Those words sounded utterly meaningless, and Draco could not help freezing for a moment.
But the instant Draco realized something, he reacted with remarkable speed. Before the other person had even finished speaking, Draco swiftly brought his own magic under control and cut off any possible means by which the outside world could detect him.
Just as had been said before, Draco knew very well that magical artifacts came in countless varieties, and he also knew that some special ones required certain tricks before they could be used properly.
And the most common of those tricks was a keyword, a key used to activate the object, like the sentence just now...
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
As those words fell, Draco clearly heard the faint rustling sound of parchment.
That soft whisper seemed to reach Draco's ears along with a pulse of magic...
"Gone?! It was there just a moment ago. Did I really see it wrong?"
In the office, where he should have been alone, Draco once again heard a puzzled murmur.
From the sound of it, the other person seemed to have run into something they could not understand, and Draco could even sense the agitation in that voice...
Understanding something, Draco narrowed his eyes, as if doing so might let him make out something from that apparently empty space. "So it's a map-type magical artifact?"
Draco was genuinely a little surprised.
This type of magical artifact was not especially rare, but if it was a map drawn of the Hogwarts grounds, and one that could even display everyone's names on it, then that was something precious, perhaps even unique in the entire world.
What surprised Draco even more was that it had ended up in this person's hands.
And this person was someone Draco knew very well...
...
Perhaps because he was too confident, this person never once suspected that the map in his hand might be wrong.
After checking it again and again, he simply pulled off the Invisibility Cloak he was wearing right in front of Draco.
That self-assured manner made Draco curl his lip slightly.
In truth, the moment he heard that familiar voice, Draco had already more or less figured out who had come.
Sure enough, as the Invisibility Cloak came off, the other person's figure was fully revealed.
It was none other than their Savior, Harry Potter...
"So that's the map that can show everyone's location?"
Draco's gaze immediately fell on the parchment in Harry's hand. But from where he was standing, he could not see it very clearly, much less make out exactly what was drawn on it.
As for why Harry Potter had such a valuable map in his possession, Draco already had a few likely suspects in mind.
But compared with who had given it to him, Draco cared far more about why Harry Potter had come here...
"If he came here just to catch me red-handed, then there's no way he would have shown up like this, and he definitely wouldn't have come alone."
Very quickly, Draco ruled out the possibility that Harry had come specifically to target him.
Of course, there was even less chance that Draco's original plan had somehow been exposed to anyone else.
Simply put, if Harry Potter really wanted revenge on him, the smartest and most likely choice would have been to alert the other professors.
Not to put on an Invisibility Cloak and sneak here alone in secret.
So...
"There has to be some secret. That's why he deliberately avoided everyone and came alone to Professor Horace's office."
At that thought, Draco suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity about Harry Potter's actions.
Wasn't this exactly what he himself was doing right now?
While Draco was secretly guessing at Harry's purpose, Harry, believing himself to be alone, began making his next move. "Did he leave before I got here? After all, no one knows I have the Marauder's Map."
Muttering to himself, Harry Potter walked toward Professor Horace's desk. Trusting the magical map completely, he quickly found a reason that satisfied him.
And Harry Potter's utterly unhesitating actions made Draco even more certain of it.
The question now was, what exactly did Harry Potter want to do?
Still unaware that there was another person in the office, Harry seemed to be talking to himself to ease his own tension. "At certain times, Professor Horace always stands here, so..."
"..."
Of course.
With a map that could show everyone's location in hand, quietly confirming certain pieces of information would actually be very easy.
For example, the most important secret in this office.
And the thing Horace Slughorn cared about so much was precisely Harry Potter's target tonight.
...
Fate had brought Draco and Harry Potter together.
Not only that, but the thing they were after seemed to be the same...
"The Pensieve?!"
The instant Draco saw Harry pull a Pensieve out from beneath the desk, he nearly failed to control his expression.
Was this pure coincidence?
Or had someone planned it all along?
But whichever it was, Draco had no intention of stepping out and stopping Harry Potter now.
Because his instincts were telling him that the memory Harry wanted to see was the very same one they were after...
Although he could not clearly see everything happening over there,
it was obvious that Harry Potter was rhythmically swirling the Pensieve in his hands, just like a gold prospector panning for gold.
Gradually, within Harry Potter's gaze, a figure began to emerge from the silvery substance.
It was an old wizard, slowly turning within the Pensieve.
He was pale as a ghost, yet somehow more solid than a ghost.
And his hair was so thick that it completely covered his eyes.
If Draco had been standing beside Harry, he would have recognized at once that this figure was actually a younger Professor Horace...