Although he badly wanted to confirm his suspicions with his father, there simply seemed to be no chance to do so.
Ever since arriving here, Draco had felt as if his own parents had forgotten all about him. He had not seen them even once, nor exchanged a single word with them.
Even the scolding he had expected never came, even though they should have had plenty to say.
Honestly, if he had not occasionally seen a few familiar faces around, Draco might have thought he had come to the wrong place rather than Lucius Malfoy's base of operations.
And that situation continued until Hogwarts was only a few days away from reopening. Even after Pansy and the others had already been taken home by their parents a few days earlier, Draco still had not received any word on what was supposed to happen with him.
Compared to the period of house arrest back at Malfoy Manor, this way of handling things actually irritated Draco even more.
"Was this done on purpose? They really saw right through me."
For someone like Draco, who was used to having everything under control, this feeling of being completely helpless, like being blind with his eyes open, and only being able to learn about the outside world through other people, really was the worst kind of torment.
And from what Draco knew, this arrangement was very likely his mother's doing.
Once Narcissa was truly angry, even Lucius would not dare say much.
At the same time, Draco had to admit that what he had done before really had been a little too reckless. The result had turned out well, but now that he thought about it, being left like this as punishment was already fairly mild.
Just as Draco was staring out the window and thinking to himself, that soft, pleasant scent and that lovely voice appeared at his side. Sudden, but not surprising.
"It looks like Mr. Malfoy and the others were furious with you. Fair enough. If it were Gabrielle, I would have smacked her little backside raw."
It was Fleur Delacour, with the silver hair anyone would envy.
Apparently, she had heard every word of his muttering just now.
For some reason, ever since coming here, Draco kept "coincidentally" running into this half-blood Veela from time to time.
Did she not have anything better to do?
"It's you again."
The word again was used very precisely there.
The moment Fleur heard it, her rather proud and lofty expression turned awkward at once, as if something had suddenly crossed her mind.
Her cheeks flushed red. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed because her little trick had been seen through, or mildly annoyed because Draco wasn't showing her even the slightest courtesy.
Worth mentioning was that when Fleur blushed, her charm seemed to become even more striking.
Turning her head away, Fleur bit down lightly and said, "Your way of saying that is extremely rude, but I will let it go this time. I came to see you about something important."
"So it was not important before?"
"..."
Choked speechless by that reply, Fleur could only roll her eyes at him.
Draco's tone had been calm and flat from beginning to end, but for some reason, the things he said always made her especially annoyed.
After taking a deep breath, she asked, "So what are you planning to do next?"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard about your... organization."
Draco paused for a moment, then turned to look at Fleur Delacour, who was idly playing with her hair.
That organization?
He almost did not realize what she meant, but after a few seconds, he understood.
He did not think it was something that needed to be kept secret, and he did not think it could stay hidden from anyone who truly wanted to investigate it. Still, it was not something he should have been hearing from her.
In the end, the members of that organization were just a group of little wizards who had not even graduated yet. In the eyes of most wizards, they were not capable of making much of a stir.
Even if what Draco had done not long ago had shocked the entire magical world.
Unless the Fleur Delacour standing in front of him had taken an enormous interest in the organization he had created, enough that she actually wanted to join.
Did she really believe he could turn that potential into something real?
But the question was, would Pansy and the others agree?
Draco shook his head.
There was no need to ask. He already knew that was impossible.
Although Draco usually acted as if he did not care about things like that, he could still tell just how much Pansy disliked Fleur.
At the very least, every single time Fleur showed up, Pansy looked ready to bristle.
And compared with the Fleur Delacour before him, Pansy and the others were obviously far more important.
Thinking that, Draco deliberately pretended not to understand what she meant. He turned back toward the window and shrugged.
"Nothing much. You can think of it as preparing for the future."
"If it were anyone else, I might actually believe that."
Fleur pursed her lips in open disbelief. She did not buy that explanation at all, especially not coming from Draco.
Other people might not realize it, but Fleur, who had once experienced Draco's strength up close, could see that there was something special about him.
So she did not believe that an organization centered around Draco could really be that simple.
She blinked those large eyes that seemed almost able to speak.
It was not as though Fleur had never met exceptional wizards before.
Not to mention that there had always been countless wizards trying to draw her attention in all sorts of ways. To be precise, their numbers had never really diminished.
And yet, for some reason, Fleur simply could not help being drawn to Draco.
Even though his attitude toward her was always cold, and even though he had adorable girls like Parkinson at his side, she still could not control her thoughts or her actions.
Pressing hard against her slightly heated chest, Fleur murmured in a voice only she could hear, "Perhaps this really is the curse of the Veela?"
According to legend, Veela possessed astonishing charm. Any man who saw them would fall into obsession and madness.
Because of that, Veela had inevitably come to be seen as unfaithful female spirits who delighted in bewitching men.
But in truth, they did not fall in love easily.
Yet once they did...