Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff and Cho Chang of Ravenclaw.
Although their fame at Hogwarts had never come close to Draco and Pansy's group, it was even less comparable now, especially after Lucius had stepped in to push things further.
Still, they had once been the perfect couple everyone at school admired, so even though she did not know them well, Ginny recognized them immediately. The only question was whether they had come with good intentions or ill ones...
In any case, for some reason Cho Chang did not come forward. Instead, Cedric led a group of people in identical robes toward Draco and the others.
If there were no surprises, these wizards were probably members of the Auror Cadet Corps, the greatest beneficiaries of last year's Special Decree. What Ginny could not tell was whether meeting them here was simply part of a prearranged patrol route, or whether they had already known Draco would appear and had come looking for him on purpose...
...
As the two sides drew closer, Cedric's smile came into view.
He had clearly expected Draco to respond in some way, so when Draco merely flicked a glance in their direction and then looked away as though he had seen absolutely nothing, Cedric was stunned and furious.
That dismissive attitude immediately darkened the faces of everyone on Cedric's side, but before long, their anger turned into heavy mockery. After several months of grueling training, they were brimming with confidence in their newfound strength. To put it bluntly, these hot-blooded Auror cadets did not believe that report that had already spread far and wide.
Defeating Death Eaters alone while protecting two girls with no fighting ability at all. Was this some kind of story?
Even their Auror instructor could not have done that.
So almost instinctively, they dismissed the report as false. Perhaps it was nothing more than wishful thinking on their part.
By now, Hermione had already more or less figured out their intentions from their expressions and reactions.
They wanted to step on Draco to raise themselves up.
That was not hard to guess...
Just as Hermione's eyes turned cold and she was about to speak, Pansy, who had quietly become Draco's spokesperson, reluctantly let go of his arm and took over the exchange herself.
"Cedric, Scuff, Velluto, Figg. Now that you are standing before me, can you represent your respective families?"
"..."
"Or have your families already decided to follow the Ministry of Magic? Or even make an enemy of the Parkinson family?"
"..."
It was only a few simple sentences, and for the time being the Ministry of Magic was still their ally. Even so, those words were enough to leave Cedric and the others with their backs drenched in cold sweat.
They might have been impulsive and unwilling to submit, but if the Ministry of Magic valued them, then they were not complete idiots. It was obvious that Pansy's words were both a warning and a threat.
Small families had their own ways of surviving. In the face of overwhelming trends, their strength might not be enough to change anything, but that very weakness could also become the advantage that allowed them to continue existing.
But all of that rested on one condition.
They had to keep a low profile.
And if the Parkinson family set its sights on them, the result would be devastating...
The moment they realized that, everyone regretted it.
Cedric's growing confidence and strength had given them the illusion that they could dare to tug at a tiger's whiskers. They had also forgotten that Pansy was not merely some lovestruck girl with eyes only for Draco...
In front of Draco, Pansy was simply a girl whose eyes held no one but him.
In the eyes of others and even her parents, she was a cold and elegant noble young lady.
And when she was with Hermione and the others in private, she became a sharp-tongued little devil with a subtly scheming streak.
Just like now, beneath that beautiful smile, Cedric, who had approached with his robes swaying only moments ago, was now covered in cold sweat. His face had gone taut and ugly, yet he was still forcing himself not to be the first to lower his head.
Even Cedric probably had not expected things to turn out like this.
At the same time, he failed to notice that the companions behind him had already lowered their heads and quietly stepped back a few paces, as though they had nothing to do with him at all...
Hermione, having realized that the matter was already settled, kept stealing glances at Pansy. The curiosity in her eyes made it seem as though she were seeing her properly for the first time today.
Ginny, meanwhile, had watched the entire scene unfold and curled her lips in disdain.
"Throwing your weight around."
That was what she said, yet she had no intention of stepping in to help Cedric and the others out of their predicament. On the contrary, she was more curious about where Cedric and the others had found the nerve to provoke Draco.
After all, no one knew better than she did just how powerful Draco truly was...
Wait.
Cedric is close with my brothers and the others, and there is also Harry... could it be...?
At that thought, Ginny's eyes widened slightly, and an inexplicable sense of agitation rose in her chest.
Even so, she had no intention of voicing her doubts at a moment like this, no matter how badly she wanted answers. After all, aside from the possibility that Cedric and Draco were not on good terms at all, she could not think of any other reason Pansy would be this merciless...
...
Just as Ginny had guessed, whatever the purpose of this visit was, Cedric had very clearly stood on Harry Potter's side back in the year of the Triwizard Tournament.
Pansy did not know what had happened between Cedric and Harry Potter afterward, but there was no way she would forget what had happened back then so easily.
Draco might not care in the slightest about an insignificant nobody like him, but that did not mean Pansy and the others could forget, especially when he was standing here so openly dissatisfied with Draco and clearly looking as though he intended to do something.
That was exactly why Pansy had taken the initiative, and why Hermione had not spoken up to stop her...
And just as Cedric and the others found themselves trapped in an impossible position, unable to advance or retreat, Draco kept walking without the slightest pause and passed straight through the middle of them.
The moment felt strangely quiet, almost unreal.
Then Draco's voice broke the silence.
"Aren't you leaving? Finish your patrol early and go back to sleep."
"Oh... wait for me, Draco."
"Mm..."
Pansy was the first to react, nearly losing the cold composure she had been maintaining, while Hermione, with a strange look on her face, hurried after them as well.
Both of them understood that there was nothing more they needed to do, because in front of Draco, Cedric's pride was worth absolutely nothing.
That kind of utter disregard made the veins at Cedric's temples throb uncontrollably. His body swayed as though he had suffered a tremendous blow, and his pale hand tightened even harder around the wand hidden beneath his robes...
But that was all.
He did not dare.
And he could not.
At that point, silence and the fact that he still kept his back straight were probably the last remnants of dignity he had left.
Watching all of this, Ginny, who had only now fully grasped what it meant, stared at the pale blond figure slowly disappearing into the darkness.
The clever girl seemed to understand something at last.
What that scene revealed was the gap.