Mountain streams and flowing water.
Birdsong and the scent of flowers.
Clearly, this magical space already had its own small ecosystem.
If this scene had been found anywhere else, it would not have been especially strange. It might even have seemed ordinary and familiar.
But if someone told you this place was actually somewhere inside Hogwarts Castle, at the very end of a certain floor, then it became astonishing.
The difficulty of this magic was not something an ordinary Undetectable Extension Charm could create.
Even a wizard would find it hard to believe what they were seeing, much less that all of it had come from the hands of an underage wizard who had not even graduated yet.
Not far away, Ginny even saw several neat rows of finished wooden cottages, along with figures moving in and out, busy with who knew what.
If she had not known she had just been inside Hogwarts moments ago, she might have thought she had arrived at a small village, and that those figures were natives from some remote corner of the world.
Turning her stiff neck, Ginny stared in astonishment at Draco, who had just walked up beside her. "Where is this? We haven't left Hogwarts, have we?!"
Even as she said it, she already knew the answer.
As a witch, Ginny could clearly sense that when they passed through that hidden door, there had been no magical fluctuation at all. It certainly had not been a spatial spell capable of transporting wizards over long distances.
Besides, that kind of spell could not be used inside Hogwarts in the first place.
In other words, they were definitely still inside Hogwarts.
Seeing Ginny Weasley so frightened, Draco was not surprised in the slightest. He simply shrugged.
"Left Hogwarts? No, no, no. You haven't left the school. This is only a place prepared in advance."
"...Prepared for what?"
"The Dark Lord's invasion of Hogwarts, of course."
"....."
Ginny stared at Draco in shock, completely unprepared to hear those words.
But the serious, earnest look in his eyes made it clear that Draco had not been joking. Ginny realized she seemed to have been pulled into something terribly serious.
Frowning, Ginny slowly asked, "Why are you telling me this? Aren't you worried...?"
"There's nothing to worry about. In fact, this is something everyone at Hogwarts will find out sooner or later, and I don't plan to hide it from the wizards I can trust."
"So this is what you meant by uniting every force you can use?"
"You'll know later."
Draco did not answer the question directly. He simply walked toward the cluster of buildings by the lake.
...
Magic truly was extraordinary.
With only their own power, wizards could construct massive projects that would take Muggles countless tools, manpower, and time to complete.
Compared with Ginny, who was still dazed and uncertain, Hermione, who had been involved in this operation almost the entire time, could accept the changes before her more easily. Even so, for a moment, her entire worldview was overturned once again.
Looking up at the towering building before her, Hermione wore a conflicted expression. "Honestly, every time I see this, I start doubting the life I lived before."
"That's why it's honestly hard to imagine how you Muggles managed to survive, Granger."
"...I'll admit magic is extremely convenient, but don't get too arrogant. It'll cloud your judgment, Parkinson."
"Are you lecturing me?!"
"If that's how you understand it, then I'm glad to see you've gotten a little smarter."
"Granger!"
"Parkinson!"
Thud.
Thud.
After Draco violently suppressed them, the two girls who had just been arguing finally quieted down. The little farce also helped calm Ginny, whose thoughts had been in turmoil.
It gave her the presence of mind to observe everything around her. Only after they walked closer did Ginny and Luna finally see who the busy figures were.
They were all wizards, and Slytherin snakes at that.
To be precise, these wizards were all Draco's followers. Among them, Goyle and Crabbe were leading the construction work.
That explained why Goyle and Crabbe had barely been seen around school lately.
It seemed they had spent all this time here.
In any case.
After following Draco into one of the buildings, Hermione could no longer hold back the question she had wanted to ask for a long time. "Although I've already guessed part of it, Draco, you should tell us what you're really thinking now."
Hearing Hermione's question, and seeing the expectant looks from the girls, Draco finally stopped hiding his plan and explained everything he had in mind.
That was when Pansy and Hermione, who had been busy with these preparations recently, finally understood the purpose behind it all.
"We need a safe place to rest and regroup, and when the right moment comes, we'll deal our enemies a heavy blow."
"You mean..."
"To keep the British wizarding world from spiraling out of control, even a mad Dark Lord has to consider whether other wizarding worlds might intervene. Unless he wants to fight the entire wizarding world."
While the girls digested that information, Draco pulled open the window.
"In other words, the coming war will be confined within a certain range. As for the battlefield..."
The girls seemed to understand what Draco was about to say, and they looked with difficulty at the figure bathed in sunlight.
"I think I know what you mean..."
"So that's what you meant by confrontation?"
"Is Hogwarts going to become the next battlefield?"
The clever girls said the answer aloud themselves.
Draco was not surprised at all. He paused briefly, then continued.
"Leaving would certainly be the safest choice, but it wouldn't be the best decision."
"So you want to unite the wizards from the other houses and fight the Dark Lord together?"
"But is that even possible? After all..."
Although the words were left unfinished, everyone present understood the problem between the four houses all too well.
Pure-bloods and half-bloods.
Faced with their confusion and doubt, Draco tugged lightly at his robe and gave them a soft laugh.
His elegant, confident demeanor left Pansy and the others staring in a daze.
"True nobility does not come from inherited bloodlines. It comes from noble conduct and a noble soul."
"I, Draco Malfoy, will show these people what true nobility really is!"