Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

"So, does Headmaster Dumbledore intend to overlook this point of doubt?" Snape asked, emphasizing his question.

“Severus, we have no evidence, do we?” Dumbledore reassured him.

“Evidence? If I go ask Draco now, his words will be the evidence!” Snape persisted.

“That child meant well, after all; at least she saved those three children, didn’t she?” Dumbledore continued to console her.

"Kindness? Dumbledore, you're probably the only one in the world who thinks that child is a good person. Haven't you really noticed? The students in Slytherin's year practically obey her every word! The older students would even help her cover things up!"

Snape raised his voice in anger, but Dumbledore remained unmoved.

Snape, still furious, unleashed another bombshell: "With so many books in the Malfoy family, doesn't she know what Parsley means?"

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore's expression immediately turned serious: "Severus, I know all that you're saying, but she's only 11 years old. She should have a choice!"

"Just like you back then, weren't you?"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's last words, Snape's anger flared instantly! He stared at Dumbledore for a long time, then turned and stormed off, leaving behind only the words, "Dumbledore, I hope you haven't misjudged him!"

Watching Snape storm off in a huff, Dumbledore murmured, "...All that I said was less about persuading Snape and more about persuading myself..."

The portraits on the wall, seeing Dumbledore like this, didn't dare utter a sound, not even Phineas, who had the worst temper.

Dumbledore pondered for a long time, writing something on his desk, but in the end he put it in the drawer.

Thea was unaware of what was happening in the washroom; she had already taken a shortcut to the entrance of the Slytherin common room.

After successfully giving the password, Thea stepped into the somewhat gloomy lounge.

I don't know how they managed to do it, but the entire lounge only had a few people from the study group, not even Gore and Crabbe.

Seeing the people in the lounge staring straight at her, even though Thea was mentally prepared to be questioned, she still couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"I... I said I went to watch the fun, would you believe me?" Thea asked with a sliver of hope.

In response, everyone rolled their eyes at her.

Draco, relying on being Thea's cousin, was the first to ask, "What have those three stupid lions with so many Grand Points done again?"

Thea was a little confused, not understanding why the other party immediately thought of the trio.

She spoke cautiously, "This matter does indeed involve the three of them, but if Slytherin gets involved, the nature of the matter may change."

Thea realized her words were inappropriate as soon as she finished speaking. Wasn't she a Slytherin herself?

Then he quickly added, "I didn't let them find out, mainly because I witnessed three stupid lions fighting a giant!"

The group sitting on the sofa looked at each other for a while, before Theodore came to Thea's rescue, saying, "Since Thea has said we shouldn't get involved, then we don't need to worry about it."

"Anyway, that headmaster is from Gryffindor, so even if that stupid lion causes trouble, he won't kill him; it's us Slytherins who are..."

Theodore didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Everyone here comes from a pure-blood family, and having been influenced by their families, they don't have a high level of affection for Dumbledore.

It was getting late, and no one was in the mood for conversation, so they simply dispersed.

Seeing that he and Thea were the only ones in the lounge, Draco's pent-up emotions finally burst forth: "...Thea, why didn't you let me come with you?...We're family, aren't we?"

Thea looked at Draco's reddened eyes, tears welling up in her own, as if they were about to fall at any moment.

“Draco, we are different. We are indeed family, but I am not just your family, do you understand?” Thea said slowly.

After a long silence, Draco spoke again: "Sister, is it because I'm too weak? So your choice is... Potter, and not me?"

“No, Draco, I didn’t choose anyone, I simply had no choice at all, I had no other option.”

Inside the lounge, Draco and Thea were talking, while Theodore and Zabini were also talking on the other side.

"You believe what she says, that she's just there to watch the fun?" Theodore asked first.

"Only a fool would believe her nonsense."

"You do not believe?"

"How could that be? I'm the idiot, we're all idiots." What other choice do you have but to believe her?

Theodore understood Zabini's attitude, thought for a moment, and then sneered, "Yes, we're all fools."

Once you're on that pirate ship, do you think you can get off?

Pansy and Daphne were also talking. Pansy looked at Daphne's indifferent attitude and her anger surged: "Are you really willing to be her servant?"

Daphne wasn't angry at being called a dog; instead, she retorted sarcastically, "Miss, what are you saying? It's as if I wasn't a servant when I followed you around."

Seeing Pansy's face turn pale, Daphne felt even more pleased: "Anyway, we're all servants, aren't we?... I remember, the Parkinson family recently had a big deal from the Malfoy family..."

Pansy's face turned pale instantly upon hearing the last sentence. Daphne delivered the final blow: "You think she doesn't know what you're thinking right now? Ha, she knows everything. Otherwise, why do you think she snapped at you that day and used you to establish her authority?"

Pansy's face turned completely ashen, and Daphne, too lazy to talk to this idiot, left her and headed back to her dorm.

In the end, Draco and the others learned what had happened the night before at breakfast the next day. They looked at the unmoved Thea with complicated expressions, their eyes filled with disbelief.

When Thea noticed that the group was staring at her, she pushed her sandwich towards them and warned, "Little wizard, you should eat properly and not get distracted by irrelevant things."

Thea didn't lower her voice, and all the Slytherins around heard her. They looked at Thea for a long time but couldn't figure out what she was saying, so they assumed she was warning them. They quickly swallowed the food in front of them, afraid of becoming the "chicken" to be used as a warning to others.

Thea sighed with a hint of regret as she watched the little wizards around her being so "obedient," which only made them eat even faster.