The Pensieve.
Some wizards also called it a memory basin.
To be honest, a Pensieve was not the kind of magical item every wizarding family needed to have, nor was it something every wizard had to own.
Even though demand for it was not particularly high, its wondrous and complicated craftsmanship still made it one of the rarest magical items in the wizarding world.
And with Horace Slughorn's influence and wealth, acquiring a Pensieve would hardly have been difficult for him...
As the know-it-all she was, Hermione naturally knew what a Pensieve was.
"I see. So your target is the memories Professor Horace stored in a Pensieve?"
"A Pensieve? Draco, where do you think Professor Horace would hide it?"
Whether it was Hermione or Pansy, both of them had already taken it for granted that as long as they found the Pensieve, they would get the information they wanted.
At the same time, through spending so much time with Draco, Hermione, despite being Muggle-born, had gradually started learning to look at things from a wizard's perspective.
That was right.
In their eyes, someone like Horace Slughorn, a man with an enormous network of connections, would definitely make good use of a Pensieve and store his important memories inside it.
Especially now that he was getting older.
In fact, there was another reason Draco believed Horace's memories were such a crucial breakthrough point...
Draco lifted the wineglass in front of his eyes.
With the light passing through it, his world seemed to take on a faint wine-red tint, making those gray eyes of his look strangely alluring.
"What do you think? Why would a wizard like Horace suddenly give up such a prestigious position as Head of Slytherin House?"
"You mean... Professor Horace resigned from Hogwarts of his own accord back then? I thought..."
"A position that important, one that gave him such extensive connections and status, isn't something he would casually abandon. And after that, he even went into hiding under a false name, only to be tracked down again by Dumbledore recently."
"Listening to you, was there some special reason behind it?"
Draco did not answer right away. Instead, he tipped back the rest of the Dragon's Blood wine in one swallow.
It lacked the princely elegance he had shown before, but that forceful gesture was enough to make the girls' hearts race all the same.
While they were still staring at him blankly, Draco set down the glass and slowly said, "Because our Professor Horace... was afraid."
"Afraid? What did he have to be afraid of?"
"Think about it. If you knew someone's secret, and it was the kind of secret that absolutely couldn't be let out, then what would be the simplest and most efficient way to keep it hidden?"
"...Silence the witness?"
"Exactly. So is it possible that because he knew one of the Dark Lord's secrets, he had no choice but to hide away, and even after the Dark Lord's defeat, he still didn't dare show himself?"
"But... if it really is like you said, Draco, then why would Professor Horace suddenly come back? And at a time when the Dark Lord has already returned?"
"That's exactly why I can't be sure..."
What Hermione could think of, Draco naturally had already thought of as well. The flaw in the logic was obvious.
If Horace had disappeared out of fear, then why come back while still carrying that fear in his heart?
At that thought, Draco slowly turned his gaze toward Professor Horace in the distance.
Even with that doubt and confusion in mind, Draco still placed Horace high on his list of suspects.
Maybe it was simply intuition...
...
Horace Slughorn had drunk quite a bit of mead, and with so many students attending, he seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits.
His face was flushed, and excitement made him look even more animated.
At the same time, Harry Potter, who had been staring at Draco nonstop, was now being forced to look away thanks to Snape's venomous remarks.
In other words, for Draco and the others, who were planning to do something underhanded, this was the perfect moment.
Though Hermione looked a little reluctant on the surface, she was actually the most eager one of them all.
"I made a full round just now. I can already confirm that there's no secret room or hidden door in here."
"Same here. I didn't find any suspicious magical items."
After splitting up and then regrouping, Pansy and Hermione quietly shared the information they had each gathered.
As for Draco, he had stayed in the middle of the party, drawing most of the wizards' attention so Pansy and Hermione would have the chance to act.
But unfortunately, they had not found the Pensieve Draco had mentioned...
Even so, there was no obvious disappointment on Draco's face.
Which made sense.
Leaving aside the value of those important memories, the Pensieve itself was far too valuable to be left out casually.
No wonder Pansy and Hermione had come back empty-handed.
"What do we do? We didn't find the Pensieve."
"And even if we did, there's no way we could use it with this many people around."
"Not to mention the party's almost over."
"Looks like we'll have to wait for another opportunity."
Opportunities favored the prepared. In Pansy and Hermione's minds, now that they had done this first round of scouting, they would definitely be able to find the Pensieve containing Horace's memories next time.
In any case, once the girls had reached that conclusion, Draco brought up his backup plan as well.
"As for Horace's residence outside the school, I'll have Fleur look into it too, though there's a high chance she won't find anything..."
Perhaps it was because he had been drinking a little.
When he said that, Draco had not really thought it through.
Naturally, he also failed to notice the annoyed, slightly sulky expressions on Pansy and Hermione's faces.
"That's quite an intimate way of calling her."
"You two really are close, aren't you?"
"...."
As if by some strange unspoken understanding, Pansy and Hermione said those sarcastic lines at the exact same time.
In that instant, Draco not only sobered up, his mind suddenly became much clearer as well, and he even thought of a method he had not considered before.
"Besides that, we could actually use another wizard's name to get Horace to talk."
Even though she knew Draco was changing the subject, Hermione still could not help picking up on it.
"Another wizard's name?"
"For example... Dumbledore, who definitely knows the truth."
"...."
"...."
The girls stared at him speechlessly, their lips parting slightly.
Had Draco gotten drunk?
Everyone knew that Lucius and Dumbledore were not exactly on friendly terms.
So with Draco's Malfoy background, how was he supposed to use Dumbledore's name to get Horace to open his mouth...?