Draco's eyes widened in shock. Instinctively, he looked toward Moaning Myrtle, only to see that the ghost who had been helping him all along now acted as if she hadn't noticed his predicament at all. She was holding her face in both hands, looking shy yet delighted.
Before he had time to make a sound, something was stuffed into his mouth.
A sweet taste spread instantly, and Draco's eyes showed a trace of bewilderment.
It was… a piece of candy.
Before he could think or resist, the young wizard suddenly went pop—and turned into a chubby, fluffy lop-eared rabbit.
A moment later, his body was lifted into the air, a hand grabbed him and then stuffed him into the pocket of a wizard's robe.
The rabbit's eyes bulged round, and his body trembled. But he saw that the person who caught him didn't hand him over to be dealt with by "Viper." Instead, they just waved their wand twice, then turned on the tap and began to wash their hands.
"Oh my, what are you doing here?"
Myrtle's voice was honey-sweet. "Did you come to see me?"
She completely ignored the fact that this wasn't even the bathroom she usually haunted.
Draco couldn't hear the voice of the person holding him; his own heart pounded wildly, and his nose flared as he tried to catch his breath. He tested climbing up the pocket to peek outside. Before his eyes were tiled bathroom walls and the sink, while the sound of rushing water filled his ears.
Freedom seemed just within reach, and the person holding him wasn't stopping him from moving.
Just as Draco gathered his courage to leap out, the bathroom door was suddenly slammed open with a bang!
The lop-eared rabbit jerked his head around and saw several familiar faces. They had just been practicing the Cruciatus Curse down in the Chamber of Secrets, and now their faces still carried the same vicious expressions as their eyes swept across the room.
Instantly, Draco loosened his paws, slipped back into the pocket, and didn't dare make a sound. His hind legs tensed, ready to bolt at any moment.
But inside, his heart was already almost completely filled with despair.
Draco had moved too quickly to notice the stunned expressions on their faces. But he soon heard their wary voices:
"—Why is it you?"
More footsteps rushed into the bathroom, followed by the calm voice of "Viper" Rosen:
"It's not him—if he just came out of the pipes, even if he used a Cleaning Charm, there's no way he'd be this spotless."
Draco then heard the person holding him speak, their tone was especially cold:
"Who are you looking for?"
In that instant, the lop-eared rabbit felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His whole body stiffened, and his fur standing on end.
This voice… It's Wade Grey!
It can't be wrong—there is no mistaking it. Even if someone has a similar pitch, no one can mimic the way this guy speaks!
Draco knew people often called him arrogant, but compared to himself, Wade Grey was the one truly arrogant beyond salvation.
Curled up in the pocket, Draco peered faintly through the fabric's weave and could just make out Rosen and the others' faces, taut with both vigilance and fear.
"This has nothing to do with you, Grey!"
Rosen said coldly. With a wave of his hand, his group searched every stall in the bathroom, even behind the doors, but found no one else.
At one point, when someone yanked open a stall door, Myrtle was sitting inside. She glared wide-eyed, let out an angry wail, then suddenly dove headfirst into the toilet. With a splash, water sprayed everywhere.
Soaked to the skin, Goyle wiped his face, gagged a few times, and silently closed the stall door.
Rosen tilted his head back to glance at the entrance to the pipe. The iron grating was still intact, even the dust piled at the edges was undisturbed.
He turned back again, eyeing Wade with suspicion. His gaze swept over Wade's spotless collar and cuffs, his fluffy hair, and his robe so straight and crisp it was nearly free of wrinkles.
No matter how skilled Wade Grey's spells were, there was no way he had just crawled out of the pipes looking like this.
Of course, the main point was—despite their numbers, if a fight really broke out, Rosen wasn't certain of victory.
Professor Snape's office was nearby. If they made too much noise, their Head of House would definitely be drawn over.
And Rosen was not naïve enough to believe that just because they were all Slytherins, Snape would unquestioningly take their side.
With the professor's temperament, it was more likely he would bury them all without a word.
The boy across from him wiped his wet hands casually, allowing Rosen's scrutiny without the slightest discomfort. His eyes, full of interest, swept over the group with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Afraid that Wade might see through him, Rosen quickly led his group out of the bathroom. Only then did he pull aside the student next to him and ask, "How's your Tracking Charm? Are you sure it pointed to this bathroom?"
"N-Not exactly…" the student said uneasily, troubled by the interference. "The Tracking Charm broke off around here. I can only say that guy should've been nearby just now…"
Rosen's gaze swept the surroundings.
The bathroom was the most obvious target, but since nothing had been found… there were still some nearby classrooms, storage rooms, and a potion supply closet for classes. A little farther was the Potions classroom itself and Professor Snape's office.
"Search!" he rasped. "We must find that guy!"
The group scattered. At that moment, Rosen heard a grating creak beside him.
Wade stepped out of the bathroom, still holding the door handle, and pulled it open and shut twice.
Amid the "creak-creak" sound, he turned his head and said, "The hinges on this door are probably bent because of you lot. Shouldn't you fix it?"
Rosen looked at the composed fourth-year, his face darkened, then walked over and cast a Reparo on the hinges.
The light of the spell flickered, and when Wade swung the door again, it made no unpleasant noise.
Satisfied, Wade nodded politely to Rosen and walked away.
On an impulse, Rosen narrowed his eyes, carefully watching the soles of Wade's shoes as he walked.
There were ordinary signs of wear, showing Wade hadn't used any powerful cleaning spell beyond Rosen's knowledge.
But there was no fine black grime—proving he really hadn't been in the pipes just now.
Relieved, Rosen shifted his attention toward the storage rooms that looked far more suited for hiding someone.
…
With a loud pop, the lop-eared rabbit vanished from the floor, replaced by Draco Malfoy.
He was so blackened by smoke that his original complexion was nearly unrecognizable, and his robe was wrinkled as though a troll had trampled it, even the crevices of his nails were crammed with rust and filth.
"Wasn't Morphing Gummies only supposed to last a short while?"
Still in the guise of a student, Antoine asked curiously.
While the others were busy searching, he had slipped away from the group and come to find Wade.
Wade said, "Not the one in my hand."
"You kept a special batch for yourself, like when you turned into a mermaid before?" Antoine asked with great interest. "Can it be mass-produced?"
Wade gave him a glance and said, "Last time, I added gillyweed to the candy. This one contains shadow aconite. Ordinary ingredients can't create this effect."
Antoine mentally calculated his vault balance, then said regretfully, "In that case, forget it. Pretend I didn't ask."
"Why are you helping me, Grey?" Draco asked through clenched teeth as he climbed up from the ground.
"If you don't want my help, you can always go back and shout to Perse Rosen that you were the one eavesdropping."
Antoine pointed with his hand and said impatiently, "Go ahead! We won't stop you from turning yourself in."
Draco froze, looking embarrassed. "That's not what I meant…"
Suddenly, he realized something. Frowning, he looked at Antoine and asked, "You're not Bletchley… who exactly are you?"
Bletchley was a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team—the person whose appearance Antoine had assumed with Polyjuice Potion. With that face, he was able to infiltrate Rosen's Dark Arts study group. Draco knew Bletchley fairly well, so after a few words, he noticed something was off.
Of course, the only reason he caught on was that Antoine hadn't bothered to conceal himself.
Antoine grinned and winked. "Why don't you guess?"
The expression was oddly reminiscent of Dumbledore, and Draco instinctively stepped back half a pace and his spine stiffened.
Antoine wasn't disappointed at Draco's lack of response. He patted Wade's shoulder and said, "You two take your time talking. I'll go first."
Wade nodded, watching him leave.
As Antoine passed by Draco, he suddenly reached out and touched Draco's hair. Draco jumped like a startled rabbit, retreating several steps in quick succession.
Antoine cheerfully opened his hand, revealing a dull gray little creature clinging to his palm.
"There was a gecko on your head. I took it off for you—you're welcome."
Draco stared wide-eyed, watching the unfamiliar "Bletchley" walk out of the room. He turned to Wade. "Who on earth is that guy?"
Wade countered, "Why should I tell you?"
Draco's expression stiffened, as if only just realizing that his relationship with Wade Grey wasn't exactly good either.
But compared to Rosen and his pursuers—and the inexplicable "Miles Bletchley" who had replaced the real one—Wade Grey seemed far more approachable and reliable. Instinctively, Draco treated him as an ally.
As Draco fell silent, Wade studied his sweat-covered face. Seeing that his eyes still carried traces of fear, Wade paused for a moment before asking, "Why were you running just now?"
"Uh?" Draco hesitated, then instinctively concealed the fact that Rosen and the others had been practicing the Cruciatus Curse. Vaguely, he said, "Of course it was because they were chasing me…"
Wade gave him a glance and drawled, "What I mean is… wasn't the Order of the Dead the group you used to be in? Why would you spy on them learning magic—and then run when you were discovered?"
Draco's pupils shrank sharply. His mind felt as though struck by an invisible bolt of lightning, his ears roared, and cold sweat slid down his back.
He heard Wade Grey say flatly, "After all, you're a Malfoy. I imagine if you'd just walked out and said you wanted to join, Perse Rosen wouldn't have refused."
Draco's throat tightened suddenly. His gaze flickered over Wade's face, desperately searching for clues—just how much does this person know?
"That fake Bletchley told you everything?" he asked hoarsely. "Do you know what they're doing? Or are you… are you one of them too?"
A thought slipped uncontrollably into his mind—could it be that running a "White Magic Study Group" wasn't enough for Wade Grey, so he secretly manipulated Perse Rosen as well, setting up a "Dark Magic advanced class"?
It sounded absurd, but maybe it was Wade Grey's tone, or maybe it was the indescribable aura he carried—something about him gave off a particularly strong "mastermind behind the scenes" feeling.
Wade asked in surprise, "Why would I ever join such a low-grade group?"
Draco couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.
After his desperate flight, his emotions had stretched tight and slackened several times, leaving him exhausted in body and soul.
He no longer had the strength to spar with words as usual. Tugging at his sweat-soaked tie, he hesitated a moment before finally admitting the truth:
"It was Myrtle who brought me… I wanted revenge on the ones bullying me, and she told me there were people in the school teaching Dark Magic. I thought… I thought if I learned it, I could make people fear me again…"
"You didn't know beforehand that it was the Order of the Dead?" Wade asked.
"How could I know?" Draco said with a bitter smile. "I haven't spoken to them for a long time. Ever since… ever since my father's downfall, it's like they don't even want to bother with me anymore…"
Wade: "So back then, you didn't know they were teaching Dark Magic?"
Draco replied, "Before, we were just using the name of Dark Magic, learning spells that were only a bit over the line. Like curses… and some hexes…"
"And the Entrail-Expelling Curse?" Wade added.
Draco's face stiffened. "They told me it was just a prank spell… that it could even count as a healing charm. The one who taught it to me didn't know the consequences would be that severe, not until I actually used it…"
"That's what they told you?" Wade raised a brow and smiled. "And you believed them?"
"…Anyway, I never imagined they'd already started learning the Unforgivable Curses." Draco forced the topic away. "That's just…"
The memory of those tortured rats came back to him, and he shuddered, breaking into another cold sweat as the horror hit him belatedly.
"Now that you know," Wade asked, "do you still want to join them again?"
Draco's head jerked up, his gray eyes locking with Wade's.
"I… I won't…"
Draco drew a deep breath, and his voice trembled. "I can't… I could never do something like that…"
In his mind's eye flashed the image of living creatures' eyes—eyes filled with despair and agony as they were tormented. Alongside them, Rosen and his group's twisted, excited expressions—faces like demons.
In that moment, Draco even felt a faint doubt toward his own parents—
The father he had always respected, admired, adored… When he served the Dark Lord, had he tortured others in the same way? Tortured living people?
And his mother… would she have too?
Wade smiled. "That's good…"
He pocketed his wand and walked past Draco. At the doorway, he said, "Clean yourself up before you go out. Otherwise, the moment you step outside, everyone will know you were the one spying."
The door shut. Draco turned his head and saw his reflection in the glass.
The dust on his face, streaked with cold sweat, made him look as if he had rolled in coal ash and then wept bitterly.
But it wasn't his dirty appearance that shook him most. It was the emotion in those gray eyes—
A fear and weakness he didn't want to admit, brimming in his gaze like a cornered beast, still trying to hold on to the last shred of dignity.
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