On Thursday, Vid didn’t have many classes, just two overlapping elective courses in the morning, Herbology in the afternoon, and Astronomy in the evening.
However, because he needed to schedule ti with Professor Morry for Alchemy lessons, Vid still got up very early to pick up the young wolf from the dical room.
As always, he saved the long corridors and staircases in between by riding a broom, leisurely flying out along the windows, arriving outside the dical room window within a minute.
Vid placed his hand on the window; with a silent, wandless Unlocking Charm, the lock inside turned quietly half a round. He pulled open the window and was about to go inside when he heard a voice—
"Ah!" Malfoy scread, sounding as though he had suddenly jumped out of bed.
Vid paused, feeling like he might have picked the wrong window.
Just as he was about to quietly turn around and leave, he heard others talking inside.
"Good morning, Draco," a girl said in a slightly teasing tone, "Sorry, the way I woke you was a bit rough."
"You’re crazy, what’s this?" Malfoy said irritably, "My bed is all wet now! Madam Pomfrey is coming soon!"
The others in the room collectively laughed with a mocking undertone, as if they found his reaction very childish.
Vid cast a Disillusionnt Charm on himself and casually hovered outside the window, peering inside.
Five or six students stood around Malfoy’s sick bed, faintly seeming to have surrounded him. Malfoy, soaking wet, jumped off the bed, looking rather embarrassed.
Vid glanced over, morized a few nas, then focused his gaze on the one familiar face.
Carrel.
He was a few years younger than the others, but his height wasn’t short at all. Standing among them, he seed completely in context.
Vid suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Carrel for quite a while... Actually, they had talked before the vacation, but after just over a month, it felt like Carrel had changed a lot.
His face, once a bit rounded, had thinned considerably, and his eyes had cald down, as if he’d suddenly grown several years older, even exuding a sense of maturity.
At this mont, while everyone else was laughing, Carrel was expressionless, his eyelids drooping, as if not fully awake.
"Don’t make such a fuss, Draco," another boy said, laughing, "A small spell can solve this issue, didn’t you learn it in Spell Class?"
He waved his Magic Wand, and the water on the bed disappeared, leaving only a faint trace.
"Sorry, I don’t need to learn these... what do they call it? Household Magic? Why, can’t your family afford a House-Elf?" Malfoy sneered.
The boy stopped laughing but didn’t get angry; instead, he shrugged and said, "Not every family can continuously grow the wealth our ancestors left behind, rather than squandering it all away recklessly."
"What, really, you don’t even have a House-Elf?" one of his companions asked in surprise, with an innocent curiosity.
"There’s one, but Bro is already very old," the boy explained, "Even though my mother allowed him to reproduce, you know... it’s not that easy."
"Alright, stop ntioning those lowly House-Elves, I feel disgusted just thinking about their faces," a girl said arrogantly, "Draco, you’ve been absent from gatherings for a while, what, are you planning to quit?"
"Don’t you know? I’ve been in detention all this ti! It’s all because of that Magic you taught ... that damn Entrail-Expelling Curse! I’m going to be in detention for a whole year!" Malfoy said with great dissatisfaction.
The boy hurriedly stopped him, "Shh—shh—keep it down! Do you want to attract Madam Pomfrey?"
Soone laughed and added, "We can’t be blad for that; I warned you long ago that this Magic is dangerous but exhilarating to use—right? Didn’t it feel great to retaliate against the traitor?"
"Great?" Malfoy said defiantly, "I’m feeling downright sick!"
"Alright, I have to go to class," the proud girl said, "Malfoy, we’re having a gathering at the old place this evening. If you want to join, just pretend your injuries aren’t healed and take a day off. Of course, if you want to quit, you just need to..."
She paused, smiled, and said, "...Say the word."
Her smile was aningful, seeming to say—dare to quit, and we’ll take your head off.
A mont later, Malfoy’s voice echoed in the room, "...I’ll co."
"That’s for the best."
A group of people filed out, and the boy walking in the last took a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans from the nightstand.
Malfoy clutched the ring tightly in his hand, standing by the bed, his expression indecisive.
Vid didn’t look any further; he gently turned his broom and left the window.
He recalled the ti when Malfoy injured Crabbe, and his parents ca to school to handle the situation.
Dumbledore punished him with a year’s detention; a punishnt this long had never been imposed on a student before.
Malfoy Senior didn’t object, rely entrusted the matter to Professor Snape. At that ti, Draco Malfoy must have felt relatively relieved, given Snape’s well-known favoritism towards him.
But the reality was quite the opposite; Draco Malfoy’s detention was inexplicably severe. Every day, other than attending classes, he was either in detention or asking Professor Snape for ti to complete his howork during detention.
Rumor was that Professor Snape even helped him review his papers during detention. With other professors, this would be a rare learning opportunity, but with Snape’s style, Draco Malfoy probably felt like he was undergoing ntal tornt every day.
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