At this lively Christmas party, Draco's late arrival did not actually draw much attention.
That was because every wizard's eyes were fixed on the Weird Sisters performing onstage. No one had the spare attention to notice what was happening around them, let alone who had just walked in through the doors.
In fact, if Luna had not pointed it out, Hermione might not have realized right away that Draco had already arrived at the Christmas party....
It was worth mentioning that, unlike Hermione, Pansy and Astoria, who were standing by themselves in the crowd, still had their attention fixed on Professor Horace at the faculty table.
They were focused on their task.
Interestingly, whether Hermione had forgotten or was doing it on purpose, no one could say.
With her own little scheme in mind, the moment Hermione saw Draco appear, she had absolutely no intention of calling out to Pansy and the others. Instead, deliberately sneaking about, she carefully made her way to Draco's side.
The smile on her face was like that of a little fox that had just stolen something good.
The only thing Hermione found slightly imperfect was that, for some reason, Ginny and the others had followed along too...
...
Once Hermione reached Draco, she leaned in with an eager expression.
Since Draco had shown up here, that meant the plan must have gone very smoothly...
Still, even though she was already impatient to know the answer, with Ginny and the others present, Hermione could not ask too directly. "How did it go? Did you get the answer you wanted?"
"Mm. There was a bit of an accident in the middle, but as things stand, we've completed more than half of our objective. As for the rest, that will need a deeper investigation."
As he spoke, Draco shook a small silver-glinting vial in his hand.
It looked plain and unremarkable, but in truth, it contained a very important secret, and also the key to the next stage of their investigation.
Compared with the confusion in Ginny's eyes, Hermione seemed to have guessed something, and her expression turned excited. "That's it? You actually took it with you?"
"Of course. I wasn't stupid enough to use it on the spot."
".....That really sounds like you're mocking someone, but let me see."
Watching Hermione take the little vial from his hand with open curiosity, Draco merely shrugged.
The truth was, after Harry Potter's attempt at baiting him had failed, Draco had not left Horace Slughorn's office immediately. Instead, he had stayed behind and continued with the plan he had originally intended to carry out.
That was, to find clues related to Horcruxes in Horace's Pensieve.
Whether it was coincidence or simply that his luck was especially good today, Draco very quickly found a memory that seemed likely to contain a clue.
Because he saw the younger Voldemort. More precisely, he saw that student Tom, the same one he had fought in the Chamber of Secrets.
However, Draco did not choose Harry Potter's method and recklessly plunge his head straight into the Pensieve.
What Draco did instead was extract the portion of memory he wanted from the Pensieve and quietly take it away with him.
That was the transparent little vial now in Hermione's hand, filled with silvery liquid....
As for whether Professor Horace would later notice that part of the memory was missing from the Pensieve, and then realize that someone had entered his office while he was away,
Draco did not care in the slightest about any trouble that might arise afterward.
Nor did he think he would ever be caught.
Mm... that was Harry Potter's doing. What did it have to do with Draco?
...
Even though Draco said nothing, how could Hermione, the know-it-all, possibly fail to understand what was inside that transparent little vial?
Professor Horace's memory!
As Hermione gently shook the vial, her eyes shone with curiosity and the thirst for knowledge. "When are you planning to use it? And when you do, don't forget to bring me along. I'm curious too whether it really matches what the books describe."
"Today, I probably won't have the time to look into it. We'll arrange it tomorrow."
"Is that so... By the way, you mentioned there was an accident in the middle? What exactly happened? Will it cause trouble later?"
"Don't worry. The other party didn't find me. But whether they've grown suspicious is harder to say."
Ginny, whose gaze had been moving back and forth between the two of them while having no idea how to join the conversation, suddenly understood what Hermione had meant by those earlier warnings.
Although that might not match what she truly felt, and she also did not believe the Slytherins, Draco included, were really as evil as other people claimed, because of the difference in their positions and sides, there was still an invisible barrier between Ginny and Draco's group, and there were many things that had to be avoided.
If this had happened earlier, Ginny might not have felt so conflicted.
But after what had happened that day in the heavy snow, Molly Weasley had specifically warned her about it.
The warning, naturally, was to stay farther away from Draco.
As for the reason... of course none was given.
After all, in Molly Weasley's eyes, she was still just a child who had not yet grown up.
What Molly did not realize was that, for a Gryffindor like Ginny, who also had a bit of a rebellious streak, that kind of approach would naturally have the opposite effect.
The more they tried to control her, the less they could stop her.
Otherwise, Ginny would not have kept approaching Draco....
Feeling unable to get a word in, Ginny could only turn to Luna beside her.
Interestingly, Ginny did not even seem to bother lowering her voice. "Do you know what that thing is, Luna? Is it a potion?"
"It's not a potion. It's moonlight bug blood."
"....."
What kind of bug??
"It's a kind of bug you can't see with the naked eye. You can only find them by the lake during the full moon."
"....."
She never should have asked Luna.
She would swear on every last Galleon she owned that there was absolutely no such bug in the wizarding world.
More importantly, what did Draco and the others want with the blood of some unknown bug?
And besides... tonight was not even a full moon.