Pansy Is Missing?

The moment Harry opened her eyes, she saw Voldemort's magnified snake face right in front of her, his blood-red eyes staring straight at her. A foul, fishy stench wafted from his gaping mouth.

"..." Harry reached out expressionlessly, seized his forked tongue, and yanked it hard.

Voldemort snapped his mouth shut, nearly biting his own tongue, and hissed furiously, [What's wrong with you?!]

Harry shook her hand in disgust. "Don't get so close next time. Your breath smells like a dead mouse."

Voldemort was enraged.

He was Voldemort! How could the mighty Dark Lord possibly eat dead mice? This was slander!

The sun shone brightly outside, and the dormitory had long since emptied. Harry rubbed her eyes. "Where are Hermione and the others?"

Voldemort shrank back to bracelet size, curled himself up, and closed his eyes, unwilling to speak.

A few seconds later.

Voldemort, who had been tied into a bow, said, [That Granger girl tried waking you for ages. When you didn't wake up, she left first.] He struggled to point the tip of his tail at the bedside table. [She left you a note.]

Harry turned to look, and her face went deathly pale at once-

"I asked for you to be excused from Potions Class this morning. -Hermione"

"I'm done for..." Harry felt as though the world were spinning. "It's Potions Class..."

Although Snape treated her a tiny bit better in this life than in her last—or so she felt.

After all, she had done reasonably well thanks to "preparing in advance," but the Potions Master's gaze was still as cold as ice. That was also how she felt.

If he found out she had overslept and skipped class...

Harry glanced at the time. Class wasn't over yet! She sprang out of bed, washed and dressed in no time, grabbed her wand, and rushed out.

In the corridor, Voldemort, coiled around her wrist, asked, [What did you dream about last night?]

"..." Harry stopped in her tracks and frowned in thought. "I forgot."

A dark glint flashed in Voldemort's snake eyes.

He had clearly sensed that some kind of ancient Dark Magic had enveloped Harry last night.

That Dark Magic had lingered, and Harry's life had weakened for an instant.

If not for that Dark Magic, he wouldn't have tried to see if he could bite Harry's head off.

What a pity. It seemed he couldn't.

Harry was lucky not to run into a single teacher as she raced down the corridor, and it didn't take her long to reach the Potions Classroom.

Harry pushed the Potions Classroom door open. Her chest heaved, and the red hair on her forehead clung to her face with sweat.

The classroom fell silent instantly, and every eye turned to her.

Snape was standing at the front of the classroom, holding a bottle of potion that glowed an eerie green. At the sound, he slowly turned around, his black eyes fixing on her like an abyss.

She was done for.

Harry's vision went white. Being late was bad enough, but she had interrupted Snape's lesson too. Even if it didn't kill her, she'd lose a layer of skin.

Snape stood where he was, his gaze sweeping from her disheveled hair to her improperly fastened tie before settling on her cheeks, flushed from running.

"Well, look who it is." His voice was low and slow. "It's our 'unwell' Miss Potter."

He placed deliberate emphasis on "unwell," a mocking smile curving his lips. "What's this? Have you made a sudden 'recovery'?"

A few muffled snickers sounded in the classroom, especially from the Slytherins.

Harry lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously clutching the hem of her robe, at a loss for words.

"Is Miss Potter too ashamed to speak?" Snape continued, his tone carrying a suffocating pressure.

Harry took a deep breath and raised her head. "I'm sorry, Professor. This morning... I overslept."

She had thought Snape would make some sarcastic remark.

Instead, to her surprise, Snape nodded and even began to applaud.

The slow, deliberate clapping sounded especially grating in the silent classroom.

"Miss Potter is very honest," he said mildly. "Five points to Gryffindor."

Harry: ?????

"Now," Snape said with a wave of his hand, silencing the murmurs in the classroom, "find a seat."

Harry looked around and saw that the only empty seat was beside Draco Malfoy.

She steeled herself and walked over. Draco immediately turned his face away, but Harry still caught a glimpse of him covering the upturned corners of his mouth.

"Wait." Snape suddenly spoke.

Harry froze in place.

Snape pointed his wand at Ron, who was sitting beside Hermione. "Mr. Weasley, sit next to Mr. Malfoy."

Ron's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself in disbelief. "Me?"

At Snape's words, Hermione promptly slapped him on the back, giving him a sharp look to tell him to get moving.

The slap sent Ron stumbling, and he could only gather his things dejectedly and drag his feet over to Draco.

He plopped down, only to find himself face-to-face with Draco, whose expression had instantly darkened.

His delight at the prospect of sitting with Harry had been abruptly cut short, and Draco looked as though he had swallowed a whole toad.

Ron was annoyed too and rolled his eyes.

As if anyone wanted to sit next to you, lunatic!

As soon as Harry sat down, Hermione leaned over and asked in a low voice, "What happened to you this morning? I couldn't wake you no matter what I did. I thought you were ill."

Harry shook her head. "I don't know either..." She rubbed her temples, feeling that she had forgotten something important, but she couldn't remember it no matter how hard she tried.

Hermione comforted her. "Forget it. Parkinson didn't come today either, and Professor Snape is angry enough already."

"Parkinson?" Harry stared. "Pansy Parkinson?"

"That's right." Hermione nodded. "You both asked to be excused today, and Professor Snape looked as though not a single student had managed to make a decent potion."

Harry frowned, a faint unease rising in her heart.

She kept feeling that Pansy had something to do with her dream last night, but it was as though her memory were shrouded in mist, and she couldn't grasp any of the details.

Just then, the classroom door was flung open. Professor McGonagall strode in, her expression grave. She went straight to Snape and said a few words in a low voice.

Snape's expression froze instantly.

The entire classroom was terrifyingly quiet, everyone holding their breath.

Snape slowly raised his head, his voice as cold as if it had come from deep in a dungeon. "We've just received word... Miss Pansy Parkinson has disappeared from her dormitory."

The classroom erupted.

"What?!"

"That's impossible!"

Snape swept a cold gaze around the classroom.

"Quiet, everyone. Study on your own for the rest of the period." With that, he followed Professor McGonagall out of the classroom.

Harry froze in place, a chill shooting up her spine.