"You..."
Malfoy's face instantly flushed liver-red, which was quite a difficult feat given the hereditary anemia in the Malfoy family.
But Draco couldn't tolerate such mockery, especially when it was coming from someone he had looked down on since the beginning—Harry Potter, and the smug Weasley standing triumphantly behind Harry. The boy's already scarce rationality vanished; he trembled as he raised his magic wand, pointing it at Harry's nostrils—
"Ba... Gah—"
"?"
Watching Malfoy faint with a "Gah," collapsing onto the ground, Harry's slow approaching steps paused slightly.
Did I even make a move?
Hey! Get up, let's fight three hundred rounds again—To better show off, Harry hadn't even cast an offensive charm yet, dodging all of Malfoy's charms merely with footwork and an Iron Armor Spell, only for Malfoy to faint directly?
...How did he know I wanted to get closer and then give him a punch to the nose?
Ugh.
Harry frowned, lifting his gaze to Malfoy's assistant—Vincent Crabbe.
But this squat guy apparently had no intention of responding to Harry's stare. As soon as Malfoy fainted, he promptly stepped forward with Goyle and retrieved Malfoy from the crowd, then quickly carried their boss towards the castle at a speed Harry couldn't manage to raise his wand again—
"..."
"Couldn't tell, these two chubby guys are actually... so nimble?"
Holding her book, Hermione walked over to stand beside Harry, watching the three figures disappearing along the castle path, blinking in surprise.
"Hmph, they run quite fast... Are you okay, Hermione?"
Ron also joined in, first passionately waving his fist angrily, then looking at the dispersing crowd around, he refocused on Hermione.
"Why would I not be okay?"
Hermione asked somewhat puzzled.
"Malfoy just called you... that."
Ron's face flushed red, still looking very angry; as a boy from a pure-blood wizard clan, his tolerance for insults like "Mudblood" was evidently low.
"Oh, I forgot about it until you mentioned it."
Hermione wasn't that affected, she shrugged her hair with a nonchalant demeanor—though at the moment she heard it, she did feel like directly punching Malfoy's despicable face, but after seeing the three escape, she suddenly wasn't so angry anymore...
"What's wrong with Harry, then?"
The girl shifted her tone, looking at Harry staring blankly at the castle.
"Yeah, what's the matter, cheer up, you just taught Malfoy a serious lesson—"
With Hermione's reminder, Ron noticed Harry's oddness too, immediately chimed in, saying this while regretfully waving his fist, lamenting why he hadn't directly challenged Crabbe to a duel, stopping them from escaping.
"Nothing, just felt a bit... anti-climactic."
Harry withdrew his gaze, shrugged, turned to look at the two, "Why don't we go back and review?"
"You..."
"?"
"You've finally come around, I'll help you with the key points."
Hearing Harry's "suggestion," Hermione couldn't help but shed tears of joy, quickly catching up with the boy's steps.
"No really, Harry, are you crazy... Hey, wait for me, you two—"
Ron's retort hadn't spoken yet, but watching the two already heading towards the castle, he could only grit his teeth and follow along.
...
"...Did they not follow us?"
On the way back to the castle, Malfoy opened his eyes slowly, lying on Crabbe's back.
Indeed, after discovering his best charms were useless against Harry, Malfoy decisively opted for the fainting retreat method. This might be very shameful, but knowing when to retreat is wise; stubbornly fighting head-on would only lead him to greater losses—
He might have found it hard to swallow in the past, but Malfoy still remembered the warning letter from his father shortly after Halloween.
Father warned him in the letter not to cause trouble at Hogwarts; the castle is dangerous now, and only by avoiding drawing attention would he not be targeted by "that person."
It sounded like a tale of strange rules, initially, Malfoy scoffed, even assuming the person mentioned was the opener of the Secret Chamber—
But afterwards, no matter how Malfoy asked, his father refused to say who that person was—he had never seen his father be so...principled about something before, no matter how sternly his father usually behaved, if he said a few soft words, both his father and mother would get him what he wanted.
So this time, things seemed serious...
In any case, Malfoy had strictly followed his father's orders and kept a low profile in the days after, but today he couldn't help it; seeing Potter still playing with that redhead pure-blood disgrace and a little Mudblood, he grew internally furious—
But fortunately, at the last moment, reason reclaimed its ground.
"...No."
Crabbe, hurrying road while carrying Malfoy, glanced back, then shook his head.
"Then put me down—"
Upon hearing Crabbe's answer, Malfoy finally breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the castle so close now, he promptly tapped Goyle on the shoulder, signaling him to let go.
"Do you guys feel embarrassed?"
Standing on the castle steps, Malfoy tidied the hem of his wizard robe, he looked at the round two chubby boys beside him and asked leisurely.
"..."
The two didn't answer, but silence can sometimes represent an attitude.
"You've seen my father's letter—"
Malfoy contemplated for a moment, while walking down the stairs towards the boathouse, there was a shortcut to the Slytherin Dungeon, and he said, without even turning back.
"...But it's been so long."
Crabbe's voice was full of reluctance.
"But the crisis isn't over yet—"
Malfoy interjected angrily, turning to look at the two, an expression of disappointment mixed with exasperation at their lack of comprehension, "My dad is on the school board, if even he warns me—" He lowered his voice, "Do you really think this is something that can be ignored? Mind you, not even Dumbledore could make him be this...cautious."
The boy thought for a moment and finally recalled an expression that wasn't completely derogatory.
"Oh, oh—"
Crabbe and Goyle exchanged looks, laboriously contemplating for half a day, but in the end, not fully comprehending, they assumed Malfoy's words held some truth and solemnly nodded.
"Don't worry, after the holidays I'll ask mom, she'll tell me what's wrong—"
Seeing this, Malfoy nodded contentedly, "Then, once I've figured out the rules, those Mudbloods and redheaded trash—they won't escape one bit!"