novelraw Chapter 37: The Fake Pansy in the Common Room
Chapter 37: The Fake Pansy in the Common Room
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Fake Pansy in the Common Room
Draco had originally planned to spend his Christmas holidays at Malfoy Manor.
But Narcissa had been in low spirits since her grandfather passed away this year, so Lucius decided to take her skiing in Switzerland during the Christmas holidays.
"...Stay in the common room during the holiday and don't go wandering around unless necessary." Lucius's letter to him contained only these few words of concern.
Of the 365 days in a year, you have to go skiing in Switzerland at Christmas.
Or rather, you just don't want me to disturb your time together, right? Draco thought irritably.
But that was fine—he just happened to have some research to do.
Without Hermione's help, translating Herpo's notebook became exceptionally difficult.
This little book alone took up considerable time.
Hermione Granger. He didn't know how to treat this clever but contradictory little witch.
First she trusted him, then she distrusted him. Then she became indifferent to him, as if trying to draw a line between them. Then she blew up the rogue Bludger, as if worried about him. Next, she'd even planned to visit him at the Hospital Wing. Now, she misunderstood him and seemed even angrier and colder toward him.
This mercurial attitude left him filled with both hope and despair. He occasionally wanted to act impulsively but often hesitated at the last minute.
Draco Malfoy, a coward feigning arrogance, had no choice but to retreat.
At the Christmas feast, the table was laden with delicious food that made almost everyone's mouth water.
The students enjoyed their meal while studying the Christmas trees standing around the Great Hall with great interest. They were adorned with glittering icicles or twinkling candlelight.
Draco managed to eat a little, but he didn't have much appetite. He glanced casually at the Gryffindor table across the way, not noticing the little girl's face, but not daring to look at her closely any further.
With a sigh, he left Crabbe and Goyle, who were still wolfing down their food, and greeted Blaise and Pansy, who were bickering, before returning alone to the Slytherin common room.
Slytherin's common room was a long, narrow, low dungeon with walls and ceiling made of rough stone, and round, greenish lamps hanging from the ceiling by chains.
It was exactly the same as before.
The only unusual thing was that Draco discovered Pansy furtively rummaging through his Ancient Greek practice book on the carved table in the common room.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked, frowning.
"It's nothing, Draco." The Pansy was startled—her demeanor bore no resemblance to the Pansy Draco knew.
The real Pansy should still be in the Great Hall, arguing with Blaise.
Once these two "nitpickers" started arguing, it could take at least an hour to finish. How could their battle have ended so quickly today?
Besides, someone like Pansy Parkinson wouldn't be startled by a question like this.
She would only haughtily spew out a bunch of sarcastic remarks, never offering a reasonable explanation for her behavior—like the "I'm looking for my extracurricular book" that the girl in front of him was saying.
"Is it your copy of Quidditch Through the Ages?" Draco looked her over, then suddenly smiled.
She was up to something.
"Yes. That's the one." The fake Pansy was flustered by his knowing smile.
For a moment she was completely speechless, and could only nod blankly, putting on an expression of agreement.
Merlin, this is increasingly unlike anything Pansy would say.
The fake Pansy's innocent, dazed expression was like a cat caught in a Sticking Charm, making him want to laugh. Draco thought to himself, widening his smile a few notches.
"I found it. It's in my dormitory. Go get it now," Draco said briefly.
He paused for a moment, a perfectly timed smile on his face, and turned to lead the way. He noticed that Pansy didn't even know where the entrances to the boys' and girls' dormitories were, and was standing there in a daze—it seemed she wasn't from Slytherin House.
Draco was all too familiar with such "tricks."
In that unforgettable dark period of his past life, you never knew whether the loved one in front of you was a Death Eater in disguise.
With just a single hair and a few sips of Polyjuice Potion, you could be tricked into revealing your deepest secrets to a stranger without any defenses.
It was surprising that in these peaceful times, someone would resort to such tricks. Perhaps it was a Death Eater accustomed to Dark Magic, or a Death Eater's child.
After turning around, his smile vanished instantly. He became alert, watching the movements behind him, gripping his wand tightly, ready to attack at any moment.
Although, it was very likely this was just a farce.
He could roughly deduce from these few sentences that she was young, unfamiliar with Slytherin's internal structure, and didn't seem like a habitual offender.
Clearly, she lacked experience in disguising herself, and those behavioral flaws were as clear as a sieve to him.
This level of disguise and probing was unlikely to come from a dangerous enemy. It seemed more like a prank by a lovesick female student from another House.
The reason for taking "fake Pansy" away was that he wanted to find a private place to interrogate her.
He didn't overlook the fact that this "fake Pansy" was particularly interested in his things.
Since his rebirth, Draco had always acted cautiously. Although he maintained a certain arrogant demeanor characteristic of the Malfoy family, he avoided showing off unless necessary, tried to control his temper, and refrained from making unnecessary enemies.
Even so, was he still being targeted by someone? Could it be that someone else had also been reborn and noticed his unusual behavior? Just thinking about these possibilities made him break out in a cold sweat.
Regardless of whether it was a prank or not, he wanted to find out the reason behind it.
"Let's go," he said softly. "It won't take you more than a few minutes."
Fake Pansy hesitated for a moment, then, persuaded by his gentle voice, followed Draco into a magnificent single bedroom. She saw the words "Draco Malfoy" engraved in cursive script on the antique door.
The boy seemed to do something to the door, and soon opened it.
"Please come in," he said briefly, sounding casual and completely unsuspecting of her.
Fake Pansy curiously peered into the open dormitory, a look of inquiry on her face. She couldn't resist following him inside—at that moment, curiosity overcame her wariness.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered, the boy with the kind smile waved his wand and closed the door.
She was horrified and realized something was wrong.
The situation suddenly changed. The boy's smile vanished abruptly. He grabbed her collar, pressed her against the door, and held his wand firmly to her nose, demanding dangerously, "Who are you?"
"What do you mean... I don't understand..." she said with difficulty.
He was incredibly strong, showing her no mercy whatsoever. She coughed as he pressed her collar.
Merlin! She'd never seen him so fierce! He appeared cold and ruthless, even murderous, and for a moment she felt extremely dangerous.
This sent chills down her spine and made her heart pound.
"I had no idea Pansy had become so interested in Quidditch," Draco said with a sneer.
He narrowed his pale grey eyes, bringing his face closer to hers, trying to find more clues in her tense expression.
He's too close! she thought, her face starting to flush.
At one point, she could even feel his intense breath. His expression was downright wicked, as if he were about to test the most terrifying Dark Magic spells on her at any moment.
She wanted to back away, but behind her was his dormitory door. The uneven pattern made her back ache.
In her panic, she was unable to move. The boy she'd once thought had a gentle core was now devoid of gentleness, filled instead with malice and oppression.
She finally saw another side of him—his dangerous side.
Today, she finally realized that her previous perception of him was seriously flawed.
She finally realized he'd treated her differently before—even when they'd had disagreements, he'd never suppressed her like this. He'd never shown her true aggression until this moment.
Only when she was in someone else's face could she feel his ferocity, his cruelty, and his aggression, and only then did she truly feel fear.
She could only truly understand how ruthless he was to others when she wore someone else's appearance. In comparison, he was incredibly careful and gentle with her.
Why?
Why did he treat me differently from others?
Hermione was puzzled, but she didn't have time to think about it any further—she was being choked so badly she could hardly breathe.
She'd already been exposed. There was no point in pretending anymore.
Before being hurt by his wand, before being strangled by him, or rather, before he got any closer to her, she wanted to reclaim some dignity.
"Let me go, Draco!" she said, enraged.
Her voice was no longer Pansy Parkinson's, but Hermione Granger's.
The sound greatly surprised Draco.
He immediately released her collar, took a step back, and his cold indifference instantly turned into panic.
Look at him now—he's completely different from before! Hermione thought to herself as she loosened her collar and gasped for breath.
"Hermione? What are you doing?" He scratched his platinum blonde hair in surprise, his face quickly relaxing as if he'd seen a ghost. "Why are you wearing Pansy's face? Did you drink Polyjuice Potion?"
"Of course! What else did you think?" she said angrily, feeling embarrassed that he'd so incisively exposed her method. "Draco, I didn't know you could be so rude to people!"
"I didn't know that some well-behaved student was so bold as to trespass into another House's common room." Draco's temples throbbed, but he tried to calm himself down.
Merlin, what did I just do to her? I pinned her against the door! I even grabbed her collar, trying to intimidate her!
He wondered if he'd hurt her. His mind was in turmoil, but he tried to remain calm on the surface.
"You overconfident girl, are you afraid that Gryffindor will lose this year's House Cup?" He tilted his head, looked at her neck, crossed his arms, whistled, and pretended he wasn't embarrassed or worried about whether he'd choked her.
Hermione was clearly fooled by his nonchalant attitude.
She retorted defiantly, "I had everything planned out! If you hadn't suddenly come back—"
"You've got your plans? Do you know Pansy'll be back soon? She'll be accompanied by at least three other Slytherin students," he said lazily.
"Don't try to scare me..." Hermione stared at him suspiciously, her tone losing its momentum.
He stopped talking and just stared intently at her neck. Seeing her face quickly flush, he felt much better and mischievously dragged out his words, "If you don't believe me, go outside now and see if they'll drag you to the Head of House and have him dock fifty points from you."
"Even if you're right," Hermione said stiffly, "I... I won't thank you!"
"You're welcome." Draco automatically filtered out any words she said other than "thank you," which almost made the girl faint with anger.
"Don't be angry." He suppressed a smile and asked her gently, "How did you end up impersonating Pansy? Where did you get her hair?"
"During the Quidditch match, while she was checking on your injury, I secretly pulled out a strand of her hair..." Hermione frowned, straightening her disheveled collar.
Draco stared blankly at the ceiling.
Merlin! I was seriously injured back then! And I thought she was worried about me!
Unexpectedly, instead of caring about me, she was preoccupied with pulling other girls' hair!
"Very well!" Draco sneered, suddenly feeling a surge of annoyance. "May I ask what exactly you're planning to do in the Slytherin common room? Trying to steal some souvenirs?"
Hermione Granger, she's hopeless! How come she's just like I was as a kid?
"Oh, actually, I was looking for your Herpo notebook. I remember it mentioning Basilisks or something." Hermione, having nothing to lose, stubbornly admitted it.
"Do you think I would just leave such important books lying around carelessly?" Draco laughed angrily.
The book was in his emerald green miniature dragon-hide bag that he always carried.
His piercing smile left her speechless. She could only haughtily snort and glare at him angrily.
"So, since you're so curious—so curious that you're willing to go to such lengths as using a high-grade potion like Polyjuice Potion—why didn't you just come and ask me?" he asked regretfully, feeling she was simply wasting a precious resource. It was Polyjuice Potion!
The next second, he suddenly realized that she didn't trust him.
She preferred using a roundabout method like Polyjuice Potion rather than simply walking up to him and asking him a question.
Merlin simply can't understand this girl's thought process! Draco's expression gradually turned cold.
"How am I supposed to ask? You're so tight-lipped, always acting all mysterious, and you know so many things nobody else does!" Seeing his stern face, no longer as amiable as before, Hermione's emotions rose as well, her tone becoming sharp. "The most suspicious thing is that Ancient Greek parchment you had covered in Dark Magic terms! I really regret translating it for you! Not long after, the Chamber of Secrets opened!"
"So, that's how you define me? A scheming Dark wizard?" Draco forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
She wasn't wrong. In his past life, he'd indeed been a Death Eater who "committed all sorts of evil," Draco thought despondently.
"I didn't say that." Hermione was somewhat uneasy about his extreme conclusion.
A hint of hurt seemed to emanate from his face, instantly cooling her fiery emotions.
"But, based on your wildly imaginative thinking, you were practically accusing me of opening the Chamber of Secrets?" Draco narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. Pansy's face was gradually reverting to Hermione's.
"Don't misinterpret me. What I mean is, you are indeed very suspicious. You implied that the cat was just the beginning, and then Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Nearly Headless Nick were all Petrified. Is that just a coincidence?" Hermione raised her chin and said haughtily.
"I was just trying to remind you to be careful! How could you think of me like that?" Draco's tone was tinged with disbelief.
Hermione's eyes flickered, but she remained defiant. "And what about that rogue Bludger? You dare say it wasn't your house-elf's doing? I've been keeping your secret all this time..."
"Let me remind you, that was entirely Dobby's doing. I didn't ask him to do anything! I was completely unaware of it beforehand! Besides, I'm the one who's injured—I'm the one with thirty-four broken bones, while Harry is still perfectly fine." Draco snorted, feeling a dull ache in his bones, heart, and brain.
Hermione's expression suddenly became a little strange.
There seemed to be a hint of concern in her eyes. But due to the backlighting and shadows, Draco couldn't see it clearly.
"Since you doubt my intentions, why don't you tell Harry what you heard? Why keep my secret?" He braced one hand on the door, moved closer to Hermione, and tried to see her eyes clearly.
"I don't want you to be misunderstood by him! Of course I know you had no idea..." Hermione felt a little uncomfortable at his closeness.
His light grey eyes were bright, and his nose was almost touching hers. His warm breath gently brushed against her face.
She suddenly realized that her heart was beating abnormally fast. She pursed her lips and pressed her back tightly against the door, trying to alleviate the symptom.
Draco continued to scrutinize her eyes without any restraint, his gaze filling her with dread. She cowered, gripping the door panel tightly. With his approach, her heart felt like it was about to burst or slide away.
Her arrogance subsided a little, but she did not give up the struggle.
Hermione recalled some evidence to refute him. Forcing herself to remain calm, she asked, "You know the secrets of the Chamber of Secrets, yet you won't tell me. What about that?"
"You didn't tell me Harry was a Parselmouth, did you? Don't tell me you didn't guess—you're the smartest witch in the whole year!" Draco retorted.
He was clearly arguing with her out of spite, yet he couldn't ignore her gradually brightening brown eyes. Moreover, a faint scent of green apples was slowly emanating from her hair.
She smells wonderful.
Damn it, why do I always pay attention to these trivial things? How can I concentrate on arguing like this?
"I was just guessing! After you told him, he... worried every day... fearing that he was the Heir of Slytherin." Hermione's lips trembled as she spoke with some difficulty, and it was clear that her thoughts were somewhat confused.
"I think... he has the right to know everything about himself." Draco pursed his lips, staring at her, his tone involuntarily softening.
"But—" Hermione hesitated.
"A fact is a fact, and it can't disappear just because you run from it. He'll find out he's a Parselmouth sooner or later. I told him so he could protect himself, or at least hide it and not talk to snakes in public, lest the gossipy Hufflepuff students start talking about him!" A hint of anger flashed in Draco's grey eyes.
"Why... do you think the monster in the Chamber of Secrets is a Basilisk? No one else says that... not even Professor Binns... could say for sure what kind of monster it was!" Hermione tried to analyze his words with her confused mind and grasped the key points.
Draco choked up.
He couldn't explain it.
Was he going to say that he'd tricked the Grey Lady into revealing information because he wanted to destroy Horcruxes?
Or perhaps he was reborn and had already experienced all of this before?
"This is just my reasonable speculation." He couldn't maintain his tough stance at all. Feeling guilty, he released his hand from the door, turned around, took a few steps, and began to study a Grindylow that was slowly swimming past the dormitory window.
"When did knowledge become a sin? Wouldn't you be even more suspicious then, since you love learning so much?" Draco asked, facing the Black Lake with his back to her.
Hermione remained silent.
She was finally freed from the door, but she'd lost most of her fighting ability.
"Do you realize that by not letting Harry follow that voice, you make yourself seem suspicious, like a 'mastermind who doesn't want others to get involved'?" she asked hesitantly.
"Am I supposed to advise him to recklessly follow something so dangerous, only to be Petrified or even killed?" Draco turned around and said impatiently. "Speaking of which, you're the one who should be most careful! Don't act rashly on your own again, or go exploring other Houses! Aren't you afraid of running into it and being Petrified by that monstrous thing?"
"What do you mean I should be the most careful? Just because I'm a Muggle-born, does that mean I should be more careful than others? Because the Basilisk only targets filthy Muggle-borns, not noble pure-bloods like you, right?" Hermione asked with cold arrogance and bitterness.
Hermione Granger, you know nothing! Draco glared at her, practically bursting with rage.
What you should be most careful about is not because you're Muggle-born, but because you were Petrified once in your past life!
Now that Justin Finch-Fletchley has fallen, you're the next student to be Petrified!
You are definitely at the greatest risk! You should be the most careful!
But how could he explain this as Draco?
Seeing that he remained silent, the little girl stood with her hands on her hips, tears welling up in her eyes, and said fiercely, "Since that's how you feel about me, why bother with me? Why care whether I live or die? Just let me be Petrified! You can have some peace and quiet and have more fun with your pure-blood wizard friends!"
Draco watched the mist welling up in her eyes, and was further provoked by her sharp tongue, his reason nearly vanishing.
He stared intently at her with his pale grey eyes, his expression a mixture of irritation and dejection. His thoughts, spurred on by the situation, blurted out, "Fine! I was the one who meddled! I should have just left you there—watching you turn to stone would be too painful for me—"
He realized what he was saying halfway through his sentence and snapped his mouth shut like a clam closing its shell.
Now it was Hermione's turn to slowly open her mouth.
She looked at the boy in front of her in surprise and noticed that he was blinking nervously, and his cheeks suddenly turned red.
"Draco," she said softly, watching the boy turn sharply around and pretend to examine the Giant Squid outside the window.
"Draco, are you worried about me?" she asked with a smile, looking down at his reddened ears, and felt her gloomy mood suddenly brighten.
"Draco, didn't you just say that you'd be heartbroken if I were Petrified?" she asked him triumphantly, noticing his ears turn bright red.
"I didn't say anything," he said hastily, ashamed to admit the nonsense he'd just uttered.
"I heard everything!" She suddenly realized that she was speaking with a grin on her face, and she couldn't be angry with him at all.
The Giant Squid perched on a corner of the window, watching the blushing boy staring at it with a rather bored expression.
Oh! You clumsy and boring boy, why are you staring at me? Look at her! It swayed its body impatiently, its thick tentacles scraping against the dormitory window with a grating creak.
"Ugh, that sound is disgusting," Hermione and Draco complained in unison.
"It's not usually this noisy. It usually just lies on the glass ceiling of the common room, sleeping soundly." Draco couldn't help but laugh as he watched the Giant Squid's tentacles flailing about.
Hermione was smiling too.
Although Draco wasn't sure why she was laughing, at least she wasn't wearing a long face anymore.
"Stop arguing, all right?" Hermione's face flushed slightly, her eyes sparkling. "I've realized there are lots of misunderstandings between us."
"All right, let's make peace. I swear, I am absolutely not the Heir to Slytherin, nor did I open any evil Chamber of Secrets." He mustered his courage to look at her, a hint of gentleness in his voice.
"I know. I don't want you to be an Heir at all. But the rumors, and some of your actions, have made me worry—though now it seems like it might all be a misunderstanding." Hermione fidgeted with her newly grown brown hair, staring at the Giant Squid. "Weren't we ridiculous when we were arguing just now?"
"Maybe. We should have talked things out a long time ago, instead of being so busy arguing." He chuckled softly. "Aren't we quite alike? Equally stubborn and contrary..."
Hermione rolled her eyes and added, "Just as sensitive and proud."
"That's right." Draco smiled slightly. He lazily sat down on the armchair by the window, tapped the round table with his wand, and conjured a pot of steaming tea. "All right, we're even—let's not laugh at each other. Sit down and have some, the noise is making my throat hoarse."
Hermione sat down in the armchair opposite him, with wisps of steam rising from the tea in front of her. Through the steam, she could see Draco's pale grey eyes.
Those eyes had just gotten so close to her that they'd forced her against the door.
Those eyes had just been staring intently at her, openly expressing their concern for her.
If she were Petrified, would he not celebrate like other Slytherins, but instead be "heartbroken"?
This realization brought her slight joy, but also a touch of shyness.
She turned uncomfortably to look out the window at the depths of the water, and suddenly realized that she was at the bottom of the Black Lake—inside Slytherin—in Draco's private bedroom.
The noise coming from outside the dormitory was becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.
The Slytherin students finished their dinner and poured into the common room like a green torrent.
Draco walked over, opened the door a crack, and peeked out.
His face darkened, and he locked his door, then cast Anti-Disturbance and Silencing Charms on the room again.
"They've had another after-dinner party in the common room—always so boisterous." Draco shrugged knowingly. "There are too many people outside. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the party's over before you can sneak out of the common room."
"I think so," Hermione said dryly.
She'd now fully returned to her original appearance, holding the cup with both hands and sipping the hot tea cautiously.
"Would you like some milk?" he asked. It's close to midnight, and drinking tea on an empty stomach isn't good.
"Oh, all right. Thank you." She pushed the cup over and watched his slender fingers lift the milk jug and pour it for her. She noticed that the silver milk jug had an intricately patterned emblem with an "M" on it, like a family crest.
"By the way, where did you get your hands on this Polyjuice Potion? It's not easy to brew," Draco asked with interest.
"I made it myself." Draco's surprised expression clearly pleased Hermione, who proudly raised her chin and said, "It took me a month."
"Well done, very talented." Draco couldn't help but complain, "You could have just asked me directly."
Hermione muttered a couple of words in protest.
"So, did you get the answer you wanted?" Draco asked again.
"Most of it, but we don't know anything about the Basilisk yet." Hermione's face was burning from the steam of the hot tea.
Draco waved his wand, summoning a thick book from a desk in the distance.
"Look here—it contains what you want to know."
This was the book Draco had read during last year's final exams. It contained descriptions of the Basilisk.
"Oh—now I finally understand why you were so sure there was a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. And all those panicked spiders and Hagrid's roosters that got killed, now we have our answers." After reading the book, Hermione suddenly realized, "If you connect all this information, it's only a matter of time before you guess there's a Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets."
"Now, I'm not a bad person anymore?" Draco asked irritably.
"Of course not! I've never thought that way," Hermione said in a sweet voice. This pleased Draco greatly.
He kept a haughty expression, but his hands honestly picked up the teapot and refilled Hermione's cup with hot tea. "You'd better think of it that way."
"So the question comes back again: how exactly does the Basilisk move around?" Hermione said. "Given its enormous size, how can it hide so easily?"
"Not only that. I've heard that Hogwarts Castle underwent renovations. I suspect that some Slytherin descendants hid the location of the Chamber of Secrets back then. However, while the Chamber of Secrets was hidden, the Basilisk's freedom wasn't restricted. To this day, it can still roam freely and come and go as it pleases. How did it manage that?" Draco pondered, then poured himself some tea.
"Draco! I think I know how that Basilisk moves." Watching the tea slowly pour from the spout, Hermione had a sudden inspiration. "Pipes! That Basilisk moves through pipes!"
Draco opened his mouth and looked at her in surprise.
Her brilliant idea... damnably flawless.
"Yes! Very likely. The castle is full of pipes, and even after extensive renovations, they remain indispensable, crisscrossing the entire castle." Draco gave her an approving smile, a surge of excitement at suddenly solving a mystery welling up inside him. "Hermione, you truly are the most intelligent witch among your peers!"