Because Draco had been directly involved in everything that happened that year, the details surrounding the diary were not much of a secret to Pansy and the others.
The diary.
The Horcrux.
Tom.
Even the way Draco had dealt with that Basilisk back then. None of it was a secret among the girls close to him.
Only Fleur Delacour, standing to the side, was completely lost at this point...
In any case, the topic Draco had raised truly caught the girls' attention and stirred their curiosity.
Even the little incident that had just happened at Honeydukes was temporarily pushed to the back of Pansy and the others' minds.
Unable to grasp the crucial point no matter how hard she tried, and seeing Hermione with that thoughtful look on her face, Pansy, who suddenly felt like an outsider, stamped her foot anxiously.
"What are you all talking about? Is there something wrong with that diary?"
Even if the soul inside that diary had really appeared in the form of Voldemort as a student, so what?
Too lazy to think it through herself, Pansy instinctively wanted Draco to give her the right answer directly.
But before Draco could speak, Hermione beat him to it, looking at Pansy with open disdain.
"It's a huge problem. If you'd actually use that head of yours, the one filled with nothing but Draco, and think properly."
"Are you calling me an idiot, Granger?!"
"I thought you wouldn't be able to tell."
"..."
Well.
By now, Fleur no longer found this scene strange. She had even started to think this was the normal course of events.
But at this point, she did understand what Draco was getting at.
"So, Draco, what you mean is that you suspect that Horcrux was actually made by the Dark Lord himself while he was still studying at Hogwarts?"
Pansy's lips parted slightly, and a glimpse of her pink tongue could be seen.
"You mean... when he was around our age, that person was already trying to touch this kind of forbidden magic, and he actually succeeded?"
That doubtful tone was not just Pansy's alone.
Even Hermione, who was always at odds with her, and the other girls as well, all found it rather unbelievable.
"Creating a Horcrux isn't the kind of thing you can figure out just by sneaking into the Restricted Section. Even if the Dark Lord's talent was far beyond ordinary people, I still don't think he could have done it so easily."
For some reason, Hermione felt as though Pansy's remark was taking a jab at her.
Draco, who had already expected this reaction from them, merely shrugged unhurriedly.
"That's why I suspect someone was helping our classmate Tom behind the scenes."
"...So, from the way you're talking, do you already have a suspect?"
Hermione had assumed Draco already had someone in mind, but instead she saw him shake his head.
Before the girls could roll their eyes, Draco added calmly,
"Given the Dark Lord's background, who else do you think he could have gotten that kind of knowledge from?"
"His parents are absolutely out of the question... Books? No, I'm sure of it. Even in the Restricted Section, there's absolutely nothing about Horcruxes."
"As for Dark Wizards, there's no reason they would have had contact with the Dark Lord when he was still just a student, so the most likely possibility is..."
Hermione suddenly seemed to think of something, and she looked at Draco hesitantly.
Could it be... one of the professors at Hogwarts?!
...
Draco's guess did sound hard to believe.
But before long, Pansy and the others began trying to accept the idea. It was the result of the trust they had built up in Draco over time.
Even Fleur, who had not known him for long, was influenced by the way Pansy and the others trusted him without reservation...
Before parting, Fleur also said she would take the matter seriously.
"I'll report all of your thoughts on this. As for whether your father will believe it, that's not something I can decide."
Knowing how important this matter was, Fleur did not stay any longer and turned to leave at once. Still, the flirtatious glance she threw at Draco before leaving was enough to make Pansy and the others furious once again...
Happy times always passed especially quickly.
Before long, it was afternoon, and time to head back to Hogwarts.
As they entered the castle, they saw the gatekeeper, Filch, again.
He was still holding the iron rod they had seen that morning, waving it back and forth over the young wizards.
That stern and serious expression made it hard not to wonder whether this wide-eyed gatekeeper had stayed by the entrance the entire day without leaving.
As though the moment he stepped away, he would miss out on a hundred million Galleons...
Likewise, Draco, with his "special privileges," was hardly troubled at all. He passed straight through the Hogwarts gates and made his way to the Great Hall.
While they were waiting for dinner to begin, Hermione slowly came back from her thoughts, then seemed to remember something and leaned closer to Draco's ear.
"If it's really like you said, and the Dark Lord knew about Horcruxes because a certain professor taught him, then what are you trying to learn from that professor?"
Even though they had not actually started investigating yet, Hermione already seemed to assume Draco would be able to find that suspect.
That trust made Draco cast her a strange look.
That heated gaze made Hermione shrink back awkwardly.
"...What's with that weird look? I'm asking you a question."
But with her cheeks flushed red, Hermione had no force at all when she said it. She looked more like a little kitten begging for food.
Ahem.
Noticing the look Pansy was sending from the other side, Draco gave a light cough to cover it up, then asked Hermione in return,
"Aren't you curious how many Horcruxes that mad Dark Lord actually made?"
"...Draco, you mean?!"
"Could there really be more than one?!"
The more deeply you understood Horcruxes, the more you realized just how dangerous that magic really was.
It was true that it granted its creator a kind of conditional immortality, but the effect it had on the soul was something no wizard could fully control.
Because there was one extremely important condition for creating a Horcrux.
That was... splitting your soul.
One, two, three Horcruxes. Perhaps if things remained under control, the changes and the corresponding side effects might not be obvious.
But no one believed that was something without risk.
That was also why Pansy and the others had not immediately thought in terms of multiple Horcruxes.
Because… those who desecrate the soul will, in the end, be toyed with by Death.