Little Flower

Early the next morning, after Madam Pomfrey confirmed that Skofot was no longer in any danger, she allowed him to leave the hospital.

He changed into his freshly washed secondhand black robes and left the Hospital Wing, but did not head straight for the Great Hall or a classroom.

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

Hogwarts was shrouded in a thin morning mist, with dew clinging to the blades of grass.

He found Professor Sprout at work and, with that face which still looked "wrong" under the influence of the [Scavenger] card yet was somehow difficult to refuse, softly asked whether he could take a flower.

Although the kind Professor Sprout found this Slytherin first-year a little strange,

she readily agreed and pointed him toward a cluster of small white flowers in full bloom, their petal edges beaded with dew.

Skofot carefully picked one and held it between his fingers.

Holding the fragile little flower, he began wandering aimlessly through the castle,

until, in a relatively quiet corridor, he spotted Draco Malfoy talking with Blaise Zabini.

Malfoy had his back to him and was saying something in his distinctive drawl, while Blaise looked thoroughly uninterested.

Skofot softened his footsteps and approached without a sound.

Malfoy seemed to sense something. His words cut off abruptly, and his body stiffened at once.

Without even turning around, he felt that familiar, spine-chilling sense of something being wrong closing in.

It was that Leoqi!

He did not want to face that person who had been held by him on the boat, had made the Sorting Hat call out "Azkaban," and had radiated such terrifying pressure during Potions class—a suspected Mudblood who was unfathomably dangerous!

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

He raised the white flower between them, then tilted his head slightly and leaned close to Malfoy. In what he believed was the gentlest tone possible—though under the Scavenger debuff, it sounded more like a cold, emotionless command—he said,

"Malfoy, do you have any ribbon? The pretty satin kind."

Malfoy's gray-blue eyes widened slightly as he looked at Skofot standing so close. There was little expression on the other boy's face,

but his eyes were terrifyingly calm, as if the moment Malfoy said no, something utterly dreadful would happen.

His throat tightened. Almost by reflex, he suddenly reached out and yanked at an exquisite silver-and-green satin ribbon decorating the cuff of Blaise Zabini's robe!

Rip—

A faint tearing sound rang out. Malfoy had brutally torn off the pretty ribbon.

Blaise Zabini: "..."

He looked at his suddenly bare cuff, then at the tense and rigid Malfoy, then at the expressionless Skofot holding the flower. An extraordinarily complicated, hesitant expression appeared on his face.

In the end, he said nothing and merely slipped his hands into his robe pockets.

Malfoy swiftly shoved the torn ribbon into Skofot's hand, his movements trembling almost imperceptibly, as though it were a hot potato. "H-Here, take it!"

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

Ignoring the frozen Malfoy and the strange-looking Blaise, he lowered his head and began using the silver-and-green satin ribbon to carefully wrap the stem of the white flower, clumsily yet with remarkable concentration.

His movements were slow, and his fingers were not especially nimble, but his attitude was exceedingly serious, as though he were carrying out an immensely important task.

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

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

[Emotion Points: 745/100]

After a while, he finally finished his crude wrapping. The silver-and-green ribbon made the white bloom stand out even more.

Holding this tiny "creation," he seemed satisfied. Without looking at the two of them again, he turned and headed straight back down the way he had come, returning to the dungeons and walking toward his single dormitory at the end of the corridor.

Malfoy and Blaise were left standing there, staring at each other. The air was filled with a silence mixed with fear, absurdity, and intense confusion.

Skofot returned to his cold dormitory and shut the door.

He casually placed the white little flower wrapped in Slytherin-colored ribbon on the windowsill, where it formed a sharp contrast with the dark waters of the Black Lake beyond the window.

The next morning, the first thing Skofot did upon waking was summon the system panel and turn his gaze toward the Shop.

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

At the sight of it, the corners of Skofot's mouth curled upward into an uncontrollable cold arc.

This thing sounded quite useful.

Without hesitation, he bought it three times.

[Emotion Points -150]

[Emotion Points: 595/100]

Three virtual cards edged with ominous dark purple patterns dropped into his Backpack.

He took one out, his gaze settling on the white little flower wrapped in silver-and-green ribbon on the windowsill.

He picked up the flower and activated [Location Curse] with a thought.

The card turned into a nearly invisible streak of purple light and merged into the flower.

He could feel an invisible connection forming between himself and the flower. Whenever he wished, he would be able to sense its exact location.

He readjusted the ribbon, carefully slipped the flower into the inner pocket of his robe, then went to class as though nothing had happened.

All day long, he was somewhat distracted, planning out that night's scheme in his mind.

Night fell, and curfew was approaching.

Like a ghost, Skofot slipped out of the common room and began wandering through the silent castle.

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

He immediately concealed himself and held his breath.

After a while, the washroom door opened, and Snape emerged with a gloomy expression, his black robes billowing. It appeared that he was preparing to return to his dungeon office.

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

Snape seemed preoccupied and did not notice him at once.

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

Skofot's heart jolted. He knew he had been discovered.

But rather than fleeing immediately, he made an exceptionally bold—perhaps even foolish—move.

—Instead of backing away, he quickened his pace and, pretending not to have seen anything, walked straight into the turned-around Snape!

"Mm!"

His forehead struck Snape's hard chest solidly with a dull thud.

He staggered back a step, surprise and a trace of embarrassment appearing on his face at just the right moment. Rubbing his aching forehead, he mumbled,

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

With that, he tried to slip past Snape from the side, pretending to be nothing more than a reckless student who had accidentally bumped into a professor.

"Stop."

A voice as cold as a venomous snake coiling around him sounded behind him.