If anyone had thought Harry Potter's outstanding performance in Potions that day was just a stroke of luck, then after several more Potions classes, Harry Potter's consistently steady performance directly slapped that idea in the face.
Harry Potter had proved that it was not luck at all. He really did have the skill and talent. He had simply been held back by a certain black bat, and so never had the chance to show it before.
It was also worth mentioning that after hearing about this, Snape had been wearing a dark expression for days, like someone owed him Galleons.
In short.
Although most of the young wizards found it hard to accept and were unwilling to believe it, it was a fact plain for all to see...
As for Draco, who was also in the Advanced Potions class, aside from being a little surprised at first, he had no interest in paying any more attention to it after that.
At the end of the day, the things they were looking at had never been on the same level to begin with.
Hermione, on the other hand, still could not let it go, and wanted to find out why Harry Potter had suddenly become so formidable.
At that moment, she and Pansy, who found the whole thing rather interesting, had their heads together, discussing the information each of them had managed to dig up...
Just as Draco was looking the two girls over with amused eyes, he seemed to notice some movement.
Turning his head slightly, he looked over. "That is... Sybil Trelawney?"
Sybil Trelawney was Hogwarts's Divination professor.
As far as Draco remembered, she should have been forcibly removed from the post last year, replaced by that centaur from the Forbidden Forest.
He truly had not expected to see her here again...
But very quickly, Draco noticed that something was off about her.
As Trelawney passed by Draco and the others, she did not seem to notice their presence at all.
More precisely, with her absent-minded look and constant muttering, Trelawney seemed completely immersed in her own little world.
And yet something about that strange behavior hit Draco with a strong sense of déjà vu. "Why does it feel like I've seen her in this state several times before?"
As Trelawney brushed past him, Draco finally managed to catch the words she was muttering under her breath...
"Two of Spades. Conflict. Seven of Spades. An ill omen. Ten of Spades. Violence... a red-haired young man, most likely upset, unwilling to let others question him."
"...That can't be right."
Trelawney stopped in her tracks and immediately denied her own reading. Shuffling the cards in her hands, she then walked straight through the space between Draco, Pansy, and the others.
It was at that moment that Draco clearly caught the strong smell of sherry coming from her.
That gave him good reason to suspect that this seemingly mysterious former Divination professor was simply drunk.
Well... it could not possibly be another prophecy, could it?
Draco did not interrupt Pansy and Hermione, who were deep in discussion, nor did he stop Professor Trelawney as she passed by him.
He simply stood there in silence and watched her swaying figure leave.
Even though he did nothing, Draco still kept Trelawney's words in mind.
After all, every now and then, this witch with the grand surname did manage to make a few reliable prophecies.
Well... supposedly, the less sober she was, the more accurate the prophecy...
...
Once they reached sixth year, the magic they had to learn seemed to jump sharply to an entirely new level.
Even outside class hours, you could still see the sixth-years working hard to finish the mountain of homework their professors assigned.
Not only had the assignments become many times harder than before, even the material being taught these days was difficult to absorb.
For most young wizards, they could barely understand half of it.
Even Hermione had to ask Professor McGonagall to repeat parts of the lesson once or twice before she fully grasped them.
That was why Harry Potter's excellent performance in Potions had been so hard for everyone to believe.
As for Draco?
No one had ever worried about him in the first place...
At noon.
In the Great Hall.
Even though lunch was already over, quite a few students were still lingering there.
Most of them were sixth-years.
And not only that, every one of them had a red face and a strained expression, as if they were constipated.
In truth, they were just practicing Nonverbal Spells.
Because it was no longer just Snape's Defence Against the Dark Arts. Charms and Transfiguration now also required them to cast using Nonverbal Spells.
And the reason they had stayed behind was naturally to exchange tips with one another so they could master this somewhat difficult technique as quickly as possible...
"Why do we have to stay too? You could just do this on your own, Granger."
The impatient tone came from Pansy, who had not even bothered to take out her wand.
She was not trying to slack off. She was simply picking a fight with Hermione out of habit.
And Pansy got exactly what she wanted.
"What are you talking about? Out of everyone here, Draco is probably the only one who's mastered Nonverbal Spells, so of course we should stay and practice more."
"..."
Hermione's disdainful look left Pansy speechless, but still unwilling to admit defeat, she put her hands on her hips. "Even so, we don't have to do it here. Don't forget, we train every day too."
"Of course I know that, but I have another reason besides that."
"Another reason?"
"That's right."
After saying that, Hermione shifted her gaze to Draco, who was idly twirling his wand, looking as though he had nothing to do.
"You still remember what we talked about last time, don't you, Draco?"
"Last time? You mean when we were hugging..."
At once, Hermione began coughing violently, as if she had choked. "Cough, cough, cough!!"
Pansy, who knew the inside story and understood exactly why Hermione reacted that way, shot her a light sidelong glance.
Still, knowing the two of them were about to discuss something serious, Pansy had no intention of interrupting...
After calming herself a little, Hermione, whose face still looked slightly unnatural, continued, "Anyway, you haven't forgotten that I wanted people from the other houses to join us, have you?"
Hearing this for the first time, Pansy raised an eyebrow slightly. Though she looked like she wanted to say something, she ultimately stayed silent.
After a pause, Hermione fixed Draco with her bright, beautiful eyes. "At the very least, we should let them understand that we aren't their real enemies."
"By sharing our experience with Nonverbal Spells?"
"Yes. All it would take is a few words from you."
Even knowing full well how proud Draco was, and how much he disliked trouble, Hermione still said it.
Looking down into the hope shining in the girl's eyes,
Draco fell silent...