As night fell, Pansy was still in the common room, "casually" questioning everyone she thought might know something.
"Draco told us to stay away from him."
Crabbe and Goyle's answer nearly drove Pansy to despair.
From seventh-year prefects to first-years who had just enrolled, the responses she received were either bewildered headshakes or cautious avoidance.
Just as her patience was about to run out and she was considering asking Draco directly, the stone wall at the entrance to the common room silently slid open.
Daphne entered. As usual, she ignored the various looks cast her way and headed straight for the girls' dormitory.
Pansy's expression was complicated.
They had once been the best of friends. They told each other everything, shared girlish secrets, and laughed at "Mudbloods" together. Yet now, they were like strangers.
Daphne saw Pansy as well. Her gaze was calm, and her steps did not pause in the slightest.
"Greengrass." Pansy's voice suddenly rang out, dry and strained.
Daphne stopped and looked at Pansy. "Parkinson."
There was distance in her reply. "Do you need something from me?"
The air around them seemed to freeze. Several younger students shrank their necks and pretended to focus on the Gwent match in front of them.
Pansy stepped forward, folding her arms and slightly raising her chin, trying to reclaim her old superior bearing. "I heard your family hasn't been doing very well lately. Your Gwent flagship store in Germany was shut down."
She deliberately drew out her words. "Wayne Enterprises will be finished soon. Does your family still plan to keep working with them?"
Daphne remained calm, as though she could not hear the mockery in Pansy's words. "Wayne Enterprises is a large multinational corporation. Losing the German market will not have much of an impact on our family. Even