The three of them moved toward the tower as cautiously as thieves, keeping close to the cold stone wall. Their footsteps were soft and deliberate, each step measured to avoid making the slightest noise.
Although they had just managed to evade Filch's pursuit, their hearts were still pounding violently in their chests. The tension of being caught lingered like a shadow behind them.
"Don't worry," Harry whispered in a low voice, trying to reassure the others. "Ron is keeping watch in the corridor by the Trophy Room. If a professor shows up, he'll signal us."
Tamara rolled her eyes dramatically and let out a cold snort.
"I trust Malfoy more than that red-headed idiot," she said flatly. "So I sent him to the Trophy Room as well."
Harry and Hermione stopped walking at the exact same moment. Their heads turned toward her with identical expressions of horror.
"You said what?!" Hermione hissed, her whisper somehow sounding louder than a shout. "You sent Malfoy there too? To the same place?!"
Tamara raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by their reaction.
"What? Is there a problem?"
Before she could say anything further, a sudden explosion of arguing echoed through the corridor in the distance. Raised voices overlapped angrily, followed immediately by the unmistakable sound of a spell being cast.
A loud metallic crash shattered the silence of the castle.
Harry covered his face in despair.
"That," he groaned miserably, "is the problem."
Five Minutes Earlier — Outside the Trophy Room
Ron stood in the corridor, leaning against the wall and idly spinning his wand between his fingers. He had been stationed there as a lookout, but nothing interesting had happened for several minutes. The silence was almost unbearable.
He was beginning to regret volunteering for the job when footsteps echoed faintly in the hallway.
Suddenly, Draco Malfoy stepped out from around the corner.
The two boys froze the moment their eyes met.
Draco's first instinct was to start insulting Ron immediately. However, a memory of Tamara's earlier lecture flashed through his mind.
A true Slytherin knows how to ignore ants.
Draco took a deep breath and forced himself to remain calm. Lifting his chin slightly, he attempted to imitate Tamara's cold and aloof expression.
"Move aside, Weasley," Draco said with forced indifference. "I don't want to waste my time dealing with you."
The imitation wasn't perfect. In fact, it sounded rather stiff.
Ron stared at him for a moment, completely bewildered.
"Are you sick, Malfoy?" Ron asked bluntly. "Why are you acting like some gloomy villain in the middle of the night?"
"I am on an important mission," Draco replied quietly, trying to sound mysterious. "Unlike you, who is simply standing around doing nothing."
"Mission?"
Ron's expression changed instantly. A mocking smile slowly spread across his face.
"Oh, I get it," he said with a short laugh. "That Riddle girl sent you, didn't she? Stop pretending."
Draco frowned.
"What's it to you?"
"Oh, it's definitely my business," Ron replied casually, crossing his arms. "Watching this is actually pretty hilarious."
He tilted his head slightly, studying Draco with open amusement.
"Just look at yourself, Malfoy."
Ron chuckled.
"Right now, you're like a little lapdog following behind Riddle. You bite whoever she tells you to bite and guard whatever she tells you to guard."
His voice turned sharper.
"You don't even look like a Slytherin anymore. Honestly, you're more like her house-elf."
The word struck Draco like a physical blow.
House-elf.
For someone born into the proud Malfoy family, being compared to a slave was a humiliation worse than any insult.
What made it even worse was the uncomfortable truth buried deep inside his heart.
Ron wasn't entirely wrong.
Ever since meeting Tamara, Draco had found himself obeying her instructions almost automatically.
And hearing that truth spoken aloud by his greatest rival shattered his remaining self-control.
"Shut up!" Draco shouted furiously. "You pathetic, penniless loser!"
His face turned bright red as he drew his wand.
"How dare you call me a servant?! I'll tear your mouth apart!"
Ron snorted.
"Was I wrong, you lapdog?"
"Die! Locomotor Mortis!"
The spell shot forward instantly.
However, instead of hitting Ron, the curse slammed into a nearby suit of armor.
The corridor exploded with noise.
Metal pieces crashed across the floor with a deafening clang, echoing through the entire hallway like a thunderclap.
For a brief moment, the two boys simply stared at the wreckage in stunned silence.
Fragments of armor were scattered everywhere.
Ron slowly looked up at Draco.
Draco slowly looked back at Ron.
"We're doomed," Ron muttered.
Before either of them could react, a bright green light suddenly illuminated the entire corridor.
Professor McGonagall stood at the far end of the hallway, wearing a plaid dressing gown and a hairnet. The glowing tip of her wand cast harsh shadows across her furious face.
Her expression trembled with pure rage.
"What," she said slowly, "are you doing?"
Her voice exploded like thunder.
Ron and Draco nearly jumped out of their skins. Just as they attempted to run, two flashes of magic shot toward them.
The Body-Bind Curse froze them instantly.
They collapsed stiffly onto the floor.
"In the middle of the night," Professor McGonagall said dangerously, "dueling in the corridors and destroying school property."
Her lips trembled.
"What exactly do you think Hogwarts is? A colosseum?"
At that exact moment—
"Professor… actually…"
An extremely unfortunate voice spoke from nearby shadows.
Harry, Hermione, and Tamara had just arrived at the corridor entrance.
Before they could hide, Professor McGonagall had already turned around.
Her sharp gaze landed directly on them.
"Potter. Granger. And… Riddle?"
Her eyes widened slightly.
Three Gryffindors.
Two Slytherins.
Standing together in the middle of the night, covered in dust and sweat.
The entire situation looked incredibly suspicious.
"What on earth is going on here?" she demanded sternly. "Why are you all together? Why aren't you in bed?"
The five students exchanged nervous glances.
No one dared mention the dragon.
Raising a dragon was illegal. If they revealed the truth, Hagrid would be finished—and they themselves would likely be expelled.
"Um…"
Hermione tried desperately to think of an explanation.
But Tamara spoke first.
"Professor."
She lifted her chin slightly, maintaining a calm and slightly arrogant expression.
"We meant no harm. This was actually… a field observation for Astronomy."
She gestured toward the window and the night sky beyond.
"Mars's trajectory is particularly interesting tonight," Tamara continued smoothly. "I wanted to show Potter and the others."
Then she added casually:
"Unfortunately, we ran into a sleepwalking Weasley and Malfoy, who was attempting to wake him."
Harry and Ron nodded rapidly beside her, despite having absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
Mars. Trajectory. Retrograde.
None of it made sense.
The excuse was terrible.
Tamara even attempted to activate her skill [Harmless].
But Professor McGonagall was far too angry.
The ten-percent success rate failed completely.
Professor McGonagall inhaled slowly.
Her expression hardened.
"Enough."
Her voice cut through the air like a blade.
"I do not care what you were doing."
"Wandering the castle at night. Private dueling. Destroying school property."
She paused.
"And lying."
Her gaze swept across their faces.
Finally, it stopped on Harry and Tamara.
"I am extremely disappointed in all of you."
"Fifty points from Gryffindor."
Harry and Ron gasped in shock.
"Each," Professor McGonagall added.
"What?!" Harry nearly fainted.
That meant one hundred and fifty points in total.
"The same punishment applies to Slytherin," she continued, turning toward Tamara and Draco. "Fifty points each."
Draco's face instantly turned pale.
He could already imagine Professor Snape's reaction.
In total, two hundred and fifty points had been deducted.
Both houses would plummet in the House Cup rankings.
"Now return to your dormitories immediately," Professor McGonagall said coldly.
"As for detention… I will notify you later."
The five students walked away like defeated soldiers.
They didn't speak until they had turned two corners.
The moment they were sure McGonagall could no longer hear them, the silence exploded.
"This is all your fault, you penniless mole!" Draco hissed. "One hundred points! Snape is going to kill me!"
"You started it!" Ron shouted back. "If you hadn't been acting like a rabid dog—"
"Shut up."
Tamara's voice was colder than ice.
Both boys instantly fell silent.
She walked behind them, exhausted.
Tonight had drained her completely.
Physical exhaustion from moving the dragon.
Mental exhaustion from everything else.
They had lost the Invisibility Cloak.
House points had been deducted.
Detention awaited them.
And all of it happened because two idiots couldn't keep watch without fighting.
Memories from her previous life surfaced like a dark tide.
For subordinates who ruined missions through stupidity, the Dark Lord had always given only one response.
Merciless punishment.
The instinct remained carved deep into her soul.
A flash of red crossed her dark eyes.
Tamara slipped her hand into her sleeve and tightly gripped her holly wand.
Through the fabric, she aimed the wand at the two boys ahead.
She didn't need advanced Dark Magic.
A simple Cruciatus Curse would be enough.
"Crucio—"
But before the spell could be cast—
A blaring alarm exploded inside her mind.
[Warning! Extremely malicious intent toward classmates detected!]
[Violation of the Amity Principle!]
[Initiating Level 2 Punishment: High-Voltage Electroconvulsive Therapy!]
A violent surge of electricity shot through her spine.
"Ugh—!"
The cry was forced back into her throat.
Her knees buckled instantly.
Tamara collapsed against the cold stone wall, barely managing to support herself.
Her cheeks flushed unnaturally red.
Tears filled her eyes from the overwhelming stimulus.
The killing intent in her gaze disappeared, replaced with something that looked almost pitiful.
"Tamara?!"
The others immediately turned and rushed toward her.
She glared at their faces, wishing she could destroy all of them.
But after the electric shock, she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.
She wanted to shout.
To scream.
Instead, what came out was a weak mutter.
"…Go away."
Despite her insistence that she was fine, the others refused to leave her alone.
In the end, Harry and Draco carried her like an injured soldier.
Between cries of "Hang in there!" and "Don't die!", they escorted her all the way to the entrance of the Slytherin common room.
Only after she was finally lying on the bed in her dormitory did the painful current slowly fade away.
Tamara stared at the ceiling with murderous intensity.
Then the voice inside her head spoke again.
[Ah… what a touching scene, host.]
The system sounded almost emotional.
[This is the bond of youth.]
[Being supported when you fall… having someone to rely on when you're weak.]
[Even if you make mistakes, your friends still stay beside you.]
[Isn't that warmer than those Death Eaters who only knew how to kneel before you?]
Tamara inhaled slowly.
Through clenched teeth, she whispered:
"…I'm going to kill you."