"I can't believe who's behind all this mischief, Professor Lockhart is absolutely furious..." Hermione complained to Harry, who pretended to listen but was clearly miles away in his thoughts.
"Was it you?" Hermione probed, looking at the distracted Harry.
"Mmhmm, you're right," Harry mumbled dismissively, then suddenly snapped back. "Of course not me!"
Seeing Hermione's suspicious gaze, Harry had to prove his innocence. "If it were me, I'd use a proper spell, not dungbombs."
"How do you know they were dungbombs?"
Harry was momentarily speechless. Hermione leaned in close, staring intently into his eyes. The proximity was so close that Harry could even see her rather prominent front teeth.
"Alright, I believe it's not you..." Hermione's ears slowly turned red as she mumbled, backing away.
Harry, deep in thought, then said, "Hermione, you know, if you got your teeth straightened, that would be quite nice."
Just her ears were red before, but now Hermione's entire face flushed. Harry deftly dodged Hermione's angry pursuit and dashed towards Hagrid's hut.
An Unexpected Alliance
Near the Forbidden Forest, Malfoy waved at them when he saw them. He usually just goes straight to Norbert, why is he waiting for us today? Harry wondered with a frown, then ignored Malfoy's greeting and walked straight past him. Hermione, unable to be as self-absorbed as Harry, reluctantly gave Malfoy a nod.
"Potter!" Malfoy called out, catching up to them. "I need to talk to you. That person in black robes at Borgin and Burkes the other day, that was you, wasn't it? The marks on that Runespoor are all too familiar."
Harry stopped and looked at Malfoy, curious to hear what he would say next. If he tried to use this to threaten him, Harry figured he'd have to reluctantly practice his Obliviate spell.
"Granger, could you step away?" Malfoy didn't immediately state his intentions but wanted Hermione to leave first. However, Harry held Hermione's arm and shook his head.
Left with no choice, Malfoy finally revealed his purpose. "I was hoping you could help me buy something from Borgin and Burkes, that Hand of Glory. I'll pay you—"
"Why don't you go yourself? If you're afraid your father will find out, you can always order it by owl post," Harry interrupted Malfoy.
"Because I don't have my own owl, I can only use the family's, and..." Malfoy bit his lip, looking down, "I don't want anyone to find out."
Harry looked at the blushing Malfoy and slowly said, "Did Lucius Malfoy ask you to approach me?"
Draco looked up in astonishment, seemingly wanting to say something, but Harry had already turned and walked away.
A Bargain Struck
Harry gripped Hermione's hand, signaling her to stay quiet. After they had walked some distance, Malfoy caught up again.
"Damn it, Potter." Malfoy stopped them. "Yes, my father told me to approach you, I didn't—"
"Get me some books on Legilimency, and I'll buy it for you," Harry said slowly. "Don't try to fob me off with the rubbish found in shops; I want the ones from your family's private collection."
Hearing Harry propose a deal, Malfoy seemed relieved and readily agreed.
For the rest of the walk, Malfoy didn't try to make further conversation. They arrived at Hagrid's hut to find it empty, with only Fang tied outside the door. They then went to where Norbert often roamed and found Hagrid there.
Norbert had grown as large as Hagrid's hut by now. Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid were busy taking its measurements, with Professor Kettleburn now responsible for helping Hagrid write his papers.
"Hagrid, we're here!" Harry and Hermione greeted him. Malfoy silently picked up a bucket of beef and walked over, feeding Norbert without a word, a sight Hagrid was clearly used to.
"Harry, Hermione, you're here! Once the professor and I are done, I'll treat you to a spider feast," Hagrid paused, then added, "If you want to come, Malfoy, you can."
In the end, Malfoy didn't join the feast. Professor Kettleburn, however, ate with great relish. "Aragog's legs are a rare delicacy for invigorating the body," he declared. After the professor's encouragement, Hermione finally took a bite.
"How is it? I told you these spider legs were delicious," Harry said from nearby. Hermione said nothing, simply taking another leg and eating it.
A Conspiracy Brews
Back at the castle, Harry took Malfoy's written owl post order to the Owlery. Hedwig swiftly flew down when she saw Harry enter, but Harry chose another owl instead. "Good girl, I can't use you this time," Harry comforted her. Hedwig angrily pecked Harry a few times, then flew to the highest perch and turned her back on him.
The next morning, Harry received Borgin's reply. He took the Hand of Glory to Malfoy, but Malfoy said he needed more time to get the book.
"You'd better not be messing with me," Harry warned.
The following days were uneventfully calm, with nothing much happening. Harry decided to put Professor Dumbledore's instructions aside for a while.
One day, while Hermione was at the library, Harry approached Fred in the common room. "Fred, I know you're not a fan of Lockhart, and neither am I."
Fred, hearing this, nervously pointed to a group of girls nearby, signaling Harry to talk outside. Harry, however, pulled out a golden skull covered with a cloth, motioning for Fred to put his hand inside.
When Fred placed his hand on the golden skull, he felt as if a veil had been drawn around them. He cautiously spoke to George, who was nearby, but George seemed to hear nothing. "This is so cool, Harry, where did you get this golden skull?" Fred asked excitedly. However, when Fred heard Harry say it cost 50 Galleons, he immediately lost interest.
George noticed Fred hadn't spoken for a while and turned to find him and Harry whispering in a corner. Finally, George also joined the secret plotting.
"I agree with your plan in principle. But if those girls find out, I'm denying everything," George stated. Fred angrily poked George, but George merely pointed at Angelina, and Fred fell silent.
"No problem," Harry said, "but who are we going to send to watch Lockhart now? Hermione keeps an eye on me, so I can't easily follow him."
The Weasley twins exchanged glances, then offered to take responsibility for monitoring Lockhart's movements, on the condition that Harry lend them the golden skull to study for a few days.
"Don't worry, we absolutely won't break it. It's worth 50 Galleons, after all," George promised confidently.
"If we sold ourselves, we couldn't even afford to pay for it," Fred added.