Time accelerated back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Speaking of which, after Professor McGonagall appeared and relayed Dumbledore's message, Snape and Umbridge completely lost interest in sniping at each other in the classroom.
After all, if Draco could pick up on those subtle details, there was no reason the two of them wouldn't have noticed something was off.
Both of them sensed the problem in Professor McGonagall's attitude, or rather, they realized that something had just happened, information they hadn't yet had time to learn about.
After all, these days, there were very few things that could truly catch Dumbledore's attention. Aside from news related to that person, nothing else really came to mind…
At that thought.
It was obvious that Umbridge was considering leaving the classroom, while Snape's expression darkened, his hand unconsciously covering his arm.
Snape's gaze then shifted oddly toward the completely confused Harry Potter.
Draco, meanwhile, quietly took in the changes in both of their expressions, his fingers unconsciously tapping against the desktop.
This was a small habit Draco only had when he was thinking deeply…
...
Looks like I'll have to find Lockhart and ask what's going on.
That thought was reluctantly abandoned not long after Potions class ended.
The reason wasn't because it was difficult for Draco to contact him at Hogwarts, nor because Lockhart lacked useful information.
Rather, on the way to Care of Magical Creatures, Draco learned from Goyle about a major incident unfolding outside the school…
Although Draco couldn't yet be certain whether it was connected to what had just happened.
"You just said… an escape?"
"That's right, boss lady. And I heard the Ministry is in complete chaos right now because of it."
"But… that's Azkaban. No wizard has ever escaped from there. Well, aside from Sirius."
"Yeah, I didn't believe it at first either—but it's already in the Daily Prophet."
As mentioned before, in a sense, the Daily Prophet served as the Ministry of Magic's mouthpiece and public voice.
Whether it was announcing decisions or issuing new decrees, the Ministry always entrusted the Daily Prophet with the first official report. And now, the emergency edition in Draco's hands carried the latest news from the wizarding world.
Namely, that Azkaban, guarded by Dementors, had once again seen a wizard escape…
Meanwhile.
After tossing the Daily Prophet to Crabbe, Draco rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Something doesn't feel right. Why isn't the Ministry trying to suppress this? Given the current situation, they should at least wait a few weeks to see how things develop."
There was a reason Draco thought so.
The Ministry was already pouring a great deal of effort into cracking down on Dark Wizards, leaving them with little spare capacity to deal with anything else.
Let alone something as serious as a wizard breaking out of Azkaban…
Don't think that Sirius's escape hadn't caused much of a stir. In truth, it had already dealt a heavy blow to the wizarding public's confidence in the Ministry.
In fact, the Sirius Black incident had planted seeds of doubt about whether the Ministry could truly control the Dementors. If it happened again, it could seriously undermine the Ministry's authority.
That was precisely why, when Harry Potter was attacked by a Dementor, the Ministry had been so eager to smear his reputation and push for his conviction.
Wasn't that essentially an attempt to silence him, so that fewer people would believe what Harry Potter had to say…
And yet now, instead of using their usual tactics of concealment, the Ministry had taken the initiative to lay everything out in the open before all wizards.
That was completely unlike Cornelius Fudge.
...
Realizing this, Draco muttered, "Something's strange here."
"Strange? If you ask me, it's probably just another Sirius Black situation. Nothing worth worrying about. What we should be figuring out is where Hagrid went."
Perhaps because of Sirius Black as a precedent, after hearing Draco's muttering, Pansy tossed the Daily Prophet to the Hermione beside her with a bored expression.
Yes, Hermione.
It was worth mentioning that, although they were supposedly arguing, it was really just Hermione refusing to speak to Draco.
In fact, after Potions class, Hermione had already rejoined Draco's group…
Taking the Daily Prophet from Pansy, Hermione frowned and voiced her own thoughts. "It does seem strange."
When it came to important matters, Hermione temporarily set aside her sulking and began analyzing what bothered her.
"Look carefully. Do you see the name of the escaped prisoner anywhere in this article? I don't believe the Ministry wouldn't know exactly who's locked up in Azkaban."
"Now that you mention it… you're right."
"Not just that. The number of escapees, their identities, how they escaped, all of it is vague. Some parts are barely mentioned at all. No matter how you look at it, this is far too odd."
"..."
"That's what you were getting at too, wasn't it, Draco?"
After saying this, Hermione snapped the Daily Prophet shut and shot a sharp glare at Draco, who was watching her with a smile.
Her confident, energetic analysis made the followers who overheard instinctively nod in approval.
And Draco's eyes were filled with amusement as well…
To be honest, their earlier argument had been nothing more than a trivial matter. Besides, Draco hadn't been expelled from Hogwarts in the first place.
The real issue was simply that Hermione refused to admit defeat and wanted Draco to recognize his own mistake.
But before much time had even passed, this sudden incident had already made it hard for her to stay upset.
Thinking that, the smile in Draco's eyes grew even more obvious as he looked at Hermione.
It made Hermione flush with embarrassment and glare even harder. She had never met such an ungentlemanly jerk…
"I'm talking to you! What are you grinning about?"
"Alright, I'll admit it. That's exactly the issue I wanted to point out."
"Hmph!"
Hands on her hips, eyes glaring, yet her body unconsciously leaned closer.
Perhaps this was the true charm of a tsundere, genuine and adorable all the same…