Maybe it was because they both cared about Norberta and were fellow dragon lovers, but to Hagrid, Draco was someone he could trust.
Otherwise, there's no way Hagrid would've shared a secret like that with just a few words.
After all, this was one of Hogwarts' buried scandals. Hagrid hadn't just been expelled over it—Hogwarts had completely shut down any mention of the so-called Chamber of Secrets to the outside world.
But as Hagrid explained, he hadn't been the culprit at all. Someone else had been...
...
The next morning.
Though Hagrid's recollection didn't offer much new information—and given how long ago it was, it might not have been completely accurate—Draco hadn't come away empty-handed.
For instance, he'd learned about the giant spider that had been mistaken for the Chamber monster, the young witch who'd died back then, and the one who had accused Hagrid of opening the Chamber—all from Hagrid's account...
Tap tap tap~
"With Hagrid's magical ability and the fact that he's half-giant, there's no way he could've cast a Petrification Curse that precise. And that spider... it definitely didn't have the power to petrify."
Still cloaked under the Disillusionment Charm, Draco continued thinking as he arrived at a girls' lavatory—one that had long been off-limits for reasons no one had ever really explained.
He stopped just outside the door, looking strangely out of place.
Honestly, if Hermione saw him sneaking around like this while invisible, she'd probably call him a creep or a pervert.
This wasn't exactly a place boys were supposed to be...
But Draco wasn't here for anything like that—he was looking for someone. Or more precisely, a certain tearful ghost girl.
The ghost known to most as Moaning Myrtle—full name Myrtle Elizabeth Warren.
She was also, according to Hagrid, the young witch who had died during the Chamber of Secrets incident.
"This should be it... the place where the victim died because of the Chamber... Locked?"
A simple physical lock wasn't going to stop any witch or wizard with a wand.
Draco easily took care of it. What puzzled him was the fact that it looked like the door had been opened recently...
...
Creak~
The hinges let out a long, eerie groan as Draco pushed open the door. Probably hadn't been used in ages. The sound sent a slight chill down his spine—especially knowing there was a ghost inside waiting for him.
Still, as a wizard, there was no reason for Draco to be scared of things like this...
Once inside the sealed girls' lavatory, Draco noticed that despite not being used, it was surprisingly clean. It wasn't just the appearance—he could hear faint trickles of running water, meaning it still functioned.
Maybe the reason it had been shut down wasn't just because it was a murder site—but because it had become Myrtle's home.
After all, no one wants to be using the loo when a ghost suddenly pops up in front of them...
"If I'm remembering right, she usually stays in the farthest stall."
As he walked further in, Draco's frown deepened.
There were clear signs that this place had been used recently, and a strange, faint smell lingered in the air—it reminded him of someone's office.
"This smell..."
"Oh... Another one? What, does everyone enjoy mocking me now?"
The voice that interrupted his thoughts drifted from the last stall—a ghostly figure floating out to confront him.
Draco paused, then looked toward the voice. It was a girl with long, straight hair and glasses, dressed in Ravenclaw robes.
Even without a close look, her face made it obvious—she was far from happy to see him.
But Draco didn't respond to Myrtle's accusation. Her words, instead, made him raise an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Another one? You mean someone's been here recently?"
It might not have seemed like important information at first glance—but it was a good way to lower her guard. And from the looks of it, it was working.
"That's right, that's right! I don't know what's going on lately, but day or night, people keep coming into this bathroom. Look, they even left their tools behind. I just wish they'd clean up after themselves."
Maybe it was because it was the first time she'd met someone like Draco—someone who actually listened—that Myrtle didn't seem like her usual tearful self at all. Instead, she looked downright cheerful.
Was Draco's charm so strong that even ghosts couldn't resist it?
"But what really annoys me is that they always leave behind this weird smell. Haha! Not that my sense of smell is all that great anymore, of course."
"Really? Sounds like those people are pretty inconsiderate."
Myrtle actually puffed out her chest a little at the end, looking oddly proud of her dulled sense of smell.
Draco clapped his hands half-heartedly, then shifted his gaze toward the scattered items on the floor.
Calling them "tools" was a bit generous. More accurately, it was a large cauldron used for brewing potions, along with some leftover potion ingredients. And it was those ingredients that sparked a thought in Draco's mind, prompting him to walk over.
"Yup, those are the ones. I don't know what they're for—those people always act all mysterious."
As Myrtle continued to grumble, Draco crouched in front of the cauldron with a frown, leaning in for a closer look.
"This is..."
Bang!
At that exact moment, the door—one Draco had carefully relocked earlier—was blasted open with an unlocking charm.
Both Draco and Myrtle snapped their heads toward the sound.
"Why... are you here!?"
Standing in the doorway was none other than Hermione Granger—who, for some unknown reason, had been avoiding Draco all morning.
Draco didn't know why she'd come here, or why she was now frozen in place. But when he saw the shocked look in her eyes, flicking between him and Myrtle, followed by a disgusted expression...
His face instantly darkened.