Rita Skeeter's rise to becoming a columnist for The Daily Prophet was, naturally, backed by solid and reasonable causes.
Eye-catching angles, a writing style skilled at steering readers' thoughts, a keen sense of what people wanted to read, and information channels no other wizard could imitate.
With all of that in her grasp, she was able to hold her ground in the field and become one of the most well-known figures in the wizarding world.
Add to that the reputation of The Daily Prophet, along with the subject of this particular report.
It was only natural that this piece about Harry Potter's emotional growth spread through Hogwarts in no time at all...
"Want a tissue, Potter? In case you start bawling your eyes out in Transfiguration Class."
"When did you turn into the school's model student, Potter? Unless Hogwarts is left with only you and Longbottom."
"Got your eye on our boss lady? Don't kid yourself, Potter!"
Potter… Potter… Potter!
Whenever Harry Potter appeared, aside from those genuinely curious about the article, the wizards of Slytherin House made a point of shouting remarks at him, whether he wanted to respond or not.
Perhaps because the person involved was Pansy, nearly every Slytherin wizard deliberately went out of their way to sneer and mock Harry Potter to his face.
No one really knew what Rita Skeeter's purpose was in writing the article, but if her goal had been to stir up trouble for Harry Potter, then she had undeniably succeeded.
And that outcome was hardly unexpected.
In truth, Pansy was extremely popular within Slytherin House. Even if she didn't have wizards flocking around her everywhere she went like Hermione did, the number of people secretly admiring her far exceeded what most would imagine. Quite a few little snakes even regarded Pansy as their goddess.
The reason there was no scene like Fleur's had nothing to do with a lack of interest. It was simply because Draco was standing beside her, leaving no one daring, or confident enough, to believe they could draw Pansy's gaze away for themselves...
...
In short.
Just as Harry Potter was enduring the hostility coming from Slytherin, the Yule Ball arrived right on schedule...
Even though the professors had assigned fourth-year students a mountain of homework over the holiday, during the week leading up to Christmas, no wizard could sit still long enough to finish a single book.
Everyone's mind was completely occupied with the ball.
Even Hermione, as Christmas drew closer, put her regular trips to the library on hold, spending far more time with Pansy discussing evening gown styles and how to put outfits together.
The little snakes of Slytherin were noticeably noisier than usual as well. With Snape still not back at Hogwarts, they even temporarily shoved their potions assignments aside.
Everything was for the Christmas Ball!
Christmas morning.
Goyle and Crabbe, who shared a dormitory with Draco, woke up early.
It wasn't because Draco had disturbed them, nor because they were hungry. It was because of the large pile of boxes that the house-elves had quietly stacked at the foot of their beds.
Those brightly colored boxes were this year's Christmas presents.
Draco smoothed the edge of his robe while casting an annoyed glance at Goyle and Crabbe, who had already rushed straight toward the pile of boxes. For a moment, he could almost picture them wagging their tails.
Anyone who didn't know better might have thought they were starving coyotes charging toward meat.
"A whole bunch of color-changing pumpkin sweets!! Is this the legendary kind that costs a Galleon per piece?! The boss lady really knows what we like."
"This is a potion? A high-grade potion personally brewed by Miss Greengrass."
"And finally… a book as thick as a brick…"
"......"
"......"
Seeing their faces fall instantly, Draco found it highly entertaining.
At the same time, he could tell from the gifts scattered across the floor that each girl had her own distinct way of thinking and choosing presents.
As for his own Christmas gifts?
Draco glanced toward the table nearby. He had already unwrapped his presents earlier and placed them there.
What surprised him was that although the gifts themselves were quite different, the direction behind them was strangely consistent.
They were a dragon-shaped magical pendant that looked like it had come from a dark magic shop, a dragon-themed potion that was clearly handmade, and a Muggle novel with the title Dragons on its cover.
Draco tilted his head.
Do I really like dragons that much?
...
After cheerfully tidying up this year's Christmas presents, Draco brought Goyle and Crabbe to the Slytherin common room.
As soon as he appeared, his followers gradually gathered behind Goyle and Crabbe, while Pansy skipped over to Draco's side.
She seemed to be in a pretty good mood, at least looking like she had finally stepped out of the shadow cast by that article.
Since today was a special day, Draco gave all of his followers the day off and canceled their training. He himself spent the entire morning in the common room.
It wasn't until noon that Draco went to the Great Hall for lunch with Pansy and Hermione, who had come to find him. By then, the outline of the Yule Ball venue for that evening was already taking shape.
After lunch.
In the afternoon, Draco went outside the castle with Pansy and Hermione. The snow-covered ground stretched out in a vast expanse of white, as though it had been dusted with a layer of silver frost.
Across the nearly untouched snow, the three of them left behind deep footprints that extended all the way to the edge of the lake.
"......"
Unusually quiet today, Draco simply stood off to the side, watching the two girls build a snowman.
His deep, steady gaze made their cheeks, reddened by the cold, look even more delicate.
Finally, after placing a hat transformed with a Transfiguration Spell onto the snowman, Pansy and Hermione took the initiative to suggest leaving. They decided to return to their dormitory to prepare for the upcoming ball.
Even now, Draco still didn't have a definite answer about who his dance partner would be.
The only thing he was certain of was this.
His partner for the evening would be chosen from between Pansy and Hermione, who were now quietly exchanging looks in front of him.
Yet the usually decisive and domineering Draco had suddenly become hesitant.
Perhaps that was why he had seemed so restless all day.
Or perhaps this, too, was simply the trouble of youth...