Compared to other families who send their children to school, the Draconis family seems very relaxed. They don't have large bags of luggage. Narcissa, who dotes on Draco, chose to pay extra for a more relaxed check-in process. She couldn't bear to let her darling go to school with heavy luggage, and Lucius didn't mind spending a little extra money. Draco had no choice but to accept his parents' kindness.
There was no need to extend the curse without a trace, and the big iron cage was indeed inconvenient to carry.
There were no issues on the way. When they arrived at the station, they followed the moving crowd slowly forward. Narcissa complained about the annoying air conditions in the train station from time to time. It was normal for people to bump shoulders, but her slight cleanliness made her unable to bear it. She expressed her dissatisfaction by frowning her long, narrow eyebrows and constantly picking at the unsatisfactory environment.
Lucius declined to comment, he was used to his wife's character.
After a while, they moved to the front of the platform and could board the train at any time. The scarlet steam locomotive was facing the top of the platform, spewing smoke, and the platform was full of wizard parents and their children, including the Lucius couple.
"Hector!" Lucius showed a smile, changed his cane to his left hand, and walked straight to his old friend, extending his right hand to express his joy at seeing him.
Hector also extended his right hand symbolically and shook it lightly in greeting.
"Draco has grown taller again. He looks like he'll be a man just like you in the future," Hector said with a smile. For parents, the best way to get closer is to praise their own child.
"Where, your little princess has grown a lot taller too," Lucius was also polite.
After that, the junior's greetings to the elders were indispensable, so a few people wasted a little time under the platform. Draco saw Pansy looking at him with no expression and couldn't help but try to remember where he had offended her again.
She had been indifferent towards the end of last semester, but Draco couldn't find any obvious reason. It must be attributed to teenage puberty, right?
Here is your revised text:
The two of them got on the train together and sat on adjacent chairs, neither of them said a word. But only Pansy herself knew that she was not as calm as she seemed.
Since Pansy didn't seem willing to talk to him, Draco wouldn't be arrogant enough to speak up. The train shook, and after confirming its start, he closed his eyes and leaned against the window.
Looking at that familiar side profile, Pansy felt relieved and lucky.
When news of the basilisk's rampage came from outside, she was still cleaning the ink-stained robe in Snape's office. She had gloated a little at the time, thinking about which unlucky Mudblood had been attacked.
But when she saw Draco lying in the hospital bed, possibly dead or alive, she realized she had made a mistake.
'The pure blood of a wizard is noble, and the blood of Muggles is dirty,' she had heard her parents say these words countless times. Imperceptibly, under their influence, she thought it was a matter of course. These thoughts were deeply ingrained in her mind, but meeting Draco changed her.
He would get upset when she said 'Mudblood,' even though his parents were actually purebloods, even though he still showed a sense of superiority because of his blood in front of his parents.
But she knew that Draco actually dismissed it, it was just a disguise.
He would tell her stories about Muggle history. Some stories sounded more bizarre than novels, but she had never heard of them. Her own parents didn't care about Muggle history and wouldn't hire a Muggle history teacher for her. Everything was very novel to her, but in order to show her reservedness, sometimes she would even force herself to say something vicious, even though her heart was tight with excitement.
She knew that Muggle society was also discriminatory, but a black person in Muggle society could actually become the president of the country, which she found hard to believe. It was like a mudblood becoming the Minister of Magic, just like Neville Longbottom.
She still remembered the black man's name was Ooguanhai. Even though Draco said it was sometime in the future, she still chose to believe it.
She was a little shaken, but it was still not obvious. She tried to restrain herself from saying insulting words in public, but she didn't want to admit that she had been affected. She compromised with herself: 'This is just what a well-trained lady should have.'
But she still couldn't avoid cursing in her heart.
What she hated most was the girl named Hermione.
Her grades were among the best, if it weren't for Draco being better, maybe Gryffindor would have come first in the grades.
She also 'seduced' Draco; she had seen them alone together or when she left herself behind.
She felt that only she could enjoy Draco's attentions. He would considerately leave a copy of the candy his family sent him for her, comfort her after she lost a Quidditch game, tell her many interesting stories, and teach her self-defense curses to keep her safe. Even if she was unreasonable, he would still apologize to her when she lost her temper.
But she could see from his eyes that he only had the kind of pampering for her that a father would have, and no other emotions. Maybe it wasn't for the time being, but the occasional blushing to flirt with him was just a normal reaction.
He should be the first person of the same age he knows, maybe he will really like her when he grows older.
Maybe he still sees her as a child.
Looking at the hospital bed, Pansy had an unspeakable sense of fear even looking at the ray of blood seeping from the bandage. If he had been injured in the head, she had imagined that he would leave her forever. The wizard's magic is not powerful enough to regenerate the head.
Can purebloods be able to make the god of death be merciful when facing death?
Apart from the gap in their social status, she really couldn't find a trace of herself being better than Hermione.
From her perspective, even Draco's life was saved by the Muggle Witch, and she informed Principal Dumbledore, leading to Draco's escape. She thought about it for a long time, but she maintained her usual bright attitude and tone. Only she knew that her attitude had changed.
Even if she couldn't help him, she couldn't be a hindrance. This is also one of the reasons why she didn't contact Draco much during the holidays. She had wasted too much time and decided to catch up.
The boy always mentioned the dangers that may happen in the future, consciously or unconsciously, and she subconsciously chose to believe him. Even if she realized she may not be able to fight alongside him, she at least didn't want to hold him back.
Pansy remembered how many dark nights she woke up from her sleep to see the last image of Draco lying in a desolate ruin, surrounded by ruined walls and broken bricks. A group of ominous crows flew under the gloomy sky, making creepy calls, and standing around were many people she knew or didn't know, including Draco's parents, her own parents, and Principal Dumbledore. Another person also lay on the ground, but that person could no longer be called human. His nose was completely absent, leaving only two disgusting gaps.
She guessed he was dead, but the hideous face still scared her.
This dream caused her heart to race.
She didn't want to think about what this dream meant or directly predict the future. What she hoped more was that this was just her own random thinking.
Just as she wanted to shake off these thoughts, she suddenly found that her panic was magnified many times over and the scene in front of her continued to change. The man without a nose stood up, firing spells at the people around him. The shooting star-like curses made people fall upon contact, and people ran away in fear.
Her heart was soaked in a poison called fear, and the feeling of coldness spread across her body in an instant, the only warmth seeming to be eaten away bit by bit by a small insect.
A white light suddenly fell in front of her eyes, as if dispelling the dark clouds, and she heard a familiar voice in her ears: "Pansy, are you all right?"
She saw Draco looking at her with concern, and the tip of the wand in his hand was emitting a soft, silvery white light. She just wanted to answer, only to realize that every inch of her body seemed to be chilled and the chill was skipping across her skin, making her tremble uncontrollably. She wanted to speak but couldn't.
"This group of disgusting things." She only saw Draco cursing nastily, but she knew it was concern for her.
"You'll feel better after eating this." Draco fed Pansy a piece of chocolate, and Pansy felt a warm current flow all over her body.
Only then did Pansy feel much better, and only after regaining consciousness did she find that she was lying in Draco's arms.
She suddenly felt that she didn't need to be strong again.
Because of him, she thought so.
"Let me sleep for a while." Pan murmured in a vaguely suited voice, her eyelids drooping again, and 'unintentionally' placing her hand on Draco's waist again, hanging on him like a koala.
Draco felt that Pansy in front of him had returned to what she was like, but she hadn't completely changed back. There was a slight difference from the beginning, but the change couldn't be said.
Intuition told him this was a good change.
But thinking of what happened just now, anger appeared on his face for a while.
'You're hungry? One day I'll let you eat enough!'
"It's a skillful Patronus curse," a rough voice came into Draco's ears. Draco looked up and saw a man with a tired face standing in the middle of the aisle, his eyes full of approval.
This man was wearing a shabby wizard robe, patched in several places, and his face was sickly, with light brown hair mixed with white hair. Despite the exhaustion on his face, the look in his eyes was bright and compelling.
"I think we will have a chance to talk later," the man said kindly. In his opinion, the stability of the carriage was due to the young man in front of him. Even the shapeless Patronus curse had played a defensive role. The man himself had just summoned a silver light, and the Dementor had left with a little fear.
"But now I have to find the driver. The rain is too heavy, and we need to restore the lighting as soon as possible," the man said with some anxiety, glancing out the window. The heavy raindrops beat against the windows and glass, as if they were covered with a layer of gray mud. Not long ago, the train had jolted violently, and all the lights went out. Only a little light from the darkness outside the window could be used. When the sky was completely dark, it might take on the lighting effect, perhaps only a flickering fluorescence.
"I hope the next journey can be passed safely," the man said as he slowly moved towards the front of the car, preparing to negotiate with the driver.
"Remus John Lupin," Draco thought to himself. He knew this was the DADA teacher he would meet in his third year at Hogwarts.
After Lupin left for a short while, the lights in the aisle on the train suddenly came on, and the entire carriage was illuminated. It seemed that the power had been restored. The rain outside the windows began to dissipate, and after the dark clouds cleared, the sky brightened. The fields outside the window were filled with flowers and plants of different colors. The strong wind blew through them, making it look like waves in a sea of flowers.
But these beautiful sights were only fleeting, and soon the sky darkened again, signaling the end of the train journey.
"Horn!" The sound of the train coming to a stop, coupled with the slight swaying, announced that the students had reached their destination.
"Get up, lazy pig," Draco said as he shook Pansy slightly.
"Are you there?" Pansy rubbed her sleepy eyes. She had not slept so peacefully in a long time, but when she saw how she was lying on Draco, her face couldn't help but turn red.
"Clean up and get ready to get off," Draco said as he gently pulled away from Pansy and put her back on the seat. Pansy blushed and looked down at her wrinkled robe, hurriedly smoothing it out. But before she could finish, she felt a sudden knock on her head.
"Have you been so confused that you've forgotten you're a wizard?" Seeing that Pansy was still in her disheveled state, Draco used his wand to tap her head and then cast a spell on her robe, "Repero!" The wrinkled robe instantly looked brand new again.
Pansy's face turned red with embarrassment. She had wanted to make a good impression on Draco when they first boarded the train, but now she had made a fool of herself by forgetting such a basic spell.
"I really don't know how you'll pass your exams later," Draco said with a sigh, clearly unconcerned with Pansy's abilities.
"Can you stand up?" Draco asked again, knowing that after sitting in an awkward position for hours, Pansy's legs must be numb. As expected, when Pansy tried to stand, she fell back onto the seat, her weak body and sore legs making it difficult for her to walk.
Draco could only shake his head helplessly.
Soon, the door of the train opened and a gust of cold wind blew in. The temperature outside was still very low. Draco leaned out of the window and saw that the platform was covered in frost and a few students were slipping and falling on the ground, getting muddy.
Draco couldn't leave Pansy alone, so he took her hand and said, "Let's go."
Pansy nodded. Despite trying to keep her distance from Draco, she found herself drawn to his thoughtfulness, care, and consideration.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, but her words were drowned out by the noise around them.
"What did you say?" Draco asked, not having heard Pansy clearly.
"Nothing," Pansy shook her head gently.
After getting off the train, a rough voice called out to them, "Come here, first years!" Hagrid's burly figure stood out among a group of students, and the first-years were directed to participate in a traditional boat event to commemorate the four founders of Hogwarts.
Draco helped Pansy follow the crowd slowly forward.
"I can go by myself," Pansy said, still a little embarrassed. She gently broke free of Draco's hand and walked on her own, indicating that she was fine.
Draco naturally didn't force her.
They followed the other students on a rough and muddy path. Looking around, they saw hundreds of carriages waiting for the remaining students.
Surprisingly, there were no horses in front of these carriages.
Draco knew that these were the death horses, which could only be seen by those who had faced death. According to records, they were huge black horses with no flesh, their black fur tightly stretched over their bones. The bones were clearly visible and their heads resembled dragons, with white eyes and no pupils. They had long black tails and wings grew between their shoulder bones.
As Draco and Pansy were about to get into a carriage, they saw a girl crouching on the side of another carriage, staring straight ahead as if she had discovered something new.
Her light gold and brown hair gave away her identity.
This was probably the first time Luna had seen a death horse. Last year, as a first-year, she had to follow tradition and reach the castle by boat, so she didn't see one. However, death horses are actually quite rare. Besides a few wild ones, most death horses in the UK are tamed by Hagrid. The original male death horses and five female death horses have quickly reproduced, forming a large population.
Even when Dumbledore needed to travel long distances and it was inconvenient to use Apparition, he would use death horses as transportation.
Hagrid must be a talented trainer, Draco thought to himself as he was about to step into a carriage. But then he saw Luna's body tremble suddenly, as if she could feel his gaze. She stood up and walked straight towards him. The distance was short and Luna was in front of Draco in no time.
"Thank you," Luna said, looking at Draco with her somewhat blurry eyes. She bowed slightly and sincerely thanked him.
"Huh?" Draco raised his eyebrows in confusion, feeling a little perplexed. He didn't remember helping Luna at all.
Luna didn't explain, instead turning around and walking with small steps towards the nearest carriage. She could feel the hostility from the girl behind Draco and didn't want to cause any trouble. However, her eyes still kept sweeping towards the death horse in front of the carriage. Luna didn't know why other students couldn't see it, which only made her more curious about the creature. She decided to go and check out previous editions of "Daily Prophet" for more information.
Maybe after she learned the truth, she hoped she would never see these creatures again.
"Did I help her?" Draco was still thinking about Luna's thanks when he got into the carriage.
"Of course, you just didn't notice it yourself," Pansy suddenly interrupted his thoughts and began to explain.
It turned out that when Luna came to speak to him at Lockhart that day, the conversation between the two of them had been noticed. As a result, the students from their college who had bullied Luna returned the items they had stolen from Luna, which led to the notice that Luna was getting her things back being taken down.
If Draco and Luna had a good relationship, then the next time something like this happened, wouldn't it be easier for Luna to get revenge?
'Bad relationship?' Draco thought to himself. 'Then I shouldn't get involved with this crazy girl. It would be harder to accept being implicated in something innocent.'
This incident only made Luna more unpopular in her college.
But she didn't resent Draco, instead thanking him. If it were others, they might be angry with him. But in Luna's eyes, those who alienated her just because of rumors shouldn't be considered true friends. She appreciated a friend who treated her sincerely.
Luna was so frank and independent, even if the students around her laughed at her, she still lived freely and didn't change her original intentions because of others' opinions.
For Luna, she could always keenly feel the real emotions of the people around her when facing her. Was this intuition lucky or unfortunate?
Special Note:
DADA - Defense Against Dark Arts
Komentar Paragraf
Fitur komentar paragraf sekarang ada di Web! Arahkan kursor ke atas paragraf apa pun dan klik ikon untuk menambahkan komentar Anda.
Selain itu, Anda selalu dapat menonaktifkannya atau mengaktifkannya di Pengaturan.
MENGERTI