Around three in the morning, the famous giant squid of Hogwarts was floating drowsily on the rippling Black Lake, preparing to take a nap in its favourite territory.
It quickly found the semi-circular crystal structure—the dome of the Slytherin common room. Pleasantly sprawling most of its body on it, it soon fell silent.
Most of the creatures living in the Black Lake fell silent. Even the luminous plankton concealed themselves, hiding among the dense aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake.
Perhaps Draco's private bedroom was an exception—a dim candlelight still flickered in that crystal window, a rarity in itself.
"Then, that centaur named Firenze came along. He was guarding Harry Potter and that little girl named Hermione. I guess he was protecting them." Dobby opened his round eyes wide and gestured excitedly to his Young Master.
"Tell me something I do not know," Draco said impatiently, slouching as he rose lazily from a dark green leather chair with a snakeskin pattern and began pacing on the carpet.
"Hagrid the big fellow arrived, with a boy named Neville and that cowardly dog. Later, many professors came—Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Dumbledore. They took Quirrell, who was motionless, away and temporarily placed him in the Hogwarts dungeons." Dobby said with lingering enthusiasm, "Great Young Master! Brilliant spells!"
"You were not discovered, were you?" Draco asked uncertainly.
"Dobby has been hiding far away ever since the professors came!" the elf shrieked.
"Very good. Where is Potter?" Draco yawned.
"Professor McGonagall took him to the Hospital Wing! The great Harry Potter preferred to walk to the Hospital Wing himself, refusing the professors' Levitation Charm and refusing Hagrid's offer to carry him! He was clearly in so much pain, yet he was so strong!" the elf said, tears welling in his eyes.
Draco shook his head and continued, "Where is Hermione?"
"Her? That friendly little girl? She helped Hagrid bury the dead unicorn and then went back to the Gryffindor common room. What a wonderful girl! She said 'thank you' to Dobby, even though she knew Dobby was a house-elf!" Dobby said smugly.
"Well done, Dobby," Draco said with satisfaction. "Flawless."
"So, next—" Draco had barely begun when Dobby shouted vehemently, "No! Dobby has not spent all his money yet! Dobby does not want so many rewards!!"
"How about I give you a holiday? I have got nothing to do lately." Draco rubbed his temples and waved lazily. "Visit some old friends, see what they are up to. Maybe take a holiday or something."
"I do not—" Dobby argued pitifully.
"That is my order," Draco said, yawning impatiently.
"Oh! Your noble and great Young Master! You are so generous to Dobby!" With a loud bang, Dobby, with tears in his eyes, vanished without a trace.
Draco finally drifted off to sleep contentedly and enjoyed a good night's rest.
After nearly a year of exploration, planning, and strategising, we have finally reaped the rewards tonight.
The cold chains binding his heart finally loosened a little, making it less suffocating.
With the Dark Lord's soul in Dumbledore's hands, half the battle was won. Dumbledore, with his superior abilities, would surely be able to restrain the Dark Lord. Next, by uncovering the secret of the diadem and nipping any potential danger in the bud, he could shed those terrifying memories of his past life and return to being a carefree young master of the Malfoy family.
The next morning, Draco Malfoy stood in front of the dressing mirror, gazing at the ambitious boy, and finally gave a faint smile.
He seemed to be about to touch the door to freedom.
If only he could try a little harder and pry the Grey Lady's mouth open.
"Try harder." Draco thought, sitting at the Slytherin table, staring inscrutablely at the brown-haired girl.
"Oh... come and see the Gryffindor hourglass! Is something wrong? How come so much sand has been added overnight?" Pansy Parkinson shouted in the Entrance Hall.
"That was added for us by Professor Dumbledore!" Longbottom shouted from the other end of the hall, his voice brimming with pride. "Last night, in the Forbidden Forest, we captured Professor Quirrell!"
"Professor Dumbledore?" "What do you mean by 'you have captured Professor Quirrell'?" "The Forbidden Forest? You went to the Forbidden Forest?" The students swarmed around the round-faced boy, bombarding him with questions, trying to get some answers.
Draco walked out of the Great Hall and glanced at the round-faced boy surrounded by the crowd—who was gesturing excitedly, "Professor Quirrell hurt a unicorn, and we were looking for it when we went to the Forbidden Forest for detention... and then Hermione caught him red-handed!"
"What did you and Potter do? How could you let a little girl steal the spotlight? I initially thought it was the two of you who got the extra fifty points!" a senior Gryffindor boy said incredulously.
"McLaggen, do not say that! Harry and Neville certainly helped too!" Weasley said from the side. "They each got twenty points!"
"You talk like you saw it with your own eyes!" The boy named McLaggen sneered at Weasley, then turned and ordered, "Longbottom, tell me again, how exactly was it discovered? How was it captured?"
"Harry and Hermione were on one team. I was on the other team with Hagrid. We saw the signal halfway there and went over." Longbottom looked confused. "I cannot really say what happened at first. Anyway, Professor Quirrell was eventually caught."
"Then how did you determine that the girl who caught Quirrell was the one?" McLaggen asked dismissively.
"It was that centaur who said it!" Longbottom said, his round face turning red.
"Centaur?" two Gryffindor girls asked in surprise.
"Yes, Lavender, Parvati, I think he is a centaur. There are a lot of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest," Longbottom said, sounding somewhat unsure.
"This is getting more and more outrageous! Unicorns? Centaurs?" Pansy looked him up and down suspiciously, her eyes sharp as she asked, "Longbottom, you cowardly whiner, what can you possibly accomplish? You are not making this up, are you?"
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