The sudden outburst, followed by an equally abrupt departure.
Hermione's behavior left everyone baffled. Was she choosing to believe Draco's explanation, or not?
No one could quite make sense of her reaction, but the strange and subtle exchange between the two definitely stirred mixed feelings among the onlookers.
Goyle and Crabbe remained silent, but Harry was fixated on Hermione's pointed question to Draco.
Could it really be that his Nimbus 2000 had been sabotaged by Draco Malfoy?
And if that were true, why would Draco bother to save him?
Lost in his confusion, Harry didn't notice Ron standing beside him, who made no effort to hide his emotions.
Right now, Ron's hostility toward Draco was written all over his face. If Goyle and Crabbe hadn't been glaring at him so menacingly, Ron probably would've stepped forward to pick a fight.
Sensing the tension, Harry—always good at reading the room—shot Draco a complicated glance before quickly pulling Ron along, hurrying after Hermione as she vanished down the corridor.
Not one to act rashly, Harry held back from confronting Draco about the broomstick incident...
But the trio's departure didn't mark the end of the matter.
At least, not for Pansy.
"Everyone's gone. How long are you planning to stand there watching?"
Her biting tone made Goyle and Crabbe break into cold sweats as they instinctively stepped back, glancing at Draco, who acted as if he hadn't even heard her.
Naturally, the one who spoke was Pansy, cheeks puffed out in a sulk.
She didn't know exactly what was going on between Draco and Hermione, but her instincts told her that girl was a threat.
The more she dwelled on it, the more irritated she became. With a huff, she gave Draco's calf a dainty little kick, prompting him to turn to her in confusion.
"Hmph!"
"???"
Draco stared after her, bewildered, as she turned and walked off alone with a dramatic little snort. He then glanced at Goyle and Crabbe, who were pretending not to know anything, their eyes darting around aimlessly.
To Draco, not only was Pansy acting weird—these two weren't making any sense either.
He cast one last glance at Pansy's retreating figure disappearing around the corner, then called out to Goyle and Crabbe, who had suddenly become very interested in a nearby statue, and led them off in her direction.
Draco had a hunch—the little princess was going to stay mad for a while...
...
With the end of the group brawl, Hogwarts swiftly issued punishments for those involved.
Because the fight had broken out on the Quidditch pitch, both houses were docked a hefty 50 points. News of it spread through the castle like wildfire.
The point deduction was secondary—what really caught everyone's attention was who had won and who had lost.
After all, aside from Quidditch matches, there weren't many other outlets for these young wizards to burn off their extra energy.
In addition to losing house points, the key figures in the incident also faced further disciplinary action.
Naturally, that meant Goyle and Crabbe, who had provoked the others, as well as Ron and Neville, who were the first to throw punches.
As for when and how they'd be punished, nothing had been officially decided yet, and no announcements had been made.
It was also worth noting that the whole ordeal had only made relations between the two houses even more strained...
"You lot really stirred up a storm, didn't you?"
"Hehe."
"I wasn't complimenting you!"
After a full day of classes, whether in the Great Hall, the classrooms, or even just walking through the corridors, Pansy could feel the glares coming from the Gryffindors.
She didn't particularly care, but it definitely disrupted their day-to-day. And seeing Goyle and Crabbe still acting completely carefree only added to her frustration. She shot a complaint over her shoulder at the two trailing behind her.
Speaking of which, Pansy's odd little tantrum from the day before had come and gone so fast it left Draco speechless.
Now, she was following closely behind him, step for step, like nothing had ever happened.
But after spending the whole day together, Draco started to sense that Pansy seemed even closer than before. It made him wonder if this occasionally scheming girl was already plotting some kind of prank on him.
Noticing Draco's suspicious glance, Pansy glared right back before finally asking the question she should've asked long ago...
"By the way, why did you even go and provoke Weasley?"
Her question made Draco glance over at Goyle and Crabbe too.
It reminded him that they must have said or done something that caused Hermione to react so irrationally—so impulsively.
Goyle and Crabbe exchanged a look before hesitantly explaining...
"Besides wanting to teach that Weasley a lesson..."
"We were trying to find out..."
"...what Flamel is."
They took turns finishing the sentence.
Leaving out the trash talk they'd thrown at Ron, those few lines were more than enough for Draco to understand why Hermione had lashed out at him so intensely.
Clearly, she'd assumed Goyle and Crabbe had been acting on his orders.
The realization dawned on Draco, confirming what he'd suspected all along.
As Draco mulled it over, Pansy planted her hands on her hips and started scolding Goyle and Crabbe.
"All that, just for something that trivial? And, newsflash, we already know who Flamel is!"
"...."
"Looks like I'll be joining Draco's special training sessions for you two!"
"What!?"
Calling it "special training" was a bit of a stretch—it was really more like Draco's after-class tutoring for the two of them.
Draco had made the decision not just to keep the always-troublemaking duo occupied, but because he didn't want to see them grow up to be so-called wizards who only knew how to throw punches.
Goyle and Crabbe, who had assumed Pansy wasn't part of the sessions, let out loud groans when they heard the little devil's declaration.
Apparently, they were more afraid of the little princess of the Parkinson family and her twisted sense of humor than Draco's actual tutoring...
...
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
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