Chapter 685: The Same Goal Those words sounded utterly meaningless, and Draco could not help freezing for a moment.But the instant Draco realized something, he reacted wi |
On the eve of the Christmas party.
Just a few hours before it was due to begin, Draco, Pansy, and the others gathered together to go over the timing and details of the plan one more time, while also making sure they had not overlooked anything.
Most importantly, they had to be mentally prepared for accidents and have a way to deal with them.
For example, there was the possibility of being noticed, or Professor Horace suddenly appearing. Those were all things they needed to prepare for in advance, along with backup plans.
To avoid the risk of exposure, Draco and the others had not even told Goyle and Crabbe about the plan...
Hermione, who had been taking notes on parchment, suddenly set down her quill. “Then that’s the whole plan. Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”
“It definitely will, but... what will you do if we can’t find that memory, Draco?”
“That’s right. Before this, I carefully read everything I could find about the Pensieve. If you’re not the Pensieve’s owner, it’s very hard to find the memory you need in that jumble of memories.”
“To be exact, it’s impossible in a short amount of time.”
But put simply, it meant that only the person who put something away would know which corner of the room it had been left in.
And the Pensieve that stored memories was that room...
“Leave this to me and Granger. We’ll help you keep an eye on Professor Horace at the party.”
“Wait, Greengrass, I want to see the Pensieve too...”
Before Hermione could finish, Pansy’s eyes lit up and she cut her off at once. “That’s a good idea. If it’s Professor Horace’s favorite student, meaning you, Granger, stepping in, then surely...”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning, Parkinson! And Greengrass, did this woman give you something in return?”
“...”
In truth, Astoria had not had any selfish motive when she made the suggestion.
She just had not expected the two women beside her to react so quickly and immediately realize what it meant.
This was important business, yes, but it was also a rare chance to spend time alone with Draco.
Realizing that only after the fact, Astoria smacked her forehead, feeling a little annoyed with herself.
She should have said that Pansy and Hermione would be one team, while she and Draco would act together...
...
As night fell, the Christmas party personally organized by Professor Horace finally revealed its true form.
The moment you stepped into the heavily remodeled hall, you might have doubted that the outside world was actually in such chaos, that Voldemort had returned, or that those mad Death Eaters were no longer locked away in Azkaban.
“Luxurious” alone was nowhere near enough to describe this Christmas party...
The rich aroma of food in the air made it obvious that the house-elves had gone all out on tonight’s Christmas feast.
And when one’s gaze shifted to the central stage, there stood the Weird Sisters, the most famous band in the wizarding world, invited here to perform for the evening.
It was said that one of the members had once been Professor Horace’s student, which was the only reason they had been willing to come sing at such a troubled time.
On top of that, the floating light sprites overhead had replaced the pumpkin-shaped candles from previous years, casting a faint, hazy glow over everyone present.
Whether magic was involved or not, even faces that were usually unpleasant to look at somehow seemed more pleasing tonight...
“Isn’t this... a little too much?!”
Even Hermione, who had attended Professor Horace’s parties before, could not help twitching her lips the moment she walked in.
At the same time, she realized that Professor Horace truly had put a great deal of effort and care into this Christmas party.
For some reason, Professor Horace always seemed especially particular about this sort of thing...
Just as Hermione was lost in thought, Pansy’s voice rang in her ear.
“Don’t stand there looking like an idiot. Don’t forget why we’re here!”
“...”
Even without turning around, Hermione knew exactly who had said that.
Still, faced with Pansy’s criticism, Hermione was at a loss for words this time and genuinely had no idea how to argue back.
Astoria appeared a moment later and signaled with her eyes toward their target’s current location. “Stop arguing. Professor Horace is over there. Don’t let him slip out of our sight.”
After saying that, Astoria disappeared into the crowd.
Then Pansy gave Hermione a provoking little snort. “I’m off too. Try not to hold us back, Granger.”
“That’s what I should be saying!”
After throwing those lines at each other, Pansy and Hermione split up at the same time without looking back.
Clearly, Draco had no intention of showing up at the party, and from the way the three girls were acting, it was obvious that Draco was not planning to bring any of them along for this operation.
Whether Draco had intended that from the start, or whether... he was worried that bringing any one of them would lead to a harem dis... ahem, whether it was simply for the sake of secrecy, no one knew.
...
At the same time Pansy and the others appeared at the Christmas party,
Draco, with Dobby’s help, was bypassing every wizard he might have run into along the way, as well as the ghosts wandering through the castle.
Put simply, Draco reached the target location of this operation smoothly, with no real danger along the way.
That target was Professor Horace Slughorn’s office.
The moment he saw the door with Horace’s office plaque hanging on it, even Draco could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
Draco turned back. “I’ll be counting on you again on the way back, Dobby.”
“Wuuu. Little Master entrusted Dobby with something. How very... wuuu...”
“...”
Watching Dobby disappear before his eyes, Draco rubbed his temple with a headache coming on.
If Dobby had not still remembered that Draco’s actions tonight could not be discovered, he probably would have burst into tears on the spot, or even started smashing his head against the wall again.
Fortunately, things had not gotten that bad...
After letting out a breath, Draco focused his attention on the door in front of him.
He did not recklessly push it open, nor did he use a spell that could force it open.
After all, for Draco, who had grown up in the Malfoy family and was no stranger to dark wizards, he naturally understood just how impossible it was to guard against the methods wizards could use.
Some spells served as warnings.
Others were powerful curses that harmed far more than they warned.
This was Hogwarts, yes, but no one could guarantee that Professor Horace had not tampered with his door in some hidden way...
Fortunately, Draco had come prepared. He pulled out a rather oddly shaped magical item from beneath his robes.
More precisely, it was a dark magic item Draco had bought for a high price from Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley.
Its function was not especially complicated, nor was it all that practical. Its only effect was to detect whether magic had been cast on an object.
The reason it was not very useful was simple. It could not identify what kind of magic had been cast, nor could it silently dispel the spell or curse on the object.
In a way, the little thing was rather like Neville Longbottom’s Remembrall.
Somewhat useful.
But not by much...
...
Draco had to say, it was fortunate that Horace Slughorn was not someone like Alastor Moody.
Because clearly, Professor Horace was not nearly that cautious. Or rather, he was not as suspicious and paranoid as Alastor Moody, and that gave Draco a chance to get into the office without trouble.
The moment the door opened, Draco did not slip inside immediately. Instead, he waited a moment first, then stepped into the office he had visited several times before.
Narrowing his eyes, he quickly scanned the room once. Only after confirming there was indeed no one inside did Draco head farther in.
It seemed Professor Horace really was at the Christmas party and not staying in his office...
“Going by past experience, I don’t have much time before the Christmas party ends. I need to find that thing as soon as...”
Halfway through speaking, Draco suddenly pressed his whole body against the wall and immediately cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
As for whether using magic might alert someone, Draco no longer had the luxury of worrying about that now.
Because he had heard the faint sound of the door opening.
“At this time? It can’t be Horace. Pansy and the others would definitely hold him up, and Dobby would have come to warn me. So... either something unexpected happened, or this person used some method to fool Dobby’s senses while he was keeping watch?”
He slowed his breathing.
Calmed his tense heartbeat.
Burning with curiosity about the newcomer’s identity, Draco stared fixedly at the wooden door as it was pushed open again.
Interestingly, Draco did not see anyone appear at all, yet the door opened just like that. Then, a second later, it even closed by itself.
Draco was not foolish enough to think the wind had blown it open.
Just as Draco remained perfectly still, another person’s voice suddenly rang out inside the room.
“There’s no one here?! Impossible. The map clearly showed Malfoy’s location just now. He should be here. Did I see it wrong?”
“A map? My location? And that familiar voice...!”
Draco had never expected that the other person had actually come for him.
As for a map that could show his location, for Draco, who lived in the magical world and was constantly exposed to magical objects, it had indeed been surprising at first, but only to that extent.
And as for why he could not see the other person, Draco had already guessed the reason.
There were only a few possibilities. Either they had used a Disillusionment Charm, or they were wearing some kind of magical invisibility cloak.
“Still... even so, Dobby shouldn’t have failed to notice them. As far as I know, invisibility items shouldn’t be capable of complete concealment...”
Just as Draco was feeling puzzled by this, he heard that voice again.
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!”
...
Those words sounded utterly meaningless, and Draco could not help freezing for a moment.
But the instant Draco realized something, he reacted with remarkable speed. Before the other person had even finished speaking, Draco swiftly brought his own magic under control and cut off any possible means by which the outside world could detect him.
Just as had been said before, Draco knew very well that magical artifacts came in countless varieties, and he also knew that some special ones required certain tricks before they could be used properly.
And the most common of those tricks was a keyword, a key used to activate the object, like the sentence just now...
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!”
As those words fell, Draco clearly heard the faint rustling sound of parchment.
That soft whisper seemed to reach Draco’s ears along with a pulse of magic...
“Gone?! It was there just a moment ago. Did I really see it wrong?”
In the office, where he should have been alone, Draco once again heard a puzzled murmur.
From the sound of it, the other person seemed to have run into something they could not understand, and Draco could even sense the agitation in that voice...
Understanding something, Draco narrowed his eyes, as if doing so might let him make out something from that apparently empty space. “So it’s a map-type magical artifact?”
Draco was genuinely a little surprised.
This type of magical artifact was not especially rare, but if it was a map drawn of the Hogwarts grounds, and one that could even display everyone’s names on it, then that was something precious, perhaps even unique in the entire world.
What surprised Draco even more was that it had ended up in this person’s hands.
And this person was someone Draco knew very well...
...
Perhaps because he was too confident, this person never once suspected that the map in his hand might be wrong.
After checking it again and again, he simply pulled off the Invisibility Cloak he was wearing right in front of Draco.
That self-assured manner made Draco curl his lip slightly.
In truth, the moment he heard that familiar voice, Draco had already more or less figured out who had come.
Sure enough, as the Invisibility Cloak came off, the other person’s figure was fully revealed.
It was none other than their Savior, Harry Potter...
“So that’s the map that can show everyone’s location?”
Draco’s gaze immediately fell on the parchment in Harry’s hand. But from where he was standing, he could not see it very clearly, much less make out exactly what was drawn on it.
As for why Harry Potter had such a valuable map in his possession, Draco already had a few likely suspects in mind.
But compared with who had given it to him, Draco cared far more about why Harry Potter had come here...
“If he came here just to catch me red-handed, then there’s no way he would have shown up like this, and he definitely wouldn’t have come alone.”
Very quickly, Draco ruled out the possibility that Harry had come specifically to target him.
Of course, there was even less chance that Draco’s original plan had somehow been exposed to anyone else.
Simply put, if Harry Potter really wanted revenge on him, the smartest and most likely choice would have been to alert the other professors.
Not to put on an Invisibility Cloak and sneak here alone in secret.
So...
“There has to be some secret. That’s why he deliberately avoided everyone and came alone to Professor Horace’s office.”
At that thought, Draco suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity about Harry Potter’s actions.
Wasn’t this exactly what he himself was doing right now?
While Draco was secretly guessing at Harry’s purpose, Harry, believing himself to be alone, began making his next move. “Did he leave before I got here? After all, no one knows I have the Marauder’s Map.”
Muttering to himself, Harry Potter walked toward Professor Horace’s desk. Trusting the magical map completely, he quickly found a reason that satisfied him.
And Harry Potter’s utterly unhesitating actions made Draco even more certain of it.
The question now was, what exactly did Harry Potter want to do?
Still unaware that there was another person in the office, Harry seemed to be talking to himself to ease his own tension. “At certain times, Professor Horace always stands here, so...”
“...”
Of course.
With a map that could show everyone’s location in hand, quietly confirming certain pieces of information would actually be very easy.
For example, the most important secret in this office.
And the thing Horace Slughorn cared about so much was precisely Harry Potter’s target tonight.
...
Fate had brought Draco and Harry Potter together.
Not only that, but the thing they were after seemed to be the same...
“The Pensieve?!”
The instant Draco saw Harry pull a Pensieve out from beneath the desk, he nearly failed to control his expression.
Was this pure coincidence?
Or had someone planned it all along?
But whichever it was, Draco had no intention of stepping out and stopping Harry Potter now.
Because his instincts were telling him that the memory Harry wanted to see was the very same one they were after...
Although he could not clearly see everything happening over there,
it was obvious that Harry Potter was rhythmically swirling the Pensieve in his hands, just like a gold prospector panning for gold.
Gradually, within Harry Potter’s gaze, a figure began to emerge from the silvery substance.
It was an old wizard, slowly turning within the Pensieve.
He was pale as a ghost, yet somehow more solid than a ghost.
And his hair was so thick that it completely covered his eyes.
If Draco had been standing beside Harry, he would have recognized at once that this figure was actually a younger Professor Horace...