Draco Was Still Awake

Tuesday, in the Great Hall, lunchtime.

The long tables in Gryffindor and Slytherin were unusually quiet, except for the clinking of cutlery and ceramic plates, and the low murmurs of a few young wizards discussing among themselves.

They were discussing the accident that had happened that morning.

Justin Finley of Hufflepuff listened for a while but still couldn't figure out what was going on. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Why are the Gryffindor and Slytherin people so quiet today?"

Ernie Macmillan peered around cautiously, then lowered his voice and said to his friends, "You don't know yet, do you? Professor Hagrid Rubeus Hagrid has gotten himself into trouble!"

That's strange. It's always the young wizards who make mistakes; what trouble could a professor possibly get into?

"What do you mean?" Justin asked, puzzled.

"There was Care of Magical Creatures this morning, which was attended by Gryffindor and Slytherin together. Professor Hagrid showed us a dozen Hippogriff, and Pansy Parkinson got scratched."

Ernie glanced cautiously at the Slytherin table. "Parkinson said he would definitely get the Ministry of Magic to execute those dangerous animals, and that he would also get the Board of Governors to expel Professor Hagrid."

"Ah? Execution!" Hannah shrank back in fright.

"According to Seamus, it was Parkinson who insisted on riding the Hippogriff as Malfoy." Ernie forked a piece of steak and put it in her mouth. "What was her name again, Buckbeak? Then she offended and angered the Hippogriff and got scratched by its claws. If Malfoy hadn't pulled her away, she might be in the Hippogriff's belly right now."

Hannah clicked her tongue in amazement.

The Ravenclaw Table was right next to Hufflepuff's, and a group of young wizards nearby joined the discussion.

After hearing the whole story, Marietta Ekko curled her lip and said, "A beast dared to attack a wizard, so it deserves to be executed! And that Professor Hagrid dared to bring such a dangerous beast into the classroom, so he deserves to be expelled."

Qiu Zhang sat to her right, hesitant to speak, unable to offer any words of advice.

Rolf frowned and retorted, "Hippogriff are only Level 3X Fantastic Beasts. Their presence in the classroom is not against the rules. Parkinson's own mess shouldn't be made to be paid for by Fantastic Beasts, and they certainly shouldn't be executed."

Luna looked at him with a pleased expression, her little legs swinging under the table. "You're right, you're right..."

Her voice was so soft, ethereal, it sounded like she was singing.

No one paid any attention to this notoriously Loony, except for Rolf, who exchanged a glance with her and they both smiled.

More and more young wizards joined the conversation:

"But Pansy Parkinson certainly doesn't think so."

"I heard that someone in Parkinson family works at the Ministry of Magic."

"Which Pure-blood Families doesn't have someone working at the Ministry of Magic?"

"I wish Professor Hagrid good luck..."

"My uncle said that since last year, the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors haven't been able to interfere with the school, so Professor Hagrid should be fine. But those Hippogriff probably dead for good..."

Although they lowered their voices, the people at the Gryffindor table still heard some of it, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense.

Harry and Ron remained silent, their faces filled with worry and frustration, their knives and forks clattering against the plates.

Hermione was so worried she couldn't eat. She was thinking about how to defend Hagrid and try to get the case dismissed by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

"Focus on your lunch," Loren said, placing a beef rib on her plate and whispering a reminder, "You have an extra class this afternoon."

Loren wasn't worried about Hagrid. Through Snape's explanations during breaks in class, he knew that since last year, Hogwarts had largely broken free from the control of the Board of Governors, and the appointment and dismissal of professors were decided solely by the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster.

At least for now, it seems that Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have no intention of expelling Hagrid.

There's no need to worry about the Hippogriff either. They managed to get rid of Norbert quietly when they were first-years, so there's no reason why they couldn't save a Buckbeak when they were third-years.

It's just a bit of a shame that the morning's Care of Magical Creatures ended too quickly; he didn't get to experience flying on a hippogriff.

Harry had just finished his demonstration, Hagrid was distributing a dozen Hippogriff to the young wizards. Loren had barely touched one of the feathers when Miss Parkinson was already cowering in Draco's arms, screaming in agony.

Hermione's face tightened, and she sighed deeply, muttering to herself, "Our chances of winning are slim... I've seen trials at the Ministry of Magic, and the outcome of a defense or prosecution depends solely on the presiding judge's bias. If someone like Umbridge were presiding, Buckbeak certainly wouldn't have survived."

"Eat!" Loren emphasized.

Hermione puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, then, under Loren's intimidating gaze, exhaled the air from her mouth. She muttered under her breath, "Just eat, why are you being so fierce..."

On the other side of the Slytherin table.

"How are you, Pansy? Is it still hurting a lot?" Daphne asked cautiously, forcing a fawning smile.

Pansy Parkinson didn't even glance at her. One of her hands was wrapped tightly in bandages, while the other hand clung to Draco's arm. She leaned close to him with a silly grin on her face.

"Thank you for saving me, Draco. Don't worry, I will definitely banish that troll who can wear clothes from Hogwarts, so Harry Potter will lose his beloved pet and won't be able to concentrate on training Quidditch ..."

"You've seemed unhappy ever since school started. I hope this will make you smile." Parkinson covered her mouth and smiled shyly, raising and quickly lowering her bandaged hand.

Draco's eyebrows furrowed tightly, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain. "Stupid, you don't need to do anything unnecessary."

"What did you say?" Pansy Parkinson was taken aback. Her smile froze, and the blush on her cheeks quickly faded to paleness. "I was doing all this to help you deal with Potter! And you're saying this!"

Draco picked at the salad on his plate with his fork, felt nauseous, threw down the fork, and walked away without looking back.

At the end of the long table, Astoria, who was enjoying her meal, suddenly looked distressed, shoved a few bites into her mouth, and then started taking out brown paper to pack up the pies...

After dinner, most of the Castle lights were turned off, and the night fell silent.

The Gryffindor common room was a bit crowded. Some young wizards wanted to do some homework before the lights went out, like Hermione; others took advantage of the time to play, like Ron, who wanted to play a couple of rounds of Exploding Snap before the lights went out.

Loren scribbled and drew in his notebook, the quill brushing across the parchment with a soft rustling sound, calculating the various materials needed for the Wolfsbane Potion.

The basic version of the ingredients should be available in Snape's storeroom.

Those foul-smelling herbal extracts need to be prepared a month in advance. We already mentioned it last semester, Snape should have some too.

The remaining issue is the phases of the moon; it was Full Moon at the start of the school year... The Wolfsbane Potion needs to be taken a week in advance... There's less than three weeks to prepare...

Harry was copying his Transfiguration homework absentmindedly, pausing every now and then to look out the tower window.

"There's a light in Hagrid's window," Harry said suddenly.

Hermione and Ron looked up, and the three of them exchanged a glance.

Then they lowered their heads in unison, Harry and Ron quickly put their books into their bags, Hermione dragged Loren towards the Portrait Hole.

Before Filch began his night patrol, the four of them quietly slipped out of the crowded Gryffindor Common Room, tiptoed downstairs, and headed straight for the Entrance Hall.

Just as they were about to step out of the Entrance Hall, they heard voices coming from the shadows to the right of the doorway.

"I knew you guys would go see Rubeus Hagrid tonight." The man flicked his sleeve and stepped out of the shadows; it was Draco.

"Malfoy!" Harry stared at him warily. "What do you want?"

Ron tilted his head, somewhat hesitant.

He recalled a scene from two years ago, the night they were preparing to send the Little Fire Dragon Norbert away, but Crabbe had his eye on them, and Malfoy had also suddenly appeared in the same way.

Thinking of this, he looked around warily, afraid that Filch might rush out at any moment.

Draco had originally intended to play a trick on Harry, but upon seeing him, he suddenly lost interest. He shrugged and stated bluntly, "This is none of your business. I'm looking for Loren."

Hermione's eyes gleamed as she interrupted Harry and Ron, who were about to say something more, and urged them in a low voice, "Let's go first, and try to get back to the Castle before lights out."

Harry paused for a moment, then Ron shoved him out the door, and the three of them jogged toward Hagrid's Hut.

"Did anything happen during the summer vacation?" Loren asked.

Draco seems to have grown a lot compared to the previous school year; if it weren't for what happened during the summer vacation, he wouldn't be waiting for him here.

Draco gave a soft "hmm," his gaze following the backs of the three people outside. He suddenly felt an urge to follow them and see what was going on, "Let's talk as we walk. I also want to see that professor with the giant head. I wonder if he's hiding in his room crying right now."

Loren neither agreed nor disagreed, casually replying, "Then let's go."

It had rained heavily a couple of days ago, and the sky was crystal clear. The stars and moon shone brightly, their dim light making the ground seem even brighter than inside the Castle. The grass underfoot was wet, making a rustling sound as you stepped on it.

"You might not know, Bellatrix Lestrange, the one who's been on the front page lately, is my mother's sister." Draco moved languidly, his tone revealing no regard for his aunt. He walked briskly across the grass, seemingly trying to catch up with the others ahead.

"She visited my house twice during the summer vacation. The first time was right after she escaped from Azkaban. More than ten years in prison had made her look very disheveled. Her hair was a mess, her face was dark, and she looked like a beggar asking my father for money."

"You want money?"

"Yes, money, a lot of money." Draco kicked away a pebble, his usually calm tone finally revealing a hint of anger. "She threatened my father with the Dark Lord in front of me and my mother, and absconded with nearly Galleon from the Malfoy family."

"She didn't even have a wand back then..." Draco muttered softly, as if talking to himself, or perhaps to Loren, "I have two adult wizards, one junior wizard, and several House-elf in my household; any one of them could handle her..."

The second time was shortly before the start of the school year. She asked us to help her get a mouse into Hogwarts. It wasn't a difficult task; compared to tens of thousands of Galleon, my father readily agreed. But she insisted on watching us deliver the mouse herself..."

Loren did not respond, but simply listened quietly to Draco's story.

One can vaguely imagine the scene at that time. Perhaps it was due to Voldemort's reputation, perhaps due to his Death Eater, or perhaps due to the fear that the loss of the Diary Horcrux would be exposed.

The once-glorious Lucius Malfoy was easily manipulated by an escaped convict using Voldemort's name, who took advantage of his family at will. As a son, Draco must have had very complicated feelings.

"Bellatrix praised me as a talented wizard, saying I'd definitely become one of the best Death Eater, even better than my father." Draco chuckled, his tone enigmatic. "My mother practically had to beg her on her knees to get this over with..."

Following the grassy slope down toward Hagrid's Hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the forest dew was heavy at night, and the moist air seeped into my lungs through my nostrils.

Loren glanced at his expression without changing his demeanor. "So you came to see me because?"

"To hedge our bets." Draco's lips curled into an absurd smile. "The Malfoy family's secret passed down for thousands of years, and this was also my father's idea."

"How do we place bets?" Loren was a little surprised, but after thinking about it for a moment, he felt it was a reasonable thing to do.

"There's no specific plan. My dad said to try to get along well with Potter at school, stir up trouble for him, and then I'll step up and help him." Draco stopped. They could already see Hagrid's Hut ahead. Faint candlelight shone through the window, revealing Hagrid's huge shadow. "But I think that's pointless. I knew last year that you're a better fit than the foolish Potter."

"Watch out for that rat. It slipped into Hogwarts through the Secret Passages and hasn't been heard from since. If you need anything, you can come to me; consider it a deal between you and Malfoy." Having said that, Draco glanced at the room and turned to walk back.

Loren stopped him. "We've come this far, why don't we go in and take a look?"

Draco glanced at him in surprise, but did not refuse.

Pushing open the door, I saw a massive, half-giant Half-Giant crouching beside the fire, weeping like a child, tears and snot sticking to his beard. In front of him sat a large pewter goblet, as big as a bucket, and he seemed to have been crying for a long time.

The other three didn't have time to pay attention to Loren and Draco either. Harry and Ron squatted down next to him, grabbing his hand as he tried to raise his glass again, their faces turning red from the force.

Hermione pushed the large, bucket-sized wine glass away.

Hagrid must have drunk quite a bit, as he was somewhat incoherent and didn't notice the two people who came in behind him. He cried out in a muffled voice, "This is probably a record. There has probably never been a teacher who was fired after teaching only one class."

"You're not fired yet, Hagrid!" Hermione reassured her.

"It'll be soon, it's inevitable!"

"At least not now." Ron's voice was a little hoarse from the effort.

"It might be tomorrow morning!"

When it was Harry's turn, before he could figure out how to comfort Hagrid, he was pulled by a huge force and shoved onto the floor with a thud.