Draco had no way of knowing what was happening with Hermione and the others, because he had already left the Deathday Party by the time Sir Nicholas appeared...
That was also why Hermione had been unable to find him.
"How petty of him, my godfather."
In fact, Draco hadn't been invited to the party like Hermione and the others were. He was there to help set up the venue.
As for why he ended up in such a gloomy place on a beautiful day like Halloween—well, that was because Snape had given him detention. That's why Hermione had run into him at the Deathday Party.
After leaving, Draco didn't seem interested in heading to the Great Hall to enjoy Halloween with the other students. He wasn't even walking in that direction...
"Might as well take this chance to visit that little guy."
Unlike the warm and lively castle, the place Draco was heading to had no steaming pumpkin soup, no overly sweet pumpkin pies, and definitely no dancing skeleton troupes.
Because Draco was going to the Forbidden Forest, a place filled only with magical creatures...
...
Due to its location and Hogwarts' restrictions, students weren't allowed to enter what the school called the Forbidden Forest during holidays.
In other words, it had been a long time since Draco last saw Norberta...
"I wonder how that little guy's doing. I really should've written to Hagrid."
As Draco reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a look of eager anticipation lit up his face—he clearly couldn't wait to see Norberta again.
Without a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward, completely unconcerned about the forest's dangers. But just as he crossed into the trees, a deep and cryptic voice echoed in his ears...
"Mars has taken on a new trajectory. The stars have shifted in unknown ways. Venus, moving sideways, has replaced..."
Draco froze and turned toward the voice. There, bathed in moonlight and gazing up at the sky, stood a centaur.
That voice, and that cryptic way of speaking—it reminded Draco of the first time they met.
That day too, he'd said things no one could understand...
"Is that... Mr. Firenze?"
"Good evening, Hagrid's friend."
"Good evening."
Although curious about the meaning of Firenze's earlier words, Draco didn't let that curiosity show. The manners of a pure-blood aristocrat were well displayed in how he carried himself.
He gazed at Firenze's sapphire-like eyes and long, white-gold hair gleaming under the moonlight.
Draco couldn't help but wonder why Firenze was standing before him.
He didn't believe it was a coincidence. Centaurs weren't exactly a friendly species. So those strange words were likely meant for him—even if he didn't understand a single bit of it...
Facing Draco's gaze, Firenze flicked his silver tail.
"Wizard foal, this is not where you belong right now. My kin will not welcome you."
The tone carried no emotion—Draco couldn't tell if it was a warning or a simple statement—but he understood one thing.
It was clear the centaurs harbored resentment and discontent toward Norberta's presence, and as the one who suggested it, Draco had naturally become unwelcome in their eyes as well.
But what did "for now" mean?
He glanced at the centaur's calm expression, then at the large bow slung across his back.
Though unsure of the centaur's intentions, Draco sensed no hostility. He placed a hand over his chest and gave a noble bow before continuing deeper into the forest. With his personality, it wasn't in him to back down over a few words. More importantly, he wasn't afraid of anyone.
The moment Draco disappeared into the trees, several more centaurs began to emerge from the shadows behind Firenze...
"Firenze, you know what this means."
"Ronan, the stars have shifted. We can't ignore it."
"But you're rushing things. He still needs time—and so do we."
"Come on, there's nothing here that can harm him..."
As the words fell, the centaurs who had just appeared vanished without a trace.
Only the mysterious sound of galloping remained...
...
If Draco's doubts were born of curiosity, Hermione's were driven entirely by fear.
Even if she couldn't read the words scrawled on the wall, just seeing Mrs Norris strung up and unmoving was enough to make anyone realize something terrible had happened...
"Harry, shouldn't we check if she can still be saved?"
"Listen to me. Right now, the most important thing is to make sure no one sees us."
Hermione halted mid-step. She immediately understood what Harry meant. Still, with a clear conscience, she didn't think anyone would suspect them of being the culprits. At worst, it would just cause some trouble.
After a brief hesitation, she reached out again, intending to take Mrs Norris down.
What she didn't know was that before any of this, Harry had heard something—something only he could hear.
He couldn't be sure whether what had happened was caused by that voice, but the unease it left him with made him want to get away as quickly as possible. More than that, he didn't want anyone finding out that he could hear those voices.
But lately, nothing seemed to be going right for Harry. Just as he was about to convince Hermione to leave, a low, rumbling noise—like distant thunder—echoed toward them, signaling the end of the banquet.
From both ends of the corridor came the sound of hundreds of footsteps ascending the stairs, followed by the cheerful chatter of young wizards full from dinner. Then, Harry saw them—students flooding in from either side of the hallway...
"What... what is this!?"
The moment someone at the front caught sight of the cat hanging upside down, all the laughter and noise came to a sudden halt. It was like someone had hit the pause button on the entire scene.
Hermione and Harry stood alone in the middle of the corridor as the other students crept forward to get a closer look at the chilling sight.
Small mouths fell open. Fear began to creep across the young wizards' faces.
Then, Hermione noticed a few of them glancing toward Slytherin with suspicion and unease.
Could this really have something to do with Slytherin...?