Slug & Jiggers Apothecary.
A shop brimming with potion ingredients—a wonderland of oddities in the eyes of any potioneer.
The moment you stepped inside, you'd find rows of barrels filled with thick, sticky substances lining the floor. Along the walls were shelves stacked with jars of powders and herbs, while bundles of feathers, fangs, and claws dangled from the ceiling. If you were looking for any legal potion material, you'd find it here.
Draco stood outside, peering through the glass at some unidentifiable magical creature feathers, clearly intrigued.
Pansy, however, was not nearly as pleased...
"What happened to our date?"
"You can smell it even from out here, can't you?"
Even standing outside, Pansy could catch a whiff of the place—a revolting mix of rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables. It only worsened her already sour mood.
And it wasn't hard to guess why she was upset. She'd been looking forward to this date for ages, only for it to be ruined halfway through—and on top of that, they'd run into a certain stealing cat.
The encounter had been brief—almost nothing, really—but Draco's one offhanded compliment, "It suits you," had been echoing in Pansy's mind ever since. He had never said something like that to her before.
"Maybe I should try changing my look with magic...?"
Pansy absentmindedly twirled the ends of her hair, considering whether she should dye it or something—anything to make Draco take notice of her, too.
Letting her hair fall, she happened to glance behind them at Goyle and Crabbe, who had been trailing after the two of them. Accomplices, as far as she was concerned...
"By the way, why are you two even here?"
It was the same question Hermione had asked earlier—but unlike Hermione's flustered and awkward delivery, Pansy's words were sharp and threatening enough to make Goyle and Crabbe break into a cold sweat.
If Draco hadn't needed to question them, they'd have fled the moment they had the chance. The last thing they wanted was to get on the bad side of this queen.
"Our fathers got orders. They said we were needed, so we showed up," Goyle explained.
"As for why... we don't really know. Just that we were supposed to provoke Harry Potter and keep his attention on us."
No one had to ask where those orders came from. Like their sons' allegiance to Draco, Goyle's father was also a loyal follower of Lucius Malfoy—that's why they'd been tagging along with him all day.
But what puzzled Draco was why his father wanted them to do something like that.
If he was right, it had to be connected to Karnov Parkinson, who had vanished partway through the chaos. Still, without more information, Draco couldn't be sure of anything.
Their words made Draco narrow his eyes slightly. Pansy, meanwhile, tilted her head with curiosity and looked at Draco.
"So? What do you think?"
"The Chosen One... Is he really that special?"
Special enough for the head of the Malfoy family to resort to petty tricks—and apparently drag her own father into it as well. The thought left Pansy full of doubts.
"Maybe. He did defeat the Dark Lord, after all."
"You actually believe that?"
"Who knows? That's what the Ministry says, unless our greatest wizard—the first one on the scene—lied to everyone."
Draco's answer made Pansy pause. It was clear she had never considered that possibility. After all, Dumbledore was seen as the embodiment of virtue—how could someone like him lie?
Especially when the matter involved Voldemort. That wasn't something anyone could afford to take lightly.
Draco slowly straightened up, shifting his gaze away from the potion ingredients. He turned toward Pansy, who was still deep in thought over his comment.
"With a new professor... and now these moves targeting the Chosen One... it seems Hogwarts is in for another turbulent year."
"Speaking of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor..."
Pansy suddenly leaned in close, whispering into Draco's ear. The soft breath and faint fragrance made Draco blink, momentarily distracted.
But as he listened, his expression turned serious.
"About the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Draco... According to what I found, Quirrell disappeared after that day."
"He didn't just leave the country or resign—he disappeared?"
"Exactly. Just vanished."
Driven by curiosity about the updated booklist and Lockhart's appointment, Pansy had used her family's resources to look into the whereabouts of the previous professor. What she discovered left her genuinely shocked.
Professor Quirrell, who had once come across as timid and stammering, had completely vanished—as if he'd evaporated from the world.
Hearing this, Draco instantly realized what he had missed all along.
The identity of the wizard who tried to steal the Philosopher's Stone... or rather, what Dumbledore might be hiding...
...
Time always slips away unnoticed—especially when you're enjoying yourself. And just like that, the summer holidays came to an end.
As usual, the students of Hogwarts gathered at King's Cross Station, ready to board the Hogwarts Express.
Like every year, the platform was buzzing with activity. Besides last year's graduates, the crowd was filled with countless new faces—first-years preparing to step into the wizarding world for the first time.
"Who's that?"
"Is he someone important?"
"He looks about our age."
"Is that the one my father mentioned?"
The newly arrived first-years whispered to one another as they watched the approaching group.
Because the moment a figure with pale blond hair came into view, the upper-year students around them began to watch him with mixed expressions.
And as his figure grew clearer, more and more students began to fall in behind him. Though he didn't say a word, they willingly followed, positioning themselves behind him.
Seeing this, a few bold first-years asked nearby upperclassmen, and the answer they got was...
"They're Slytherins."
And that pale-haired figure...
Was Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House.