HP • Legilimency | 𝐍. 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘

𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

─────▕⃝⃤─────

On the day after Christmas, everyone woke up late, after all, it was a holiday in Britain. The Slytherin common room was imbued with an unusual serenity, where sporadic yawns interrupted casual conversations. Draco wore a smile so wide it seemed to challenge the width of his face.

"I told him! I told him," he confessed in a low voice as they left the common room.

Astria, even more excited, inquired, "How did it go?"

He sighed dramatically, his extravagant smile adorning his face. "He's as thick as a brick, I had to kiss him."

Daphne remained in her foul mood, emitting threatening glares at every moment, choosing to watch intensely but without uttering a word.

Now, the task of facing the neglected homework from the first week of the holidays was before them. The enthusiasm had waned, now that Christmas had passed, except for Astria, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

However, the biggest problem lay in the fact that, after Christmas, February twenty-fourth seemed much closer, and the damn egg still baffled her. She knew she would have to test Cedric's hint.

But the concern grew when Draco showed up with an article from the Daily Prophet titled, "DUMBLEDORE'S BIGGEST MISTAKE." It was a headline filled with revelations, claiming that Hagrid was a half-human, half-giant, insinuating with every paragraph that he was a threat. ─ It was pure nonsense, and everyone knew it.

At breakfast, Draco shared that he and Harry had overheard Hagrid confessing to Madame Maxime, but they hadn't seen Rita Skeeter in the corridors. Hagrid began avoiding everyone, deeply hurt, and his classes were taken over by another teacher. It was painful to witness. The wizarding society showed cruel prejudice, and if it was already hard for Muggle-borns, it was even worse for half-breeds between species.

─────▕⃝⃤─────

Once Astria had no idea how long she would need to spend in the bathroom to decipher the golden egg's secret, she opted to do it at night when she could take as much time as she wanted. She borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and stealthily made her way through the corridors.

As she ascended the stairs to the fifth floor, she stumbled upon an argument in the corridor. It was Snape and McGonagall. Astria stopped abruptly; Minerva seemed to be crying, and Snape showed no mercy, continuing to argue.

"You should tell her the truth, Minnie! She deserves to know the truth," Snape insisted.

"You don't understand! She would hate me; I can't-"

"And do you really think she'd give you a bloody smile after the way you've been acting, Minerva?" Snape snarled with scorn.

"You're a hypocrite! Look at how you treat poor boy Potter!"

"It's different! You know it's different; the boy's hated me from day one!"

"I can't, Sev... I can't."

"So you keep pretending to hate her why?! That's madness," Snape hissed softly.

"Because if I didn't hate her, I'd love her! And I can't live with the guilt of my cowardice," McGonagall sobbed in tears. "I failed."

Astria was stunned for a moment; she never imagined she would see Minerva McGonagall cry. She continued to sneak down the corridor as quietly as she could. What the hell was that conversation?

Walking while covered by the cloak was uncomfortable since Astria held the golden egg under one arm and, with the other, Harry's invisibility cloak. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent. There was no one in sight to hinder her.