The empty Slytherin table stood out like a sore thumb amid the end-of-term feast, where every seat should have been filled.
Only after a long, awkward silence did the atmosphere gradually recover—thanks to a few of Dumbledore's light spells and the deliberate enthusiasm of several Gryffindors.
One way or another, tonight belonged to Gryffindor.
But if you looked closely, aside from the cheerful and naive Gryffindor students, the young wizards from the other houses kept casting glances toward the vacant Slytherin table.
Maybe, deep down, instead of celebrating a House Cup that wasn't theirs alongside Gryffindor, they'd rather steal another look at that pale golden figure.
For most, tonight belonged not to Harry Potter—who received the Cup on Gryffindor's behalf—nor to Ron Weasley, who had proudly snatched it from Harry's hands with a smug grin.
No. Tonight belonged to Draco Malfoy.
And strangely, many were already looking forward to next year's feast...
...
Draco wasn't walking fast, so Pansy, who'd reacted first, easily caught up with him.
She didn't say anything. Instead, she gazed up at Draco's profile with eyes full of admiration and devotion, her look so intense it could've melted steel.
Her clingy, infatuated behavior made Goyle and Crabbe, following behind, stop in their tracks. After a brief pause, they turned around and blocked the other Slytherins who were about to step forward to greet Draco. If Pansy had seen how smoothly they handled it, she probably would've been very pleased.
After who-knows-how-long, Pansy finally pulled her gaze away, satisfied.
Even though Draco only responded with mild confusion, she was too happy to care. You could see it in the way she skipped along beside him, hands behind her back, humming a cheerful little tune.
"Hmm hmm hmm"
"You were sobbing your heart out not long ago, and now you're fine?"
"I wasn't crying like that!"
Pansy shot Draco an indignant glare, flustered and embarrassed. But the very next second, she broke into a wide, bright smile. That mix of irritation and joy on her face was so cute that Draco couldn't help glancing over at her again.
He had to admit, Pansy seemed unusually adorable tonight...
"Not upset anymore? I thought you really cared about the House Cup."
"I don't want that stupid cup! I was just... just a little frustrated, that's all!"
She waved a tiny fist at the air in mock anger, then turned back to him, her expression bright again.
"But what you did back there? That was amazing. I'd give anything to see the looks on their faces right now!"
"Sure, it felt great—but can you not stand so close? I can barely walk."
"You're pushing me away!"
"Did I say that?"
"Hmph hmph~"
No doubt about it, Pansy was much clingier than usual tonight. But oddly enough, that helped lighten Draco's mood.
You lose some, you gain some.
Maybe they didn't win the House Cup. But looking at it another way... maybe Draco ended up with the biggest win of all.
...
After last night, Hogwarts seemed unchanged on the surface—but in truth, something had subtly shifted.
Aside from Gryffindor, the other houses seemed a little less hostile toward Slytherin. Sure, they were still annoyed by Slytherin's smug "I'm a proud pure-blood" attitude, but at least something had started to change. And that shift could all be traced back to Draco's influence.
Not that Pansy cared about any of that...
"Draco, are you sure it was okay to do what you did last night?"
"..."
"Shouldn't we be doing something too?"
"..."
With a sigh, Draco closed the book in his hands. He'd lost count of how many times Pansy had repeated these same questions since morning, and clearly, she wasn't planning to stop.
"Weren't you all giddy and wide awake last night? How come you're already back to worrying after just one night?"
"I wasn't thinking about all that at the time! But now, what if Dumbledore decides to come after you? He's a total creep!"
It had felt good in the moment—but reality had to be faced. And in Pansy's eyes, Dumbledore's potential retaliation was that reality.
That's why she'd barged into Draco's dorm room first thing in the morning.
It's worth noting that when she did, she'd actually planned to pull a little prank on the still-sleeping Draco. Unfortunately, the moment she got close, he woke up, grabbed her, and pinned her to the bed with one hand.
Yeah... that's why Pansy had blushed earlier and called him a pervert.
Draco, feeling wronged and not even bothering to explain, just tugged the corner of his mouth.
"Relax. We're talking about Dumbledore."
"And?"
"Isn't that reason enough?"
"..."
If it had been Hermione, she might have understood what Draco was implying with that cryptic answer.
But Pansy, who wasn't exactly the thinking type, just scrunched up her face in confusion. She had no idea where his confidence was coming from.
Draco found her puzzled expression amusing. He reached out and ruffled her hair, which immediately drew a pout of protest and snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Don't treat me like a kid! And hey—do you know something or not?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."
Feeling like she was being brushed off, Pansy shot him an annoyed glare before turning away, ears turning red, as she started fixing her hair that Draco had messed up.
After all, girls always care about how they look in front of someone they like.
Draco watched her with a quiet chuckle, then turned to gaze at the Hogwarts Express slowly pulling into the station.
It was almost time to leave...
"Power... if you don't want to be someone else's pawn."
"Huh? Did you say something, Draco?"
Pansy tilted her head adorably, thinking she'd heard him murmur something.
Draco just smiled, his eyes gleaming in the sunlight as he looked at her.
"Next year, we're taking back the House Cup."
"Mm! I believe you!"
And with Draco stepping onto the train, the school year officially came to an end.
At the same time—it was only just beginning...
...
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
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