Malfoy had originally believed that his near-perfect act of snitching would end with Harry Potter and his two idiot friends being ordered by Professor McGonagall to pack their things and leave Hogwarts.
And that arrogant Lucian Thornwick—who always carried himself as if he stood above everyone—would surely feel miserable after losing his friends.
At that point, Lucian would be alone.
Malfoy had planned to set a few more traps for him afterward.
Surely even a "genius" would eventually break.
But what he never expected—
Was that he himself would be dragged into the punishment and forced to enter that cursed, supposedly haunted Forbidden Forest.
Now he regrets it.
Regretted it so badly his intestines felt twisted.
When he saw that terrifying shadow crouched over the unicorn like a demon crawling out of hell—
When he felt that pure evil aura capable of freezing a person's very soul—
The fragile psychological defense he had built upon his pride as a pure-blood wizard collapsed instantly.
With a piercing scream that had completely lost its tone—
Malfoy forgot he was a wizard.
Forgot he even held a wand.
There was only one thought in his mind.
Run.
Run away from this place.
Run away from that shadow.
He spun around and fled desperately, scrambling and stumbling as he ran back the way he came with all the strength he had.
Roots tripped him.
He fell, then crawled back up with both hands and feet.
Branches slashed his face, leaving thin streaks of blood across his cheeks—but he didn't even notice.
He had already forgotten that Harry Potter, the "scarhead," was still standing there in shock.
As for Lucian?
He cared even less.
When Malfoy finally burst into the Slytherin common room—panting, disheveled, looking like a stray dog that had just escaped death—
He immediately caused a stir.
"Draco? What happened to you?"
Pansy Parkinson hurried over, concerned on her face.
"Ghost… there's a ghost…"
Malfoy's lips were still trembling uncontrollably.
He grabbed a glass of water from the table and gulped it down in one breath before finally calming his racing heart.
Under the curious and worried gazes of the others, he began recounting what he had seen deep in the Forbidden Forest—embellishing the story dramatically.
When they heard that Lucian had created yet another explosive spell, the room erupted in shock.
That monster…
Did he have no limits when it came to magic?
How could someone casually achieve things others could never accomplish in a lifetime?
But when they heard that Lucian had gone alone into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, and that a shadowy figure was drinking unicorn blood, the room filled with sharp intakes of breath.
After the initial fear faded, however—
Something darker began to grow.
A twisted excitement.
A sense of malicious anticipation.
"Wait,"
A Slytherin prefect in the upper years suddenly spoke, catching the key detail.
"Draco… you're saying Potter and Lucian are still in there?"
"Of course!"
Malfoy's terrified expression had already shifted into something far more vicious.
"Potter just stood there like an idiot. And that Lucian fool ran deeper into the forest alone! For all we know… he's already become that thing's dinner!"
"Excellent!"
One Slytherin student nearly clapped with excitement.
The entire common room atmosphere instantly shifted from a horror story gathering to a gloating celebration.
"They're finished!"
"Exactly! Even if the monster doesn't kill them, the school rules will!"
"Let's see…"
Another Slytherin began counting on his fingers with a smug grin.
"Potter—wandering around after curfew."
"Lucian—experimenting with dangerous explosive magic and destroying school property."
"And now they've gone and approached extremely dangerous magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest…"
"Tsk tsk. Any one of those would earn them months of detention—or even… expulsion."
Laughter filled the room.
Malicious laughter.
Ever since Lucian's miraculous Quidditch performance, the Slytherins had felt suffocated by his brilliance.
Now they finally had something to cling to.
They comforted themselves with the belief that Lucian's "genius" only applied to academics and flying.
When faced with real danger—dark, deadly danger—
His clever tricks would mean nothing.
In fact, his arrogance might cause him to die faster than anyone else.
Malfoy leaned comfortably into a soft armchair, enjoying the attention of the crowd around him.
All the fear and humiliation he had felt earlier had transformed into sweet anticipation of the disaster awaiting Lucian and Harry.
In his mind, he could already picture the scene tomorrow morning—
Professor McGonagall announced before the entire school that the annoying scarhead and the arrogant "genius" would both be expelled from Hogwarts.
The Slytherin students were delighted.
Every single one of them waited eagerly.
Waiting to see how the astonishing prodigy—
Would finally fall.
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