In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, a silver spinning top was whirling endlessly. Beside it stood a jar of liquid giving off purple smoke, along with several scratched sneakoscopes.
Most eye-catching of all was a large cage on the podium, inside of which a curly-haired goat was calmly grazing.
Professor Moody, as always, ordered the students to put away their textbooks, then limped up and down the aisles between the desks.
"In the Middle Ages, there was a curse that was very popular among wizards. I'm sure you've come across it in your books—the Goat Transfiguration Curse."
Moody tapped the cage with his staff and said, "This kind of transformation is neither Animagus magic nor that silly candy you've all been fond of lately. It's a vicious form of Dark Magic."
The students stared curiously at the goat, which looked docile and harmless. The soft "scratch scratch scratch" of quills on parchment filled the classroom.
"Those struck by the curse cannot free themselves naturally, and the effects do not fade with time. Dark wizards of the era used this spell to turn troublesome Muggles into goats and then sold them off at markets. And… I think you can already guess the goats' fate."
Moody's magical eye spun wildly, sweeping across each student. Many showed disgust or revulsion, some looked intrigued, and others appeared frightened.
His scarred face betrayed no emotion as he went on lecturing:
"Of course, in practice, this form of transfiguration isn't limited to goats. Victims could be turned into frogs, swans, pigs, dogs… whatever animal the wizard chooses.
The result depends on the caster's intention, not on what the unfortunate victim resembles. Once transformed, their family can abandon all hope of ever finding them again…"
"Now, I won't be teaching you this wicked magic. If you're curious, you can go ask Professor McGonagall. What you need to learn today is how to prevent and resist it… Pay attention! This is nothing like those silly morphing candy you use for fun!"
For the remainder of the class, the goat's bleating occasionally echoed in the room, sometimes joined by the sounds of other animals: grunts, barks, croaks.
Draco too had the experience of being turned into a white ferret.
After Moody restored him to human form, the professor sharply remarked that Draco had forgotten the third key point he had just emphasized, and that his willpower was weaker than that of a Niffler!
The classroom broke into low laughter, and several Slytherins cast strange looks at Draco.
Once, Draco Malfoy would have blushed crimson with shame at such an insult, nursing deep resentment toward Professor Moody.
But now, he simply listened with a cold expression, nodded to show he had taken note, and sat back down calmly.
Inside, however, he was far from calm. Yet when he recalled the terrifying experience of the Cruciatus Curse, he felt that being humiliated with a few harsh words wasn't such a big deal after all.
For the first time, he began to understand a little of why Aurors like Moody loathed him—not Draco Malfoy as a person, but the name he bore, the Malfoys' legacy, the choices of his father and grandfather in following the Dark Lord.
At the same time, Draco also came to realize what it must feel like for Harry Potter whenever Professor Snape tormented him, and when others laughed at his expense.
That day, Draco only returned to the Slytherin common room after tidying himself up neatly. He had avoided suspicion of being the mysterious peeping intruder, but his standing within the House had hardly improved.
During these difficult days, he often sat alone under the beech tree by the Black Lake, watching the giant squid's tentacles stretch and sway in the water;
And many nights, he lay awake in bed, staring through the window at the rippling, shifting lights reflected from the lake.
Looking at those fractured patterns of light, he realized for the first time that the world was made up of countless facets.
When he reexamined his own life, he found that the simplicity and happiness of his old world had only existed because his parents had wrapped it up in the finest packaging, showing him only its most splendid side.
But in truth, he had never really known the girl he thought he would marry someday, nor had he ever truly seen through the so-called "friends" around him… Everything he possessed seemed like luxurious silk—yet false, frivolous, fragile… even carrying a faint stench of decay.
Ring… ring…
The bell signaling the end of class rang. Students scraped their chairs back and began gathering their things. Draco woke from his thoughts, and almost instinctively glanced toward Wade Grey among the Ravenclaw students.
Even though he had been distracted for most of the lesson, Draco knew that Wade Grey was the only one who had successfully resisted Professor Moody's Transfiguration Curse.
In fact… Draco felt that, if Wade had wished, he might even have been able to reflect the spell back.
Wade Grey's talent in transfiguration, without question, surpassed that of most fully grown wizards.
Just like that day, when the morphing gummy he had modified had effortlessly turned Draco into a rabbit, and kept him that way until Wade chose to release the spell.
After that day, Draco had spent several uneasy days waiting—yet Rosen and the others never came to trouble him, and Wade never used the incident to hold power over him.
In fact, when they crossed paths in the corridor, Wade acted as though nothing at all had happened, as if that whole episode had been nothing more than a dream Draco had imagined.
After hesitating only a moment, Draco ended up the last to pack his bag and leave the classroom. Pressing his lips together, he walked alone toward the Great Hall—until someone suddenly bumped into him midway.
Draco thought it must be Crabbe again, looking for trouble, and was just about to frown in anger when he saw that the Hufflepuff student who had knocked him hadn't even noticed him.
Up ahead, a group of students had clustered in the corridor, craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to see, whispering among themselves:
"Look—there's Slytherin's Perse Rosen!"
"And Kelly, Burns, Nelson, Pansy, Blaise… all Slytherins… Oh, behind them, there are two Ravenclaws too!"
"What's going on? I've never seen Professor McGonagall look so furious!"
"And Professor Snape too… terrifying…"
Draco froze, then quickly pushed forward through the crowd until he could finally see the scene ahead—
The very people he had seen in the Chamber not long ago were now shuffling forward in a line, heads bowed in fear.
At the front of the procession, Professor McGonagall's face was like iron. At the rear, Professor Snape's eyes were black and murderous, as though he might kill someone on the spot.
Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and Moody were there as well, clearly acting as guards escorting the group of students. Each of their faces was equally grim.
As the line passed through, the corridor fell instantly silent; the whispers died away. The onlooking students shrank back in fear, anxious not to be seized by any of the furious professors.
Draco watched the scene, his stomach twisted sharply, and his throat became so dry it felt like smoke might rise from it.
Only after the group had passed and the gathered students began to disperse did he finally swallow, muttering under his breath without even realizing it:
"Why…"
"Because that bunch of fools caught the one they were looking for—"
A hand landed on his shoulder, and a voice with a hint of laughter sounded by his ear:
"A younger Slytherin student. He claimed he had only spied on them because he admired them and longed to learn from them."
Antoine pressed down on his shoulder, leaned in, and chuckled:
"So stupid… The kid said that, and they actually believed him. Then they felt confident again, and immediately organized a second gathering—and look, they got caught red-handed, didn't they?"
The voice was unfamiliar… yet the way it spoke carried a strange sense of familiarity.
Draco shivered suddenly, whipping around. "You're that fake Bletchley…"
When he saw the man clearly, his eyes widened.
"You… you're not… you're that one from Salem…"
The man flicked Draco on the forehead and said with a grin, "Even if I am from another school, you still ought to call me 'Professor,' kid!"
He turned his head toward Wade, who was leaning casually against the wall not far away, watching.
"Wade, is this Slytherin really one of the top students in your year? He doesn't seem all that bright to me!"
Only then did Draco notice Wade standing nearby, and his expression grew a little embarrassed.
"He just hasn't processed it yet."
Wade looked at Draco and said, "The fact that you weren't among those who got dragged away shows that sometimes adversity in front of you isn't necessarily a bad thing, don't you think?"
If Draco had still been mixed up with those people, not only would he have been marched off in front of everyone, but he might even have been singled out as a ringleader for harsher punishment.
Back when Lucius Malfoy hadn't yet fallen from power, Draco had enjoyed unquestioned authority in Slytherin—so much so that even older students would give way to him.
Draco looked at the two of them. Countless thoughts surged through his head, too jumbled to grasp, and what he finally blurted out was:
"How could they have caught some 'younger Slytherin student' spying?"
—You both know that was me.
"Oh, actually, that kid offered himself up," Antoine said breezily.
"He overheard a few scraps of conversation and thought it was a golden chance to join their little group, so he stepped forward and claimed it. He even said he hadn't managed to see anything before they caught him."
—Really? Are you sure you didn't put him up to it?
Draco shot a suspicious glance at Antoine, who for some reason was acting overly familiar, then turned a questioning look toward Wade.
Wade nodded. "That student is Millicent Bulstrode's younger brother, also a pure-blood. They trust him more than they would you. Even if he got swept up on his very first gathering, they're unlikely to hold it against him."
"Hahaha…" Antoine laughed gloatingly. "Because that kid was caught right along with them!"
Almost without thinking, Draco's lips twitched upward as well, before he asked, "What will happen to them?"
Antoine replied, "The masterminds will definitely be expelled—teaching a bunch of underage kids the Unforgivable Curses, in this school no less. If Dumbledore doesn't throw the lot of them into Azkaban, that'll already be mercy."
"As for the others…" Wade considered what the Headmaster might decide, then said, "Especially those below fifth year—they'll probably just get points deducted, detention. Dumbledore will surely give them a chance to change their ways."
It was only after fifth year that students could sit the O.W.L. examinations, and the certificates gained from these exams largely determined a wizard's future career path. In job applications, marriage, or even trials for crimes, those certificates were an important reference.
Wizard like Hagrid, who had never been able to take the O.W.L.s, might well have become drifter in the wizarding world, or even turned to crime, had Dumbledore not taken him in. There was no chance of finding respectable employment otherwise.
That Dumbledore had appointed Hagrid—who didn't even possess an O.W.L. certificate—as Care of Magical Creatures professor was, strictly speaking, against the rules.
But Hagrid had shown profound knowledge of magical creatures and taught his lessons well enough that the voices of discontent were silenced.
If Pansy and the others were expelled this time—which would be entirely within the rules—they would, like Hagrid once had, lose their chance to sit the Ordinary Wizarding Levels. From that point, their lives would veer onto an entirely unimagined, difficult path.
Pansy, with her wealthy family background, could afford mistakes; but not every Slytherin involved came from such power and privilege. For those expelled, their futures would plunge straight to rock bottom.
Hearing this, Draco couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, then immediately felt a deep disgust for his own weakness.
Wade and Antoine seemed to have stayed in the corridor precisely to ensure the group was caught. After their conversation wound down, Antoine clapped Wade on the shoulder and said:
"Well, since that's settled, I'll be off. As for that matter… Let's meet up sometime to discuss it."
Wade nodded. "See you this weekend, then."
Antoine waved and strode away. Wade slung his bag over his shoulder and headed toward the library.
Left standing there, Draco blinked blankly. After a while, he remembered that he'd originally been on his way to the Great Hall for dinner.
As he walked, his mind kept circling back to the easy familiarity between Antoine and Wade, Antoine's use of Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the Slytherin gathering, and Wade's sudden appearance to save him…
It felt as though he was beginning to grasp something, but whenever he tried to put it into words, it dissolved into layers of mist.
The only thing he could be certain of was this: Wade Grey is hiding a very great secret.
The young wizard furrowed his brow, lost in thought as he crossed the corridor—when suddenly he heard hurried footsteps.
"Malfoy!" A Slytherin first-year came running, panting heavily, hands braced on his knees as he stammered, "T-the castle gates! Your father… your father…"
Draco froze, dropped his bag, and sprinted off!
The cold wind cut across his cheeks as he flew past shadowy figures, his eyes prickling with unexpected wetness, countless dreadful possibilities rushing through his mind.
Whoosh!
Draco burst through the great doors, and the gust he created whipped nearby students' robes into the air. He stopped short, and stared in shock at the figure standing at the foot of the steps.
Lucius Malfoy stood there with both his hands resting on a brand-new serpent-headed cane, gazing up at the towering castle. Hearing the footsteps, he turned his head, and a faint smile touched his lips.
"Draco!"
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