Draco's eagle owl was probably the most frequent visitor at the entire Slytherin table.
Almost every few days, he would receive something from his mother at home via the eagle owl—sweets, chocolate, or some fashionable little gadgets that Narcissa thought her precious son could use.
But today, Draco, whose expression was usually calm and impassive, unusually showed a hint of satisfaction after opening the exquisite silver package. Inside was something he had been anticipating—the Invisibility Cloak.
After returning from Madam Malkin's shop last time, he had imitated his mother's handwriting and ordered the item from the shop, paying a substantial sum of Galleons for it.
Draco purchased the Invisibility Cloak not intending to use it daily, but rather as a precaution. Invisibility Cloaks available on the market required many rare materials to make, and their drawback was obvious—they had a limited number of uses. After prolonged use, they gradually lost their invisibility effect and became merely an ordinary cloak.
It was not that Draco could not use the Disillusionment Charm. In his previous life, Draco had already mastered the Disillusionment Charm, but it was unreliable and he was not particularly proficient at it. Besides, the spell had a time limit.
Before fully mastering the Disillusionment Charm, an Invisibility Cloak could save considerable trouble.
Draco did not want to lose another fifty points for wandering around the school at night. And in some places, it would be safer to go late at night when everyone was asleep.
For example, the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, or, for instance, going to the towers at night to obtain some information from the ghosts.
At that moment, at the Gryffindor table across the way, Longbottom, looking rather dazed, had once again received a Remembrall from his grandmother, attracting a crowd of Gryffindor students. Draco had lost all interest in it and did not wish to embarrass the clumsy boy.
But fate seemed very powerful. Even without Draco's interference, the reckless Potter still ignored Madam Hooch's orders when Professor McGonagall hastily took the Remembrall away to retrieve it.
That foolish Remembrall! When Longbottom's broom malfunctioned and made him fall from the sky, the Remembrall fell from his pocket and became stuck on the roof. The show-off Potter flew over to retrieve it, then dove fifty feet as the Remembrall rolled off the roof, catching it a foot from the ground.
All the first-year students were astounded. Then, they began to chatter about the spectacle. Draco stood at the back of the crowd, silently watching Potter's small figure disappear into the Hogwarts entrance hall, led by Professor McGonagall.
"Harry will not be expelled, will he?" Hermione appeared beside Draco, asking worriedly. Harry had broken the rules, undeniably, and he had been caught by the strictest professor.
Ever since taking Draco's flying lesson, Hermione had always instinctively wanted to ask him for guidance whenever she was uncertain about something.
To be fair, what did it matter whether he was a Slytherin or not?
Draco knew many spells and always seemed to be in complete control in class. He displayed a calm and collected attitude toward many novel things at school, standing out from the "ignorant and shocked expressions" of other boys his age. Most importantly, he could always provide reliable answers and advice, the most prominent example being what he said to her before the Sorting Ceremony.
Compared to him, the other boys always seemed foolish. It had nothing to do with "which house" they were in, Hermione could not help but think.
"I wager he will not be punished. Hogwarts is more flexible with its rules than you think," Draco said cryptically. "Think about it differently: Professor McGonagall is a Quidditch enthusiast. And as far as I know, the Gryffindor team is missing a decent Seeker."
"Draco, I do not think you are right this time! That is impossible. He is too young! And how can someone do something wrong and not be punished?" Hermione looked unconvinced. How could even Draco say something so unreliable?
By dinner time, news that Potter had become the new Seeker for Gryffindor had spread throughout Hogwarts, and even the portraits on the walls were discussing it with considerable interest.
"I told you so," Draco whispered to Hermione as they passed each other. Her mouth hung open in disbelief, a faint smile playing on his lips. He was pleased by the dazed look on the Know-It-All's face.
Although his smile was rare and rather attractive, she always felt that there was a hint of mockery hidden in it.
Hermione sat down at the table, her temper flaring, feeling indignant for the first time at the fact that "Draco was right." She sat down opposite the cheerful Harry and Ron with a stern face.
Human nature was often strange and unpredictable. When her friend was in danger, she worried and fretted, but when her friend broke the rules and went unpunished, she felt it was unfair.
"So, you think breaking the rules is acceptable?" she said haughtily to Harry. "You could break your neck, you know that?"
Harry clearly did not know how to handle the situation. He was still caught up in the shock and joy of becoming the Seeker.
"Oh, do not be such a killjoy. What does this have to do with you?" Ron said dismissively.
"This could get us into trouble, could it not? Do you not care about Gryffindor, only about yourselves? I do not want you to lose all the points I earned from Professor McGonagall using the Transfiguration Charm!" Hermione was furious.
"But Harry was not expelled, and he became the youngest member of the house team in a century. All you care about are your marks! You have no idea what joining the Quidditch team means!" Ron glared at her as though she were mad, and angrily dragged Harry away.
Of course she did not understand! Hermione thought angrily. She did not want to understand this sort of display of riding on a broom!
Even so, during Draco's second private flying lesson for her, Hermione could not help but complain: "I truly do not understand why boys become so unreasonable when it comes to brooms and flying."
Now, she was quite proficient in the preparatory movements and theoretical knowledge, but she still did not dare to fly.
The horrific crash Neville Longbottom suffered during the last flying lesson seemed to have left her traumatized. Draco glanced at her. "You are not afraid of heights, are you?"
Occasionally, wizards did claim to have acrophobia or even motion sickness. But Draco believed that most wizards who feared heights had a psychological barrier and could overcome this through practice.
Moreover, Hermione Granger was a girl who had even ridden a Gringotts dragon—that Ukrainian Ironbelly.
Acrophobia? Surely not.
"I think flying is tedious," Hermione pretended to mount her broomstick, head held high, looking extremely proud, but still showed no intention of taking off.
She was simply wasting time babbling on and on, which made Draco somewhat impatient.
This was flying! Did she even realize what a wonderful experience she was missing?
"Very well," he stepped forward, mounted the broom before her, and quickly adjusted his position. "All right. I shall demonstrate for you. Hold on tight."
"What do you intend to do—" Hermione had just grasped his robes, but before she could finish speaking, she felt the broomstick take off into the air. Before she could even prepare herself, a fierce gust of wind swept over her.
And so, he took her soaring into the sky. Suddenly. Without warning. Completely unexpectedly.