Chapter 177. Draco, Something's Not Right!
"Nofi, what task did you send them to carry out?"
Watching those two pixies strut off like heroes, another pixie flew up and asked curiously.
"Don't rush it. You'll know in a bit. Come on, we ought to get ready as well." Nofi smiled, turned, and left.
Elsewhere, Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe no longer had the swagger they'd shown when they first entered the forest. The deeper they went, the more the sunshine was blocked by snow-laden canopies, leaving the woods gloomy and unnerveing.
Some especially bare trees hid in the shadows like clawing demons. From time to time, a cold wind howled through, and far-off branches and shrubs creaked and rustled. The sounds circled through the woods and, by the time they reached the boys' ears, sounded like the deep growls of some beast.
Everything around them felt unfamiliar and frightening. They placed every step with care, afraid that any accidental noise would draw the attention of dreadful monsters. Even a hopping little bug could make them shiver all over.
Right now, Malfoy was full of regret and wanted to slap himself hard. Lying on the sofa in the common room, eating biscuits, drinking hot milk, and watching the fish gliding in the Black Lake—wasn't a comfortable, leisurely life like that far nicer?
Why did I have to run into the forest to catch some pixies? What a perfectly idiotic decision!
So what if my backside took a few arrows? What does that matter? If we run into some vicious beast, even two extra backsides won't be enough!
Malfoy sighed to himself. As he brooded, his pace slowed to a crawl, like a snail. He very much wanted to turn back and return to the castle to enjoy the fun of teasing Harry. But with his two underlings acting so calm, how could the big boss be the first to lose his nerve? Otherwise, how would he lead his lads to swagger through Slytherin and dominate Hogwarts?
Malfoy could only force himself to carry on with feigned composure, flashing Goyle and Crabbe a confident smile from time to time.
Harboring the same thoughts as Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe stared around with ashen faces, their lips trembling. But since the boss hadn't spoken, the underlings didn't dare offer opinions and simply followed Malfoy with gritted teeth.
Struggling over a series of roots bulging out of the ground and leaping over a foul puddle full of dead branches and fallen leaves, they pressed on a bit farther. Crabbe seemed to spot something. His eyes went wide, his big head turned, and he said excitedly, "Draco, look over there!"
Malfoy was startled, his legs going weak so that he nearly fell. He grabbed the trunk beside him and snapped, "What are you yelling for all of a sudden?"
"N-no, Draco, I found those annoying pixies!" Crabbe stammered an explanation.
"Oh?" Malfoy looked where Crabbe pointed. Two pixies were flitting about there, chasing each other and playing.
His heart eased a little, and his nerves loosened. He sneered. "Finally found you! Quick, you two, put the cage out in front!"
Malfoy glanced at Crabbe's huge iron cage and the slab of meat he'd specially prepared, and the corner of his mouth curled. "Once those two pixies get a whiff of the aroma, they won't be able to resist and will obediently crawl into the cage!"
"Draco, you're so clever!" Crabbe said with heartfelt admiration. With a brain to rival a troll's, he could spend a lifetime and still not come up with such a good idea.
"I only read a few more books while you two were gnawing on biscuits," Malfoy said smugly, then urged, "All right, get moving. If we catch those two pixies quickly, we can still make it back for lunch."
The fare on the tables of the Great Hall flashed through Goyle's mind, and drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. He swallowed with a slurp, licked his lips, and said, "Right, we'll go now. Crabbe, let's go."
"Wait." Crabbe frowned in thought and counted on his fingers. "There are only two pixies… You want one for a specimen and one as a pet. Wouldn't that leave me without one, Draco?"
Crabbe looked at Malfoy with pleading eyes. He was scared, yes, but he wanted even more to strut around with a pixie in tow.
"Once we've got the method down, will we be short of a pixie or two? We can come back and catch more next time!" Malfoy glared at Crabbe.
You thick-skinned oaf, only thinking of your own little benefit—no sense of the boss's difficulties, eh? Look at Goyle—so perceptive, so well-behaved!
"Don't be angry. We'll go right now…" Wilting under Malfoy's fire-filled glare, Crabbe hunched his neck.
He and Goyle swaggered off with the cage toward where the two pixies were. The cage scraped against the nearby shrubbery with a clatter, as if beating gongs and drums to announce themselves to the pixies.
"Idiots!" Malfoy hissed in a furious whisper. "Can't you crawl over? Keep your movements smaller!"
Goyle and Crabbe glanced at the wet ground, exchanged a look, and their faces showed clear reluctance. But at Malfoy's urging, they slowly crouched down, pressed their whole bodies to the muddy ground, and inched forward on hands and knees. Splashed mud and low branches left mottled streaks on their faces; the two of them looked like professional special-forces soldiers.
They crawled a way and were almost in position. Crabbe carefully pushed the iron cage forward, then shifted his body and hunched into a dense clump of shrubs to watch. Goyle lay beside him, holding a transparent thin cord, staring intently ahead. As soon as a pixie entered the cage, he would yank the cord to trigger the catch and lock them inside.
After a short wait, the meat's aroma slowly drifted outward. The pixies skylarking in the air twitched their noses and caught the scent. One of them was immediately entranced. Its eyes went glassy as it slowly descended, both hands reaching toward the meat.
But halfway down, the other pixie whooshed over, smacked it hard on the back of the head, and grabbed it by the ear.
"What do you think you're doing? Have you forgotten what Nofi just told us? If you ruin its plan, it'll give you a proper thrashing!"
The pixie jolted at once. Fear of Nofi's strength overwhelmingly beat out its craving for food.
"Thank you, my good brother. I almost made a terrible mistake!"
"No problem. We should lure these idiots over now," the other pixie said. "Nofi and the others should be ready!"
"Mm-hm!" The first pixie took off again, flying forward in fits and starts. Every movement of its body looked so obviously staged that it might as well have had "Come chase us!" written across its face.
But Goyle and Crabbe didn't notice at all. Seeing the pixies ignore the bait and fly farther away instead, they grew anxious. They turned their heads in unison to stare at Malfoy not far off, as if to ask, "Draco, this isn't quite what you said would happen!"
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