John hadn't originally known that Malfoy occasionally did good deeds.
He was inside the Constellation Society, setting up the nine gates.
One of those gates, once opened, could even lead to a dragon's lair.
Just as he was about to add a few more refinements, the Constellation Society's alarm went off.
John's gaze sharpened. That eager already, Voldemort?
Holding a Yew wand in his left hand, he walked toward the entrance.
When he opened the door and saw the two girls outside, he fell into brief contemplation.
A moment later.
The girls sat curiously at the round table, reaching out to poke the tiny golden figurine.
"So, this is why you came here?"
John tapped the tabletop. A golden plate appeared, followed by crystal ice-cream cups filled with creamy chocolate ice cream.
One of the girls picked up a spoon—it was pleasantly warm, slicing through the ice cream with ease.
"Yes… a place that makes people feel better," a dreamy voice said.
Luna had spotted a copy of The Quibbler on one of the shelves, along with a pair of Spectrespecs resting beside it.
Ginny was there too. It was her first time entering the legendary Constellation Society, and it felt like stepping into a mystery-filled palace.
She scooped up the dark chocolate ice cream and put it into her mouth, savoring the sweetness as it melted on her tongue.
Her mood lifted a little.
Hearing what Ron had said to Ginny, John remarked with a mix of surprise and mild reproach, "Ron went a bit too far."
Seeing that Ginny wasn't actually hurt by her brother's words, John chuckled lightly. "You're not worried I might have slipped something into the ice cream?"
"You wouldn't," Ginny shot back. "George and Fred both say you're the best boss they've ever had."
"Pass along my thanks for that review," John said with a shrug and a smile. "I thought you'd hold a grudge against me because of Harry."
"I'm not that shallow," Ginny said quietly, poking at her ice cream with the spoon. "Percy says you're his best friend."
Ginny stole a glance at John, unable to understand what kind of pull he had.
He was a Slytherin.
In the Weasley household, even if it wasn't drilled into them constantly, Slytherin was never spoken of kindly.
Yet someone like Percy, who chased power so fervently, was willing to follow John without hesitation.
Thinking it over carefully, she realized the answer lay in the wording itself.
Friend—not superior.
What happened today made Ginny reconsider Slytherin even more.
Malfoy was infuriating—but when it came to a friend's sister, he would still step in to protect her.
"All right, I admit Percy's praise of me is the best kind," John said, snapping his fingers as mist drifted down from the domed ceiling.
He smiled. "I haven't shown these things to anyone else yet. If you're willing to show Fleur a bit more respect in the future, I don't mind letting you take a look."
Ginny let out a few uneasy hums, clearly embarrassed that her bad-mouthing Fleur had been caught.
As the clouds descended, the entire room turned hazy.
Ginny looked back—everything behind them was a sea of white.
Only the table remained clearly visible.
Far from frightened, Luna asked curiously, "Is this going to be an adventure?"
"I hope you've got your shoes on, Luna," John said as he stood, smiling the way one would at a younger sister. "How long has it been since we last went on a forest adventure?"
He stepped into the mist, paused, and added, "You can bring the ice cream—just don't spill it on the way."
Luna got up with her ice cream in hand. Seeing Ginny still hesitating, she excitedly ran over, grabbed her hand, and tugged. "Hurry up!"
Ginny barely managed to pick up her own ice cream, even though she wanted to say curfew was approaching.
In the end, curiosity about the unknown won out. Like Luna, the Gryffindor lioness carried her ice cream and ran into the mist.
John didn't turn back. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
He opened his left hand, and golden flames rose, guiding the two girls forward.
After walking through the mist for a while, Ginny felt as though the room had become as vast as a labyrinth.
The moving golden flame came to a halt, and Ginny hurried to catch up.
The ground suddenly shifted, making Luna nearly lose her footing.
Ginny caught her, staring in disbelief.
The smooth floor had somehow turned into uneven stone. When she looked up, the mist was slowly dispersing.
John extinguished the golden flame and stood waiting at the mouth of a rocky cavern, smiling lightly. "Welcome to my kingdom."
The two stepped closer, about to ask questions—Swoosh!
When a massive white shadow swept past the cave entrance.
Ginny's eyes widened. The white shape arced through the sky, revealing itself.
A white dragon.
Staring in a daze, she saw a landscape filled with glowing crystals, luminescent light everywhere, dragons either lying sprawled or resting with their wings folded.
At least a thousand dragons.
The phosphorescent glow was like countless fireflies, filling the entire valley.
With no clouds to obscure it, the night sky was crowded with stars.
Beneath that starlit sky, John watched Luna lose herself in the beauty before her and smiled with gentle indulgence.
The glow of crystal light and starlight traced soft highlights across her pleasant face.
A sudden thought crossed Ginny's mind—
it would be wonderful if John were her brother.
He would never roar at her just because she'd had a few boyfriends.
…
The next day.
Harry had a strange dream.
In it, Ron was chasing him with a Beater's bat.
But before long, Harry found himself wishing the dream Ron would replace the real one.
Ron wore a cold expression toward Ginny and Dean, and treated Hermione with the same stony face, lacing his words with sarcasm until Hermione was left confused and hurt.
Overnight, Ron had become as irritable as a Blast-Ended Skrewt.
Harry couldn't handle him. To ease the tension, he took the initiative to greet Ginny.
He'd expected Ginny to be in a foul mood as well—but she seemed completely unaffected.
But when she faced her own brother, Ron, Ginny still let out a cold snort and walked away.
The disastrous training sessions combined with Ron's explosive temper left Harry scrambling.
Even Hermione was pushed into anger by Ron's inexplicable mood swings and went back to bed outright.
Ron angrily tore into a few first-years who had been staring at him, scaring them half to death.
Then he marched back to the boys' dorm, head held high.
Harry could only feel exhausted, hoping Ron wouldn't be like this during practice.
Another night passed.
What he hoped for didn't happen—Ron's temper only grew worse.
His skills plummeted, and he shouted at everyone without restraint.
McLaggen fired back, and the two nearly came to blows.
Demelza was reduced to tears.
One of the Beaters, Peakes, even lifted his heavy bat, ready to avenge Demelza.
Harry didn't know if putting Ron on the team had been the right call.
But he had no choice. The match was almost here, and there was no time to find a replacement.
He talked to Ron about reining in his temper—if Ron couldn't get along with the rest of the team, Harry would have no choice but to kick him out.
Ron responded by giving up altogether and saying he would quit.
That left Harry completely at a loss, forced to calm him down instead.
The match was tomorrow. Harry could only hope that something would go wrong on Slytherin's side, giving this broken team even the faintest chance.
Otherwise, taking this lineup against Slytherin was practically a death sentence.
An overconfident Keeper in McLaggen, an explosive Chaser in Ron.
Harry found himself thinking about how to get Ron back into last term's form even while eating.
He even considered using reverse psychology, trying to provoke Ron into that familiar, competitive burst of determination.
But it didn't work. Provocation only works when someone still has fighting spirit—and Ron had completely checked out.
That night, Harry lay awake for a long time.
Like a bolt of lightning cutting through the darkness, inspiration suddenly struck him.
…
The next morning arrived—the day of the match against Slytherin.
Gryffindor's table was a blaze of red and gold. When Harry and Ron arrived, their classmates erupted into cheers.
Ron still wore that same gloomy expression.
"Tea?" Harry asked Ron. "Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"
"Whatever." Ron frowned, biting into a piece of bread in gloom.
Hermione walked straight past them without sitting down.
She'd had enough of Ron's strange, prickly temper.
But she paused as she passed. "How are you two feeling?"
Harry was busy handing Ron a glass of pumpkin juice. "Here, Ron, drink this."
"Don't drink it, Ron!" Hermione suddenly barked.
Ron froze mid-motion and looked up at her along with Harry.
"Why?" Ron asked, sounding a little calmer than before.
Hermione stared blankly at Harry, disbelief written all over her face. "You put something into that drink just now."
Harry played dumb. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw it," Hermione said, eyes wide. "You poured something into Ron's drink. The bottle's still clutched in your hand!"
"I have no idea what you're saying." Harry committed fully to playing dumb, deliberately letting Ron see him slip the bottle into his pocket.
Hermione couldn't believe her friend would resort to cheating. She turned to Ron and warned him, "Ron, I'm serious—don't drink it."
But Ron caught on to Harry's movements and understood something at once. He quickly lifted the cup and drank it all in one go, then said, "Stop bossing me around, Hermione."
Hermione was both shocked and furious. She lowered her voice and said to Harry, "I can't believe you'd do something like this. Using Felix Felicis in Quidditch is against the rules!"
Harry continued pretending not to understand.
Time was almost up, and the Gryffindor team strode toward the pitch.
"Such nice weather—great luck, don't you think?" Harry asked Ron.
"Yeah." Ron still looked gloomy, almost weak.
Just then, Ginny came running over and shouted, "You'll never believe what happened—Draco Malfoy called in sick!"
Not just Ron—Harry was stunned as well. "He's sick? With what?"
Ginny snorted, clearly delighted. "Apparently he hurt his neck. I'm guessing Daphne Greengrass did it."
Well—Malfoy had been caught by Daphne yesterday while on a date with Astoria. The outcome had been him getting hung up.
Ron seemed to realize something, a spark slowly lighting in his eyes.
"We're really lucky. Who would've thought—hey!" Leaning closer, he asked Harry in a low voice, wanting confirmation, "That pumpkin juice I drank… did you—"
Harry merely raised his eyebrows and said that the match was about to start.
That alone was enough to leave Ron buzzing with excitement.
Even the Gryffindor team thought the same—Malfoy was Slytherin's Seeker and captain.
Without Malfoy, it was like losing the backbone of the entire team.
They were so exhilarated that none of them even thought to find out who Slytherin's new Seeker was.
After changing into their kit in the locker room, they marched out brimming with fighting spirit.
In the stands, the divisions were clear. A roaring sea of red and gold filled one side, while the green-and-silver crowd opposite remained eerily quiet.
They must've heard the news, Harry thought, the corner of his mouth lifting.
Then his gaze swept across the Ravenclaw section—and landed on Luna.
She wasn't wearing a lion's mane. Instead, she held a scarf shaped like a snake's head and tail in both hands.
Ron leaned over, voice low but thrilled. "We're really lucky today."
At that moment, the Slytherin team emerged.
They'd been delayed a little, so they were slower coming out.
But the instant they appeared, the formerly quiet crowd erupted.
As the first person stepped out of the tunnel...
"For our king—raise your cheers!" Blaise Zabini threw his head back and roared.
Slytherin students raised their wands high, green smoke surging into the sky above the pitch.
It gathered into the Slytherin crest, forming an emerald serpent that flickered and gleamed. The snake turned toward Gryffindor's side, flicked its tongue, and let out a hissing cry.
"For glory!"
The perfectly unified shout drowned out every other cheer in the stadium.
________
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel