Chapter 182
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"It really is a lonely journey."
On the Hogwarts Express, Malfoy sat alone in his compartment, staring at the scenery flashing past outside the window.
He was lost in thought.
Pansy's injury had turned out to be far more serious than he had expected.
When they brought her to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, the Healers immediately insisted that she remain hospitalized.
According to them, the spell that had injured her was vicious and extremely rare, something that had not been seen for many years. Recovery would take a long time.
Even if she managed to return to school on schedule, her movements would still be affected for quite some time.
No one knew how long it would take for her to recover completely.
Thinking about it made Malfoy clench his fists.
Because of his carelessness, someone close to him had been hurt.
A feeling of helplessness crept into his heart.
For the first time in a long while, he felt uncertain about the future.
Would everything really unfold according to his plans?
He didn't know.
But the path ahead could not be changed now.
---
"Is anyone here?"
A dreamy voice sounded outside the compartment, followed by a few polite knocks on the door.
"It seems I'll have to stay in the corridor for a few more hours…"
The girl outside sighed softly, sounding disappointed.
Apparently, no one wanted to share a compartment with her.
"Hello?"
Malfoy opened the door.
Standing outside was a petite girl peering through the glass with hopeful eyes.
"Luna?"
It was Luna Lovegood.
She wasn't wearing her school uniform yet. Instead, she still wore her usual eccentric clothes, as if she had just returned from the Quidditch World Cup.
Her face was painted with a national flag, and on her head sat an upside-down lion-shaped hat decorated with a wreath of thorns.
"Malfoy?" Luna blinked in surprise.
"What happened to that little girl? And the two people who came later—were they her family?"
She asked the question immediately.
"Gabrielle?" Malfoy guessed.
"That was her sister and their headmistress," he replied. "You saw that?"
"Yes. I was standing a little far away though."
Luna tilted her head thoughtfully.
"At first I thought you had kidnapped the girl, and her family came to interrogate you."
She said it as casually as if she were commenting on the weather.
Malfoy almost laughed.
That guess wasn't actually far from the truth…
"Can I come in?" Luna asked, already leaning halfway into the compartment.
"Do you think I'd throw you out?" Malfoy said dryly.
He stepped aside to let her in.
"Thank you."
Luna sat down opposite him and quietly took a magazine from her bag.
If Malfoy wasn't mistaken, it was The Quibbler, the magazine published by her father.
Soon the compartment fell silent.
Malfoy closed his eyes and began to rest.
The train journey was long, and sleeping was the easiest way to pass the time.
Across from him, Luna quietly read her magazine.
Even when she encountered something amusing, she carefully suppressed her laughter so she wouldn't wake the boy who had helped her.
For a while, the peaceful atmosphere continued.
Until suddenly—
"Get lost! I don't need your things!"
A hoarse voice suddenly echoed through the train.
The noise even woke Malfoy from his nap.
Luna quickly shook her head, her radish-shaped earrings and Butterbeer cork necklace swinging wildly.
Then she held up her magazine upside down, as if to prove she had been quietly reading and had nothing to do with the disturbance.
"I'm not blaming you at all," Malfoy said with a faint smile.
"I'll go take a look."
He already had a good guess about whose voice it was.
He had encountered the owner of that voice several times before.
---
At the end of the narrow corridor, snacks were scattered everywhere.
Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and many other sweets littered the floor.
The trolley that had carried them had overturned.
The elderly trolley witch was struggling to gather the scattered sweets, bending down again and again with difficulty.
"Who did this?!"
A girl's angry voice rang out.
Hermione Granger hurried forward and knelt down to help the old witch pick up the sweets.
"Hermione!"
Harry and Ron rushed over as well.
The three of them worked together to clean up the mess.
"Thank you, dear," the old witch said gratefully.
She even tried to offer them some sweets in return.
Harry and Ron felt a little embarrassed accepting the thanks.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure," the old witch replied helplessly.
"I was just selling my sweets as usual when I ran into a strange man."
"His eyes were terrifying… rolling around constantly. Just looking at him made me feel frightened."
Her wrinkled face still showed lingering fear.
"Could it be… him?"
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance.
The description reminded them immediately of someone.
"Mad-Eye Moody!"
They said it at the same time.
"You know him?" the old witch asked.
"Sort of," Ron replied.
"But why would he do something like this?"
Ron sounded confused. His father had always spoken very highly of Moody.
"Because she violated one of my rules."
The hoarse voice spoke again.
Harry and Ron turned and saw a man limping out of a nearby compartment.
"Yep… it's him," Harry whispered.
"Sorry," Moody said gruffly.
"I've been a bit tense lately. Makes me irritable."
"You're the Weasley boy, right? I should thank your father. He helped me deal with a bit of trouble recently."
Ron nodded stiffly.
Standing this close to Alastor Moody made him feel extremely uneasy.
Last year he had only seen the man from afar in the Great Hall.
Now that Moody stood right in front of him, the pressure he gave off was overwhelming.
Ron's heart pounded.
He didn't even dare look Moody in the eye.
Even the normal one.
"You can never be too careful in the Auror business," Moody continued.
"I thought she might be an enemy."
Harry nodded slowly.
"That's why I never eat anything given to me by strangers."
Moody pulled a small flask from his coat, uncorked it, and took a long drink.
"For example, I only consume things I trust."
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"And the only person you can completely trust…"
Moody's magical eye fixed directly on Harry.
"…is yourself."