By all logic, Pansy showing up at this moment should have been something Astoria welcomed.
After all, with her heart in turmoil like a startled fawn and secrets weighing heavily on her mind, she had no idea how to face Draco for the time being. More than that, she absolutely didn't want a third party stumbling into such a scene.
In a way, this could even be counted as one of Astoria's personal black histories.
So, technically speaking, Astoria ought to be thanking Pansy for appearing when she did.
And yet, judging by the slightly sullen look on her face now, things didn't seem to be working out that way at all...
Just as Astoria lifted her teacup to hide her expression, Pansy bounced over and plopped herself down beside Draco. The deliberate way she practically shared his chair made Astoria pause mid-sip of her Gurdyroot Infusion.
Of course, Pansy, sitting across from Astoria, had no way of knowing what was going through her head. After all, she had no idea what had just happened.
Having seated herself, the mischievous Pansy immediately spoke whatever came to mind, tossing aside her earlier question without a second thought as she eagerly shared something she'd been wanting to tell Draco.
"Draco, the first guest room around the corner on the third floor is mine from now on. The lady already agreed."
"Oh?"
"It took me quite a bit of effort to convince the lady, you know."
"That really does sound like you..."
"???"
Draco didn't think Pansy was lying. With his mother's so-called 'ulterior motives,' Narcissa was probably delighted that Pansy had even made such a request. It was only this little fool herself who thought she'd somehow gotten the better end of the deal.
Of course, Draco had no intention of explaining any of that to her...
"Ahem. Isn't now a bit late to be discussing who gets which room?"
Astoria, who seemed to have recovered, wore her usual flawless smile once more, looking as though she had already put her emotions back in order.
For some reason, though, that smile made Goyle and Crabbe, standing some distance away, feel their hairs stand on end. The room suddenly felt a lot less safe.
Pansy, as if sensing something, raised an eyebrow...
"That's true. So, Draco, what exactly did you call us here to talk about?"
"That's right. I assume you're all wondering what our parents are busy with."
"Hmm... yeah. They didn't even have time to come pick me up."
The first to respond was, naturally, Miss Pansy. Only now did it belatedly occur to her that her own parents hadn't come to fetch her either.
Her delayed realization made Draco clear his throat.
"So, they must have run into something they absolutely had to deal with. That's why they couldn't make it back."
"Then what do you think... could be that important?"
Rather than letting the topic drift, Astoria, who seemed to have developed a liking for Gurdyroot Infusion, went straight to the point.
It was just that the bitter taste had twisted her small face, making what should have been a serious expression look oddly off.
Draco didn't answer her question right away. Instead, he shifted the topic.
"From this, I think everyone's already noticed a major problem."
With Hermione, who excelled at analysis, not present, Pansy didn't quite know where to direct her attention this time.
Astoria was intelligent, but because the Greengrass family had been overly protective of her, she lacked Hermione's sharp instincts. She could only vaguely sense part of what was going on.
Seeing everyone fall silent, Draco lightly tapped the armrest with his fingertips...
"In fact, our organization is seriously lacking when it comes to intelligence gathering. With the school keeping us confined, there's no way for us to clearly grasp what's happening outside in real time."
Everyone froze for a moment before finally understanding what Draco was concerned about.
"Well… you're not wrong," someone said. "But that's not something we can fix in the short term. Are you saying we should leave the school?"
"Hm, Parkinson's idea isn't completely unreasonable. Given the current situation, Hogwarts doesn't seem all that safe either. And as for studying, that's hardly an issue for people like us."
If Hermione were here, she would definitely have protested loudly.
Draco shook his head.
"That's why I want to build something of our own. I'm thinking of using one person as the foundation, then expanding outward to create an intelligence chain within the wizarding world."
"Intelligence… chain?"
The unfamiliar term made everyone present repeat it in confusion. Those three words felt strangely foreign to wizards' ears…
...
Wizards possessed an abundance of powerful and extraordinary methods of combat.
Perhaps because spells themselves were so strong, many wizards unconsciously overlooked other aspects and finer details.
There were tactics and schemes, of course, but they lacked clear definitions or structured concepts. Compared to logical analysis, wizards often placed far more faith in so-called prophecies…
This wasn't a matter of right or wrong, nor did it prove which approach suited the wizarding world better. But that didn't mean Draco couldn't learn something new—or even combine the two.
As Pansy and the others stared at him in confusion, Draco didn't bother explaining further and instead laid out his plan directly.
"That's right. My idea is to bring Dobby in, then have him make contact with other house-elves. You all know how indispensable they are to wizards."
"..."
"With their help, we might not be able to control every single piece of information in the wizarding world, but any movement at all would never escape our notice."
"Wait! You mean… those house-elves? How could that possibly work?"
This time, even Pansy didn't think Draco could pull it off, let alone the usually calm and rational Astoria. No—Astoria actually looked a little tempted.
"It does sound unbelievable," Astoria said slowly, "but if you think about it from another angle, if Draco really succeeds, no wizard would ever suspect the house-elves."
"Huh? Greengrass, have you drunk yourself stupid on tea? Making house-elves betray their masters? That's not funny."
"If it weren't difficult," Astoria replied calmly, "do you think that person would still be Draco?"
"…Fine, whatever," Pansy muttered. "I can't think of any way to do what you're talking about."
With a throbbing headache, Pansy turned around and flopped down onto Draco's lap—whether because she'd given up entirely, or simply because she wanted to enjoy using his legs as a pillow, no one could really say…