Harry walked past Snape, her footsteps echoing along the dirt road toward the castle, unhurried and slow, just like she always did.
Snape watched her leave, his gaze lingering on her retreating figure. He watched her red hair sway gently with her steps in the moonlight, and then a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time resurfaced from somewhere long forgotten.
He felt as if he had returned to his youth, back to those bright, sunny mornings in the corridors of Hogwarts, where he was walking behind a red-haired girl, textbooks tucked between his fingers, keeping a respectful distance.
He instinctively took a step.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, maintaining the same rhythm as the person in front of him. The two were about ten steps apart, neither too close nor too far, just like back then.
Moonlight bathed the grass between the two, and the wind blew from the side, lifting the edges of their robes at similar angles.
They crossed the open space, walked onto the path leading to the castle, past the old trees whose canopies drooped in the night, past the beech tree illuminated by the moonlight, and past the bend in the gravel path.
They walked in silence, but the distance between them remained constant.
Snape stared at the figure in front of him, and for a moment he felt as if time was rewinding.
Rewind to those afternoons he thought he had long forgotten, rewind to an age when he didn't know what the future held.
The corridor was narrower then, the sunlight brighter, and the person walking in front also had the same red hair, the same steps, the same rhythm.
He followed, neither too close nor too far, just like now.
As night deepened, only the silver-blue flame in the fireplace remained, quietly flickering in the Slytherin Common Room, illuminating the entire room with a cool, bright glow.
Draco nestled in the dark green armchair, looking like a cat that had just eaten its fill, a smile that she couldn't suppress, and she would occasionally chuckle to herself.
Herman sat on the chair next to her, looked at her several times, and finally couldn't help but speak up, "You've been laughing all night."
Draco turned her head, her eyes still brimming with excitement. "Didn't you see the look on Ron's face when he bit into that piece of cake?"
She chuckled again, her shoulders twitching slightly, "When that tooth fell out, she was completely stunned. And in the Hospital Wing, when she learned that the tooth wouldn't grow back anytime soon..."
Herman found the scene somewhat amusing, but unlike Draco, he didn't laugh uncontrollably. He merely curled the corners of his mouth slightly. "You sent him to the Hospital Wing just to see what happened next?"
Draco nodded confidently. "Of course. And I heard it from Madam Pomfrey. That tooth will grow slowly; it's not magical damage, so there's no anti-magic spell that can turn it back in a second. She'll be speaking with a lisp during this time."
Her tone carried a sense of satisfaction, as if to say, "This is even better than I expected."
Herman leaned back in his chair, looking at the expression on Draco's face, and thought that her gains today were probably greater than he had imagined. Hmph, women.
Before he could say anything, a commotion came from the other side of the common room.
Crabbe and Goyle walked from the other end of the corridor, their steps synchronized, their goal clear: to head straight for Draco.
They stopped in front of Draco, as if they had been waiting for a long time.
Draco glanced at them, then, as if remembering something, reached out and picked up the unopened cloth from the table. Inside were Hagrid's Rock Cakes.
She unfolded the cloth and laid it out on the table, revealing the grayish-brown lumps. "These are for you."
Crabbe and Goyle's eyes simultaneously fell on the pile of lumps, and their eyes lit up.
Herman wanted to warn him, but before he could even say "It's a bit hard, be careful," Crabbe had already picked up one of the pieces and stuffed it into his mouth without hesitation.
Immediately afterwards, a series of rapid, grinding sounds came from inside the room, as if something was being repeatedly crushed, or as if a hard object had gotten caught in some metal gears.
Herman felt a chill run down his spine when he heard the voice, as if something was crawling up his spine.
He stared at Crabbe's mouth and watched the grayish-brown lump rapidly shrink between his teeth, its edges constantly breaking into smaller particles before being swallowed.
Goyle followed suit, picking up a piece and stuffing it into his mouth. He chewed it crisply, his expression as indifferent as if he were eating an ordinary cookie.
Herman couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it hard?"
Crabbe stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment, "It's a bit hard, but it feels alright, quite chewy."
Goyle nodded. "It's a little choking, is there any water?"
Herman picked up a half-empty glass of water left behind by someone from the table next to him and handed it to Gore. Goyle took a sip, then put down the glass and began to comment. "The taste is quite unique, but it's not sweet enough; it doesn't really suit my taste."
Herman was speechless. He looked at their composed expressions, as if they had just chewed ordinary bread instead of rock-hard pastries.
His arm mutated, while Crabbe and Goyle probably mutated their teeth.
He recalled what Draco had said before, "When your arm is amputated, I'll replace it with House-elf's arm." Could it be that these two had lost all their teeth a long time ago and replaced them with a set of dragon teeth? Their teeth could sit at the same table as Giant's.
Crabbe and Goyle finished their Rock Cakes, as if they had finally completed the most important task of the night, and turned to walk back towards their dormitory with satisfaction.
Herman watched their backs disappear at the end of the corridor, then looked down and took out the Rock Cakes he had wrapped himself from his pocket.
He had originally intended to throw it away, but he suddenly wondered if he had misunderstood something. Perhaps Hagrid was a very good cook, and maybe the Rock Cakes had become oily and edible after sitting for a while?
He carefully picked up the piece of bread, took a bite, and then his whole face scrunched up.
Pooh.
They're still the same as always; Crabbe and Goyle definitely have mutated teeth.
He casually tossed the pancake into a nearby trash can. The pancake hit the bottom of the can with a dull thud, like someone had thrown a stone in.
Draco watched the whole scene from the side, laughing so hard her shoulders were shaking. She hunched over in her chair for a while before straightening up.
Herman gave her a disapproving look. "Laugh all you want, or you'll get wrinkles."
Draco's smile faded after his words, but the corners of her mouth still couldn't help but curl up slightly, making her tense face look rather cute.