Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Malfoy Caught in the Crossfire
Leaving the Potions classroom.
Back in the Slytherin dormitory, Ino received an unusually enthusiastic "welcome." The common room was filled with a green glow, no doubt from students eager to see what had happened.
After all, fresh news in the castle was limited. Sometimes, weeks would pass without anything interesting happening.
But today, a first-year had been frozen at the dormitory door and sent to the hospital wing, and the victim was none other than Malfoy, the only son of the renowned Malfoy family. Such explosive news wouldn't usually happen even once a year.
All of this made it hard for the Slytherin students not to gather and see the spectacle.
Ino looked at the numerous figures around him and the eager, inquisitive eyes, feeling a bit like he was about to tell a story to children in a square.
Anyone else might have been intimidated by the scene, but for a bard, this was nothing. He had performed on the grand stage of the Royal Theatre with Master Hans, and this was a much smaller audience.
Surveying the room, Ino bowed slightly to the crowd.
"First of all, I apologize for the incident that disturbed everyone's rest."
A mistake is a mistake, and he never denied that.
Therefore, Ino began by acknowledging the nature of his actions.
However, he hadn't forgotten the behavior of the prefects and older students after Malfoy's accident.
They had not only drawn their wands but were also indignant.
In a different place or environment, they might have already attacked.
He had made a mistake, but he hadn't run away! He hadn't even drawn his wand, so there was no need to treat him like a criminal.
Even before yesterday, he would have chosen to downplay the incident and get by quietly.
But today, maybe because he had been working on his emotions all afternoon or because he had been mimicking the White Witch, he didn't feel like putting up with them any longer. Not at all.
Ino turned his gaze to the older students and spoke slowly:
"I want to say that this was a tragic incident from start to finish because someone got hurt. Of course, if anyone is still interested or wants to know more, they are welcome to find me anytime—in the Forbidden Forest, the corridors, the Quidditch pitch, anywhere—and I'll explain the details one-on-one."
"Now, I need to rest. Good night, everyone!"
Ignoring the expressions around him, Ino turned and walked straight back to his dormitory.
He was unaware of the waves his actions might cause in Slytherin.
And even if he knew, he wouldn't care. After all, wearing a mask for too long without taking it off can make it stick to your face.
…
Back in his dormitory.
Seeing everything restored, he guessed it was the work of the house-elves.
But he wasn't very interested in house-elves, mainly because he wasn't used to having someone hidden in his home. Furthermore, Dobby's future rebellion also made him wary.
Many things are not isolated incidents. As long as one case occurs, it proves that house-elves are not absolutely loyal and reliable. For someone with secrets, a servant's abilities are secondary; loyalty and reliability are paramount.
Looking at the tidy bed, Ino jumped onto the soft bed with precision.
"Mrs. Weasley takes care of nine people and a ghoul without getting tired. With household magic, who needs housework…"
He thought to himself, waving his wand to extinguish the candles.
After everything he had been through today, he desperately needed a deep sleep to soothe his inner fatigue.
…
The dormitory became quiet.
However, the whole castle was just beginning to stir.
Hogwarts has no secrets; this is entirely true.
In such a closed campus with thousands of people, news spreads quickly.
Tonight, the owls were bound to be busy, already soaring over the castle.
Of course, many long-unused two-way mirrors also came into play.
In the Gryffindor common room.
Ron pretended to read a newspaper on the sofa, but his perked-up ears gave him away.
If Mrs. Weasley were there, she'd be amazed to see her youngest son so focused.
A moment later.
After seemingly absorbing all the news, Ron threw down the newspaper and dashed to the dormitory.
With a bang, Ron pushed open the dormitory door.
"Harry! Harry! Big news, Malfoy got taken down in his dormitory and sent to Madam Pomfrey. They say he might not survive the night! Old Malfoy's fainted, and the professors are discussing contacting St. Mungo's…"
Ron shouted as he walked, his voice echoing through the dormitory, waking up Neville, who sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes, looking confused.
"Harry! Listen to me…"
Though calling for Harry, Ron's eyes glanced around at the other beds. When Neville, Seamus, and Andy all opened their curtains, Ron looked like a scholar ready to give a lecture.
"Ahem… Listen up. Malfoy was attacked, and the culprit is the person I mentioned before, Ino or Ian, whatever his name is. Malfoy was found frozen like an ice sculpture…"
While the others were curious, Neville looked guilty, feeling it was his fault that Ino had attacked Malfoy.
"You don't know how terrifying it was! Who knows what dark magic he was studying in his dormitory. When the door opened, countless wraiths and ghosts poured out, plunging the Slytherin common room into a freezing winter…"
Ron was so engrossed in his story that he shivered, glancing around instinctively.
But seeing the attentive eyes of his dormmates, his fear dissipated.
"Ahem… You don't know, Snape was terrified. If Dumbledore hadn't arrived in time, the entire Slytherin might have been wiped out…"
Ron let his imagination run wild, and the story grew increasingly outrageous.
While the others listened, Harry extracted a few useful pieces of information.
First, Malfoy was indeed injured and possibly hospitalized. This was good news for him, as it meant less worry about Hagrid getting caught for raising a dragon.
But what remained uncertain was how badly Malfoy was hurt and how long he'd stay in the hospital wing. This was crucial for their plan to send Norbert away.
As for Ron's claims that Malfoy was dead or wouldn't survive the night, Harry didn't believe a word.
Months of friendship had shown him Ron's tendency to exaggerate. Out of ten sentences, eight were usually false, and finding the truth required careful sifting.
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