Finally, the day of school arrived. Even though Malfoy explained to Lucius and Narcissa that Black wouldn't dare act in broad daylight, the couple still insisted on taking him to the station, refusing to relax until they saw him board the train.
Compared to other families sending their children to school, the Malfoys seemed very relaxed. They didn't have large bags of luggage; Narcissa, who doted on Draco, chose to pay extra for the easier option of luggage transport.
She couldn't bear to let her precious darling drag heavy luggage to school, and Lucius didn't care about the small expense.
Malfoy could only accept his parents' kindness.
Without an Undetectable Extension Charm, the large iron cage was indeed inconvenient to carry.
The journey was uneventful. After arriving at the station, they slowly moved forward with the flowing crowd. Narcissa occasionally complained about the annoying air quality in the train station. With people coming and going, bumping into each other was normal, which was unbearable for her with her slight germophobia. She expressed her dissatisfaction by furrowing her narrow eyebrows and constantly nitpicking at the barely acceptable environment.
Lucius didn't comment on this; he was used to his wife's personality.
Soon, they reached the very front of the platform, ready to board the train. The scarlet steam engine was puffing smoke above the platform, which was filled with wizarding parents like Lucius and Narcissa and their children.
"Hector!" Lucius smiled, switched his cane to his left hand, and walked straight towards his old friend, extending his right hand to show his pleasure at seeing him.
Hector also symbolically extended his right hand, giving a light shake as a greeting.
"Draco has grown taller again. It seems he will be a man like your father in the future," Hector said with a smile. For parents, the best way to build relationships is to praise their children.
"Not at all, your little princess has really grown a lot taller," Lucius said politely.
After that, there were the inevitable greetings from the younger generation to the elders, so the group wasted some time on the platform. Malfoy saw Pansy looking at him with a blank expression and couldn't help but wonder where he had offended her again.
She had been very cold when the last semester was about to end, but Malfoy couldn't find any obvious reason.
The only possible explanation was that the girl's adolescence had arrived?
They boarded the train together and sat in adjacent seats, both silent. However, only Pansy knew that she wasn't as calm as she appeared.
Since Pansy didn't seem eager to talk to him, Malfoy naturally wouldn't bother to start a conversation. The train swayed, and after confirming it had started, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep against the window.
Looking at the familiar profile, Pansy felt a sense of relief and security.
When news of the basilisk's rampage spread from outside, she was cleaning ink-stained robes in Snape's office. At the time, she was a little gloating, thinking about which unlucky Mudblood had been attacked.
But when she saw Malfoy on the hospital bed, possibly facing life and death, she felt like she had made a mistake.
"Pureblood wizards are noble, and Muggle blood is filthy." She had heard these words countless times from her parents. Subconsciously, under their constant influence, she thought it was a matter of course.
These ideas were deeply ingrained in her mind, but meeting Malfoy changed her somewhat.
He would be unhappy when she said 'Mudblood,' even though his parents also advocated pure-blood supremacy, and even though he still showed a sense of superiority because of his bloodline in front of his parents.
But she knew that Malfoy actually disdained this; it was just his disguise.
He would take the opportunity to insert some Muggle history while telling her stories. Some stories sounded more bizarre than novels, but she had never heard of them. Her parents wouldn't care about Muggle history, let alone hire a Muggle history teacher for her. Everything was new to her, but to show her restraint, even when her heart was gripped by it, she didn't show it and forced herself to say some venomous words.
She learned that discrimination also existed in Muggle society, but a black person in Muggle society could actually become the president of the country, which she couldn't believe, just like a Mudblood becoming the Minister for Magic, a fantasy.
She still remembered that black person's name was Barack Obama, even though Malfoy said it was sometime in the future, she still chose to believe it.
She was a little shaken, but it wasn't obvious. She tried to restrain herself from saying those insulting words in public, but she didn't want to admit that she had been influenced. She compromised to herself: "This is just the behavior that a well-mannered lady should have."
But she still couldn't help but curse in her heart.
The person she hated the most was that girl named Hermione.
Her grades were among the best. If Draco hadn't been more outstanding, perhaps the top spot in academics would have gone to Gryffindor.
She also "seduced" Malfoy. She had seen them alone together, even when he had abandoned her.
She felt that only she could enjoy Malfoy's accommodation. He would thoughtfully leave a share for her when he got candy from home, comfort her after losing a Quidditch match, tell her many interesting stories, teach her defensive spells for her safety, and accommodate her when she was angry, even if she was unreasonable, he would still apologize when she threw a small tantrum.
But she could see from his eyes that he only had a kind of doting affection for her, similar to that of her "father," and no other emotions. Or perhaps not yet. The occasional blush when she teased him was just a normal reaction.
She should be the first peer he had met, and maybe as he got older, he would truly fall in love with her.
Maybe she was still a child in his eyes.
Looking at the hospital bed, even seeing a line of blood seeping from the bandages, Pansy felt an indescribable fear. What if his head was injured, she imagined, would he leave her forever? Wizarding magic wasn't powerful enough to regrow a severed head.
Could purebloods be spared by Death when facing death?
Apart from the difference in status, she couldn't find a single area where she was better than Hermione.
From her point of view, even Malfoy's life had been saved by that Muggle witch. She was the one who notified Headmaster Dumbledore, and Malfoy escaped.
She thought about it for a long time, but outwardly maintained the same attitude and tone as usual. Only she knew that her attitude had changed.
Even if she couldn't help him, she couldn't be a burden.
This was also one of the reasons why she hadn't contacted Malfoy much during the holidays. She had wasted too much time, and she decided to catch up.
The boy would always inadvertently mention the dangers that might happen in the future. She subconsciously chose to believe him, even if she realized that she might not be able to fight alongside him, but at least she couldn't hold him back.
Pansy remembered how many nights she woke up from her dreams, the last image in front of her eyes was Malfoy lying in a desolate ruin, surrounded by broken walls and rubble. A flock of crows, symbolizing misfortune, flew across the dark sky, making a chilling sound. Many people she knew or didn't know were standing around, including Malfoy's parents, her parents, and Headmaster Dumbledore. Another person was also lying on the ground, but that person might not be called a person. His nose was completely gone, leaving only two disgusting slits.
She guessed he was already dead, but his hideous face still frightened her.
This dream made her palpitate.
She didn't want to think about what this dream portended, or whether it was a prediction of the future. She hoped it was just her wild thoughts.
Just as she wanted to withdraw her thoughts, she suddenly found that her panicked emotions had been magnified many times. The scene in front of her continued to change. The man without a nose stood up and frantically fired spells at the people around him. The meteor-like spells caused people to fall upon contact, and people scattered in fear.
Her heart was infected with a poison called fear. The cold, icy feeling instantly spread throughout her body, and the only warmth seemed to be gradually eaten away bite by bite by a small worm.
A white light suddenly gradually fell on her eyes, like a holy light dispelling the dark clouds. She heard that familiar voice in her ear: "Pansy, are you okay?"
She saw Malfoy looking at her with concern, the tip of the wand in his hand emitting a soft, silvery-white light. She just wanted to answer, but found that every inch of her joints seemed to be cold. The chill passed over her skin, making her tremble uncontrollably, wanting to speak but unable to open her mouth.
"You disgusting things." She only heard Malfoy curse in a nasty tone, but she knew it was his concern for her.
"Eat it, you'll feel much better." Malfoy fed Pansy a piece of chocolate, and Pansy felt a warm current flowing through her whole body.
Only then did Pansy feel much better. After regaining consciousness, she realized that she was falling into Malfoy's arms.
She suddenly felt that she didn't need to be strong anymore.
Because he was there, she thought.
"Let me sleep a little longer." Pansy pretended to murmur vaguely, her eyelids drooping again, "unintentionally" putting her hand on Malfoy's waist, hanging on him like a koala.
Malfoy felt that Pansy in front of him had returned to her original appearance, but not completely. There were some subtle differences from the beginning, but the change couldn't be described.
Instinct told him that this was a good change.
But thinking of what had just happened, the anger reappeared on his slightly cleared face.
"Are you very hungry? Sooner or later, I will let you eat your fill!"
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