Draco was not surprised by Dobby's appearance in the slightest.
Before he had even left for Hogwarts, Draco had already known that Dobby had been sent by the family to protect him.
And naturally, there was a reason Dobby had been chosen...
A house-elf's magical ability, combined with the fact that house-elves were not restricted by wizarding spells in the same way, made Dobby, who could rush in to support him anytime and anywhere, the best possible choice to protect Draco.
Just like now.
Without anyone informing him at all, Dobby and the wizards behind him from Lucius's faction arrived only a step later than Alastor Moody and the others.
They had even undone the area-wide spell Mundungus had cast in the process...
The only thing Draco had not expected was this.
That silver-haired witch wearing a smile that could enchant the whole world had appeared here as well.
To be precise, had his father, who despised mixed blood to an extreme degree, really agreed to this and allowed her to become one of the people assigned to protect him?
After all, anyone who could take on this task had to be either deeply trusted by Lucius or possess a certain level of strength in their own right.
At that thought, Draco looked toward Fleur Delacour.
Faced with that beautiful figure swaying in the wind and snow, Draco, whose self-control had been getting worse lately, could not help spacing out for a rare moment.
If Nymphadora had not still been holding Alastor Moody's wand, Draco might well have been taken down by a sneak attack because of that brief distraction.
It had to be said.
In certain ways, Fleur Delacour at this age really was not someone a few still-green girls like Pansy and the others could compare to...
Especially when she came walking out of the wind and snow with a serious expression, robes moving with the cold wind, combined with the Veela blood she had been born with.
That beautiful yet dashing figure left even Ginny and the others nearby staring blankly.
Pulling himself back together, Draco instinctively shifted his gaze away from Fleur's graceful, captivating figure and looked toward Dobby instead.
"Dobby..."
"Young Master, please leave this to Dobby. Dobby will not disappoint Young Master."
Dobby puffed out his chest, his face full of passion, as though he were ready at any moment to step forward and take a blow for Draco.
But in truth, bound by the rule that prevented him from harming wizards, he could not attack one even if he wanted to. At most, he could only take Draco away from here.
In other words, the only people Draco could truly rely on at this moment were the group led by Fleur Delacour, who had joined Lucius's allied faction.
That was also why Fleur Delacour and the others had appeared here...
...
The moment she noticed that fleeting flash of hesitation on Draco's face, Fleur Delacour's lovely face brightened even more.
There was really no need to explain why she was here.
As a girl with part French blood, Fleur possessed that same boldness and courage to pursue love and romance.
And because she was the kind of person who loved fiercely and hated just as fiercely, she had taken the initiative to accept this mission, one that would let her stay close to Draco.
Not long ago, while Draco was remaining at Hogwarts, Fleur had already led a group of wizards to station themselves in Hogsmeade and establish a base there.
The moment anything happened on Draco's side, they would be able to move out at once and, to a certain extent, act in coordination with Draco's instructions.
That was exactly why Fleur and the others had been able to arrive so quickly...
Wand in hand, Fleur did not greet Draco at once. Instead, she cast a cold look toward the familiar yet fundamentally different Professor Moody in front of her.
Because the Professor Moody standing here now was the real one.
"What an impressive Disillusionment Charm. If Dobby hadn't warned us, we really would not have noticed what was happening here."
Though she was praising the other side's skill, the glance she quietly sent toward Draco was clearly meant as an explanation for why they had failed to notice the disturbance here immediately.
At the same time, the look Fleur gave Alastor Moody was distinctly fierce in its own way.
Failing to notice Alastor Moody and the others not only risked making people question their competence, it had also interrupted her precious reunion with Draco.
And Harry Potter in particular, standing there staring at her stupidly, earned several disgusted glares from Fleur, a faint trace of killing intent even showing in her eyes...
In any case, once Draco's side arrived, what should have been a one-sided situation immediately became balanced.
The raised wands on both sides made Molly Weasley, standing some distance away, feel her scalp go numb. It also made her even more unwilling to let her youngest daughter Ginny do anything reckless.
Seeing this, Nymphadora, who had never wanted a conflict in the first place, quickly raised both hands and stepped forward.
"First of all, we have no intention of doing anything to Cousin... to Draco."
"Then what exactly are your intentions?"
Compared with the time she had faced the Thunderbird and could only hide behind Draco, Fleur Delacour now seemed much more confident.
Whether in terms of magical strength or command and coordination, Fleur appeared to have grown quite a bit.
Otherwise, the wizards standing behind her would not have placed Fleur Delacour at their head...
And because of that, Draco handed the situation over to her entirely.
Faced with Fleur's question, Alastor Moody's magical eye spun once.
"I know who you are. The beautiful young lady who's been making quite a splash under Malfoy lately. But let me tell you this. Don't point your wand at an enemy more experienced than you are!"
Nymphadora rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut up, Alastor. Dumbledore would not want to see you causing him even more trouble here."
"...Hmph!"
"And you too, Harry. I'm going to tell Dumbledore everything that happened here, and I expect an explanation from you when the time comes."
"..."
Nymphadora, once an elite Auror, had not seen the entire sequence of events.
But judging from the commotion at the scene, the turbulence of magic still hanging in the air, and the way Ginny in the distance had been desperately trying to explain things for Draco, Nymphadora had already pieced together the rough outline of what had happened.
Especially the hatred in Harry Potter's eyes. That made Nymphadora frown hard.
More importantly, she did not believe a word that liar and thief Mundungus had said...