Draco looked at Neville unhappily; if looks could kill, Neville would have died countless times over.
He didn't understand why Neville had such baseless hostility towards him.
He admitted he had spoken ill of the other party behind their back… but… he had never cursed them to their face, had he?
The few of them quickly walked upstairs.
Howl's office was warm, still simply furnished, and music played softly.
Howl first paused the music on the gramophone, then pulled a candle from his right arm.
"What made you think of using a Soothing Grass candle?" Lucifer asked in surprise.
"A few children seem to have gotten into a fight." Howl began: "Soothing Grass can make them calmer and more candid.
That way, it'll be easier to resolve the trouble."
The candle was lit, emitting a faint wisp of green smoke, a gentle fragrance of fresh spring grass lingering at the tip of the nose.
At the same time, the four children also came up.
Sitting at the back of the office, he raised his hand. Four blocks of pine wood flew from beside the fireplace behind him, transforming into four somewhat slender chairs.
"Have a seat first." Howl said.
The children sat down as instructed, their expressions varied.
Neville grasped the corner of his clothes, constantly rubbing them, clearly extremely nervous.
And Hermione was only slightly better than him.
"Don't worry, I didn't keep you after class to reprimand or punish you." Howl said.
Neville and Hermione visibly sighed in relief.
"But before we discuss this matter, I'd like to know why you argued just now—the whole story!" Howl said.
"Miss Granger, would you like to tell us?" He looked at Hermione.
Hermione nodded, and quickly recounted the entire story.
Howl frowned, looking at Neville, and said calmly: "Neville, do you mind telling us why?"
"I… Professor…"
Howl nodded: "If you don't want to, that's fine too."
After speaking, his gaze shifted to Draco.
"What about you, Mr. Malfoy."
"Hmph—" Draco crossed his arms unhappily, leaning back in his chair.
"Who knows…"
As he spoke, he met Howl's gaze.
Immediately, his hair stood on end.
He quickly sat up straight, lowered his hands, and readjusted his posture, then took a deep breath, his mind constantly racing.
The inexplicable scent lingering at his nose suddenly made him feel clearer.
Finally, he looked at Neville unhappily.
"If you're upset about me playing with your Remembrall a year ago, then I apologize."
A year ago—that was so long ago.
And at the time, he had only just gotten that Remembrall before Harry snatched it away.
But he racked his brain and could only think of this one thing; besides that, he had never had any interaction with this guy.
"I…" Neville hadn't expected Draco to apologize.
One could even say—no one could have expected it!!
"It's not… I…" He became a little flustered.
"You can speak boldly; perhaps there's some misunderstanding in it." Howl's face held a gentle smile, as he spoke softly and slowly.
The entire office fell silent, with only the crackling sound of the oily pine wood burning in the fireplace.
A moment later, Neville spoke: "I don't want to say."
Suddenly, he looked up and quickly explained: "I didn't mean that, I meant…"
"You can say it."
He didn't know why, but at this moment, Draco felt calmer instead.
"Because you… you're a Death Eater…'s child…"
Neville whispered.
"What?" Draco's voice rose, and he had a million reasons in his heart, he would even… even accept Neville making up any reason for him.
Howl interrupted Draco's next words.
He looked at Neville: "Mr. Longbottom, is it because your parents are Aurors?"
Neville stiffly nodded.
"I see." Howl nodded, then shook his head and said: "Neville, can I call you that?"
"Of course you can." Neville quickly nodded.
"Alright, Neville." Howl leaned forward slightly: "What I want to say is, Mr. Malfoy's father is still active in the Wizarding World."
"But—"
"No, no, no, let me finish first." Howl waved his hand.
"Even if we assume that Draco's father might have truly been a Death Eater in the past. Draco, do you mind? Such a comparison."
"I… don't mind." Draco nodded somewhat stiffly.
He didn't dare to tell Howl directly that Slytherin people rarely felt unhappy about being called a Death Eater.
Even many years ago, during You-Know-Who's most prosperous period, Slytherin was the Death Eater youth training camp.
"Even if he was once a Death Eater, I don't think Draco necessarily will be." Howl said:
"Neville, your attitude towards Mr. Malfoy, firstly, I can perhaps understand it somewhat.
However, Mr. Malfoy's father being a Death Eater does not mean he is a Death Eater! Your harm to Mr. Malfoy is not sufficiently supported by reason."
As he spoke, Howl added: "Slytherin and Gryffindor should not despise each other."
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