.”
Hermione had been about to remind him that exams were fast approaching, but after seeing how down he looked, she let it go.
Besides, she had sothing important to discuss with Draco...
...
Although Norberta had been safely relocated to the Forbidden Forest, the real challenge ca afterward.
Questions remained—how would the centaurs react? Would Norberta behave, or end up bullying other magical creatures? These were just a few of the many things Draco and the others had to keep an eye on.
As a result, Draco had been visiting the hunting lodge whenever he had free ti. Sotis, he’d even sneak off alone on his broom to check on Norberta...
“Hagrid, how are things with the centaurs?”
“Ah, they’re too preoccupied to worry about Norberta right now. After that unicorn was killed, they’ve been on edge—really wary of whoever did it.”
Hagrid, who already wasn’t one to fuss over his appearance, looked even more disheveled now that the unicorn incident had finally given him a mont to rest. Draco, anwhile, had chosen to sit at a noticeable distance, not eager to get too close.
After tossing Fang a white weasel sandwich that even a dog would refuse, Draco turned to Hagrid, brows furrowed.
“Any clue what the killer was after?”
“That’s the trouble—no one knows. And I don’t get what Dumbledore’s thinking, having punished students help out. Is there so hidden purpose behind it?”
As he spoke, Hagrid seed to forget that Draco was just a first-year student. More accurately, he was treating Draco as if he were an equal—soone he could talk to like an adult.
What Hagrid didn’t realize was that he had just let sothing slip...
Draco didn’t interrupt. He sat there petting Fang—who was chewing half-heartedly on the unappetizing sandwich—while narrowing his eyes, piecing together what Hagrid had inadvertently revealed.
‘So Dumbledore really is aware of everything happening in the Forbidden Forest. The question is—does he have full control over it all?’
Does he know who the real killer is?
Has Norberta’s existence already been exposed?
And most troubling—had he found out about Draco’s ability to communicate with dragons?
The thought made Draco chuckle under his breath. Maybe he was overestimating Dumbledore just a bit.
‘Soon, I’ll surpass you all.’
His gray eyes glead with unshakable confidence...
Just then, soone knocked on the door of the lodge.
“Probably Hermione. Wonder when Harry’s going to drop by.”
Unaware that it had been Harry and the others who nearly ruined the plan, Hagrid spoke casually as he went to open the door.
“Hagrid.”
“Knew it was you, Hermione. Oh, Draco’s here too. Want a white weasel sandwich?”
“...I’m not really hungry—no, wait, I just ate. Thanks, Hagrid.”
Hermione stepped inside, waving her hand quickly to refuse Hagrid’s “offer,” then shifted her gaze toward Draco, whose eyes seed to catch the light.
Her steps faltered for a mont.
Why does he look better every ti I see him...?
Draco’s eyes narrowed slightly as he t Hermione’s stare.
Reviews
All reviews (0)