If Pansy and the others had been there, they would have recognized it immediately. The small mirror in Draco's hand was one of the Christmas gifts from before.
It was the Two way mirror with a name written on the back.
What was surprising, though, was that according to what Draco had just said, this little mirror of unknown origin, with Lockhart's full name written on it, seemed to have been prepared by Kreacher standing in front of him.
More precisely, Kreacher was the culprit who had slipped it into that pile of Christmas presents without even Dobby noticing.
As for why Draco had come to that conclusion...
Without giving Kreacher any chance to defend himself or explain, Draco stated his reasoning outright.
"It is not hard to guess, because I do not believe Dobby would have handed those Christmas presents to me without any inspection at all."
Since Lucius cared so much about Draco's safety, there was no way he would allow a magical item of unknown origin to appear at Draco's side.
Even now, Draco could still remember the bewildered expression that had appeared on Dobby's face back then.
If it had not been connected to Lockhart, Draco would not have asked Dobby to keep it secret. He would have exposed it long ago...
"...."
Head lowered, Kreacher blinked those large eyes as if deep in thought.
"In other words, to do something like this without being noticed, and even without alerting Dobby, it would have to be someone other than my parents, someone whose identity would not arouse suspicion."
Someone trusted.
And what kind of someone could earn his parents' trust while also having access to the family's affairs?
After a brief pause, Draco narrowed his eyes deeply as he stared at Kreacher, who was nearly flattened against the floor.
"So the only one I could think of was a house elf of the Malfoy family."
At that, Kreacher finally understood why Draco had suddenly taken such an interest in their work during this period.
It could be said that, apart from Nait, who served at Lucius's side day and night, every other house elf in Malfoy Manor had been summoned into Draco's room one by one, all so he could spend time figuring out everything he wanted to know...
'No... perhaps he had suspected me even earlier than that?'
With his head lowered, Kreacher suddenly recalled their very first meeting. Back then, this future heir of the Malfoy family had also questioned him with the same forceful manner.
No.
Rather than suspicion, it would be more accurate to say it was the tone and confidence of someone simply confirming what he already believed.
Kreacher froze.
Something about the person before him reminded him of a certain Young Master.
Because that person, too, had possessed wise eyes that seemed able to see straight through a person's heart...
...
He stared at that youthful face.
After drifting for a few seconds through those deep and painful memories, Kreacher finally returned to himself. It was as though he could see frenzied hatred in those eyes.
Perhaps that was why Kreacher always kept his head bowed and his back bent...
Just when Draco thought the other had not heard him, Kreacher's bullfrog like voice sounded out.
"Yes, sir."
There was no excuse, and no silence either. Unexpectedly, Kreacher admitted it very directly.
And strangely enough, after hearing Kreacher's answer, Draco showed neither the anger one might expect nor the satisfaction of someone pleased at having seen through the truth. Instead, he returned to that lazy posture and lightly waved the little mirror in his hand.
He turned it over, and the engraved name Lockhart came into view...
As for the Two way mirror in his hand, it was not as if Draco had never tried contacting Lockhart on the other side. Or rather, the person who should have been Lockhart.
But after several attempts to pour magic into the mirror and call out to the other side, only to receive no response at all, Draco eventually gave up on the one sided effort.
Clearly, if the Two way mirror was not broken and was a magical item that could still be used normally, then the reason he could not reach Lockhart was either that the other party was not carrying the mirror with him, or that the timing was simply wrong.
In other words, Lockhart, the one who had sent the mirror into his hands, would definitely have someone notify him of the proper time to make contact.
That was why Draco had suspected Kreacher from the very beginning.
After all, the timing of Kreacher joining the Malfoy family was simply too coincidental...
As for the little tricks of house elves themselves.
In truth, Dobby had already made it clear that while house elves were bound by the rule that they could not betray their masters, as long as they did not violate that rule directly, there was still plenty of room to maneuver.
It was only because rebellious house elves like Dobby were so rare that no wizard had ever thought to improve against, or even guard against, what house elves might do in private.
And from the look of it, Kreacher was one of those few.
Who knew where Lockhart had found Kreacher, or how he had managed to persuade him...
At that thought, Draco rested his head on one hand and looked at Kreacher.
"I can more or less guess the reason, and I do not care to ask what sort of relationship you have with Lockhart. What I want to know is, when is the time Lockhart told me to make contact?"
'He even guessed that?'
Kreacher lowered his eyes, gaining a deeper understanding of the wizard before him.
As for how he had come to know Lockhart?
The moment a certain figure flashed through Kreacher's mind, he raised his eyes, noticed those faintly golden irises, and immediately lowered his head again as if stung...
"Yes, sir. Lockhart once said that you would definitely say that. He also told me there was no need to deliberately hide this matter. In fact, when the time came, Kreacher would have spoken up on his own."
"So..."
"When the time comes, that is when I will appear."
Draco straightened slightly in his seat and looked at Kreacher in confusion, because it seemed as though he had already said everything there was to say.
Sensing the gaze from above, Kreacher expressionlessly repeated himself once more.
"When the time comes, that is when I will appear. Those... were all of Lockhart's exact words, sir."
Tsk.
Draco lifted a brow in annoyance.
Since when had that battle maniac started making 'prophecies'...?