Harry Potter: Miss Malfoy

"Don't worry, Minister. I don't think Severus is unhappy about this."

"I think he is probably dissatisfied with Dumbledore's...how should I put it, unique style."

"That's why I feel impatient. Right?"

Harry had no time to think about whether the short and fat man could be the Minister of Magic, as his mind was occupied by the previous part of the conversation.

Dumbledore was to be suspended? At a time like this?

"They allowed the perpetrators of 50 years ago to remain on campus and allowed the attack to happen without any action."

Lucius continued to rail, but Dumbledore interrupted.

"I'm sorry, Lucius. But I must reiterate that Hagrid is innocent."

"The creature he raised fifty years ago wasn't a monster in the secret room."

"If you don't believe..."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, and Harry clearly saw his eyes flickering towards him.

"It should still be in the Forbidden Forest, waiting for someone interested in the history of fifty years ago to visit it."

The tone is generally brisk.

The Minister of Magic uttered a cry of surprise.

-

"You...you said you keep monsters on campus?"

"It's a creature, not a monster, Fudge."

"The Forbidden Forest is home to many creatures we're not familiar with, isn't it, Hagrid?"

"Yes... yes, winged horses, unicorns, centaurs, night riders, and three-headed dogs have also boarded there..."

"You missed the spider, Hagrid."

"I wonder how that cute, furry creature from fifty years ago is doing now."

"Fudge, spiders aren't monsters, are they?"

Dumbledore didn't seem to care that he had just been suspended, and stared at Fudge with a smile.

"It's a mess."

Lucius's cold voice sounded.

"Minister, I think this conversation alone shows that the council made the right decision."

"I really hope you know what you've done, Lucius."

Dumbledore regained his seriousness in an instant.

Then he ignored the grim-looking Malfoy and continued chatting with Hagrid.

"You should have a lot of free time after being suspended."

"Hagrid, if I want to go see that little fellow, how can I find him?"

"Just follow the spider!"

It was not until now that Hagrid understood why Dumbledore had suddenly asked him to talk about magical creatures.

But Dumbledore's indifferent attitude annoyed Lucius Malfoy.

"It seems you are not aware of the rules, Dumbledore. You cannot return to school after being suspended."

"But I'm not really leaving yet."

"You will find that only when there is no one left here who is loyal to me—"

"I will really leave this school."

"You will also find that as long as you send out a distress signal, someone will definitely lend a helping hand."

Before Lucius could finish, Dumbledore responded instantly.

Harry had the illusion that Dumbledore seemed to enjoy the pleasure of verbally defeating Lucius.

"Please leave the school immediately."

"And remember, you have to report to the Council tomorrow morning,"

"Why let the culprit of the secret room stay on campus."

"Lucius...Lucius, we haven't convicted anyone yet. We just ask Mr. Hagrid to cooperate with our investigation."

The Minister named Fudge corrected quietly, and he seemed very afraid of Draco's father.

"In any case, I believe the minister's ability to handle affairs is far superior to that of the former principal."

Lucius put on his tall hat and saluted to Fudge with a forced smile.

Before leaving, he turned to Snape cheerfully.

"Hogwarts is in your hands, Severus."

"Yes, Hogwarts is left to you, Severus."

Dumbledore repeated, and Snape's eyes seemed to die instantly.

Lucius snorted coldly at Dumbledore's imitation of his words and walked away.

Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Fudge disappeared together in front of Harry.

Leaving behind Snape and Harry in the Invisibility Cloak.

Ignoring Snape who was still standing in front of the gargoyle, Harry walked towards the ward somewhat numbly.

He was out of ideas and could only try to convince himself that Dumbledore leaving school was not the end of the world.

Besides, Dumbledore obviously wished he could do something.

His conversation with Hagrid was definitely a deliberate clue for Harry.

He didn't notice that Snape was staring meaningfully at the place where he had just stood, and sighed deeply.

The ward was eerily quiet, and Madam Pomfrey was not in it.

I walked around the ward, but there was no sign of Draco.

The area housing the victims of the basilisk has two new patients.

Hermione and the Ravenclaw girl lay motionless on the hospital beds.

He sat down dejectedly beside Hermione's bed and rubbed his hair irritably.

Next to Hermione's pillow was a neatly folded silver handkerchief, still scented with Draco's delicate scent.

His breathing became rapid and his anger towards Draco grew.

"Didn't we agree to meet in the ward?"

She had no way to vent her chaotic mood, so she held Draco's handkerchief in her arms.

"Shh! Aren't you afraid of being discovered if you shout so loudly?"

"Besides, it was you who said you wanted to come to the ward, but I didn't agree to it."

She watched with delight and surprise as Draco crawled out from under Hermione's bed.

"I'm sorry... I didn't expect you to be hiding down there..."

Harry had never thought that the eldest Malfoy girl would be willing to crawl under the bed.

"It's not just to wait for you."

Draco straightened his robes and responded unhappily.

"He just ran away after saying one word, without giving anyone a chance to respond."

"In order to avoid being discovered by Madam Pomfrey, I had to hide and wait."

Her tone was completely different from when they met in the corridor. She had obviously used the time she had been waiting to calm down.

Harry was silently amazed at Draco's mastery of his emotions.

At the same time, he looked around when he heard Draco mention Madam Pomfrey.

"Don't look. Madam Pomfrey isn't here."

"After I dropped Granger and her off, Madam Pomfrey asked me to return to the Great Hall as soon as possible, saying she was going to see Professor McGonagall."

"Then why are you hiding?"

Harry responded instinctively, and watched in panic as Draco raised his right hand and puffed out his cheeks.

“You—!”