Noticing Cassandra's gaze, Hermione understood instantly. "I've only skimmed those fairy tales, but I'll help out." It would benefit her, too. She wasn't lying; compared to her usual studies, she hadn't dedicated much time to storybooks.
Harry and Malfoy, however, remained blissfully ignorant of the burgeoning alliance between Cassandra and Hermione. Harry was currently regaling Malfoy with tales of how he'd devoured fairy tales from ages five to eleven; that was only because Dudley had torn his books to shreds, and his aunt considered them too wasteful to throw away, so she'd given them to Harry.
But it wasn't about the stories themselves; it was about the message Harry and Malfoy were conveying: Give up now, when it comes to Muggle fairy tales, you simply cannot defeat me.
This realization filled Malfoy with regret. He should have stayed up all night reading Grimm's Fairy Tales! Though the book was a gift from Harry, using it to deflate Harry's arrogance would be a fitting use.
While Harry and Malfoy were still playfully bickering, Tom suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Tom?" Cassandra quickened her pace to his side. She noticed he was staring intently at a point in the distance. Following his gaze, she saw an elderly man in the distance, swinging an axe repeatedly against a large tree trunk.
"He looks like a lumberjack," Nagini remarked.
"Should we investigate?" Tom's lips curled into a slight smile. He hadn't deliberately lowered his voice, so everyone, including Cassandra, Harry, and Malfoy, heard him clearly.
Before Cassandra could react, Malfoy rushed forward. Even Harry, still riding high on his boastful wave, didn't react quickly enough, allowing Malfoy to take the lead. Enraged, Harry cursed and quickly caught up.
Cassandra, however, had no intention of chasing after them. Those special items hold different meanings for their original owners; they can't simply be grabbed by whoever arrives first, unless they're stolen. But that's clearly not why Tom brought us here.
It was better to let Malfoy and Harry scout ahead.
Hermione clearly shared her sentiment.
...
To Tom and the others' surprise, Malfoy and Harry returned quickly with a discovery. Perhaps it was because they were dressed so presentably, even with Malfoy's sharp tongue, they managed to extract key information.
The old man was indeed a lumberjack living in the nearby forest. He and his children used to live with him, but recently his wife, who lived in the north of the forest, had been eaten by wolves. His children, missing their grandmother, had moved to her cabin in the north of the forest.
And finally, the kicker: those who knew them referred to them as...
"Little Red Riding Hoods."
Hermione hadn't expected this forest to be the setting of the most famous story of the Big Bad Wolf from Grimm's Fairy Tales.
"So... we're looking for Little Red Riding Hood's hat?" Even Malfoy, who hadn't read many Muggle fairy tales, could figure it out from the name. It was too obvious.
"Let's check out the little cabin the lumberjack mentioned first." Though they didn't know why, Harry was visibly impatient.
...
Finding a specific cabin in such a vast area in the north of the forest... for ordinary people, it would be incredibly difficult. But Tom and his followers were wizards.
While wizards weren't usually portrayed as positive characters in fairy tales, one couldn't deny they were often the most overpowered. Especially a group of wizards.
Little Red Riding Hood's cabin wasn't very tall, perhaps only six or seven meters, and appeared somewhat old but rather sturdy. White smoke rising lazily from the chimney indicated the owner was likely inside.
"Sir, don't worry, leave it to me! I've read the story of Little Red Riding Hood countless times!" With that, Harry excitedly ran towards the cabin.
Seeing Harry's eagerness, Tom was pleased but also somewhat puzzled. What puzzled him more was that Malfoy hadn't rushed to follow.
Sensing their confusion, Malfoy explained, "Forget it, I'm worried about getting caught again." He indicated that experience had taught him never to leave Tom's side for even a moment; he hadn't forgotten what had happened in Egypt.
"Besides..." Malfoy gave a cryptic smile. "Scarface has reached that age. Last time I went back to the dormitory, he kicked me out because he wanted to... reward himself. He also has issues picking up girls at school because of the thousand Galleons. And it's rare to meet someone he doesn't know. Little Red Riding Hood... let him have her."
"..."
This was a bit of a bombshell.
Perhaps they didn't know the specific details, but Malfoy was likely not lying; after all, Tom was right there.
"Then Draco, wouldn't you want…?" Tom offered a playful smile.
To everyone's surprise, Malfoy let out a bitter laugh. The hurt from the red-haired girl, the shattering of his catgirl illusions... he had seemingly given up all hope.
"..."
Seeing Malfoy's renewed "heartbreak," the others exchanged strange looks. But it didn't last long. Malfoy was just about to launch into another tirade about how Harry's arrogance as the second-in-command prevented him from pursuing the Death Eater girls, when, with a click, the cabin door opened.
"Something's not right! Sir! This isn't right!" The voice preceded the person. After this pained cry reached everyone's ears, they saw Harry being carried out. The man carrying Harry was a middle-aged, burly figure dressed in coarse linen clothes. He stood nearly three meters tall, his bulging biceps larger than Harry's head!
But that wasn't the most important thing. What mattered was that this burly man was wearing a large, hooded red trench coat.
"..."
Is this fairy tale... really this dark? Tom mentally complained about the twisted fairy tale world his system had unearthed, wondering if the darkness was geared a little too far off course.
Though he's a bit different from the one in the story, thankfully the most important visual cue is still there—this burly figure... it must be Little Red Riding Hood, no doubt.
At this moment, Harry was still sobbing uncontrollably, repeatedly crying out, "Isn't this a fairy tale? Isn't this... a... fairy... tale... waaaaaah (choking back sobs)…"
Why are my eyes always filled with tears?
Because Little Red Riding Hood isn't actually a woman.
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