[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
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Snape cut Draco off. "Yes, I know what you intend to say, but making unfounded accusations against a professor will only lead others to suspect that you were responsible."
"I will write to Lucius later and hope he clarifies his stance after reading the letter, though I hardly expect that old fox to do so. Draco, do not make any rash moves before your father responds."
Draco, pale, answered quietly, "All right."
He knew exactly where he stood in his father's heart.
But his father carried the weight of the entire Malfoy family on his shoulders. For the family, for him and for his mother, his father had done far more than he ever should have.
Draco did not know what his father would choose.
Even if his father chose to ally himself with Voldemort once more, as the Malfoy heir, Draco would support him without hesitation.
"To prevent your sugarcane-filled brains from turning into complete imbeciles from shock, I will explain matters to the other professors. In the meantime, keep an eye on Draco and make sure he doesn't wander into trouble again."
With that, Snape turned away to brew more potions, leaving them with nothing but the cold, silent view of his back.
Yet Amanda faintly sensed the concern hidden beneath the professor's harsh words.
…
Amanda and Harry helped Draco back to the Slytherin common room. Along the way, they were met with countless looks of contempt and malice.
As they passed through a long corridor lined with suits of armor, they saw Ron and Seamus glaring at them, Ron eyeing Draco with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Look at that arrogant Malfoy. Always hanging around suspicious people. Now look what happened, his dad will probably be visiting him at St Mungo's from now on."
Amanda's gaze turned icy. "I suggest you show Draco some respect."
Since arriving at Hogwarts, she hadn't seen Draco storming into Gryffindor every few days to mock and provoke others as he did in the original story. Perhaps they'd simply been too busy, and Draco hadn't had the chance yet.
She drew her wand and pointed it at Ron. Ron's face flushed instantly.
"And you, Merlin, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you dare to use Dark magic!"
Ron raised his wand in defiance, but then blanked. "Blast it, how do you spell it again, ah!"
"Oh really?" Amanda smiled. "Rictusempra!"
He was struck by Amanda's Tickling Charm and immediately collapsed into uncontrollable laughter, clutching his stomach as cramps nearly overtook him.
"Hahahaha, hahahahaha!"
Seamus grabbed him in panic. "Ron! Ron! What's wrong?!"
Harry burst out laughing, and even Draco couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go," Amanda urged. "It would be awful if a professor or Filch caught you using magic in the corridor."
They quickly helped Draco back to the Slytherin common room, where others cast strange looks their way. They regarded Draco with pity, and Amanda and Harry with caution.
Amanda and Harry found a sofa in the corner and gently laid Draco down.
"Incendio."
Amanda cast a fire spell into the nearby hearth. The flames flared to life at once, driving away the chill of the dungeon. Blaise stepped closer, frowning as he looked at Draco.
"Draco, what happened?"
"Thanks to Merlin, I'm fine."
Although Draco's skin had already been pale, it now carried a sickly gray-white hue. Combined with his weakness, so severe that he'd needed help from Harry and Amanda just to walk, his answer clearly failed to satisfy Blaise.
"I heard you ran into something terrible in the forest. What was it? Some Dark wizard attacked you? And… why did you even go into the Forbidden Forest?"
Blaise rubbed his chin and bombarded him with a stream of questions.
"Zabini, you're prying too much. Since when did I not know you were such a gossip?" said Amanda.
Blaise shrugged. "My mother told me to check on you. That's her business. Besides… we've been friends since childhood."
"He was ambushed, oh!"
Harry was halfway through the sentence when Amanda clapped a hand over his mouth.
"I'm sorry, but we can't share the full details of Draco's condition with too many people yet. He was injured by a Dark wizard, that's all we can say for now."
"All right, then I'll tell her that." Blaise shrugged and patted Draco on the shoulder. "Cheer up."
After Blaise left, Crabbe and Goyle came over as well.
They handed Draco a meat pie and a cup of hot chocolate, then looked at him sympathetically while chewing on the remaining syrup-soaked pastries in their hands.
"Draco, it's good you're all right… um…" Goyle muttered something unintelligible.
"My father told me to check on you… looks like you're fine." Crabbe took a sip of pumpkin juice.
"Yes. Thank you, all of you."
Draco was beginning to lose patience, and Crabbe and Goyle stopped talking, moving aside with the rest of the food to continue eating and drinking.
After they left, Harry stared longingly at the meat pie in Draco's hand, even licking his lips unconsciously.
"…" Draco shoved the pie into Harry's hands impatiently. "Eat it. I don't want it."
Harry exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
He hadn't eaten all night or that morning and eagerly grabbed the pie, devouring it at once.
Amanda patted Harry on the head helplessly.
"You don't seem to be in a very good mood."
Amanda tried to sound gentle as she spoke to Draco. She could already guess why he was feeling so down.
Draco rested his chin on his hand, seemingly lost in thought, unconsciously stroking the signet ring on his thumb.
Amanda's question pulled him back to the present. He paused, considering for a moment before turning to look at them. He took a deep breath and frowned slightly.
"Amanda, Harry… I'm grateful to both of you, but from now on, it would be better if you stayed away from me."
Draco's tone was cold, as though he wanted nothing more to do with them.
"What?" Harry dropped the meat pie in shock.
"Draco, how can you say that? You know how much Amanda and I care about your safety!"
"No, this has nothing to do with that. Let's stop being friends, all right?"
"Draco…"
Harry spoke weakly, his emerald-green eyes fixed on Draco in helpless disbelief.
"Draco, are you worried that your father, Lucius, will choose Voldemort?" Amanda asked suddenly.
The words struck a sensitive nerve. Draco looked at Amanda and Harry, his eyes hollow.
He spoke in a heavy, bitter tone.
"If my father learns that the Dark Lord has returned… the Malfoy family may ally themselves with him again, and I will certainly follow my father's choice."
"As the heir of the Malfoy family, I must be a Malfoy before I can be Draco."
Harry grabbed his shoulders urgently.
"So what? You can still be our friend, can't you? We… we know you didn't do any of this of your own free will."
Draco shook his head dejectedly, his gaze unfocused.
"Amanda, you're a descendant of Merlin, who once united Slytherin to fight the Dark Lord. Harry, you're the Boy Who Lived. He will come for you, to avenge what happened eleven years ago…"
"You've grown too close to me. The Dark Lord would certainly try to use me to hurt you, or even threaten my family. I don't want my family hurt, and I don't want you hurt either."
Amanda remembered that Voldemort had indeed wanted Draco to find an opportunity to eliminate her the day before, as proof of the Malfoys' loyalty.
No wonder Draco bore such a heavy psychological burden.
Amanda gently pulled Harry back. "Draco, I respect your choice."
Harry stared at Amanda in disbelief.
"Amanda, you too?"
His face was filled with confusion, but Amanda shook her head.
"However, not all hope is lost. Don't think so negatively. How can you be sure your father will choose Voldemort?"
Harry's eyes lit up at that.
"Amanda, I knew you'd have a reason!"
Amanda shook her head again. "Of course, I can't be certain. It's only a guess."
"Voldemort is still so weak that he doesn't even have a physical body. He can only possess Quirrell. The Malfoy family wouldn't make such a reckless decision."
Draco sighed. "But my father has always been good at betting on both sides…"
She reached out and covered Draco's knuckles, which he had been rubbing anxiously.
"Aligning with Voldemort is the most dangerous choice of all. He has always excelled at torture and coercion. Following him would only put the Malfoy family in greater danger."
"Voldemort needs your influence, your father's position in the Ministry of Magic, and your manor as a base. Right now, all he can do is rely on intimidation to achieve his goals."
"But he doesn't yet have that power. I believe your father, Lucius, has his own plans."
She had a faint sense that Lucius would not choose Voldemort this time, at least, not yet.
There was another reason she didn't say aloud. Malfoy had always valued his family above all else.
In the original timeline, during Draco's sixth year, Voldemort threatened his parents, forcing Draco to make repeated attempts on Dumbledore's life.
By then, Draco had already begun to lose his faith in Voldemort, so much so that he later failed to identify Harry in front of the Death Eaters.
Draco's mother, Narcissa, once made an Unbreakable Vow for him. To save her son, she concealed from Voldemort the fact that Harry was still alive, an act that indirectly led to Voldemort's ultimate defeat.
Without the Malfoy family's involvement, of course, they likely acted for their own survival and for their family, Harry might not have been so fortunate as to survive all the way to the Battle of Hogwarts.
The Malfoy family also temporarily changed sides and withdrew from the battlefield before the Battle of Hogwarts.
Everything they did was for their family. Nothing was more important than family.
Even before Voldemort managed to reconstruct his physical body, he had already intended to use Draco to threaten Lucius. He also resented Lucius for betraying him and wanted his son to taste the bitterness of betrayal.
Draco suffered torture at Voldemort's hands and nearly lost his life because of it.
Lucius would clearly not swear loyalty to Voldemort so easily. After all, Voldemort's current abilities were nowhere near sufficient to inspire that level of fear.
The Malfoys only wanted to protect Draco, while Voldemort's intentions were the exact opposite.
It seemed that Professor Quirrell was so devout and fanatical that Voldemort failed to realize how far his own power had diminished compared to decades earlier.
"Amanda is right!" Harry gave Draco's shoulder a firm pat.
"Voldemort is nothing more than a monster that has to parasite off something, a fragment of a soul. He can't even use a wand without Quirrell, Draco. If the Malfoy family really chose to become the slaves of something like that so easily, don't make me lose all respect for them!"
What the two of them said seemed to lift Draco's spirits, and some light gradually returned to his face.
"Maybe it's because my father used to be such a fervent follower of Voldemort that I couldn't see it clearly."
He sighed. "Still, let's wait until tomorrow morning to see my father's reply."
…
The following morning, Lucius's response largely confirmed Amanda's suspicions. Draco held the letter in his hands, and a smile slowly spread across his face.
Snape's potion had taken effect quickly; aside from some lingering weakness, Draco was almost fully recovered.
He handed the letter to Harry and Amanda, who were seated at the long table.
—
My dear Draco,
I have heard everything from Severus. Thank Merlin for protecting my little dragon. If anything like this happens again, inform Severus immediately. I have secured several potions to aid your recovery, remember to take them at the proper times.
I feel deeply guilty for failing to protect you as your father, and even more so for having endangered you as a result.
Narcissa is also extremely worried about you. She cried all night yesterday and could not sleep. Be sure to write to us again and tell us in detail about your current condition.
Please convey my gratitude to your good friends Amanda and Harry, especially to Amanda. Without her… I cannot imagine what might have happened. He dared to harm my son…
(the handwriting becomes completely illegible, and it is clear the writer was too shaken to continue)
—Your loving father, Lucius Malfoy
Although Lucius's letter did not explicitly declare his position, his attitude spoke for itself.
Along with the letter were several beautifully packaged vials of magical potions, three small gift boxes, and a large bag of snacks and magical fruits whose names they did not recognize.
Draco pushed the bundle across the table toward Amanda and Harry, then picked up his quill and began eagerly writing his reply.
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