“The latest gossip! Cedric Diggory and Lusa Riddle kissed…”
“Rumor has it the girl forced herself on him and did that thing to Cedric…”
“You’re spreading rumors again! Senior Cedric already clarified—they just ate something extremely spicy. It’s definitely not that kind of relationship!”
“What kind of thing could make their lips swell like that? I’m skeptical!”
“Exactly, exactly… There must be something fishy going on…”
Snape, who happened to overhear a snippet of the gossip as he passed by, suddenly darkened his expression. He shook his billowing black robes, which seemed to howl like a tornado, instantly crushing the atmosphere with the aura of the Snake King.
His low, magnetic voice hissed menacingly, “Twenty points from Hufflepuff—for gossiping and spreading rumors!”
The previously chattering little badgers immediately trembled in fear, like a flock of quails with their necks squeezed, shrinking their colorful heads and not daring to meet Snape’s cold, murderous gaze.
“If there’s a second time, and I hear you slandering Slytherin, it won’t just be point deductions. I think you’ll enjoy my dungeon.”
Snape gave an evil smile, snorted heavily through his nostrils, glanced at the Hufflepuffs whose heads were nearly buried in their chests, and without another word, strode away, leaving a trail of gloom in his wake.
The Hufflepuffs, looking dejected and weak-kneed, clutched their hearts, nearly fainting on the spot.
Each of them felt guilty and terrified beyond measure. They had been gossiping so merrily—why had they forgotten that Lusa Riddle was a Slytherin, and, moreover, Professor Snape’s favorite student?
Oh, they were practically asking for death! (_)
Lusa had been quite troubled by the romantic scandal she had inadvertently caused. Although Cedric had explained the situation and even apologized for it.
What did he have to apologize for? He was really too good-natured.
Lusa felt frustrated and somewhat embarrassed. If she hadn’t been so greedy for that snack, this gossip would never have happened. It was all the fault of that spicy snack!
Fortunately, after a few days, the baseless rumors about her and Cedric gradually faded away.
Lusa breathed a sigh of relief. The rumor-mongers must have found a new topic to latch onto.
Pansy seized the opportunity to mock her a few times, sarcastically congratulating her on finding a Hufflepuff friend.
Lusa simply took it as jealousy. Poor Pansy seemed to have been ignored during Valentine’s Day, so it was normal for her to harbor some pent-up frustration.
The most exasperating one was Draco. For some inexplicable reason, he had been giving her the cold shoulder for several days. Lusa had already explained that it was just a misunderstanding.
Even if it weren’t a misunderstanding, what did it have to do with him?
Could it be that Draco Malfoy, the pure-blood advocate, had taken a liking to her?
As soon as this thought popped into her head, Lusa found it amusing.
No way, no way? Was her charm really that great? d(д)
During one break, Lusa, lounging on the sofa while reading a high-level spellbook, was once again subjected to Draco’s incessant chatter, this time about the long-past misunderstanding.
“…You really didn’t do anything with that… what?” Draco asked awkwardly, bringing up the old topic again. “That third-year Hufflepuff.”
Lusa gave him an exasperated glance and couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. Was the young master’s curiosity piqued? Was he so interested in her private affairs?
“…What are you laughing at? I’m just concerned about you!”
Draco rolled his eyes, as if forcefully justifying something, arguing unreasonably, “You should know, a girl like you who hasn’t seen much of the world is easily deceived in matters of the heart. As a Malfoy and your sincere friend, it’s my duty to warn you—if you really want to make friends, you must be extra cautious. At the very least, the person should be an outstanding Slytherin.”
“Oh, so you’re concerned about me. Thanks.”
Lucius remained unmoved, lazily responding as her eyes stayed fixed on the advanced spells in her book, her dismissiveness all too obvious.
“…Hey! You still haven’t answered my question!”
Draco slapped the armrest of his chair, saying angrily.
His pale, pointed face flushed with a lively redness from the emotional turmoil—likely from anger—but it looked rather appetizing nonetheless.
Lucius sighed helplessly, reluctantly setting her spellbook aside and turning to look directly into Draco’s eyes with a probing gaze.
She simply didn’t like overthinking or assuming things, but she wasn’t a fool.
“Draco… you care about me that much?”
Lucius gave him a deep look, the words slipping out, her eyes carrying a hint of teasing and surprise.
Draco’s words and actions seemed to have strayed beyond the boundaries of so-called friendship.
“…N-no, not at all!”
Draco seemed startled, hastily avoiding Lucius’s probing gaze. He kicked the leg of the sofa restlessly, his mouth babbling out explanations.
“You… don’t overthink things! We’re just friends. You know my family…”
The unspoken words spoke for themselves.
Oh, I see.
Lucius felt slightly disappointed. Although Draco’s temper was indeed terrible, his personality domineering, and he was quite noisy, he wasn’t so bad once you got used to him.
“Draco, as friends, we must maintain certain boundaries.”
Otherwise, I might start imagining things, and that would be awkward.
“What do you mean?” Draco sounded a bit unhappy.
“It means… whether I befriend Cedric or Harry Potter, it’s none of your business. It’s my freedom!”
Lucius’s voice turned cold, her eyes carrying a warning. She didn’t want things to reach that point—falling out with Draco over the boundaries of friendship. Consider this a preemptive warning.
After all, when it comes to making friends, whether the person is from Slytherin or Hufflepuff shouldn’t change based on Draco’s preferences.
Draco couldn’t help but widen his eyes, his emotions surging as he wanted to retort, but for a moment, he didn’t know what to say. It felt as if a heavy stone were pressing against his chest, suffocating him.
“Alright, that’s enough.”
Lucius found the topic dull and uninteresting. She picked up her book and headed toward the dormitory.
She even forgot to say goodbye to Draco.
Draco fumed, feeling even angrier.
……..
“What’s wrong with you? You look miserable.”
Blaise, who had just stepped out of the shower wrapped only in a white towel, casually glanced at the utterly dejected Draco and asked in surprise.
“Shut up and put some clothes on! Don’t assault my eyes!”
“Oh, I can take that as you admiring my great physique.”
Blaise proudly flexed the muscles on his chest.
Draco walked away with a look of disgust, pretending to gag.
Frustrated, Draco threw himself onto the large bed, pressing a goose-down pillow heavily over his face as he recalled the conversation he’d had with Lucius in the common room.
His heart felt deeply unsettled, even a little pained.
He’d said the right thing, so why did it feel so suffocating?
Especially when he saw Blaise’s smug, beaming face—that stifling, restless irritation only grew stronger.
“What did you and Lucius talk about that took so long?”
Guessing at his friend’s thoughts, Blaise couldn’t help but ask.
“You weren’t eavesdropping, were you?” Draco sprang up from the bed like a carp leaping from water, both startled and furious.
Blaise took a step back, waving his hands with a laugh. “Nothing of the sort! I just saw the two of you sitting there talking, so I made sure to send Pansy and the others away so you wouldn’t be disturbed. Pretty good of a friend, right?”
“Disturbed? You’re overthinking it!” Draco snapped irritably, turning his back and refusing to engage further with Blaise, who was clearly itching for gossip.
Draco felt utterly dejected. Lucius still seemed really angry.
The young master tossed and turned all night, nearly ending up with dark circles under his eyes.
Even worse, when he finally managed to fall asleep, Draco had a nightmare. In it, Lucius stared at him expressionlessly, bluntly declaring they were no longer friends and even saying something about Harry Potter being a hundred—no, a thousand—times better than him!
With a sharp cry, Draco jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat.