"I knew this day would come, did I not?" Draco said, his face gloomy, and he lowered his head.
Once she knew the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, she would no longer trust him. She would not reveal the details of Hallowe'en to him, but would be wary of him; she would probably look at him with that cold, unfamiliar gaze again, just like in her past life.
He would be reverted to his original form, becoming the evil Slytherin once more. The evil Slytherin was "unworthy" of being friends with Gryffindor, or even of being a study partner.
Draco sighed and did not dare look at her again, missing the fleeting glance the girl beside him secretly cast at him.
Wake up! That intense and unwavering gaze of hers was never meant for you, he told himself, bowing his head.
Like a lone unicorn licking its wounds, he did not know where to go. His platinum blonde hair fell down, obscuring his eyes and his unsettled sadness.
It is no big deal. I did not have any expectations or illusions to begin with, did I?
But that frozen heart seemed to have cracked, causing Draco a dull ache.
That is strange. I clearly underwent an Occlumency, yet I still feel the pain. Why?
Amidst this intermittent torment of inner turmoil, the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor was about to begin.
On Saturday, Draco would face Harry once again at the Quidditch pitch.
This time, he would absolutely not do anything foolish again, letting that damned Golden Snitch go and giving Harry an opportunity.
Referee Madam Hooch was almost driven mad by Draco.
In the week leading up to the match, Draco urged her to check the match balls at least three times.
"Spare me, Mr Malfoy, these balls are practically worn smooth from handling them so much!" Madam Hooch said angrily.
Marcus Flint, standing nearby, was quite understanding and quickly spoke up for his team's Seeker: "Madam Hooch, it is his first time playing, he is young and does not know much, it is normal for him to be a little nervous."
"All right." Madam Hooch took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger. "This is the final check! The match starts in half an hour, and I still have other preparations to confirm!"
Very good, now I can rest assured. Draco secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He vividly remembered his first confrontation with Harry.
It was hard for anyone to forget this experience, especially with a horrible Bludger chasing after you and, in the end, embarrassing yourself in front of your father by falling off the broom.
First, he needed to nip that seemingly cursed Bludger in the bud, and he had already largely succeeded.
Secondly, he could focus entirely on dealing with the Golden Snitch. As long as he spotted it before Harry, he was confident that with the speed of his broom, he could catch the Snitch before Harry did.
At eleven o'clock, the whistle blew.
Draco, like the other team members, soared into the smoky grey sky. It was a hot and humid day, with occasional claps of thunder in the air.
Draco looked around intently, searching for that small golden shadow.
Slytherin were in excellent form this year, their morale was high, and they looked like several green streaks in the air. By the time it started to rain, Slytherin were already leading sixty to nil.
Draco wiped the rain from his face, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father, Lucius. He was sitting in the stands with the Board of Governors, his long platinum blonde hair shining even in the rain.
All right, Father, this time I will show you what I am capable of, Draco muttered.
Just then, he saw the shadow of the Snitch—its pale golden wings swept across the sky, not far from him.
Draco's lips curled into a smile. He turned and flew over, accelerating as fast as he could, because he saw a red Gryffindor figure following him.
Rather than be caught, the Golden Snitch seemed to prefer staying in the sky a little longer. It sped up, weaving and dodging along the scaffolding beneath the stands, fighting desperately for freedom and attempting to evade capture.
Draco had no choice but to grit his teeth and fly in after it. Harry followed closely behind, along with a damned black Bludger.
It is that rogue Bludger again!
"What is going on?" Draco yelled at Harry whilst keeping his eyes firmly on the Snitch. "What is wrong with that Bludger?"
"I do not know! It has been attacking me!" Harry yelled, chasing after Draco. "Can we blow it up?"
"No, no, that is a foul!" Draco shouted.
"That is right!" Harry cried out in despair, "Wood seems to have mentioned it!"
"We cannot deal with it unless the match is over! Unless we catch the Snitch!" Draco slowed down a bit and could not help but look back at the rampaging Bludger.
Merlin! The nightmare has begun again.
"Then catch the Snitch! Catch it! And then deal with that bouncing ball!" Harry yelled as he caught up, his broom just a step behind.
Draco could hear the sound of scaffolding being smashed behind him; it was that mindless rogue Bludger that did it.
That should not be the case. Did Madam Hooch not just check on it? He accelerated nervously, afraid of being hit by that mad, rogue Bludger. This thing did not seem to know anything about "gentleness."
At this point, the Golden Snitch finally got tired of its trick of "flying between narrow scaffolds," seized an opportunity, returned to the open space of the pitch, and flew high into the sky.
This was a test of both skill and speed. Draco and Harry not only had to chase the elusive Snitch, but also dodge the dark, round, madman.
I need to catch the Snitch first. Otherwise, this will never end.
Draco made up his mind and decided to prioritise the Snitch.
Fortunately, the Golden Snitch was right in front of them. Its dazzling light made the black bouncy Bludger behind it seem less important.
Whatever the rogue Bludger—as long as I can get that Snitch, Draco thought irritably.
Closer, closer still, Draco leaned forward and grabbed hard, feeling the cold, rain-soaked Golden Snitch in his palm.
I got it!
A surge of ecstasy rushed through Draco's heart, and he did not even notice Harry yelling at him from behind, "Get out of the way!"
The Bludger that tried to hit Harry was propelled by Harry's quick dodge and ended up at the back of Draco's broom, smashing the back of the broom to pieces.
Amidst Harry's horrified gaze and his cry of "No!", and a chorus of gasps from the stands, the platinum-blonde-haired boy, like a bird without wings, plummeted straight to the ground in the storm.