The Great Hall was alive with chatter. The moment they stepped inside, the students erupted into cheers, celebrating their safe return.
This left the club members, who had narrowly escaped trouble, utterly confused.
"Don't you know? The Fat Lady's portrait at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room was slashed!"
"Peeves said it was Sirius Black who did it!"
Everyone gasped audibly, exchanging uneasy glances. Harry frowned deeply.
Percy, his face full of relief, squeezed his way through the crowd toward them. Seeing that all his younger brothers were accounted for, he finally let out a breath of relief.
"We thought something had happened to you!" He instructed them to find empty sleeping bags and spend the night in the Great Hall. "Now stay quiet. As Head Boy, I order you to remain here obediently."
Gemma carefully picked out the Slytherins one by one and led them back to their house's section.
The Slytherins had already claimed the safest spot, farthest from the doors. Daphne poked her head out of a purple sleeping bag, vigorously patting the space beside her for Jane Yu while waving frantically with her other hand. This earned her a sharp glare from Pansy, who muttered, "Rude barbarian."
Almost as soon as they lay down, Blaise began whispering to Draco:
"By the way, isn't Black a relative on your mother's side? Do you have any intel?"
Draco was silent for a moment, clearly unhappy about the topic involving his family members.
"I don't know, but in any case, he's not after us."
"He was disowned by the Black family ages ago. Apparently, he's a thoroughbred Gryffindor. My mother doesn't like to talk about it."
Rather than discussing a traitor who killed twelve Muggles, Draco was more interested in talking to Jane Yu about how to recover their shared assets.
So he refused to continue squeezing into the same spot as Blaise and dragged his sleeping bag over, attempting to push Theodore aside to take the spot next to Jane.
But Theodore had already closed his eyes, sleeping serenely and unmoving, leaving Draco no chance.
—After a series of failed maneuvers, he successfully claimed Daphne's spot instead.
Blaise, witnessing this, froze in place. He abruptly sat up, almost leaping out of his sleeping bag.
He showcased an impressive set of facial gymnastics, his gaze darting between Pansy, Jane, Draco, Daphne, and Theodore, as if he had just witnessed Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance ballet.
"Merlin's beard—I must not have gotten enough sleep."
He flopped back down, deciding to catch up on rest and clear his mind of the chaotic thoughts.
But the next second, he sat up again, deciding to move closer himself. After all, Jane was the strongest among them...
—Her side was undoubtedly the safest place.
However, it was clear he wasn't the only one with this idea. Once Jane lay down, several Slytherin students had already begun quietly shifting closer, forming a perfect circle around her, like a Slytherin version of a crop circle. This left Blaise with no chance to squeeze in.
Reluctantly, he lay back in his original spot.
Jane had barely fallen into a deep sleep when she was rudely awakened by a kick.
A blond head hovered in front of her.
"Are you a pig? How can you sleep at a time like this?" Draco whispered, lowering his voice to a near murmur as he began speaking to her in hushed tones. "Do you have any ideas about those confiscated gaming consoles?"
Half-asleep, Jane cracked one eye open, shook her head, and drifted back into slumber.
—Only to be shaken awake again.
Even the most patient person would lose their temper after being woken up repeatedly. Jane tried to reach for her wand inside her robes to cast a Silencing Charm on him, but her hands were trapped in the sleeping bag. Frustrated, she kicked him hard in the shin instead.
She finally understood—this was all because Draco's biological clock had been disrupted by staying up late gaming—
Now he was wriggling around like a Flobberworm!
"Ow—" Draco yelped in pain, and the two began kicking at each other through their sleeping bags, like two Flobberworms in a fight.
"Are you a troll?" Clearly intimidated by Jane's strength, Draco wisely stopped before she could break his leg. He glared at her with his gray eyes and asked, "I'm asking you a question! Those consoles cost us so many galleons, and now the professors have taken them away!"
"So what?" Jane mumbled sleepily, her voice weak. "Are you planning to get them back?"
Draco didn't bother hiding his intentions. He nodded and pulled a piece of parchment from his robes, shoving it in front of her.
"This is a letter from my father. He specifically asked me to bring one console back for him—"
This commotion fully woke Jane up.
She took the parchment and saw that the densely written letter contained two lines of small text:
[Your father is very interested in the gaming consoles and hopes you can send one home.]
[PS: Please convey our regards to Miss Yu and invite her to spend Christmas at Malfoy Manor.]
The word "one" was written in Arabic numerals, but now the first line had been altered to read:
[Your father is very interested in the gaming consoles and hopes you can send 19 home.]
Jane was astonished.
Draco truly was a talent!
He had taught himself how to forge numbers without any guidance!
She had to admit, in this regard, he was indeed more skilled than Harry, who needed her reminders even to forge a signature.
Unfortunately, she doubted Dumbledore would fail to notice such a clumsy alteration...
—Besides, 19 consoles were far too excessive.
Not to mention, the second line of the letter was bound to hit her guardian's nerves!
"Go ahead and try. Knowing the Headmaster, you might just succeed." She encouraged him half-heartedly.
Draco, buoyed by her encouragement, looked as if he were ready to storm the Headmaster's office right then and there.
What she didn't expect was that three days later, Draco returned carrying a bag stuffed with 19 gaming consoles.
He began bragging about his skill in pestering, claiming that after repeatedly pulling out the letter and invoking his father's name countless times, Headmaster Dumbledore had finally relented, on the condition that he not use them within the school.
Draco couldn't help but feel grateful to Jane for her encouragement.
To be honest, he hadn't been confident about retrieving their shared assets.
Surely, she must have spoken to Dumbledore on his behalf, paving the way for his success.
After all, she was his guardian—
This must have been her loyalty test for the club members!
Only by bravely asking the Headmaster could one truly protect the club's assets and prove themselves a worthy member!
This outcome far exceeded Jane's expectations.
She couldn't fathom why Dumbledore had agreed.
Was the Malfoy family's influence at Hogwarts really that strong?
What she didn't realize was that her guardian was sipping tea on the other end, lost in a beautiful fantasy of inter-house unity.
Even the Malfoy child could think of others and courageously protect his classmates' property...
There was great hope for harmony among the four houses!
Although the phrase "invite Miss Yu to Malfoy Manor" was undeniably irksome—
As long as he refused to grant permission, not even Merlin himself could take her there!
As for the gaming consoles... He had originally planned to return them to the students before the holidays so they could take them home.
But he didn't mind rewarding Slytherin's rare display of courage a little early.
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