Setting aside Draco's unexpected situation, the wand-testing ceremony itself didn't take very long, and he didn't feel the following interviews were particularly important.
Or rather, Rita Skeeter—presumably a reporter for the Daily Prophet—seemed to have already extracted everything she wanted from Harry Potter, so she showed little interest when questioning the other champions.
Before stepping out the door, Draco cast a glance at the excited Rita Skeeter and the dark-faced Harry Potter. The stark contrast between the two reactions stirred a faint curiosity in him about whatever report she would publish later.
Who knew what that Daily Prophet reporter had done to the Chosen One beforehand...
Just as Draco returned to the Slytherin common room with that lingering thought,
Pansy—who had been watching the entrance nonstop—immediately bounced over the moment she saw him.
"Draco, look what I found!"
She approached him like a child presenting a prized treasure, her little face tilted up with eager anticipation, much like a puppy waiting for praise.
Draco looked at the golden feather in Pansy's hand.
"This is... potion ingredients?"
"Can you tell which magical creature this feather came from?"
"Let me see... Hmm? It still has faint traces of magical energy?!"
He hadn't thought much of it at first, but noticing the feather's "freshness" made Draco hum in surprise.
He lifted the palm-sized golden feather, turning it under the candlelight a few times, but with just this, it was difficult to draw any conclusion.
Unable to identify the source, Draco finally looked back at Pansy.
His eyes were filled with curiosity.
But Pansy simply shook her head.
To Draco's disappointment, she had no idea what magical creature this "part" belonged to.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have run to him for help in the first place...
…
Slytherin Common Room.
"So, you and Hermione went to ask Hagrid about the Triwizard Tournament, and then you noticed this feather on the ground nearby?"
"That's right. What do you think—could the two be connected?"
"Not sure. But judging from this feather, one thing's certain: whatever magical creature it came from is definitely dangerous. At the very least, it's enormous."
"True… I can imagine how massive it must be..." Pansy frowned, lifting her small hands to compare the feather in her palm—the fallen plume of some unknown creature.
Her gestures made it clear she was trying to estimate the creature's size from the feather alone...
While listening to Pansy chatter beside him, Draco's gaze drifted to where Goyle and Crabbe were training.
Even after becoming a Triwizard Champion, Draco hadn't stopped drilling his followers.
One could notice that compared to the beginning—when these young Slytherins had followed him simply because of his potential and commanding presence—there was now a completely different energy among them.
After spending so much time under Draco's influence, this group—still lacking an official name, united solely by loyalty to one wizard—had changed.
Now, whenever they looked at Draco, there was a hidden fervor and ambition burning in their eyes.
From treating him as a casual investment...
To fervent admiration—and even… the ambition to change something.
Had Dumbledore witnessed this scene, it would have felt all too familiar.
More than a decade ago, Slytherin had produced another wizard of immense personal charisma...
"Draco? Draco, are you listening to me?"
"Mm…"
"So tell me, since when have you been raising a dragon in the Forbidden Forest?"
"You know?"
"You hid it from me for so long. If Hagrid hadn't slipped up, would I… never have known?"
At the word "never," Pansy's cheeks and ears flushed faintly.
But the moment she remembered Hermione Granger had already been Draco's accomplice since first year, Pansy's brief embarrassment vanished—replaced by indignation and wounded resentment.
Sure, it was illegal, and sure, fewer people knowing was safer… but was she, Pansy Parkinson, an outsider?
How could he not tell her anything?!
Watching Pansy glaring at him like she was ready to drag him down with her, Draco blinked, genuinely confused.
"Uh… don't you hate small animals?"
That mildly clueless explanation made Pansy's lips twitch.
Whatever Draco meant by "small animals," it definitely didn't apply to a massive, deadly dragon.
Just as Pansy opened her mouth, ready to unleash her fury, a surprised voice came from beside them.
"Is this… natural power?"
The witch who had suddenly approached them was Astoria, her face filled with astonishment. Her eyes were locked onto the golden feather on the table.
"You know where this feather came from?"
"What's natural power?"
The first question came from Draco; the second was from Pansy.
Clearly, Draco knew what natural power referred to…
"I don't know the creature. But natural power… that's an ability certain magical creatures possess. And I can feel that the owner of this feather has that power."
Pansy looked even more confused.
Truthfully, unless one had studied Potions in depth, this wouldn't make much sense.
In Potions, rare materials were categorized with specialized interpretation.
Natural power was one of those categories.
Simply put, it referred to magical creatures capable of manipulating natural forces.
For example, a dragon's fire breath, or a phoenix's flame—these powers, neither magic nor curse, were classified as supernatural forces.
And according to Astoria, who had exceptional talent in Potions, the owner of this feather belonged to this class of dangerous creatures.
For magical creatures like these, the Ministry of Magic assigned a corresponding threat level.
Threat Level…
XXXXX!
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