This year's Christmas was a special one for Harry Potter.
It was his first time spending the holiday with so many friends. The Weasley family, who couldn't return home for various reasons, and Hermione Granger, who had stayed behind on purpose, were both there.
It was clear how happy Harry was. After all, last year—no, every Christmas before this—he had spent alone...
In contrast, Draco looked rather solitary.
Due to Slytherin's particular culture, most of its members chose not to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays, especially not this year when the situation made staying even more impractical.
As a result, Draco was the only Slytherin in his area, and the younger students from the other houses were somewhat wary of him. That only made him seem lonelier.
But Draco didn't appear to mind at all. In fact, his calm demeanor, so out of place in the festive atmosphere, carried a strangely self-assured and aloof charm despite not fitting in.
For a time, several young witches couldn't help but sneak glances in his direction...
"Pretentious."
Noticing those glances, George Weasley, who already disliked Draco for several reasons, let out a sharp snort. Fred, standing beside him, lowered his head gloomily, which only made George's expression toward Draco even more unpleasant.
Still, it was obvious he didn't want Draco to hear him. The events at the Duelling Club not long ago were still fresh in his mind, and George knew all too well that Draco wasn't someone to provoke lightly.
But George failed to notice that Harry Potter, right beside him, was already plotting something involving Draco...
...
With the Christmas party over, it was time for everyone to return to their dormitories to open their gifts.
The excitement on every young wizard's face was unmistakable. Notably, Snape's gift to Draco was a small bottle of Felix Felicis—a tradition that had continued for twelve years.
Goyle and the others gave him a pumpkin pie larger than his face, while Pansy's gift was a miniature Hungarian Horntail that breathed fire into the air when Draco held it in his hand.
While Draco was opening presents in his dormitory, Harry and the others hadn't returned to theirs just yet. Instead, they were huddled together in the Gryffindor common room, looking mysteriously secretive, which caught the attention of George and Fred.
In the end, Harry and the group finally managed to shoo away the curious Weasley twins...
"Phew, George and Fred are finally gone. I honestly don't know where they get all that curiosity from."
"Forget them. Listen, this Christmas break is our chance."
Harry's serious expression made it seem like he was announcing something incredibly urgent. Someone unaware might've thought Voldemort was coming the next day.
"Hermione, how much longer until the Polyjuice Potion is ready?"
"Exactly. There's no better opportunity than this. We have to get it done before the holidays end."
Seeing Harry and Ron's expectant eyes, Hermione had originally planned to tell them that there was no way Draco could be the culprit or the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. But suddenly, she found herself unsure of what to say.
In truth, for some reason, Hermione wasn't entirely against the plan either...
"Almost ready. Now we just need something from the people we're turning into—like hair or something similar."
"Don't worry, I already grabbed hair from those Death Eaters at the Duelling Club last time. Take a look and see if it'll work."
Upon hearing Hermione's update, Harry was eager to get started. But it was clear Hermione still had some concerns about the plan.
"That's Draco… fooling him won't be easy, and no one knows exactly when Goyle and Crabbe will return to school."
"True, we don't know when their holiday will end, but that's fine. As long as we finish everything before they get back, we're in the clear. Little Malfoy won't have a clue it was us!"
At that moment, Ron—his eyes shadowed with dark circles and looking more distracted than usual—added his two cents.
"Harry's right. They're Death Eaters' lackeys. They're bound to spill something useful to us… as long as nothing goes wrong."
"But Hermione, have you decided who you're going to transform into?"
"I already have!"
In response to Harry's question, Hermione pulled out a small bottle from her robe. Inside was a single strand of black hair.
Harry leaned in, eyeing it curiously.
"What's this...?"
"You'll find out soon enough. Right now, I need to go check on the Polyjuice Potion!"
With her usual efficiency, Hermione strode out of the common room, leaving Harry staring after her, still puzzled. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that Hermione's motives weren't entirely innocent.
"Ron, don't you think Hermione is… I don't know... a bit too into this?"
"Ah..."
Sure, Hermione wasn't usually unreasonable about bending the rules, but Harry hadn't expected her to be this enthusiastic. It was throwing him off a little.
Unbeknownst to him, the most suspicious one of all was actually standing right beside him...
...
Throughout the holiday, only one figure had appeared in the Slytherin common room—Draco Malfoy, who had stayed behind for Christmas.
Just like every other morning lately, he sat in his ornate carved chair, flipping through a book. On the table in front of him was a tea set, with steam rising from a cup of Gurdyroot Infusion—his favorite blend, one he'd taken a liking to back in Romania...
"Only a few days left until the break ends. They should be back any time now."
Tap tap tap!
Almost as if on cue, just as the thought crossed Draco's mind, he heard the distinct sound of approaching footsteps. He paused, then turned his gaze toward the door.
"Huh? Goyle? Crabbe?"
Eyebrows raised in mild surprise, Draco looked at the figures who really had appeared—and then at the small figure trailing behind them for some unknown reason.
"And… Pansy?"
The three who stood before Draco were indeed Pansy and Goyle...
Well—more accurately, they were Hermione and Harry Potter.