Homecoming from Hogwarts

One obvious change entering the OWLS year is that professors are no longer lenient when assigning homework.

In the morning, there are Herbology and Charms classes.

Harry and his friends received two papers each from Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick, and the length was required to be no shorter than fourteen inches.

In addition, there was the paper on the properties of moonstone that Professor Slughorn left them the day before yesterday, and it was unlikely that Professor McGonagall would let them go this afternoon.

Harry almost foresaw the scene of him frantically catching up on his homework at the coffee table in the lounge during every leisure time after dinner this year.

Hermione also had to make use of her lunch time. She stuffed food into her mouth while looking through the reference materials she borrowed from the library.

A loud noise distracted Hermione. She pulled her eyes away from the fine text and glared angrily at the person who made the noise.
"I told you it's impossible, Ron. Hagrid wouldn't keep a dragon in his house. He, have you forgotten that he learned this lesson?"

"Oh, then tell me, what is he keeping locked up in the house?"

Ron questioned unconvinced.

“--maybe.”

Hermione hesitated.

"Hagrid's own magical creatures, just like last year's blast-tailed skrewt!"

The corners of Harry's mouth twitched and he shivered unconsciously.

If this is true, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Braine might as well be merciful and let Hagrid raise a dragon!
Ron seemed to want to argue with Hermione, but Harry gave him a warning look in the nick of time.

If they didn't want to be buried under homework for the entire year, it would be best not to annoy Hermione in the first week of school.

Harry's gaze also reminded Ron. He looked around and asked cautiously in a low voice,

"Anyway, what happened this morning? I mean, Ginny and Malfoy—"

Hermione, who had already lowered her head, also looked over.

"I just wonder--"

Harry said slowly, knowing that his opinion would be questioned.
"Maybe. Well, Malfoy has a scary pattern on his arm or something that he doesn't want anyone to know about."

Scary pattern?

Ron blinked in confusion, while Hermione looked at him with an expression that said 'so you really think so'.

"What are you talking about, Harry?"

Ron, who didn't understand, continued to ask.

"The Dark Mark."

Harry finally spoke out his guess.

hiss--
Ron's reaction was exactly as Harry had expected. He gasped and then stared at Harry with his mouth open, like a gargoyle!
"Isn't there such a possibility?"

What really annoyed Harry was Hermione's expression. She neither agreed nor disagreed, but just looked at him worriedly.

"I"

Hermione closed her book and prepared to talk to Harry about this problem.

"You can't assume Malfoy has joined the Death Eaters just because he tenses his arm, Harry -"

"I felt something was wrong with Malfoy when we met him at Gringotts before the Battle of Diagon Alley—"

Harry couldn't wait to express his opinion.
"He looked very scared when he saw Professor Blaine. But why was he afraid? Professor Blaine has always been the most popular professor among Slytherin students, right?"

"There are many possibilities, Harry—"

Ron hesitated and joined the topic.

"After all, there's no denying that his father is a Death Eater. Maybe he's just worried that Professor Braine will take his anger out on him."

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He had to admit that what Ron said made sense.

"So, Malfoy sneaks past his mother and into Borgin and Burke's—"

Harry said quickly,

"He wanted to get a tool that could break a powerful magical blockade, and that damn door and corridor happened to appear in my dreams. In my opinion, Voldemort must have assigned Malfoy a mission - Voldemort wanted to get something from Hogwarts, but he couldn't get in himself, so he found an undercover agent!"

After a pause, Harry added,
"Malfoy is a good person."

Ron pursed his lips together, brows furrowed in thought.

There was plenty of precedent for Voldemort sending spies to Hogwarts.

For example, when he was in their first year, he tried to use Quirrell to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and for example, Vitia Cliona last year.

However, Hermione was not so easily convinced, and she still looked at herself with that annoyingly worried look.

"Remember what Professor Blaine said to you during the summer vacation, Harry—"

Hermione whispered. "Which one?"

Harry was a little annoyed.

"It was after we saw Malfoy at Gringotts—"

Hermione pursed her lips.
"He reminds you not to rely too much on getting information about Voldemort from your dreams."

Harry frowned and thought for a moment.

Yes, Professor Brain did remind him, but he still didn't quite understand it.

"so what?"

"I think."

Hermione became hesitant and stammered.
"Anyway, Professor Brain's reminder must make sense, right?"

"Anyway, you just don't want to believe it!"

Harry was speaking angrily when he suddenly realized that the person who walked past the corner of his eye was the one they were discussing.

Malfoy

Harry immediately turned his head and squinted at Malfoy as he left the Slytherin table and walked towards the entrance hall.

Maybe the meditation class in the morning gave Draco some enlightenment, but he seemed to feel Harry's gaze and looked towards the Gryffindor table.

Their eyes crossed.

Draco could feel the wariness and hostility in Harry's gaze, and Harry also felt that Draco's silent gaze seemed to be filled with complex emotions.

As the three of them watched, Draco walked towards the entrance hall and turned into the corridor on the first floor before that.

"What is he going to do?"

Harry dropped the chicken leg he had been holding for a long time.

"Well--"

This couldn't even be considered a question. Ron blinked in confusion.

"I guess he's full. Ready to go to class?"

“But he didn’t take his schoolbag.”

Harry looked away and looked at Ron meaningfully.

"Maybe you just forgot?"

Ron glanced towards the Slytherin table.
"Malfoy never lacks followers, and Parkinson's ugly cow will help him."

"Then why doesn't he wait for Parkinson and Nott and the others? Their courses should be the same."

Harry said.

Ron was silent. He couldn't tell whether Harry was just too intuitive or just too sensitive.

"what are you thinking?"

Hermione asked bluntly.

"I thought it was just like Diagon Alley—"

Harry wiped his hands on his napkin, picked up his schoolbag,

"Malfoy intends to abandon them and do something despicable"

As he said this, Harry hugged his schoolbag tightly.

Even though he was discovered by Malfoy the last time he was tracking her, it was because of his footprints that he was exposed, not because his invisibility cloak was not reliable.

It seemed inappropriate to disappear so directly in the Great Hall, and following Malfoy into the corridor on the first floor would be too obvious. Maybe someone from Slytherin was following Malfoy.

Under the worried gaze of Ron and Hermione, Harry hurried into the hall with his schoolbag and went up the stairs to the second floor.

After becoming invisible behind a tapestry, he ran back at a hurried pace.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor Brainiac were both chatting with their own people at the staff table and didn't even look at him, which made Harry feel relieved.

Having already wasted two minutes, Harry rushed into the corridor on the first floor.

However, after turning several corners and walking through the staff lounge, Harry didn't see anyone except Mrs. Norris who was napping on the corridor in front of Filch's office.

Ran out of the castle?

Harry thought about it, leaned through the corridor and looked at the ground, but did not find a single footprint.

unless
Harry squinted under the invisibility cloak and looked at the long corridor. Although it was completely different from the corridor in his dream, if there was a secret passage hidden here... (End of this chapter)