Draco seemed to have realized something, and only then did he notice that something was off with Snape.
But just as he was about to express concern for his godfather, Snape seemed to sense it, instantly composed himself, and coldly ordered Draco to leave—giving him no chance to speak.
"That's enough. I hope I won't see you in the future, regretting your foolish actions and thoughts for the rest of your life."
Bang!
The sound of the door slamming shut cut off Draco's view.
Before he could make sense of what Snape meant, he'd already been forced out of the office again. Snape's attitude was as cold and dismissive as if Draco were a stranger, not his godson.
Draco rubbed his cheek helplessly as he looked at the all-too-familiar scene...
"This awkward way of showing concern... how many people could even recognize it?"
Grumbling inwardly about his godfather, Draco turned and started to head back toward the Slytherin common room.
But the moment he took a step, he froze.
"...Is that blood?"
Though faint, he could clearly see a small smear of blood on the stone floor.
Judging by the color, it hadn't been there long.
He paused, glancing toward the closed door of the Potions office...
He had thought that the faint metallic scent in the air was from the Troll—or maybe the stench had messed with his sense of smell.
But now, Draco realized it wasn't that. Someone nearby was injured.
And the only person it could be... was his godfather.
Thinking back now, when Snape first appeared, his twisted expression wasn't just from anger. It might've been from suppressing pain.
His awkward posture, and the way he kept tugging at his robes—it all made sense now.
Snape was definitely injured—and trying to hide it from everyone.
But when did he get hurt?
He didn't seem off during the feast... so could it have happened during the Troll incident?
Draco couldn't help but dwell on it...
...
The aftermath of the Troll incident didn't expose Draco's use of dark magic.
Neither Professor McGonagall, nor his ever-standoffish godfather, nor even Dumbledore—who almost certainly knew—brought it up. It was as if the whole matter had been quietly forgotten.
At the very least, Draco wasn't punished any further.
Even Hermione, who had witnessed it, for some reason chose not to say anything.
At first glance, the Troll incident might have seemed to change nothing—but that wasn't entirely true.
Take Ron Weasley, for example. He'd been there too, and wasn't exactly great at keeping secrets. He treated the whole ordeal as a chance to brag about how brave he was.
In his version of the story, he was the heroic savior who rescued Hermione, Harry was a sidekick wielding a sword for him, and Draco was just a random passerby.
This boasting only made Hermione—who had just started to warm up to Ron—glare at him again in frustration.
As for why she was so angry... only the young witch herself knew.
Not many people believed Ron's over-the-top Gryffindor-style tale, though. Most of the younger students were more inclined to believe a different story:
That it was Draco Malfoy of Slytherin who had defeated the Troll.
Still, Draco himself never stepped forward to confirm it, so that version remained unverified.
Over time, however, some students—especially those who didn't like Ron—began to embellish the tale of Draco slaying the Troll...
"This is the first time I've heard that you, Draco, could kill a dangerous creature like a Troll with a single punch."
"Uh... I heard you knocked it over with just one kick?"
"No, no, no. What I heard was that Draco glared at the Troll and it dropped dead on the spot."
"..."
Listening to Pansy, Goyle, and the others chattering around him, Draco let out a helpless sigh.
He had no idea how the story had gotten so out of hand. To anyone who didn't know better, it probably sounded like he took down a pixie, not a massive Troll.
Only someone who had no idea what a Troll was could believe something like that...
In truth, Pansy and the others were exaggerating on purpose.
They wanted to find out what really happened that night—whether the rumors from other students were true, that Draco had defeated the Troll with his own hands.
They were curious, but didn't know how to get Draco to spill the truth.
On top of that, Pansy was also puzzled about Draco's changing relationship with that Gryffindor...
"Speaking of which, that know-it-all from Gryffindor has been spending a lot of time with the redhead and the Chosen One lately."
As the thought crossed her mind, Pansy casually brought it up to Draco, though the look she shot him clearly revealed how much she cared about his reaction.
What baffled her, though, was that Draco's expression didn't change at all. His calm gaze made it seem like he hadn't heard a word she said.
"Hey, Draco, did you even hear me..."
Before she could finish, Draco reached out and gently pinched her cheek as she leaned in.
"Ugh—let go of me!"
"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm Draco Malfoy."
Watching Pansy snap at him with mock fury, Draco squinted in amusement.
Who could say what the future held?
After all, he was a Slytherin...
...
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
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