Just as Herman was looking down and poking at the cold roasted potato on his plate with his fork, Draco reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
Herman looked up and followed her gaze to see Hagrid on the platform waving his large, fan-like hand vigorously in their direction, his smile brighter than the flames in the fireplace, as if he were seeing an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
Herman looked away, then glanced at Draco, who had already begun waving at Hagrid.
It's normal for Draco to like being with Hagrid. In fact, Hagrid likes any child as long as they aren't too bad-tempered. And Draco, being a girl, obviously hasn't been instilled with a lot of Pure-blood ideas by Lucius.
That's normal. You can teach your son how to be pretentious and socially adept, and let your daughter do whatever she wants.
Lucius wasn't entirely convinced by the Pure-blood doctrine; he used it more for speculation and forming cliques, since Pure-blood families still held most of the power in the wizarding world.
Although the villains lost the last two Wizarding Wars, it was never the Pure-blood who were hurt. Lucius clearly knew which side to stand on, at least until he saw Voldemort's corpse. After all, Dumbledore wouldn't kill him for taking sides, but Voldemort really would.
Hagrid is like a larger playmate of the same age, always bringing out something new and fun that the Malfoy family would never let their precious daughter touch. After all, Lucius would never let his daughter feed Hippogriff or keep a bunch of Blast-Ended Skrewt at home.
After greeting Hagrid, Draco turned to Herman and said, "Let's go see Hagrid again this afternoon. He left without saying goodbye yesterday, so we need to explain things properly today."
Herman thought for a moment and nodded. He had been planning to find out what had happened in the Forbidden Forest last night, and talking to Hagrid would be a good opportunity.
Draco turned her head to the other side of the table and said to Harry, who was busy fiddling with the food in front of her, "You can't stand me up today, you have to come with me."
Harry didn't even look up, just nodded indifferently, and continued to pok at the vegetables on her plate with her fork.
Crabbe and Goyle, sitting nearby, both brightened up when they heard Draco's words. Crabbe leaned closer, his tone unusually serious. "Remember to bring back some of those special flavored pastries for us. We had them last night, and our meals tasted even better today."
Herman chimed in from the side, "Are you using Rock Cakes as a toothpick?"
Draco ignored Herman and patted Crabbe and Goyle on the chest. "No problem, I'll pack up anything you can't finish."
Herman suddenly realized a problem: besides getting information from Hagrid, there was also a plate of Rock Cakes waiting to test his teeth, and he didn't want to experience that feeling of his teeth hitting the stone again.
He glanced at the expectant expressions on Crabbe and Goyle's faces, and an idea popped into his head.
He leaned close to Draco's ear and whispered, "Bring Crabbe and Goyle along this afternoon. Hagrid won't mind, and neither will those Rock Cakes."
Draco's ears turned red instantly at his close proximity, and she shyly turned to the side. But after hearing his words, she immediately understood, a smile curving her lips. She turned to Crabbe and Goyle and announced, "You two will come with us this afternoon."
Crabbe and Goyle exchanged a glance, then nodded sheepishly. "Oh."
After lunch, the group of five passed through the castle's Entrance Hall and walked down the stone steps.
The afternoon sun slanted in through the high window panes, casting a warm yellow band of light across the stone floor. As they passed through the castle gate, a gaunt figure stood in the shadows beside it.
Filch crossed his arms like an old statue placed at the doorway, his gaze sweeping over the five people from head to toe, his tone carrying a habitual suspicion and scrutiny. "Where are you going? Leaving the castle now requires a legitimate reason; you can't just go out without the professor's permission."
Draco stopped in her tracks, her tone as casual as if she were greeting a neighbor. "Going to see Hagrid, it's an appointment."
Filch's brow furrowed even more, as if he were rapidly weighing in his mind which category Hagrid's identity should be categorized into.
Herman noticed Filch's change in expression and silently considered whether Hagrid was a professor or not. This question would probably trouble Filch for a while. If he said no, it would be tantamount to lowering himself to the same level, and he wouldn't do something so foolish as to demean himself.
As Filch stood at the door, agonizing over what standard to use to treat the students, Quirrell hurried in from the direction of the castle Entrance Hall. He had a piece of bread in his mouth and a wand in his hand, and his pace was much faster than usual, as if he were on his way somewhere.
Filch's eyes lit up when he saw Quirrell, as if he had found an opportunity to throw the problem out the window.
He quickly stopped Quirrell, his tone unusually urgent. " Professor Quirrell! There's a problem here that needs your help."
Quirrell stopped at the sound, swallowed the piece of bread in his mouth, and then straightened the collar of his robe, which had become slightly askew from rushing, trying to regain the proper appearance of a professor. He then looked up at Filch: "What's wrong? Is something the matter, Mr. Filch?"
As he asked the question, he unconsciously glanced towards the direction outside the castle, as if something more urgent awaited him.
Filch stepped aside to let the five people behind him out. "These kids say they're going to find Hagrid, I don't know if I should let them out."
Quirrell followed Filch's gaze, his eyes lingering on Herman for a moment. He quickly assessed the situation in his mind and ultimately decided that he should still take care of his little classroom assistant.
He thought for a moment, then his tone softened slightly. "How about this, I'm going to the Forbidden Forest anyway, I'll drop them off with Hagrid on the way. I trust Hagrid can take good care of them."
After he finished speaking, he waved to Herman and the others, signaling them to follow.
Herman quickly called to Draco and Harry, and Crabbe and Goyle followed behind. The five of them went through the castle gate with Quirrell.
Filch stood at the doorway, watching their figures disappear into the sunlight outside. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he ultimately closed them and turned back to face the interior of the castle.
He had originally intended for Quirrell to refuse the group's request to go out, but he clearly hadn't expected Quirrell to take on the task himself. However, since the professor had spoken, he couldn't very well stop him.
Filch returned to the shadows by the door, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the castle gate, as if to make sure no one else would sneak out.
He didn't notice that not far behind him, around the corner of the corridor, three heads were peeking out from the edge of the wall, cautiously observing the situation.