Chapter 10: Stairs, Restricted Area, Halloween
There are a total of 142 staircases in Hogwarts.
Draco, who had lived here for seven years, knew them all like the back of his hand: some were wide and big; some were narrow, small and wobbly; some would move around mischievously every Friday, trying to suddenly lead to different places and cause trouble for the students; some would suddenly disappear halfway up a step, and you had to jump over it if you didn't want to be trapped there.
However, for those dizzy freshmen, these stairs are more tricky than interesting.
It is not easy to remember their locations and characteristics; after all, everything seems to be constantly moving.
Hermione Granger clearly hasn't figured it all out yet.
One Friday night, after the library closed, she was exhausted by the weight of the thick book in her arms. When she walked up a flight of stairs, her foot fell into the disappearing step simply because she was not paying special attention.
What bad luck—Hermione frowned.
She wanted to climb out by her own strength, but it was difficult and she needed someone to help her.
However, she was not sure whether anyone could pass by here.
This staircase was a new shortcut she had discovered, hidden behind a door. The sliding baffles and hanging curtains made it seem particularly secluded. Few people walked here, and it was very secluded - this was the reason she liked this route, but now it became a disadvantage;
Besides, at this point in time, most students had already returned to the common room, which greatly reduced the chances of her being seen.
"Is anyone there? Can you help me?" She tentatively shouted up and down the stairs a few times, hoping to try her luck, but there was dead silence on both sides.
She couldn't help but notice the wall on the side of the stairs. On the wall, the dim candlelight was flickering, adding a bit of eerie atmosphere to the stairs.
Hermione's heart was pounding. She raised her voice and tried calling out several times, but the only response she got was a small, hollow echo from the walls around her.
She struggled on the stairs, extremely disappointed, and dejectedly flipped through the book "Hogwarts, A History" in her hand, trying to find some solution that could help her leave the stairs alone.
However, this book seems to assume that everyone can make friends at Hogwarts, or at least no one lacks a friendly hand to lead them down the Vanishing Steps.
The almighty Hogwarts: A History! It hadn't come up with anything for her, Hermione thought dejectedly.
After being depressed for about quarter of an hour, she finally heard footsteps - someone seemed to be coming down from upstairs.
That was the sound of leather shoes touching the steps, neither hurried nor slow, sounding particularly leisurely.
At this moment, this voice sounded like heavenly music to Hermione's ears.
This might be her one of the few chances to be saved tonight! Who knows when the next person will pass by!
"Hello, can I help you--" She raised her head and said eagerly, but her words stopped abruptly when she saw the person coming.
It's Draco.
Oh my god, this is so awkward.
She had been rude to him and ignored his friendly greetings during the day; unexpectedly, Merlin's retribution came so quickly, not even overnight!
This Slytherin boy will probably take this opportunity to ridicule her!
Hermione quickly lowered her head and continued flipping through the book, determined to pretend she didn't see Draco.
It's stuck, so let it be. Even if it's stuck all night, she doesn't have the face to ask him for help...
Draco had seen her a long time ago. He had just been rejected by Ms. Grey and was walking down the stairs in a depressed mood when he unexpectedly encountered Miss Know-It-All stuck in the middle of the stairs.
Little daredevil!
Typical Hermione Granger-style recklessness... getting stuck in the stairs and all... Draco's mouth twitched.
Look at her! She no longer has the cocky demeanor she had during the day. Instead, she's like a cat that's accidentally stepped on a mousetrap, holding the book up to her face, feeling guilty and furtive, too embarrassed to face anyone.
His mood suddenly improved. He walked to her side leisurely, stopped, and tilted his head to look at her. "Do you need help?"
"No." She glanced at the page and said stiffly.
"What are you doing here?" He raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
"Read." She shook the thick book in her hand.
"Will reading while stuck on the steps make your mind particularly sharp?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It's none of your business." She blushed and said firmly.
She looked guilty, kind of... cute.
"I can help if you ask." Draco said good-naturedly, with a hint of smile in his tone that he himself hadn't noticed.
"I don't accept help from people who don't follow the rules." Although Hermione didn't look at him directly, she heard the smile.
He must be laughing at her, she thought angrily.
"Oh, are you still worried about that? No one has noticed. You have to learn to adapt." He said it lightly, as if he didn't take the matter to heart at all.
"I have nothing to say to you." She raised her head haughtily.
At this moment, the tricky stairs suddenly shook.
It moved itself rapidly, as if it was tired of the conversation between the two people on it. In an instant, it maliciously shook the two people on the stairs to the ground.
No one can continue to be "arrogant" on such stairs. It would be more appropriate to describe it as "embarrassed".
The book in Hermione's hand fell to the bottom of the stairs and rolled down.
However, that's not the worst of it.
The worst thing was that she fell on the boy due to the inertia of the sudden movement of the stairs. She had originally not intended to pay attention to him; but he was quick enough to hold her shoulders with his hands to prevent her from suffering further injuries - this was too much!
Would she have to thank him tonight, feeling ashamed? Hermione thought dizzily, clutching his collar as they made their terrifying journey up the stairs.
The staircase spun around excitedly for a while before finally coming to a lazily stop. When everything returned to calm, the places on both sides of the staircase were no longer where they had originally led.
They all breathed a sigh of relief, looked at each other, and suddenly an idea flashed in their mind. They said in unison: "Friday!"
On Friday, some of the stairs will be moved around, trying to lead to different places, causing some trouble for the students...
This kind of tacit understanding made it difficult for Hermione to feel awkward anymore, and instead made her smile knowingly. It seemed that Draco also thought so, and a fleeting smile appeared on his face.
"Let me help you." He looked up and down at the direction of the stairs, restrained his smile, and said with a frown, "This staircase is not safe."
This staircase seemed to lead to the restricted area on the fourth floor... If he remembered correctly... it was not a peaceful place.
"Yes. Thank you," Hermione said, blushing slightly, "if it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble," Draco said briefly. He tilted his head to study Hermione's feet, which were sinking deep into the steps, and casually suggested, "I think you should put your hands around my neck and hold me tighter..."
Hermione did as he commanded, half-witted. She threw her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, and then he completely embraced her and pulled her out of the cunning staircase.
Now, Draco put her down safely on a normal staircase, a smug glint in his eyes as he looked her over. "Better now? You still have nothing to say to me?"
Hermione felt unconvinced by his smug look.
She was about to retort, but a cat's meow at the bottom of the stairs interrupted her thoughts. Then came Mr. Filch's excited voice, "I hear someone talking! Someone must be going to the fourth floor to cause trouble! I must catch those students in the act today. No one can stop me from talking! I'm going to try the chains in my office!"
"We have to leave. This staircase leads to the corridor in the restricted area on the fourth floor." Draco's face changed. "If we are caught by Filch, we won't be able to explain it..."
"But my book..." Hermione stammered.
"It fell on the second floor. Go get it later." He pulled Hermione's sleeve and ran upstairs suddenly.
"But it's the fourth floor! We should go down..." she tried to remind him.
"When we got down to the third floor, we ran into Filch? You're so naive! He's just looking for a few students to show off his power!" Draco rolled his eyes and continued to pull her upstairs.
"But there's nowhere to hide if we go upstairs..." She was unable to react and was inexplicably dragged to the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor. It was pitch black here and particularly terrifying.
There is a door at the end of the corridor, which is the door to the restricted area.
"We can't go in! There's…" Hermione gasped, paused, and then continued incoherently, "Professor Dumbledore said so."
There was a big dog with three heads inside! She had seen it by accident before.
But she wasn't sure whether to tell Draco. Once she told him, wouldn't it be obvious that she had violated the school rules? Hermione was extremely conflicted.
"I know!" he said impatiently, continuing to pull her towards the door.
To Hermione's surprise, he didn't take her to open the door, but pulled her and hid behind a statue not far from the door.
By this time, Filch's complaining and threatening voices were getting closer and closer, and she could even see flashes of fire at the stairs.
"Are you sure this will work?" she whispered, hiding behind the statue and trembling slightly. "He'll see us."
"No, he won't," Draco said calmly. He pulled a shimmering silver cloak from his pocket, shook it, and covered them both with it.
Hermione stretched out her hand and found that her hand disappeared in the area outside the cloak.
"This is—" She opened her mouth in surprise.
"Invisibility cloak. Space is limited. Stay close to me, hurry up, and don't show your true identity." He whispered to her.
Hermione was stunned by the magical cloak. She had never seen such a magical item before.
Besides, Mr. Filch always looked scary, and she didn't want him to catch her, deduct points from her, or give her special treatment in chains or anything like that.
In an emergency, panic overcame shyness. As he requested, she almost snuggled into his arms and carefully moved her feet into the confines of the cloak.
"Is this okay?" she asked anxiously.
"Don't make a sound." He whispered in her ear.
Hermione dared not move or make a sound as Filch came closer and closer, and his cat seemed to be sniffing around the statue where they were hiding.
What is the cat sniffing about?
Hermione moved her nose involuntarily and smelled a pleasant and refreshing scent, which seemed to be emanating from the neck of the boy named Draco.
She tilted her head slightly to look at him.
The boy was gazing intently at the cat, and at Filch, who was flank- ing them both, his face stretched out, his eyes now quite close to theirs.
She was a little uncomfortable with Filch's furious light-colored eyes and distorted face, and she grabbed Draco's clothes in fear; but he was very calm, his expression did not change, one hand was clenched into a fist, gently placed on her back, and the other hand was tightly holding the wand.
He looked as if he would cast a spell to make the evil caretaker forget about it if Filch found them, Hermione thought, unable to breathe.
Fortunately, Mr. Filch found nothing, and he shouted to the suspicious Mrs. Norris to go explore elsewhere.
"Can we -" Hermione asked impatiently, feeling herself stiffen from holding the position for so long.
"Wait a moment." Draco pressed his fist against her back and said softly.
What Filch was best at was launching a surprise attack - he knew Filch's tricks too well in his previous life.
Hermione sighed inaudibly and rested her head on his shoulder wearily.
Being stuck on the stairs for so long, running up and down the stairs at a rapid pace, and the tense atmosphere in the corridor, all combined together, consumed the physical strength of a 12-year-old girl.
In the silent darkness, she felt a little sleepy and tired. The boy's shoulder seemed reassuring. He had just saved her from the stairs, and he hadn't said anything sarcastic or laughed at her, as she had feared.
Draco, the Slytherin boy, was quite friendly to her—friendlier than all the Gryffindor boys combined. He was also quite clever and resourceful, even fooling Mr. Filch, who loved to grab students' pigtails...
It wouldn't hurt to lean on his shoulder, right? They couldn't move now anyway, and she couldn't lean anywhere else, right? Hermione thought drowsily.
Draco felt the weight on his shoulders and glanced at her in surprise. He moved his lips, but in the end he said nothing and let her rest.
How could she not be on guard against him at all? Wasn't she arrogantly angry with him not long ago? Now, she was leaning on his shoulder so absurdly, proactively, and trustingly?
This is something that is unimaginable in two lifetimes.
This capricious, willful, cute yet troublesome little girl... he thought in confusion.
However, the movement at the stairs left him no time to think about it - as expected, Filch was extremely cunning. He came back again and wandered around here for a long time before leaving.
Draco was right, Hermione thought vaguely. It was a good thing they listened to him and waited a little longer, otherwise they would definitely be caught by Mr. Filch.
This experience was very different from the last time she, Harry, Ron and the others accidentally entered the restricted area. Last time, she was very nervous the whole time and had to think of countermeasures desperately. She couldn't rely on those boys at all.
However, Draco never seemed to be in a hurry to do anything, and he always did things beautifully.
She suddenly felt less afraid. With him around, it seemed like there was nothing to worry about - after all, he would definitely not put them in danger.
So Hermione closed her eyes and continued to take a nap against him. In the small safe atmosphere created by the invisibility cloak, her mind gradually became empty.
They waited a long, cautious moment, just in case Filch returned, until all was quiet, then slipped out from under the Invisibility Cloak and crept down the corridor back up the stairs.
"Wait, Draco, can I bring the invisibility cloak into school? Is it allowed?" As they walked down the stairs, Hermione's mind finally cleared a little, and she suddenly realized, "Do you often sneak out in the middle of the night like this?"
"Otherwise, what do you think the invisibility cloak is for?" Draco said casually, without any shame, and walked leisurely towards the stairs.
Looking at him, he's obviously a habitual offender.
"This is against school rules!" Hermione followed him and began to persuade him as they walked down the stairs, "You can't do this again, it's too dangerous... What if Filch catches you one day? I know you're good at avoiding punishment, but doing this is risky after all! You can't use this invisibility cloak to do whatever you want, otherwise I will tell Professor McGonagall..."
"Let me remind you, if it weren't for this thing, we would both be done for tonight and have to experience Filch's chains!" Draco gave her a displeased look.
This ungrateful little girl! She used him up and refused to acknowledge her mistake!
Hermione snorted, clearly unconvinced by him.
Of course she knew that this thing had saved them today, but breaking school rules was still not right...
"There's a difference between an accidental accident like today's and the usual deliberate ones, isn't there?" she said stubbornly.
Draco suddenly stopped and looked into her wide eyes. A cold, malicious smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, trying to scare her: "If you tell Professor McGonagall, you will not be able to escape punishment. We are now people in the same boat."
"You threaten me!" Hermione said angrily. The gratitude she had felt for being rescued by him and the sense of security he gave her in the darkness were all gone because of his threat.
"Yes." Draco pursed his lips, walked to the platform under the stairs on the second floor, picked up the book "Hogwarts, A History" that was left on the ground, dusted it off with disgust, and then put it suddenly in Hermione's arms.
Then, the delicate face approached her provocatively, as if wanting to see what was going on in her mind, which scared her.
He said bluntly, "I'm threatening you, so you'd better not say anything to Professor McGonagall."
Hermione was a little overwhelmed by his approach. His unruly gray eyes were very beautiful, his hair was shining under the swaying candlelight, but his mouth was very worthy of beating, which made her not know what to do.
Finally, a wave of panicked anger surged from her body. Her face flushed red, and she remembered the complaints her seniors had made about Slytherins.
She said to him angrily: "You unscrupulous Slytherin!"
Just like in his previous life, she accused him of being unscrupulous again, Draco thought expressionlessly.
"Yes! I'm just unscrupulous, no need for you to remind me! Go back to your respectable Gryffindor common room and don't run into any more Slytherins. Good night!" He frowned, made a series of passionate remarks, left her on the platform, and strode away.
Hermione Granger, who is rigid, dogmatic, and conventional, is not lovable.
And it's very tricky.
Draco thought angrily as he walked towards the Slytherin common room.
But, will this little daredevil fall into some disappearing stairs again?
After a long time of struggling, it was almost curfew, and there was a Filch who was keen on catching students wandering around... As he thought about it, his steps slowed down, and became slower and slower.
Hermione Granger, the most irritating little girl in the world! Draco frowned, hesitated, and looked back at the small figure on the upper stairs, and stopped involuntarily.
On the other hand, Hermione, who was entangled in the issue of "obeying school rules" and had a very strained relationship with her friends, walked towards the Gryffindor common room on the eighth floor in a depressed mood, holding the book he picked up for her, looking very listless.
After this thrilling journey that night, her heart felt like a paint bottle had been overturned, with Gryffindor red and Slytherin green scattered all over the floor, with a hint of blue (blue, meaning "melancholy") on top.
All in all, it was a complete mess.
How should she treat this Slytherin boy who had helped her and then smugly admitted to breaking the rules?
He also... he also threatened and frightened her openly. Even though he looks a little good, he is still a bad guy!
Badass grey eyes... pretty. And he smells good.
She stepped into the Fat Lady's portrait with great hesitation, completely unaware that an invisible boy was following her quietly, twisting his eyebrows into a knot. It was not until she entered the Gryffindor common room that she sighed slightly - the Fat Lady, who was about to change into her pajamas and take a nap, was frightened by the sound and fell backwards - and slowly went downstairs.
The Fat Lady, who had just regained consciousness, covered her chest in panic and shouted at the air, "Who? Is it Peeves?"
For the next few weeks, Draco was in a bad mood and had no joy at all.
It wasn't that he had any academic problems. In fact, the simple first-year material was a bit boring to him. Since the beginning of the school year, he had been performing well in his studies. Even the professors who had been rude to him in his previous life had become relatively gentle with him.
The most notable example was Professor McGonagall. Although she was strict and old-fashioned and didn't like Slytherin very much, she would still give him an "O" for a well-written Transfiguration paper - an honor that in her previous life only belonged to Hermione Granger, the know-it-all lady.
(O, Outstanding)
As for interpersonal relationships, it was just the same old Slytherin trick: bloodline, family background, and ability competition. The freshmen were quickly divided into different levels based on these seniority factors, deciding who could sit closer to the front row of the auditorium.
Most relationships between Slytherins develop from a mixture of false friendliness and sharp words, interspersed with some fragile friendship of childhood playmates and a little bit of sincerity smaller than a sesame seed.
This was the kind of relationship Draco was familiar with, far more familiar than the direct, passionate nature of Gryffindor. He could thrive in Slytherin if he wanted to.
Because of his understanding of his Slytherin classmates in his previous life, Draco made friends within the academy at an extremely fast pace.
Thanks to his familiarity with his Slytherin classmates - Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Marcus Flint, etc. - he could easily find topics that suited their preferences, habits and conversation styles, which made him invincible in social situations.
His sleep problems were also somewhat dealt with. He managed to obtain a dreamless sleeping potion from Madam Pomfrey - with his innocent appearance, clever compliments and polite manner.
The potion couldn't be taken frequently. Any potion's misuse carries risks. This was when the unpopular yet sophisticated magical art of Occlumency demonstrated its incomparable practical value. Through it, he froze and concealed the horrific memories of his past life and some of his unbearable emotions.
"It's quite self-deceptive, isn't it?" He smiled sarcastically at the pale boy in the mirror, "But at least you can get a good night's sleep."
Admittedly, such methods do not solve the fundamental problem, but for Draco, finding inner peace and tranquility for even a short period of time and getting a good night's sleep is more important than anything else.
However, during these seemingly smooth sailing days, Draco fell into a long and intense anxiety - the difficulties he had been trying to overcome had reached a bottleneck.
The experiment of "talking to Bloody Baron or Miss Grey" has come to a standstill.
Although she looks gentle, beautiful, delicate and smart, Ms. Grey is notoriously difficult to approach. Except for a few students from Ravenclaw, she ignores everyone.
Draco would probably try his luck near Ravenclaw Tower every day, which was not easy for a Slytherin - it took a lot of his brainpower to avoid those Ravenclaw students with a keen sense of smell.
However, every time he took great pains and went through great trouble to appear before Ms. Grey, he was treated as a monster.
Once she saw students from an unfamiliar college, she would be like a frightened bird, suddenly floating to the other side of the wall or pillar, or quickly disappearing in the morning mist or twilight.
As for Barrow, the ghost of Slytherin College whom Draco had once placed high hopes on, his eyes became dull again.
He ignored Draco's repeated advances, humming as if no one was around on the Astronomy Tower, completely immersed in his own sad world.
Two months ago, his response at the dinner table seemed like a fleeting illusion.
All of this was discouraging to Draco.
It's not like there's been no progress at all. At least, Barrow has adapted to Draco's presence in the Astronomy Tower and isn't averse to him.
Baron often stared at Ravenclaw Tower by himself, calling Helena's name repeatedly in sorrow, and was not at all shy about Draco.
This is not easy for ghosts - most ghosts are extremely sensitive and have deep obsessions, and they are not so easy to talk to; what's more, this is not an ordinary ghost, but the "Lord Bloody Baron" who even Peeves can't afford to offend.
However, for Draco, enjoying this preferential treatment that Barrow tacitly approved brought him far more pain than happiness.
He has always been wary of the Astronomy Tower and even wanted to escape from it.
This place always reminds him of the complicated memories of his previous life, making him fall into complex and unspeakable sadness.
Among them, the most difficult memory to face is probably the murder, the death of Dumbledore, which completely changed the trajectory of his life.
This place could be considered the most ominous place in all of Hogwarts.
Draco always wished he could stay away from this place as much as possible, but there was no other way - the doubts about the crown needed to be resolved urgently.
He could only endure the fear and anxiety in his heart, and come here again and again to "accidentally encounter" this ghost immersed in his own world, trying to get some words out of Barrow's mouth.
At least, Baron wouldn't run away, but would stand obediently on the tower; this alone made him much easier to approach than Ms. Grey, Draco thought to himself with comfort.
The wind in the tower grew colder day by day, and the weather gradually turned cooler.
When Draco woke up in the morning, he smelled the sweet and tempting smell of roasted pumpkin wafting through the corridor, which meant that Halloween was about to arrive at Hogwarts.
Just like in the previous life, Professor Flitwick announced in the Charms class that students could practice the Levitation Charm.
Hermione Granger, as usual, was the first student in the class to make the feather float, and won extra points from Professor Flitwick; Ron, who was standing next to her, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot, and looked very unconvinced.
Draco sat across from them in the open space in the middle of the classroom. He silently looked at the girl opposite him for a while - she was like a smug cat, with her proud little head raised, shaking her wand to control the only feather floating above the classroom, and she was determined to ignore everyone.
So he also raised his own feather and joined the original feather flying in the air.
"Very good! Mr. Malfoy did a good job too!" Professor Flitwick said happily, lowered his head and continued to instruct Potter and Finnigan whose feathers had exploded.
Hermione found that the boy's feathers were really annoying. Her feathers were floating in the sky, but his feathers had to come and disrupt them, blocking the direction of her feathers' floating.
She controlled the feather, flying high, and his feather also flew high; when she wanted it to fly lower, his feather blocked it from below; her feather dodged left and right, and his feather followed suit and circled left and right...
Hermione glared at the man opposite her angrily, but he was looking at the ceiling seriously, as if he was concentrating on his practice.
Draco was indeed practicing the spell very diligently. He was no longer as conceited as he had been in his previous life, thinking that the spell was simple and not taking it seriously. He definitely didn't want to go through the same tragedy he had experienced in his fifth year during the OWLs exam: at that time, he dropped the floating wine glass to the ground, shattering it into pieces, and was seen by Potter, who laughed at him. It was extremely embarrassing.
Of course, he did have other intentions.
Who told this ungrateful little girl to ignore him so many times? After that incident on the stairs, she seemed even angrier. She never looked at him straight in the eye again, refused to partner with him in class, and avoided him like a slug.
Even Potter smiled at him now, but Hermione still avoided him as much as possible.
Are they destined to be enemies? Can't they even be ordinary friends? Draco sighed slightly, glanced at the little girl opposite, whose face was red with anger - she was probably about to break the wand in her hand - and stopped his feather's mischief.
The candlelit auditorium had been decorated with live bats and giant pumpkins carved into lanterns large enough for three people to sit inside.
Every Halloween Eve, a sumptuous dinner that satisfies the taste buds of all teachers and students in the school is inevitable.
The students seemed particularly excited. Crabbe and Goyle had been daydreaming during their afternoon classes, whispering about what would be the feast at the Halloween party.
Although he felt a little hungry after hearing them announce the dishes, and wanted to sit down at the Slytherin table and feast on the food to satisfy his empty stomach, Draco decided to try his luck before eating as usual, and appeared in the astronomy tower again.
The nights at the end of October were already chilly, let alone high up in the tower. Draco's wizard robes were almost blown through by the cold wind. He cast several warming spells on himself, but they had little effect due to the strong wind.
Barrow seemed drunk today. A few moldy empty bottles lay at his feet, and his eyes were fixed on the tower next door, making his terrifying face look even more ferocious.
Draco commented objectively: It has quite a festive atmosphere.
Also, can ghosts get drunk? He was quite puzzled by the basic principle of this matter, but this was not the point he wanted to understand today, so he just brushed it aside.
"Ms. Grey doesn't seem to be at Ravenclaw Tower today." Draco cast another warming charm on his robes, speaking briskly, as if discussing the weather. He slowly sat down beside Baron and followed his gaze towards the Ravenclaw Tower next door.
"Hmph..." Barrow was obviously not satisfied.
"Didn't she invite you to the ghosts' Halloween party? I saw a lot of ghosts going." Draco said in a friendly manner.
"She would never invite me," Baron said suddenly, causing Draco to look at him in surprise and excitement.
"She will never forgive me. She hates me," Barrow said sadly. He raised the shackles in his hands and looked at his hands as if he had seen some terrible crime. "I... I regret it... I want to punish myself."
In the past, especially during the time when the Dark Lord lived in Malfoy Manor, the high-pressure and terrifying atmosphere had trained Draco's observation skills to be extremely sharp.
At this moment, he looked at Barrow's silver-stained clothes and shackles, and with his keen observation, he guessed a possibility.
A chilling possibility.
"Did you kill her?" he asked tentatively. He knew that Barrow might not have a second chance to open up.
Barrow nodded slowly. Even though he was prepared, Draco was still a little surprised. He tried hard to suppress the exclamation in his throat, fearing that he would interrupt Barrow's words.
"I found the forest where she was hiding. She was very proud. She didn't love me and refused to go back with me, so I stabbed her to death." Barrow lowered his head and looked at his transparent hands. "I regretted it so much that I committed suicide too. I wanted to be with her, even if she hated me."
"How did you find her?"
"She is in a dark forest in Albania, out of reach of her mother. Her mother is ill, very ill. She sent me to find her."
"Albanian Forest." Draco chewed the name slowly.
Quirrell claims to have gotten into trouble in a dark forest, which is why he's like this. There might be a connection—could that dark forest be the Albanian forest?
Don't blame Draco for making wild guesses. The few years he'd grown older had taught him one thing: there weren't so many coincidences in this world that happened for no apparent reason; most coincidences were the result of carefully planned, covert arrangements.
It was because of this principle that he understood the secret of the Vanishing Cabinet in his previous life and came up with such a damn ingenious design, which ultimately made him Snape's accomplice in killing Dumbledore.
Admittedly, his purpose and method of using this principle were seriously flawed, but the principle was innocent. It still shone with absolute accuracy in all the complex relationships and intricate connections in the wizarding world.
Then again, a wizard as great as Rowena Ravenclaw couldn't even find her daughter in the Albanian forests, even though her magic was beyond her reach. It's hard to find another Black Forest as powerful as this one in the world.
When the weakened Dark Lord needed a place to lurk and spend a long period of rest undisturbed, weren't the desolate and remote Albanian forests his ideal refuge?
"What about the crown?" Draco asked again.
"I didn't find her, nor did I find the crown." Barrow sighed painfully, his dull eyes turned to Draco, as if he realized for the first time that there was a living person beside him.
"Don't wait until it's too late to regret." He looked at him with a sad face, said this inexplicably, stood up silently, passed Draco, and hid in the depths of the tower.
Poor ghost. Draco sighed softly, a tiny bit of sympathy rising in his heart.
After his sympathy, Draco quickly fell into deep thought. The Baron's use of the word "not recovered" had caught his attention. Rowena Ravenclaw had sent the Baron to retrieve not only her daughter but also the diadem.
It is easy to understand, then, why Ms. Grey was ashamed to use her original name for many years.
She was ashamed. She had betrayed her mother, stolen the crown, and hidden it in the dark forest where even her mother could not find it.
Today's exposure to cold and hunger had not been in vain. Draco had finally found a clue about Ravenclaw's crown, which filled him with such excitement that he even ignored the cold. On this bleak winter night, he paced back and forth on the drafty platform, his mind spinning rapidly.
How did the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, hidden in the distant Albanian forest, end up in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts?
What role did the Dark Lord play in this, and why was he interested in the diadem?
Although there was still a lot of mystery ahead, Draco's keen intuition, which had been cultivated over the years, told him that he was one step closer to the truth.
Next, comes the more difficult task. He has to pry open the heart of the sensitive Ms. Grey and find out what happened in that remote Albanian forest.
This was a thousand times harder than trying to break Barrow's mouth. First, he had to stop her from leaving in a hurry, and then, only then, could he try to gain her trust—perhaps this was the beginning of the real test.