Chapter 690: Draco’s Prefect Room Although becoming a Prefect did mean taking on plenty of tedious and troublesome work, along with the responsibilities that came with it |
Harry Potter seemed perfectly familiar with how to use the Pensieve. He must have done something like this before.
After all, the way he swirled the Pensieve made it obvious he knew the proper method. A wizard who had never used one before would never know to do that.
In fact, swirling the Pensieve was not some meaningless gesture. It was part of the process of searching for and confirming the specific memory fragment you wanted to see.
What surprised Draco was that Harry did not spend long on it at all. It was almost as if someone had already told him where the memory was stored....
“You found it that fast?”
Watching Harry Potter skillfully bend over the Pensieve and plunge his entire face into the icy memories within, Draco leaned forward a little, curious.
From where he was standing, there was naturally no way for Draco to tell what memory Harry Potter was trying to view.
He could only stand there in silence, watching Harry hold that bent posture and remain completely motionless until he finally pulled himself back out of the memory.
Clearly, Harry’s consciousness had already entered the cold memories inside the Pensieve...
With all of his awareness immersed in the Pensieve, Harry now found it difficult to notice anything happening outside, let alone realize that someone had suddenly come up beside him.
Seeing how utterly unguarded Harry was, Draco’s expression turned strange. Is he trying to make sure no one misses the fact that he’s sneaking around doing something shady?
Was he really that confident no one would see him?
Or was he so sure that even if someone did see him, even if Horace Slughorn himself found out, nothing would happen to him?
Surely he had not gone into this without thinking at all.
Although Draco had long known how reckless this person could be, he still ruled out that possibility...
...
Since the Pensieve was already in use, Draco could not use it himself to view the memory he wanted to see.
But while Harry Potter remained temporarily unaware of the outside world, Draco turned his gaze toward the sheet of parchment Harry had placed on Horace’s desk.
It was the magical map from earlier.
Cautious as ever, Draco did not touch it right away. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and studied the parchment, which was completely blank.
So that phrase really was the key to opening this map.
Rubbing his chin, Draco formed a rough guess.
It was not so much that Draco was especially clever, it was that Harry had practically given everything away just now.
In any case.
Since there was nothing else he could do, Draco could only redirect his curiosity to the map...
After glancing at Harry Potter, who still had not moved or reacted at all, Draco finally spoke in a low voice. “That phrase was... I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”
Ink lines.
The map, blank only a moment ago, now looked as though an invisible hand had begun drawing across the parchment.
Starting from the center, lines of ink spread toward all four corners of the parchment, rapidly forming a complete map.
Draco recognized what was on it at once. It was a map of Hogwarts... and not only that, even the hidden secret passages were marked on it.
Having lived here for several years, Draco was naturally very familiar with the places shown on the map.
What interested him was that only now did he discover there was actually a secret passage near the Slytherin common room, though he had no idea where it led.
This magical map was so detailed it was almost astonishing, and Draco immediately realized just how important and valuable it was.
Not to mention, it seemed to have the ability to show the location of every person inside Hogwarts...
Just as Draco was considering whether he ought to take the map with him, he noticed something on it. “This is...”
The moment the ink lines reached the lower right corner of the parchment, several intriguing names appeared there at once.
They were Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.
Rather than names, they looked more like code names.
Draco blinked. “So these four wizards are the creators of this magical map?”
And just as Draco was wondering who those people were, Harry Potter, who had been standing there like a wooden statue a moment ago, suddenly showed signs of movement...
...
Before Draco had the chance to try any of the magical map’s other functions, Harry Potter woke up first.
He pulled his hand back and, as quickly and lightly as possible, put the magical map back where it had been. Only after making sure it looked no different from before did Draco turn to Harry in confusion. How was he done so fast?!
To be honest, Draco had not expected Harry Potter’s time in the Pensieve to be so short. In barely any time at all, he had already finished exploring Horace Slughorn’s memory.
As he thought this over, Draco deliberately kept his breathing light and did his best to lean his body farther away from Harry, afraid that a single careless movement might give him away.
As for widening the distance between them, Draco was not fully confident he could do that without being noticed, so he stayed where he was and did not move.
Even though Harry Potter, having just lifted his face from the Pensieve, looked completely dazed, like a fool who could hardly notice anything around him...
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco watched Harry’s blank gaze gradually return to normal. And the very first thing Harry did, the moment his mind fully came back, was murmur in disbelief, “Just like in the dream. Professor Horace really was involved in this!”
Just like in the dream?
What did that mean?
Hearing this, Draco lowered his eyes and thought it over.
Because of that, he missed the anger, disappointment, and hatred filling Harry Potter’s eyes.
Who knew what Harry had seen in that memory to stir his emotions so violently.
By coincidence, by the time Draco looked up again, Harry Potter had already calmed down and was no longer showing any trace of those negative feelings.
Although Draco had missed something just now, Harry Potter apparently had no intention of stopping his muttering yet...
“Isn’t seven the most magical number... seven?!”
Draco noticed it.
When Harry said the first part, he seemed to be imitating someone else’s tone. Only the final word, seven, was spoken in a voice of genuine shock.
For the moment, Draco could not understand what that number represented.
As for seven Horcruxes?
To be honest, Draco did not think in that direction at all.
After all, splitting a soul into seven pieces was not something a madman would do. That was the sort of thing only a complete lunatic would even attempt.
Even though his suspicions had not gone that way, seeing how much Harry cared about it, Draco still silently committed the moment to memory....
...
Although everything Harry Potter did seemed to be going smoothly, he clearly had no idea that every single one of his actions had already been seen by Draco standing nearby.
Even that important Marauder’s Map had nearly been taken by Draco on the spot.
It had to be said, with an Invisibility Cloak that could fool Dobby and that precious magical map as well, Harry Potter really did have quite a few treasures on him.
And speaking of the Marauder’s Map...
Just as Harry Potter was about to put the Invisibility Cloak back on, he seemed to notice something, and his hands suddenly froze. “The map... didn’t I turn it blank again just now?”
Turn it blank again?!
The instant Draco realized he seemed to have overlooked something, Harry Potter suddenly pulled out his wand and swept a wary gaze across the office.
Do not treat everyone else like an idiot.
Even with all his flaws, Harry Potter was not some brainless fool.
The moment he saw the Marauder’s Map covered in lines again, Harry naturally realized there was a problem.
Other than himself, there was another unknown wizard inside Professor Horace’s office.
The four corners of the room.
Every possible place a person could hide.
Of course, Harry Potter found nothing in any of those places, let alone a living, breathing person.
And as time passed, once Harry realized there was a real possibility his actions had been exposed, cold sweat immediately soaked his back.
Then, as if fleeing from it all, Harry Potter suddenly vanished into thin air.
Apparently, he had ducked straight back under the Invisibility Cloak.
Draco did not reveal himself, nor did he panic because of it. He simply stood there quietly without moving.
Because he did not believe Harry Potter could really find him without causing a major commotion...
...
Staring at the map after it turned blank again, Draco furrowed his brow in annoyance. Mischief managed... tch, so there’s even a command to close the map.
Whether Harry Potter became suspicious or more cautious would not have much effect on Draco’s plans, but this slipup still bothered him.
He should have thought of it sooner.
Just then, the office door was suddenly pulled open, then slowly closed again.
Strangely enough, no one appeared.
Naturally, aside from the departing Harry Potter, no one else should have been able to do that.
Even so, Draco still had no intention of removing the Disillusionment Charm...
A few seconds.
Or perhaps a few minutes.
The door that had just been shut was mysteriously pulled open again, as though the exact same scene were being repeated.
Draco raised a brow. “So it really was a test.”
It seemed their Savior was not above fishing for a reaction either....
...
At a Christmas party this lively, even if a few people were missing, nobody would notice.
Even if you had someone specific in mind, finding the person you were looking for in a crowd this large would not be easy.
Even if the missing person was the famous Harry Potter, no one would notice that he had never shown up at all. Besides Ron, Harry Potter really did not have any friends worth mentioning.
As for Draco, who was also absent, a small number of people did notice that.
Among them, that young red-haired witch had noticed very early on that Draco did not seem to be at the Christmas party...
Ginny had clearly dressed up for the occasion today.
The light makeup highlighted her youthful energy, and the little dress she had changed into gave her, a girl who usually acted like a boy, an extra touch of girlish innocence.
Thankfully, her brothers were no longer at Hogwarts. Otherwise, they would definitely have teased her about it.
Strangely, though, whenever someone came over to ask her for a dance, she turned them down right away. And after rejecting those boys, Ginny kept looking around, as if she had lost something.
By comparison, Hermione, standing beside Ginny, had not received a single invitation from anyone else.
Who knew whether it was because Hermione was wearing such a clear keep-away expression that the boys who thought they had spotted an opening did not dare approach, or because they were wary of a certain absent someone, which kept that possibility from arising at all...
Come to think of it, after parting ways with Pansy and the others, Hermione had run into Ginny and Luna.
Interestingly, the ones who stayed were Ginny and the others, not Hermione, who did not look in the slightest like someone who had come to attend a Christmas party.
Because Hermione did nothing and took part in nothing. She merely stared quietly in one direction.
While keeping her eyes on Professor Horace, who was going around toasting all the professors with a smug, high-spirited expression, Hermione glanced at Ginny and the others beside her from the corner of her eye. “Say, what have you been looking for this whole time? Did you lose something?”
“Me? I’m not looking for anyone.”
“???”
Hermione blinked in confusion.
Did I say you were looking for someone?
Hearing that, Luna, who was holding a plate of little cakes nearby, quietly rolled her eyes at her friend.
She had realized that her friend really was not very good at keeping secrets.
As for that question, Luna did not even need to ask. She already knew exactly who her friend was looking for.
Only that person could make Ginny act this strangely...
...
Compared to Draco acting alone, the task Hermione and the others were responsible for was much easier and simpler.
Put simply, all they had to do was make sure Professor Horace never left their sight.
And the moment Professor Horace showed any sign of leaving the Christmas party, Hermione was supposed to step in and hold him there, at least long enough to keep him from leaving too quickly.
While Hermione kept Professor Horace occupied, Pansy and Astoria’s task was to notify Draco and cover for him so he could get away safely.
In other words.
These girls looked as though they were attending the party normally, but in truth, their minds were not on the party at all.
It was not until the very last moment before the Christmas party ended that Ginny finally noticed something off about Hermione...
“Why have you been staring at Professor Horace the whole time?”
“...Have I?”
“It’s obvious. And why isn’t that guy with you? No... I didn’t even see him with Parkinson.”
Only then did Ginny, slow to catch on, finally realize there was a problem.
Naturally, Hermione pretended not to understand what she meant, but that was not enough to fool Ginny now that she had noticed something was wrong...
“You’re not planning something, are you? It was definitely that guy’s idea, right?”
“......”
“Tell me. Maybe I can help too.”
“.....”
Ginny’s eager expression made Hermione look at her helplessly. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”
“Of course I do. It’s just something the professors can’t find out about, right?”
“No, you don’t. And don’t forget where we stand. There are some things that need to be avoided.”
Although the two of them stood on different sides, Hermione cared about their friendship, so she did not spell it out too plainly.
Faced with Hermione’s serious expression, Ginny, who was not stupid but had been deliberately ignoring it, could only press her lips together and stop asking further.
It was obvious that Ginny looked a little dejected now.
Whether that was because there was now an issue between her and Hermione that she could no longer avoid facing, or because she felt disappointed at not getting an answer, no one could say.
In any case.
The silence between them only made the atmosphere feel even more out of place...
Just then, Luna seemed to spot someone and suddenly spoke up.
“Draco... is here.”
“Where?!”
“Huh?!”
Under Luna’s dreamy gaze, Draco appeared at the entrance to the Christmas party, wearing a thoughtful expression...
...
At this lively Christmas party, Draco’s late arrival did not actually draw much attention.
That was because every wizard’s eyes were fixed on the Weird Sisters performing onstage. No one had the spare attention to notice what was happening around them, let alone who had just walked in through the doors.
In fact, if Luna had not pointed it out, Hermione might not have realized right away that Draco had already arrived at the Christmas party....
It was worth mentioning that, unlike Hermione, Pansy and Astoria, who were standing by themselves in the crowd, still had their attention fixed on Professor Horace at the faculty table.
They were focused on their task.
Interestingly, whether Hermione had forgotten or was doing it on purpose, no one could say.
With her own little scheme in mind, the moment Hermione saw Draco appear, she had absolutely no intention of calling out to Pansy and the others. Instead, deliberately sneaking about, she carefully made her way to Draco’s side.
The smile on her face was like that of a little fox that had just stolen something good.
The only thing Hermione found slightly imperfect was that, for some reason, Ginny and the others had followed along too...
...
Once Hermione reached Draco, she leaned in with an eager expression.
Since Draco had shown up here, that meant the plan must have gone very smoothly...
Still, even though she was already impatient to know the answer, with Ginny and the others present, Hermione could not ask too directly. “How did it go? Did you get the answer you wanted?”
“Mm. There was a bit of an accident in the middle, but as things stand, we’ve completed more than half of our objective. As for the rest, that will need a deeper investigation.”
As he spoke, Draco shook a small silver-glinting vial in his hand.
It looked plain and unremarkable, but in truth, it contained a very important secret, and also the key to the next stage of their investigation.
Compared with the confusion in Ginny’s eyes, Hermione seemed to have guessed something, and her expression turned excited. “That’s it? You actually took it with you?”
“Of course. I wasn’t stupid enough to use it on the spot.”
“.....That really sounds like you’re mocking someone, but let me see.”
Watching Hermione take the little vial from his hand with open curiosity, Draco merely shrugged.
The truth was, after Harry Potter’s attempt at baiting him had failed, Draco had not left Horace Slughorn’s office immediately. Instead, he had stayed behind and continued with the plan he had originally intended to carry out.
That was, to find clues related to Horcruxes in Horace’s Pensieve.
Whether it was coincidence or simply that his luck was especially good today, Draco very quickly found a memory that seemed likely to contain a clue.
Because he saw the younger Voldemort. More precisely, he saw that student Tom, the same one he had fought in the Chamber of Secrets.
However, Draco did not choose Harry Potter’s method and recklessly plunge his head straight into the Pensieve.
What Draco did instead was extract the portion of memory he wanted from the Pensieve and quietly take it away with him.
That was the transparent little vial now in Hermione’s hand, filled with silvery liquid....
As for whether Professor Horace would later notice that part of the memory was missing from the Pensieve, and then realize that someone had entered his office while he was away,
Draco did not care in the slightest about any trouble that might arise afterward.
Nor did he think he would ever be caught.
Mm... that was Harry Potter’s doing. What did it have to do with Draco?
...
Even though Draco said nothing, how could Hermione, the know-it-all, possibly fail to understand what was inside that transparent little vial?
Professor Horace’s memory!
As Hermione gently shook the vial, her eyes shone with curiosity and the thirst for knowledge. “When are you planning to use it? And when you do, don’t forget to bring me along. I’m curious too whether it really matches what the books describe.”
“Today, I probably won’t have the time to look into it. We’ll arrange it tomorrow.”
“Is that so... By the way, you mentioned there was an accident in the middle? What exactly happened? Will it cause trouble later?”
“Don’t worry. The other party didn’t find me. But whether they’ve grown suspicious is harder to say.”
Ginny, whose gaze had been moving back and forth between the two of them while having no idea how to join the conversation, suddenly understood what Hermione had meant by those earlier warnings.
Although that might not match what she truly felt, and she also did not believe the Slytherins, Draco included, were really as evil as other people claimed, because of the difference in their positions and sides, there was still an invisible barrier between Ginny and Draco’s group, and there were many things that had to be avoided.
If this had happened earlier, Ginny might not have felt so conflicted.
But after what had happened that day in the heavy snow, Molly Weasley had specifically warned her about it.
The warning, naturally, was to stay farther away from Draco.
As for the reason... of course none was given.
After all, in Molly Weasley’s eyes, she was still just a child who had not yet grown up.
What Molly did not realize was that, for a Gryffindor like Ginny, who also had a bit of a rebellious streak, that kind of approach would naturally have the opposite effect.
The more they tried to control her, the less they could stop her.
Otherwise, Ginny would not have kept approaching Draco....
Feeling unable to get a word in, Ginny could only turn to Luna beside her.
Interestingly, Ginny did not even seem to bother lowering her voice. “Do you know what that thing is, Luna? Is it a potion?”
“It’s not a potion. It’s moonlight bug blood.”
“........”
What kind of bug??
“It’s a kind of bug you can’t see with the naked eye. You can only find them by the lake during the full moon.”
“........”
She never should have asked Luna.
She would swear on every last Galleon she owned that there was absolutely no such bug in the wizarding world.
More importantly, what did Draco and the others want with the blood of some unknown bug?
And besides... tonight was not even a full moon.
...
Although becoming a Prefect did mean taking on plenty of tedious and troublesome work, along with the responsibilities that came with it,
the sacrifice of personal time also came with some very decent benefits, aside from the advantage it gave for one’s future career.
And those benefits really were excellent. The perks enjoyed by Prefects at every level were not merely enviable, they were enough to make other people green with jealousy.
Among them, the Prefects’ bathroom was one special facility that ordinary students could not use whenever they pleased...
It was said that everything inside that bathroom was made of pure white marble.
And the most important part, the enormous bath itself, took up enough space to rival a small swimming pool. Even if all the Prefects from every year came in to use it at once, there would still be more than enough room, almost to the point of feeling empty.
Mm... in fact, there really was a diving board beside the bath.
According to those with experience, around a hundred golden taps lined the edge of the rectangular pool, supplying both hot and cold water. Not only that, each tap handle was set with a different-colored jewel.
Just imagining it was enough to conjure up the image of a lavish bathroom used for bathing alone...
But aside from that enviable Prefects’ bathroom, what ordinary students envied even more was the fact that Prefects got their own private room and no longer had to share with anyone else.
That was right.
Once you became a Prefect, you got your own little private space. Life at school no longer meant squeezing in with other people, or putting up with their habits and way of living.
You would not even need to be so secretive when getting up in the morning anymore.
That perk alone, having a room of your own, was enough to make young wizards fight tooth and nail to become a Prefect....
...
Tonight, Pansy and Hermione had come to Draco’s Prefect room.
In fact, this was not the first time the girls had been in Draco’s room. If anything, they were very familiar with it, so familiar that you could even spot a few little things in the room that belonged to them....
The moment they stepped into this space filled with Draco’s presence, the first things that caught the eye were the snow-white linen curtains and the entire row of bookshelves that nearly reached the ceiling.
If you looked closely, you would find that almost all the books on those shelves were about dragons.
Turn your head, and on the other side of the bookshelves was a large bed for Draco to rest on. It looked spacious enough for three people to sleep in without feeling crowded...
Of course, Draco had not brought Pansy and the others here today to sleep with them or do anything naughty.
He had proper business to attend to.
Seated around the room’s only small table, Draco and the others had placed a Pensieve and a small vial gleaming with silver light on top of it...
Pansy leaned in close to the little vial. “So we’re going into this memory in a moment? Horace’s?”
“It’s Professor Horace! When are we starting? I can’t wait any longer.”
“I’m saying, Granger, can you take this seriously? We’re not here to play.”
“...You’re the least qualified person to say that to me.”
Hermione rolled her eyes at once.
She had not forgotten that the moment Miss Parkinson stepped into the room, Pansy had immediately thrown herself onto Draco’s bed and rolled around on it several times.
That infuriating... shamelessly immature display had made Hermione furious at the time.
If she had not dragged her off the bed right then and there, Pansy might still be rolling around on Draco’s bed even now.
So Pansy was the last person qualified to criticize her...
In any case.
Knowing very well that he absolutely should not casually get involved in a war between girls, Draco hurriedly reached out and picked up the little vial filled with Horace’s memory.
“If you’re ready, then let’s begin.”
With that, Draco carefully poured the silver liquid inside into the Pensieve in front of him.
It was worth mentioning that this Pensieve seemed never to have been used before, so before entering it, Draco and the others did not need to swirl it first.
In other words, all Draco and the others had to do now was plunge their heads into the Pensieve.....
...
The Pensieve was not large, but it was just big enough for Draco and the others to use together.
Still, the sight of their heads pressed together had a strangely amusing quality to it, and yet at the same time, there was also something oddly harmonious about it....
The three of them bent down together and immersed their faces in the memories inside the Pensieve.
As the cold sensation washed over him and he felt that hollow, falling sensation, Draco realized he was already standing in front of someone.
Pansy and the others, who had landed beside Draco as well, opened their eyes and saw that wizard the moment they came to themselves...
It was Professor Horace, only younger.