Little Flower

The next morning, after Madam Pomfrey confirmed Skofot was out of danger, she allowed him to be discharged.

He changed into a clean, second-hand black robe and left the hospital wing, not heading directly to the Great Hall or his classes.

Instead, he turned towards the path leading to the greenhouses.

Hogwarts in the early morning was shrouded in mist, with dewdrops clinging to the grass.

He found Professor Sprout busy at work and, using his face—which still looked "off" under the influence of the [Scavenger] card but was inexplicably hard to refuse—he softly asked if he could take a flower.

The kind Professor Sprout, though finding the Slytherin first-year a bit odd, readily agreed and pointed him to a patch of blooming white flowers with dew-kissed petal edges.

Skofot carefully plucked one, holding it between his fingers.

Holding the delicate little flower, he began to wander aimlessly through the castle, until he reached a relatively quiet corridor and saw Draco Malfoy talking with Blaise Zabini.

Malfoy had his back to him, speaking in his characteristic drawl, while Blaise looked utterly uninterested.

Skofot quieted his steps, approaching silently.

Malfoy seemed to sense something, his words abruptly stopping, his body instantly stiffening.

Without even turning around, he felt a familiar, spine-chilling sense of "wrongness" approaching.

It was that Leoqi!

He didn't want to face this person who had hugged him on the boat, had "Azkaban" called out by the Sorting Hat, exuded a terrifying aura in Potions class, and was a potential Mudblood yet unfathomably deep!

Skofot walked up to Malfoy, ignoring Blaise's slightly surprised and scrutinizing gaze.

He held the little white flower between them, then tilted his head slightly, bringing his face close to Malfoy's, speaking in what he thought was the most "gentle" tone possible.

(However, under the Scavenger's debuff, the tone sounded more like an emotionless, cold command.)

"Malfoy, do you have any ribbons? The pretty silk kind."

Malfoy's grayish-blue eyes widened slightly. He looked at Skofot, who was right in front of him. Skofot's face was expressionless, but his eyes were terrifyingly calm, as if saying "no" would result in something horrific happening the next second.

He felt his throat tighten and, almost reflexively, he shot out his hand and grabbed a delicate silver-green silk ribbon used as decoration on Blaise Zabini's robe cuff!

"Rip—"

A faint tearing sound. The beautiful ribbon was roughly pulled off by Malfoy.

Blaise Zabini: "..."

He looked at his suddenly bare cuff, then at the tense and stiff Malfoy, and then at the expressionless Skofot holding the flower. A very complex, hesitant expression appeared on his face.

In the end, he said nothing, merely tucking his hand into his robe pocket.

Malfoy quickly shoved the torn ribbon into Skofot's hand, his movements carrying a barely perceptible tremble, as if it were a hot potato. "Here, take it!"

Skofot took the ribbon, still slightly warm from Blaise's body heat, and nodded. "Thank you."

He no longer paid attention to the frozen Malfoy or the strangely-faced Blaise. He lowered his head and began to carefully, clumsily, yet with extreme focus, wrap the stem of the white flower with the silver-green ribbon.

His movements were slow, his fingers not particularly nimble, but his attitude was extremely serious, as if he were undertaking a crucial task.

[Emotion Points +25] (From Malfoy's fear, nervousness, and compliance)

[Emotion Points +15] (From Blaise's surprise, speechlessness, and a hint of curiosity)

[Emotion Points: 745/100]

After a while, he finally finished the simple packaging of the flower. The silver-green ribbon made the white stand out even more.

Holding this small "creation," seemingly satisfied, he didn't look at the two of them again. He turned and, following the path he came from, headed straight back to the dungeons, towards his single dormitory at the end of the corridor.

Leaving Malfoy and Blaise standing there, looking at each other, the air filled with a silence mixed with fear, absurdity, and intense confusion.

Skofot returned to his cold dormitory and closed the door.

He casually placed the white flower, wrapped in a Slytherin-colored ribbon, on the windowsill, a stark contrast to the dark waters of the Black Lake outside.

The next morning, Skofot woke up and the first thing he did was summon his system panel, his gaze falling on the shop.

[Today's Item: [Location Curse - 50 Emotion Points] (Curse an item, and you can see its real-time location)]

Seeing this, Skofot's lips couldn't help but curl upwards into a cold arc.

This thing sounded very useful.

Without hesitation, he bought it three times.

[Emotion Points -150]

[Emotion Points: 595/100]

Three virtual cards, with ominous dark purple patterns swirling around their edges, fell into his inventory.

He took out one card and his gaze fell on the white flower wrapped in the silver-green ribbon on the windowsill.

He picked up the flower, a thought flickered through his mind, and he used the [Location Curse].

The card transformed into an almost invisible purple light, merging into the flower.

He could feel an invisible connection established between himself and the flower; as long as he wished, he could sense its exact location at any time.

He tidied the ribbon again, carefully placed the flower into the inner pocket of his robe, and then casually went to class.

He was somewhat absent-minded the entire day, his mind occupied with plans for the evening.

Night fell, and curfew was approaching.

Skofot slipped out of the common room like a ghost, beginning to wander through the silent castle.

He searched floor by floor, and finally, near a secluded washroom on the second floor, he sensed the familiar, cold, restrained source of magic.

He immediately concealed himself, holding his breath.

After a moment, the washroom door opened, and Snape walked out with a gloomy expression, his black robes billowing, clearly preparing to return to his dungeon office.

Skofot immediately followed without a sound, using the pillars and shadows of the corridor to perfectly hide himself.

Snape seemed preoccupied and didn't notice immediately.

But Snape was an experienced wizard after all. As he passed through a particularly dim corridor, he suddenly stopped and spun around!

Skofot's heart leaped in alarm, knowing he had been discovered.

However, he didn't choose to flee immediately. Instead, he made an extremely bold, even foolish move.

--Instead of retreating, he quickened his pace, pretending not to see, and charged straight towards the turned Snape!

"Oof!"

His forehead collided squarely with Snape's hard chest, emitting a dull thud.

He stumbled back a step, a look of surprise and a hint of embarrassment appearing on his face at the opportune moment. Rubbing his sore forehead, he mumbled:

"S-sorry Professor, I didn't see you..."

After speaking, he intended to slip past Snape, pretending to be just a clumsy student who had accidentally bumped into the professor.

"Stop."

A voice as cold as a coiling viper sounded behind him.