What exactly Hermione asked Hagrid in his hut remained a mystery—only she, Harry, Ron, and Fang knew the full details.
The only thing everyone could clearly see was that the trio had been making far more frequent trips to the library lately.
Most surprising of all was Harry Potter. Even while carrying the weight of being Gryffindor's Quidditch hope and enduring grueling training, he still had the determination to spend hours buried in books. To anyone unaware of the situation, it looked like Harry was prepping for his N.E.W.T.s.
In truth, the books they were borrowing had nothing to do with their current coursework—let alone any seventh-year exams.
That alone was enough to raise eyebrows, especially since neither Harry nor Ron were exactly known for being studious...
"How's it going? Found anything yet?"
"Nope... Not a single mention of the wizard we're looking for in A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry, Top Ten Outstanding Contributions, or My Wizard, My Team."
"If only Hagrid would just tell us."
"Yeah, keep dreaming. If Hermione hadn't been clever about it, we wouldn't have gotten anything out of him at all. Hagrid's definitely on guard now—don't count on him spilling anything else."
Ron tossed aside his unfinished homework on the Twelve Uses of Dragon's Blood, his expression the very picture of defeat. He looked like he'd hit his limit.
"I've gone days without playing wizard chess, even skipped Quidditch training, all to find this mystery wizard."
"Heh, if by training you mean waving your arms and shouting from the sidelines…"
"..."
Hermione's disdainful look and snide remark made Ron, still slumped over the table, flush red with embarrassment.
To prevent an outburst that might get them all kicked out by Madam Pince, who was glaring at them from a distance, Harry quickly jumped in to change the subject.
"Christmas is coming up. Got anything you're hoping to get?"
"Oh—come on, Harry! Don't ruin the magic of waiting for Christmas presents!"
It was a simple distraction...
But it worked wonders on Ron.
...
When it comes to Christmas, you can't help but think of presents and all the festive decorations that come with the season.
Just like during Halloween, Hogwarts was once again decked out for the holidays.
Christmas trees.
Mistletoe.
No matter where you walked, the festive atmosphere was impossible to miss...
In the Slytherin common room, twelve towering Christmas trees had been set up. The glittering icicles hanging from the branches looked enchanted, showing no signs of melting, and hundreds of candles at the tops of the trees lit up the entire room.
Garlands made of holly and mistletoe were draped along the walls, transforming the usually mysterious Slytherin common room into something far more magnificent.
Same as always, in the same familiar spot.
Draco and the others were lounging by the fireplace, as usual, enjoying the warmth.
The relaxed mood fit the approaching holidays perfectly.
Even if nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary...
"Hey, how many days until break?"
"Tomorrow! Honestly, can't you pay attention to anything else?"
Truth be told, if it weren't for a letter from his mother reminding him not to forget to come home for Christmas, Draco probably wouldn't have realized the holiday was so close.
Pansy, well aware of this frustrating side of him, didn't sound all that surprised—just weary.
At that moment, Goyle and Crabbe crept toward Draco, walking like they were up to no good.
Of course, their exaggerated attempt at being sneaky only made them stand out more...
"What's with you two? Don't tell me you got yourselves in trouble again?!"
Pansy glared at them sharply, clearly annoyed. Maybe it was the way their peace had been disturbed, or maybe it was concern that these two blockheads had stumbled into another mess.
"No, no, no!"
"Draco, boss lady—you won't believe what we found out!"
The way they said it so mysteriously made Pansy forget to even correct the "boss lady" title. She was honestly curious.
"What could you possibly have found? A new flavor of pumpkin pie?"
Pansy crossed her arms, striking a pose suspiciously similar to someone else's, and threw the question at them with a completely unserious tone.
Draco rolled his eyes at her overly theatrical expression.
Was she imitating him?
Goyle and Crabbe, unfazed by the skepticism, just leaned in and lowered their voices...
"We found something out."
"Yeah, we know a secret about Potter, his redheaded sidekick, and that know-it-all."
When they mentioned Hermione, they stole a quick glance at Draco, only relaxing when they saw his expression didn't change.
They still couldn't figure out how Draco really felt about the know-it-all...
"A secret?"
Pansy, not noticing their silent exchange, perked up a bit at the mention of a secret.
"That's what our people told us."
"Exactly!"
Even though Draco never officially took followers, Goyle and Crabbe had always considered themselves his. And they took this discovery seriously.
Without Draco's knowledge, they had quietly gathered a group of younger students.
It might have started as childish fun, but somehow, Goyle and Crabbe had actually managed to uncover something.
Of course, a certain little princess didn't like seeing them getting too full of themselves...
"If you two don't spit it out right now, don't blame me!"
"....!!"
"Ahem—right, right!"
Startled by Pansy's threat, Goyle and Crabbe quickly began explaining.
"The redhead—Weasley and his lot—they've been digging into something."
"Yeah, something like… Fla… Flamel?"
Seeing Pansy's increasingly dangerous expression, both of them started sweating.
"I remember now! It was Flamel!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's it!"
Though they were pretty sure they'd gotten it right, Pansy had no idea who or what this "Flamel" was—let alone that it was a wizard's name.
"What's that? A new spell?"
"No clue."
"Who knows?"
"..."
Veins bulged.
Looking at the two clueless gorillas in front of her answering like it was the most natural thing in the world, Pansy clenched her fists tightly, barely holding back.
Draco, meanwhile, had already returned his attention to the book in his hands.
Though a hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
Because he was pretty sure he'd heard the name Flamel somewhere before...
...
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
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