Sharing Drinks

"You sat there and didn't notice anything?" Snape stepped closer, practically questioning him against his ear, his breath icy.

Skofot shrank back, seemingly intimidated by his presence, and spoke even more quietly. "I... I was drinking a potion... It tasted pretty good. Would you like some, Professor? Although I finished this bottle, I have other flavors..."

He was trying to peddle his drinks again.

Snape stared at him intently, trying to find even the slightest trace of guilt or a flaw on that face.

There was none. Only an infuriatingly pure—perhaps feigned—blankness, along with an inexplicable fixation on the taste of potions.

The cheers around them gradually died down, and students began noticing the strange confrontation between a professor and a Slytherin first-year, casting curious looks their way.

Snape realized that continuing to press the matter here would yield nothing but make him a spectacle for even more people.

He abruptly released Skofot's collar, with enough force to make the boy stagger back a step.

"Watch yourself, Leoqi." Snape's voice returned to its usual cold, smooth tone, though the warning in it was impossible to ignore.

"Don't let me find you somewhere you shouldn't be again, or... involved in any 'accidents.'"

He gave Skofot one last deep look, as if to say, I'm watching you, then spun around and strode off from the stands in his black robe with its scorched hem. Wherever he passed, the students automatically parted like the Red Sea.

Skofot stood where he was, straightened his rumpled collar, and took a soft breath.

He lowered his eyes to the empty bottles clinking in his arms, then looked up at Snape's retreating figure vanishing into the crowd. No one noticed the faint flash of calculation in his eyes.

Holding his empty potion bottles, he slowly headed toward the dungeons as though what had just happened had been nothing more than a trivial interlude.

[Emotion Points +25] (from Snape's frustration, suspicion, and suppressed rage)

[Emotion Points: 1435/100]

The clamor of the Quidditch match gradually faded as the students surged back toward the castle like a receding tide.

Skofot stood at the corner of a less-traveled corridor leading to the dungeons, his gaze fixed on Draco Malfoy, who was still looking unhappy as Crabbe and Goyle clustered around him.

He needed someone to "test the potion." Malfoy looked like a suitable choice.

The Scavenger Card switched silently. That uncomfortable, icy aura spread around him once more. His face remained expressionless as he quietly watched Malfoy approach.

Malfoy had been muttering complaints about the match result and his house's brooms when the air around him suddenly seemed to freeze. A familiar chill that made his scalp tingle came from ahead.

He looked up and met Skofot's calm, unruffled eyes.

Malfoy's feet froze in place, and it felt as though half the blood in his body had turned cold.

Crabbe and Goyle felt that invisible pressure as well and instinctively shrank behind Malfoy.

Skofot took a step forward, holding a freshly taken-out "potion" bottle that glowed with an ominous dark-green light. The straw at its bottom dangled limply.

He said nothing. He merely held the bottle out toward Malfoy.

The meaning was obvious: drink it.

Malfoy's face went deathly pale, and his lips trembled. "I... I'm not thirsty..."

His voice shook as he tried to step back, but his body seemed frozen solid.

Skofot still said nothing. He simply pushed the bottle closer, his eyes calmly fixed on Malfoy as if appreciating the prey's futile struggle.

The air around them seemed to grow thick and heavy beneath that invisible killing intent.

Malfoy felt as though he were about to suffocate, and an urgent pressure rose in his bladder.

He had no doubt that if he refused, something even more terrifying than a robe catching fire might happen the next second.

He shakily reached out, his fingertips ice-cold, just about to touch that bizarre green liquid...

"Mr. Leoqi! What are you doing?!"

A sharp voice full of shock and anger shattered the suffocating standoff.

Professor Flitwick, small in stature, had happened to turn out from another corridor and witnessed the scene.

Waving his hands, he hurried over, wand already in hand.

Skofot paused, then slowly withdrew the potion bottle. The cold expression on his face swiftly melted away like snow and ice, returning to his usual emotionally flat look.

He looked at Professor Flitwick and said evenly, "Professor, I merely wanted to invite Malfoy to taste a new flavor of potion."

Professor Flitwick was so angry that even his beard trembled.

He had clearly felt that unusual, oppressive atmosphere just now, as well as the undisguised terror on Malfoy's face.

This was absolutely not a friendly sharing of drinks!

"Coercion! This is blatant coercion!"

Professor Flitwick shrieked. He stood in front of Malfoy, whose face was pale and who looked on the verge of collapsing, and pointed his wand at Skofot.

"Put that... that thing away immediately! Mr. Malfoy, are you all right?"

As though he had seized a lifeline, Malfoy began babbling tearfully, "Professor! He... he forced me to drink it... I don't know what it is..."

Crabbe and Goyle hurriedly nodded as well, clumsily echoing him.

Professor Flitwick took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

He knew well that this Leoqi behaved strangely. Even McGonagall and Snape had been left with headaches over him.

He could not punish him rashly, but he absolutely could not allow this behavior to continue.

"Mr. Leoqi," Professor Flitwick said, doing his best to keep his voice stern, "Forcing someone to drink an unknown liquid without their consent is a serious violation of school rules! Return to your common room immediately! You will serve detention tonight! I will notify your father of the time and place... ah, I mean, I will notify you!"

He had nearly blurted out that he would notify the parents, but remembered in time that this child's background seemed to be a complete blank.

He then turned to the still-shaken Malfoy.

"Mr. Malfoy, you should return as well. If you feel any discomfort, go to the Hospital Wing immediately."

Skofot listened quietly from beginning to end, his face betraying neither joy nor anger.

He glanced at the bottle of eerie green potion in his hand, then at Malfoy, who was hiding behind Professor Flitwick and did not dare meet his eyes. He said nothing, merely putting the potion bottle away in silence.

He gave Professor Flitwick a slight nod, accepting the punishment, then turned and walked away alone down the corridor.

His retreating figure looked somewhat lonely in the dim light, yet carried an indescribable... indifference.

Only after watching him leave did Professor Flitwick let out a breath, wiping away cold sweat that was not actually there from his brow.

He turned to Malfoy, his tone softening somewhat. "All right, it's over. Go back quickly. From now on... try to stay away from him."

Malfoy nodded repeatedly. Supported by Crabbe and Goyle, he practically ran from the place that had filled him with terror.

Professor Flitwick remained where he was, his brow tightly furrowed.

He needed to speak with McGonagall and Snape. The problem with this Leoqi seemed to be getting more and more serious.

That instant shift in temperament, and those "potions" of unknown origin in his possession... everything about it was strange.

[Emotion Points +40] (From Malfoy's extreme terror and relief at surviving)

[Emotion Points +25] (From Professor Flitwick's shock, lingering fear, and concern)

[Emotion Points: 1500/100]

Skofot walked through the cold dungeon corridors, listening to the system notifications. His mood was not too bad.

Detention? Whatever.

The potion had not been given away? A little unfortunate.

But the Emotion Points had come in. That was enough.

It was just that... the professors seemed to be watching him more closely now. He needed to think about what to do next.