Tying Up Malfoy

Oren sneaked out of Gryffindor Tower and found an empty classroom to handcraft some Dungbombs. Things had been too tense lately; he couldn't cause trouble openly.

Professor McGonagall had put up a bounty of twenty house points, determined to catch Peeves's mysterious supplier.

After finishing the Dungbombs, Oren began wandering around Hogwarts, preparing to "run into" Peeves. He wasn't hard to find these days—you could just follow the smell.

Peeves was currently unleashing firepower on a group of first-year brats, his hands moving so fast they left afterimages. He only stopped when Snape arrived with Slytherin's ghost, the Bloody Baron.

Peeves trembled and fled at once. After Oren gave him a meaningful look, he pretended not to know him and left.

In an empty classroom not far away.

Oren slammed a large crate onto the floor. When he opened it, it was packed full of Dungbombs.

"Peeves, I need your help. Keep an eye out for whoever's petrifying students all over Hogwarts. That thing might not even be human. Just treat it like a tracking prank."

"Hehehe." Peeves stared at the crate of Dungbombs with wide eyes. "Oren, you really understand pranks."

Pushing the crate toward him, Oren said, "Keep a lower profile lately. Be careful, or the Bloody Baron might give you a serious beating."

"And take this. A new version of the tracker—more discreet, with better adhesive."

After explaining everything, Oren slipped away quickly. Snape was hunting Peeves throughout Hogwarts with the Bloody Baron, and he was afraid of getting caught in their path if he left too late.

"Oren, we're here," Fred said.

"Could you please stop using that reckless owl of yours to send me letters? I'm begging you," George said, clutching his stomach. It was obvious he had been hit hard.

Oren stood before the window with his back to them, carrying himself like a mastermind behind the scenes.

"I called you here to investigate this so-called heir."

"Who is it?!" they asked in unison.

"Draco Malfoy. There's no solid evidence yet, so it's only a suspicion. I called you here to help investigate, mainly because Harry's plan is a little unreliable."

"What's Harry's plan? Tell us, Oren," George said.

"They're going to use Polyjuice Potion to disguise themselves as someone else. That potion's pretty difficult to brew. I'm worried they'll drink it and turn straight into dog-headed people."

Fred fell silent.

"So how are we investigating? Searching for evidence in secret?"

"Heh." Oren took out some itching powder. "Evidence? We don't need it. Suspicion is enough. We'll just kidnap him."

The Weasley twins: Huh?!

"Gulp." George swallowed. "That's a major violation of school rules."

Fred agreed. "Oren, you might be fine, but the two of us would probably get punished with cleaning the bathrooms."

"Until graduation," George added.

Oren handed them a large bag of Galleons.

The twins instantly stood tall, chests out and spirits high.

"Boss, don't worry," Fred said. "Even if we had to climb mountains of blades and cross seas of fire, neither of us would blink."

George thumped his chest. "Boss, just tell us what to do."

Oren fell silent.

"You won't have to climb mountains of blades or cross seas of fire. Just bring Draco here so we can ask him a few questions. Also, wouldn't your eyes get dry if you never blinked?"

Fred fell silent.

"So what do we do now? Wait outside the Slytherin entrance?"

"No, no, no." Oren wagged a finger. "A true hunter often appears in the form of prey."

Outside the Slytherin entrance, the three of them hid around the corner of the corridor, peeking out to observe the situation.

"Can this really work?" Fred asked doubtfully. "Neville looks terrified out of his mind. Can he really fool Malfoy while standing there all dazed?"

"He'll fall for it," Oren said confidently. "Quiet. Draco Malfoy is coming out."

Draco Malfoy had spent several days in Slytherin secretly planning—loudly plotting—how he would defeat Oren and pull off something huge for everyone.

In the end, he hadn't managed anything huge. Instead, he had made a complete fool of himself, shooting straight to the top of Slytherin's all-time joke rankings.

Unable to bear the whispered discussions around him any longer, he finally decided to take a walk. He didn't even bring Goyle and Crabbe with him.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw Neville, wearing an expression that practically screamed, "I'm easy to bully, come bully me." Draco immediately drew his wand and thought, I can't beat Oren Black, but I can't beat Neville Longbottom?

"Longbottom, are you waiting here for me?" Malfoy asked with a crooked smile. "I was just thinking of practicing the Leg-Locker Curse with you again."

Neville backed away in terror.

Oren nodded in admiration. "Neville's acting is amazing. What's-his-name owes him a little gold statue."

George's mouth twitched. "I don't think he's acting."

"Looks about right. Shall we move?" Fred asked.

"Move!" Oren darted behind Malfoy and cast a Stunning Spell. "Sneak attack!"

Malfoy had let his guard down and failed to dodge. After being hit, he collapsed and fell asleep.

Neville's terrified expression shifted into faint unease. He hesitantly walked over to Malfoy and kicked him right in the kidney.

Oren!!!

The twins!!!

Oren gave him a thumbs-up. "Neville, you're ruthless!"

"Fred, George, take our Mr. Draco Malfoy away. Neville, you're done here. Go back, and remember not to tell anyone about this."

Neville nodded. "I don't know anything. No, wait—I was never here."

Oren gave Neville an approving glance. "Let's go!"

In a pitch-black empty classroom, Malfoy slowly regained consciousness. The darkness around him was so complete that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, and it made him panic.

A harsh beam from a flashlight—an alchemically modified version—shone directly into his face, making it hard for him to open his eyes.

A voice came from the darkness. "Name?"

Draco's mouth twitched. "Oren, I know it's you. Even if you hide in the dark, I can still recognize you."

Oren fell silent.

"Turn on the lights. Seriously, is my voice really that recognizable?"

"I won't waste words. Draco Malfoy, your crimes have been exposed. Give us a straight answer—do you confess or not?"

"Oren, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't pin crimes on people at random. What exactly have I done, and what crime am I supposed to confess to?"

"Tsk. Looks like Mr. Malfoy is an expert at playing dumb." Holding a jar, Oren walked over to him. "As the old saying goes, those who inhale the mist are wise men. I'm sure this bottle of itching powder will pry open your mouth."

"Hiss..." Watching Malfoy roll around on the floor and scratch himself madly, George and Fred both sucked in a cold breath.

"He still won't confess. He really is a tough guy," Fred said.

"If it were me, I'd have sold out half of Gryffindor already," George said.

Oren removed the itching powder's effects and asked, "Remembered anything?"

Draco replayed the first half of his life in his mind and still couldn't remember anything that required a confession. He could only stare blankly at Oren.

"What's wrong with him?" George asked.

"He looks like he has amnesia," Oren said. "Should we use the Great Memory Restoration Technique? Honestly, he's as stubborn as a frozen fish."

"Wait!" Draco snapped back to his senses and hurriedly said, "At least tell me what I'm supposed to confess to! If you're forcing a confession, you have to give me some idea of what it's about!"

"Huh?" Oren looked blankly at the twins. "Didn't I say?"

"You definitely didn't," George said with a nod.

Oren fell silent.

"Of course it's about opening the Chamber of Secrets and petrifying students. Mr. Heir, your secret is out."

"It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" Draco argued. "I have alibis for both petrification incidents! Goyle and Crabbe can testify for me!"

"Heh, Goyle and Crabbe are your lackeys. Of course they'd give false testimony for you!"

"There were other Slytherin students with me at the time. They can testify too."

"Draco, stop struggling. You're all Slytherins, so of course you'd cover for him for house honor!"

"There were professors and students from other houses too. Don't tell me you'll say I bribed all of Hogwarts!"

Oren said in surprise, "Damn it, why are you answering before I can ask?!"

"So it really wasn't you?"

"It really wasn't me!"

"Then who the hell is the heir?" Oren's CPU spun wildly as he tried to recall the plot.

After thinking for a while, Oren smacked his forehead. He couldn't remember a single thing. His head itched—it felt like he was about to grow a brain.

"Ahem." Fred spoke up. "If it wasn't Malfoy, then we should discuss the matter of being punished with bathroom duty until graduation."

Oren gave him a disdainful glance. "Give Mr. Malfoy the potion. It's time for Miss Malfoy to make an appearance."

The first time was unfamiliar, but the second time was routine. Draco had already gone numb. "That's it? Oren, even if you take more pictures as souvenirs, I'll still go report you to Professor Snape."

"Heh, Draco, you're still too young." Oren calmly took out a drawing board and sketched Miss Malfoy onto the paper.

"That's a pretty good drawing," Fred said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah," George agreed.

Oren turned to look at them, the ill intent in his eyes nearly tangible.

Draco looked at Oren, who was admiring his newest artwork, The Weasley Sisters, then looked at Fred and George.

Fred rolled his eyes at him. "Don't even think about it. We can't beat him."

"Even if we could, the potion wouldn't work," George said. "If it can make Oren's voice change, that already means the potion is incredibly potent."

Draco fell silent.

"You two aren't going to resist at all?"

"We took Oren's Galleons to tie you up," George said. "This is good too. Now we can accept the money with a clear conscience."

Draco fell silent.

"I really don't know when he learned to draw," Fred said.

"Yeah. I wonder how many other people he's drawn. I'm curious why he doesn't make them into wizard portraits. Wouldn't it be nice if they could move?" George said.

Fred hurriedly covered George's mouth.

"Because most of these people were more or less forced into it. Make them into wizard portraits? So I can listen to them complain every day?"

"Actually, I haven't collected that many portraits. I only have one of Harry."

Draco's eyes widened.

His eyes lit up. "Oren, let me see it!"

"Heh, I promised Harry I wouldn't show anyone. How could I break my promise? Besides, Harry is my dearest friend, my brother in arms!"

Draco took out his wallet without even looking and dumped everything onto the table.

"Fine." Oren hesitated for half a second. "Your love of art has moved me."