Tracks Exposed and Intelligence Analysis (3)

"So you knew from the very beginning?" Nott asked.

"From the moment they walked in." Malfoy set his cup on the table with a soft thud. "Crabbe and Goyle don't look around when they enter the common room. They've lived here for two years; they could find their way with their eyes closed. But those two 'Crabbes' and 'Goyles'—they were looking for a spot. They were looking for a corner where they could observe the entire common room without drawing attention. Crabbe and Goyle would never look for a place like that, because they never need to observe anything."

"Then why didn't you expose them?" Zabini put down his magazine and looked at Malfoy.

Malfoy fell silent for several seconds. The flames in the fireplace flickered, casting his shadow long across the wall.

"Because—what would exposing them accomplish?" His voice was soft, as though he were talking to himself. "Call a prefect to arrest them? And then what? Notify Professor Snape or Headmaster Dumbledore? By tomorrow, the whole school would know Harry Potter turned into Crabbe and broke into the Slytherin Common Room. McGonagall would deduct points from them, Dumbledore would have a talk with them, and then what? Would they behave themselves? No. They'd only become more careful, more secretive, and harder to catch."

He rose and walked over to the fireplace, his back to Zabini and Nott. The eerie green flames coated him in a cold glow, making his platinum hair appear green.

"And besides—" He paused. "Don't you think it's amusing? Watching Potter play Crabbe right in front of me, watching him desperately hunch his neck, tuck in his chin, and imitate Crabbe's dull expression. With every movement, he was telling himself, I'm doing such a convincing job. He definitely can't tell. And I just sat there,