Chapter 725: The Draco Constellation at Hogwarts?Ever since news of Dumbledore’s death spread, all sorts of opportunists had come crawling out of the woodwork.Especially |
This was not Ginny’s imagination.
In truth, Hogwarts was now in a terrible state where people could leave, but no one could enter.
Leaving was allowed, of course, but coming in was not.
More precisely, anything that wanted to enter Hogwarts had to pass through layer after layer of inspections before it even had a chance of getting into the school.
A chance.
The reason for that was simple. The wizard who decided whether someone or something could enter Hogwarts was not the current Acting Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall.
Instead... it was the Ministry of Magic, which had recently undergone a personnel change.
In fact, the fact that professors and students who sensed something was wrong were still able to leave the school was already the result of Minerva McGonagall’s efforts. Otherwise, none of them would have had any hope of leaving Hogwarts at all.
Interestingly, shortly after the new Minister of Magic took office, the Dementors, whose contact had previously been cut off, once again came under the Ministry’s control.
The reason Draco knew was mainly because of the information Fleur Delacour had sent in.
As for how Draco was still able to contact the outside world, that was thanks to the Marauder's Map. Without it, even this last remaining line of communication would have been severed.
Because on that map, there was a secret passage that led quietly to Hogsmeade.
And it was through that secret passage that Draco had gotten in touch with Fleur outside the school.
...
After glancing with a frown at Luna, who was staring blankly up at the ceiling, Ginny pressed her lips together and looked at Draco, who did not seem to be joking.
The red-haired witch spoke with some difficulty. “You’re saying... the Ministry of Magic has already been taken over by Death Eaters?”
“Mm. Unless something unexpected happened.”
“And... the new Minister of Magic in The Daily Prophet is actually that person’s puppet.”
“That’s right.”
“...”
Do you really think I’m going to believe that?
The words were already on the tip of Ginny’s tongue, but when she saw that Draco’s face held no trace of a smile, she forced them back down.
If she had not once gone through a life-or-death battle alongside Draco, Ginny might really have scoffed at what he said.
The Ministry of Magic fell just like that?
Even if that person was Voldemort.
Even if Cornelius Fudge was an utter fool...
Fine. When she thought about it that way, it did not seem completely impossible.
In any case, although it sounded rather unbelievable, Ginny accepted it almost immediately.
“So... that’s why the members of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, and the others are being wanted by the Ministry? I thought...”
“You thought that with Dumbledore dead, the Ministry couldn’t wait to deal with all of you?”
“Yeah. But I didn’t expect that person to be behind it.”
“That’s what makes him clever. Maybe a few people can see through it, but in this world, there are still many who can’t see the truth. And that isn’t their fault. They’re simply standing in different places, at different heights.”
It was the first time Ginny had seen Draco speak about something so seriously. The anxiety she had felt moments ago suddenly, inexplicably settled down.
The strong sense of security coming from him left her head a little dazed, and her body even leaned unconsciously in Draco’s direction. It reminded her of the time she had sat with him on a Broomstick.
Back then, Draco had given her the same reliable feeling.
Maybe with Draco at Hogwarts, she really did not need to worry about anything at all.
Ginny could not help beginning to think that.
...
Unlike Ginny, who had started acting lovestruck... or rather, had started staring blankly at Draco, Luna, who seemed to be spacing out beside her, had actually been deeply shaken by Draco’s words.
Her ethereal eyes, impossible to read as usual, were now moving constantly, making her look especially odd and mischievous.
To be honest, Luna did not really care about what had happened to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. What she was worried about was her father’s safety.
Ever since that day, Draco had introduced her father to the leader of the pure blood noble families, Lucius Malfoy.
Yes.
Mr. Lovegood, who had long since sensed that something was wrong and recognized the situation before him, had not only revealed everything about the Deathly Hallows, but had also taken the initiative to seek protection from the force standing behind Draco.
He had not gone to Dumbledore. Instead, he had chosen Lucius Malfoy.
Judging by the result, Mr. Lovegood possessed the same extraordinary intuition as Luna.
Noticing the look Luna quietly cast his way, Draco shook his head and explained, “No news is actually the best news, isn’t it?”
“Mm... you’re right.”
The cryptic exchange between the two of them made Ginny frown, feeling as if she were the outsider here.
In fact, she had indeed been present at the time, but she truly had no idea what sort of deal Draco and Mr. Lovegood had made.
The only thing she knew about was that strange symbol.
Just as Ginny raised an eyebrow and was about to try getting something out of Luna, the rightful one... no, Pansy and the others, who had only just appeared for some unknown reason, suddenly arrived beside them.
“Ginny? What are you doing here?”
“Hermione?”
For some reason, when Ginny faced Hermione at that moment, a strange sense of guilt suddenly rose in her heart.
It was as if she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.
...
The appearance of Pansy and the others made the nearby young Slytherins all breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Their tacit, strangely synchronized reaction naturally caught Hermione’s attention. She looked at Draco suspiciously, and that puzzled gaze made Ginny, who had been quietly watching her from the side, suddenly grow nervous.
Although Ginny did not quite understand what that feeling was, she quickly interrupted Hermione’s thoughts.
“Hermione, I’ve been looking for you for ages. What have you been busy with lately?”
“...Just a few things.”
Although Hermione felt that Ginny’s reaction was a little odd, as if she were feeling guilty about something, she still answered her question.
As she spoke, she accepted the mashed potatoes Draco pushed toward her.
Pansy, who did not care why Ginny was here, skillfully moved closer to Draco and whispered something only the two of them could hear.
“Draco, we’ve found some clues about the thing you asked us to look for.”
“Did you run into any problems along the way?”
“Mm. Without that map, it really wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. After all, that place isn’t exactly hidden away in some remote corner.”
It had to be said.
Both Pansy and Hermione were starting to admire Draco’s judgment and decisiveness.
Who could have imagined that a single map would bring such astonishing returns?
In the recent string of events, Draco had made full use of its value.
Interestingly, if they had been even a little later, and had failed to get the Marauder's Map from Harry Potter, these tasks would not have been so easy to complete. They might not even have succeeded at all.
That alone showed how wise Draco’s original decision had been.
At the same time, it also indirectly showed that Harry Potter really was not that outstanding in this regard, and his luck had been rather poor.
...
While Pansy was busy replenishing her “Draco energy,” Hermione was also curious about why Ginny had appeared here.
More precisely, she was worried that Ginny might have found out something.
“What’s going on? Why did you come here? Is there something you need to tell me?”
“Mm... I had some questions I wanted to ask you, but I haven’t seen you around lately, so I...”
“I thought...”
“You thought?”
Hermione looked away and waved a hand. At first, she had wondered whether the incident last time had made Ginny suspicious, but it seemed that was not the reason.
That made sense.
Harry Potter had disappeared outright, so he had never had the chance to say a single word to Ginny. Naturally, Ginny could not have known that there had actually been an unspeakable reason behind calling her and Longbottom out together last time.
To be honest, if those two had been seen together, someone would definitely have grown suspicious. It would not have stood up to scrutiny.
So Harry Potter’s disappearance really had come at just the right time.
And Ginny certainly would not know that Pansy Parkinson, who was sitting at the same table as her now, had once disguised herself as Ginny to get close to Harry Potter.
Since she knew it had nothing to do with that matter, Hermione was not foolish enough to bring it up herself. “No, nothing. Go on, then. What did you want to ask me?”
Ginny studied Hermione’s expression suspiciously, but when she could not see anything from it, she repeated what she had just told Draco.
The wanted notice. The Ministry of Magic.
“I see. I do know quite a bit about this.”
“So you also know that the Ministry of Magic has already been taken over by that person?”
“More or less.”
“...”
For some reason, an uncomfortable feeling rose in Ginny’s heart, as if she had lost to Hermione in some way.
Hermione, who did not notice the strange look on Ginny’s face, reached out and pulled Pansy away just as she was about to burrow into Draco’s arms. “Pay attention to where you are. Also, I have something important to discuss with Draco.”
“Granger... Hmph!”
Although Pansy was dissatisfied, she knew time was tight, so she still let go of Draco’s arm.
Hermione paid no mind to that cold snort and looked at Draco seriously. But after thinking of something, her gaze quietly shifted toward Ginny and Luna beside them.
That meaningful look seemed to suggest there was something confidential that could not be allowed to reach anyone else’s ears.
Naturally, the quick-witted Ginny could not have missed it. Nor was she thick-skinned enough to pretend she had not seen the apologetic look in Hermione’s eyes. “I’ll come find you another time. Luna and I will leave fir...”
“Wait.”
“Huh, Draco?”
Draco looked at Ginny, who was about to stand and leave, then slowly said, “Although our positions outside are indeed different, the current situation means we have to unite every force we can use.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think I told you before. Hogwarts is no longer safe, and the Dark Lord will definitely make a move.”
“So what...”
“And I can say with absolute certainty that the Dark Lord has already begun to act... against Hogwarts.”
“...”
Looking at the somewhat bewildered Ginny Weasley, Draco leaned forward. “I’m staying. I won’t leave Hogwarts.”
“You?!”
“And here... I’ll fight him!”
“...”
Ginny’s lips parted slightly.
She stared at the faintly mad curve of his mouth, and at those deep, shining eyes.
For a moment, all Ginny could see was the blond figure before her.
Gryffindor’s courage.
Slytherin’s ambition.
In that instant, both seemed to appear in Draco at the same time.
...
Ever since news of Dumbledore’s death spread, all sorts of opportunists had come crawling out of the woodwork.
Especially after the Ministry of Magic changed its stance and began targeting Dumbledore’s remaining supporters, the few shrewd wizards who understood which way the wind was blowing started making a spectacle of themselves all across the wizarding world.
These wizards began attacking Dumbledore relentlessly, now that he could no longer speak for himself.
The Daily Prophet hardly needed to be mentioned.
Almost every day, it published some new scandal about Dumbledore.
Interestingly, The Daily Prophet had not reported a single piece of news about the Dark Lord since then, as if the wizarding world had truly found peace.
Aside from The Daily Prophet, the hottest topic now was probably the biography personally written by Rita Skeeter, the former editor and reporter of The Daily Prophet.
Strangely enough, this biography was entirely about the already-dead Dumbledore, not Rita Skeeter herself.
Or rather, by putting Dumbledore’s name directly in the title, her book had become a sensation.
Rita Skeeter might be a witch, but she certainly understood how to create hype.
The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.
Yes, that was the title of the biography.
The contents used Rita Skeeter’s favorite method of leading the reader by the nose.
After reading the book, wizards could not help questioning whether Dumbledore had truly been so great and noble. Some even began to believe the image described in its pages, that of a cunning man skilled at deceiving the world.
And the ironic part was that this biography had been allowed into Hogwarts.
“Is everything written in here true?!”
Hermione closed the biography by Rita Skeeter in her hands and looked at Draco beside her in shock.
Although Dumbledore’s image had fallen again and again in Hermione’s mind after everything that had happened, she still found it hard to believe that the kindly-looking old man had such a side to him in private.
Or perhaps Hermione, who was still rather innocent, simply did not yet understand what exchanges of interest between adults looked like.
...
In response to Hermione’s doubt and conflicted expression, Draco only shrugged. “He simply did what he believed was right. Though in my opinion, he was far too stubborn and inflexible.”
Draco was not making a biased judgment of a dead man. Rather, even if Dumbledore were still alive, Draco would still say the same thing.
“But compared with all the discussion about someone who’s already dead, I’m more interested in the part at the very end.”
“The part at the end... If I remember correctly, it talks about how terrible Snape and Potter’s relationship was, then guides everyone into thinking Potter framed Snape for Dumbledore’s murder because he hated him.”
Hermione truly lived up to her reputation as a know-it-all. Her excellent memory made Pansy, who had been playing with Draco’s robes beside him, glance at her.
Ginny, who did not know Hermione that well, looked surprised as she checked the contents of the biography.
As for why Ginny Weasley was here, it had a great deal to do with what they were about to do next.
Ignoring Ginny’s fuss, Draco continued, “It’s obvious that someone behind the scenes is trying to clear Professor Snape of suspicion.”
“You mean... the Ministry of Magic?”
Hearing Hermione’s words, Ginny could not help interrupting their conversation.
“That’s impossible. According to what you said before, the Ministry of Magic is under that person’s control right now, and Snape is...”
“Is what?”
“...”
“You mean Snape is a member of the Order of the Phoenix, don’t you?” Draco blinked with a hint of mischief.
“...How do you know that?” Ginny looked around and only then noticed that Draco, Hermione, and the others did not look surprised at all. It was as if they had known this long ago.
In truth, Ginny had no idea that when Draco and Snape met for the last time, Snape had not directly revealed his identity, but had used another method to let Draco know.
Perhaps that was the tacit understanding between godfather and godson.
It was precisely because of Voldemort and Dumbledore’s confidence that a double agent like Snape had been born.
And Draco had no intention of telling anyone else about that.
“In any case, I think our Professor Snape is very likely to take the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts next, with help from the Ministry of Magic.”
“That... How is that possible?”
“Nothing is impossible. Maybe Death Eaters will even become our professors.”
“...”
At Draco’s increasingly outrageous words, Ginny rolled her eyes, not believing him in the slightest.
But as she made a face, she completely failed to notice that Pansy, Hermione, and even Luna, who had come along with them, all wore thoughtful expressions.
After all, Draco had never been the type to make wild claims for no reason.
Led by Hermione, Draco and the others arrived at the end of the corridor.
At the very end stood a marble knight statue, both hands gripping a stone sword.
Ginny, who had no idea why they had come here, was just about to ask when Hermione turned lightly on her feet, then lifted her chin with elegant pride.
“Welcome to our... Hogwarts branch of the Draco Constellation!”
Ginny: ???
Wait!
What was the Draco Constellation?