Malfoy was currently very busy. Ever since third year, Slytherin had undergone a complete transformation in style.
Well—only in style.
With the introduction of intense, high-pressure training, the Slytherin Quidditch team had become an unstoppable force, rain or shine.
Thanks to Snape's blatant favoritism toward the Slytherin team, they monopolized the Quidditch pitch for long stretches.
The pitch, which had been turned into a maze last term, had now returned to its original state.
Woosh!
A streak of gold zipped across the Quidditch field, weaving through the storm of rain and occasional flashes of lightning.
"Hold formation!" Montague bellowed, only to start choking as rain poured into his mouth.
They were practicing a new tactical formation. Malfoy, hot on the tail of the Golden Snitch, wore waterproof goggles and kept accelerating.
Swoosh!
The Firebolt tore through the rain curtain, the heavy drops smacking against Malfoy like whips, forcing a muffled grunt from him.
The Snitch dived. Malfoy dove after it.
The chase lasted only three seconds before it was clear who won.
Malfoy's right hand clutched the Golden Snitch; his left hand gripped the Firebolt, muscles taut as he fought to keep the broomstick under control near the ground.
When he finally came to a stop, he was less than a foot away from the goalpost.
"Haah!"
His tense body relaxed. Hair soaked and plastered to his face, Malfoy broke into a grin.
"That was bloody brilliant, Draco—you did it!" Montague cheered as he descended with the rest of the team.
They had practiced that dive maneuver many times, and each time Malfoy ended up rolling across the ground.
The worst time, he had even lost consciousness.
Cheers erupted from the Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle had taken over the Beater positions left vacant by graduation.
Their builds were a perfect fit, but it also meant enormous pressure.
Slytherin operated on a might-makes-right system—if you couldn't fly as well as others, you'd be kicked off the team.
A whole bench full of substitutes watched their spots like hawks, so much so that the two could probably play Quidditch even in their dreams.
After practice, Malfoy hastily stripped off his uniform and dashed toward the Black Lake.
His sheer determination gave the rest of the team chills.
Montague sighed, "No wonder he can walk alongside John."
The others nodded in agreement, while some substitutes' eyes lit up. If they worked hard enough, could they also earn John's favor?
By the time Malfoy reached the lake, Neville was already waiting.
Neville had taken off his loose wizard robes, revealing his upper arms and thick biceps.
He was warming up, casually lifting two large rocks connected by a wooden rod.
Malfoy sneered—he had just come straight from Quidditch practice, and this guy wanted to compete with him? Please.
He also took off his wizard robes, revealing muscles completely different from Neville's.
A lean, toned body with powerful, defined arms.
If Neville was like a standing grizzly bear, then Malfoy was a leopard, ready to rip a throat open in an instant.
Two suits of armor nearby had started arguing over who got to train with whom.
"No, you go with Little Dragon! He shook my head loose last time!"
"I want the Longbottom Knight! Little Dragon even lost last time—I'm not going with him!"
Malfoy's face darkened when he overheard the two clanking morons bickering.
In the end, the rebellious, free-spirited suit of armor once again ended up as Malfoy's training weight.
The two of them each tied a rope around their waists, dragging their respective suits of armor like tugboats pulling ships.
Just as they were about to start running, Neville suddenly asked, "What's John doing?"
Malfoy looked up. On the rocks by the Black Lake, John had dipped one hand into the water.
He murmured something under his breath, frowning, and then suddenly dove straight into the lake.
A moment later, over a dozen heads popped up on the water's surface—merfolk, Grindylows, and other Black Lake creatures.
They seemed to have encountered something terrifying, all scrambling to the surface in a panic.
...
John continued sinking toward the bottom of the lake. Using Transfiguration, he turned his lungs into dragon lungs.
A single breath was enough to let him stay underwater for an entire day.
A clueless Grindylow swam over, intending to mess with him.
"That guy seems to be hiding in the Black Lake…"
John narrowed his eyes. He was looking for the giant squid that was hiding somewhere in the lake.
"If you won't come out, then I'll force you out."
A terrifying pressure radiated from his body. The approaching Grindylow didn't even get a chance to make a move—its eyes widened in fear, as if it had seen something monstrous, and it bolted in terror.
That aura spread rapidly through the water, and all nearby creatures fled from the lakebed as if trying to escape an unseen doom.
As the Black Lake's creatures scattered, John raised his hand and grabbed a strand of lakeweed.
Using elemental magic, he tried to communicate with the spirit of the Black Lake, hoping it would summon the giant squid for him.
But after several attempts, there was no response.
"The spirit of the Black Lake isn't answering." John's heart sank. It looked like he would have to find it himself.
He raised his wand and cast a Sensory Charm.
Everything within a hundred meters of the Black Lake was projected into John's mind. Every time he walked a certain distance, he would release a wave of pressure to drive away the lake creatures, then cast the Sensory Charm again.
Just like that, he walked along the lakebed for several hours.
The water pressure of the Black Lake bore down heavily—an ordinary person wouldn't have lasted long.
John moved in the direction of the castle.
...
In the Slytherin common room, there was a spot with a view of the Black Lake.
A transparent glass pane displayed the underwater scenery, and the faint glow from the lake created a dreamy, misty ambiance—this made it a favorite hangout for Slytherin couples.
There was a saying passed around in Slytherin, aimed at young lovers:
"If you love her, take her to see the Black Lake mermaids."
In reality, it was just a prank by upperclassmen to mess with younger students—after all, the mermaids weren't much to look at.
And the lake creatures often enjoyed baring their teeth and making scary faces at students, startling many first-years into screaming and running away.
Today was no exception—another clueless underclassman had been fooled.
A group of snickering older Slytherins watched a naive and awkward third-year couple standing by the window, eagerly waiting to see a mermaid.
Pansy snorted and scoffed, "Disgusting sense of humor."
Daphne glanced at her, thoroughly confused—she could've sworn Pansy had been part of that same upperclassmen group just two days ago.
Facing Daphne's confused look, Pansy cupped her face in both hands, eyes dreamy, and gushed, "As a kind and caring upperclassman, how could I possibly deceive such adorable underclassmen?"
Following Pansy's gaze, Daphne spotted a Slytherin boy.
He had short hair, a baby face, fair skin, and looked energetic and outgoing.
A third-year student.
Noticing Pansy looking at him, the boy immediately waved at her.
Pansy waved back just as cheerfully.
Astoria, observing the interaction, leaned in and whispered to her sister, "Is she… dating?"
Daphne figured that might be the case.
Astoria hesitated, then said quietly, "But I remember that boy already has a girlfriend in Ravenclaw."
"No way," Daphne said in surprise.
She really hoped her best friend wasn't making the same mistake again.
Just as they were whispering to each other, a startled cry rang out from the other side.
"Oh? Looks like they got startled by the mermaids—Eh...?"
Astoria turned her head to look—and her mouth fell open. The quill in her hand dropped right onto the parchment.
Daphne found her sister's reaction odd. With her back to the scene, she curiously turned around to look.
The quill in her hand slipped and fell, staining her hard-earned Potions homework.
But she couldn't care less about that now—because not just the young couple, but also the amused upperclassmen nearby were all frozen in the same reaction.
Their eyes were wide open, staring at John, who was casually walking through the water as if no one else existed.
"H-He… why is he there?"
Rubbing their eyes, the Slytherin students wondered if they were dreaming.
"L-Look at those defined abs.. can a person even have a 12 pack..?" A 4th-year boy muttered.
"Can a man even look like that..?" A 3rd-year boy had stars in his eyes.
"Kya~~ Look at those chest veins!" Some 2nd-year girls squealed in excitement. "—And broad shoulders!"
Daphne huffed at their direction, committing their faces to her memory for some late night harmless 'talk'.
"But how is he breathing?"
Most importantly, they hadn't seen John use the Bubble-Head Charm.
He walked up to the glass, placing a hand on it.
A voice suddenly echoed inside the couple's minds.
"Have you seen the giant squid?"
The voice sounded like it was spoken right next to them. The couple's mouths dropped open—big enough to fit an egg.
They gestured wildly with their hands, and John, exasperated, told them they could just speak normally.
"We saw the giant squid go that way just now."
The girl from the couple pointed in a direction. Sometimes, the squid liked to wander around near the Slytherin side.
"Hmm.."
John nodded, then turned and walked through the water in that direction.
He left behind a group of Slytherin students who all looked as if they were dreaming.
Afterwards, no one knew who started the rumor, but word spread that John actually had mermaid blood.
Some even claimed that if you could see John's god like physique underwater, you would be blessed and able to be with the one you love.
That glass window quickly became the most popular spot in Slytherin.
________
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