Hot pot was a special treat, and Harry, Ron Weasley, and the others, who were trying it for the first time, ate with wild enthusiasm.
They polished off every last bit of the food prepared for them. Harry and the others ate their fill so thoroughly that, by evening, they barely wanted dinner.
After dinner, Harry and the others found plenty of ways to entertain themselves.
For instance, they could play Exploding Snap as boisterously as they pleased without worrying about disturbing anyone.
They could also have snowball fights outside the little house, or even duel freely with magic without worrying about being punished.
Later, they enjoyed a singing performance by Ginny and Hermione Granger. Both girls had lovely voices.
They even went out onto the lake afterward to play curling or go ice-skating.
While Harry and the others were having the time of their lives, Draco Malfoy looked troubled.
At that moment, in a small grove near the edge of the school grounds, Malfoy stood quietly waiting for someone.
Snowflakes settled on Malfoy, and he shivered in the biting wind.
"My son, why did you choose to meet here?"
"And if you insisted on meeting here, why didn't you put on another layer?"
Lucius Malfoy used Apparition to arrive in the grove beside Draco Malfoy. Seeing his son trembling with cold, he took out a coat and draped it over his shoulders.
Malfoy looked at his father as he put the coat around him, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Thank you. I'm warm now," Draco Malfoy replied.
"Tell me, why did you summon me so urgently?"
"I'm rather busy at the moment. Finding the time to come here wasn't easy."
Lucius Malfoy lightly tapped his cane against the ground, leaving several holes in the snow. He seemed somewhat