Professor Snape cast Draco a cold, sidelong glance before shifting his gaze to Pansy Parkinson beside him. His voice was low and deliberate as he asked, "And regarding Miss Parkinson's intention to use a Dark Curse on Miss Mayne—do you have anything you wish to explain, Miss Parkinson?"
Esther immediately lowered her eyelashes.
Ah. Here it comes. The part where villains insist they were "just joking."
Pansy shot Esther a vicious glare, the kind sharp enough to cut skin. A string of poisonous words rushed to her lips, but the presence of not one, but two professors forced her to swallow them back down.
In the end, she could only answer stiffly, her voice dripping with restrained resentment, "I was joking too, Professor. I'm only a second-year. What Dark Curse? I wouldn't even know how to use one."
At that moment, Esther deliberately shuddered, as though Pansy's glare alone had frightened her, and took a small step backward.
The timing was exquisite.
Yes, tremble a little. Just enough to look fragile, not enough to look fake. Ten out of ten, Oscar-worthy.
Besides, throughout the entire incident, Esther could clearly feel that Pansy's hostility toward her was far stronger than Draco's. She truly could not understand why women insisted on making life difficult for other women.
Perhaps it was because she was prettier.
She accepted this conclusion with great humility.
Professor Sprout frowned slightly and turned toward Pansy. "Miss Parkinson, please refrain from glaring at Miss Mayne on purpose."
Pansy's expression twisted for a split second. She opened her mouth, clearly about to argue, but Esther beat her to it with a gentle voice.
"It's all right, Professor," she said gently, with a tone so forgiving it almost glowed. "Miss Parkinson didn't mean it. She might just… naturally look a little fierce."
Those words nearly twisted Pansy's nose out of place with rage.
"Who asked you to play the saint here, you disgusting—"
"Miss Parkinson!"
Professor Snape cut her off sharply before the insult could be completed.
His gaze fixed on her, dark and heavy, the kind that made people reconsider every life decision they had ever made.
"Please refrain from raising your voice in my office," he said calmly.
His tone carried no obvious anger and was as smooth and low as ever, but Pansy instantly lost all courage and snapped her mouth shut.
"Very well," Professor Snape continued coolly. "At present, the situation is quite clear."
He paused briefly before adding, "This was nothing more than minor conflict between students. However, considering that Mr. Malfoy and his companions displayed questionable attitudes, Slytherin will lose four points. You will also serve detention in my office after classes tomorrow."
The four Slytherin students instantly drooped, their heads lowering in unison.
Compared to Hufflepuffs—who were generally unfazed by House points—deductions and detention were a far more serious matter for Slytherin students.
"As for you, Miss Mayne," Professor Snape added, turning his gaze toward her.
Esther's heart skipped.
Oh no. Why does that sound like a "but"? There is always a "but."
"You will also report to the Potions classroom tomorrow."
Esther's brain froze.
…Excuse me?
She forced a polite smile onto her face, the kind that hurt her cheeks. "Am I… also receiving detention, Professor?"
Professor Snape glanced at her with faint mockery, a look that made her feel as though he had seen straight through every single one of her performances.
"No," he replied. "You missed today's class, and the first lesson of the term is important. You will attend an evening make-up lesson instead."
Esther very much did not want to attend that lesson.
She instinctively looked toward her own Head of House, only to find that Professor Sprout completely approved of the decision.
"Don't be afraid," Professor Sprout said kindly. "Severus is a very responsible professor."
Esther nodded reluctantly.
She desperately wanted to ask Professor Sprout just how thick her colleague filter was when it came to Professor Snape.
And to make matters worse, she would be stuck serving detention at the same time as Malfoy and the others tomorrow. Without a doubt, they would look for trouble again.
What a headache.
Still somewhat distracted, Esther followed Professor Sprout out of the office. As it was already quite late, Professor Sprout thoughtfully escorted her all the way to the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room.
The moment Esther stepped inside, she froze.
The common room was packed.
No one had gone to bed. Everyone was waiting for her.
Aside from her dormmates and Ernie, there were also many older students—upperclassmen who had clearly stayed up just to hear what had happened.
Esther recounted her entire experience from beginning to end. Once she finished, the room immediately erupted into lively discussion.
"I can't believe Professor Snape actually deducted points from his own House! I've been at Hogwarts for four years, and this is the first time I've ever seen it."
"You're being conservative," another student added. "I've been here six years, and this is also my first."
"Well, our Head of House was there too," someone laughed. "No matter how biased Professor Snape is, he couldn't exactly play favorites openly."
"Malfoy's been acting high and mighty for years—looks like karma finally caught up with him."
"He only dares to bully younger students anyway. He wouldn't dare provoke upperclassmen."
"Exactly. No matter how big his bodyguards are, they can't beat students who know more spells."
The conversation gradually shifted in tone.
"This time was actually really dangerous," a third-year girl said worriedly. "Even without Malfoy, that Slytherin girl—Pansy Parkinson—is bad news. She often bullies people with a group of girls. Last year, a Ravenclaw girl somehow offended her, and she used a spell that injured her face."
"I'm certain she wasn't joking today," the girl added seriously. "She absolutely intended to ruin Esther's face."
"Goodness!"
Gasps rippled through the room.
Susan covered her mouth. "That's terrifying. Is she jealous because she's not very pretty herself?"
"Maybe."
"How come no one ever heard about this?"
"That's because the Ravenclaws fixed it quickly," someone explained. "They removed the spell before it escalated. If it had been students from another House, they might not have known what to do."
As the discussion grew darker, Ernie's face grew paler by the second.
Suddenly, he grabbed Esther's hand tightly and said with grave seriousness, "You must never go out alone again. If they don't let this go and you're by yourself, what will you do? No,this won't do at all. I'm telling my parents. They'll handle it."
Esther hurried to reassure him. "It won't come to that. Both Heads of House already know about this. They'll be cautious. The worst that'll happen is they'll shout insults at me when we pass each other."
Hannah immediately chimed in, "If they insult you, we'll insult them right back!"
Donna, her roommate, nodded vigorously. "Exactly! I was the boss of my class in primary school—no one dared mess with me. I don't care who their dad is. I don't know him anyway. If they start something, I'll finish it!"
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and flexed her arms dramatically.
To everyone's shock, despite her petite and adorable appearance, Donna actually had real muscles. The room erupted into laughter and astonishment.
"I've trained in taekwondo since I was three," Donna declared proudly. "I could take on three Malfoys without breaking a sweat!"
Esther reached out and squeezed Donna's arm enviously.
"Then you'll protect us from now on!"
She threw herself into Donna's arms and said coquettishly.
Donna was clearly delighted. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will bully you."
Amid laughter and warm chatter, the tension finally dissolved. After lingering for a while longer, everyone gradually dispersed to rest.
And just like that, the chaotic first day of the school year came to an end.
***
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