Ron resolutely clashed with Draco Malfoy's two hulking henchmen.
And then… there was no "then."
He was far from a match for the massive Crabbe and Goyle. He was quickly grabbed by the arms and his legs pinned, rendering him completely immobile.
Malfoy stood by, gloating, his laughter echoing with a distinctly villainous cackle.
'Is this your sidekick, Potter? So easily defeated!'
'Ron is my friend! He is not a sidekick! Those two next to you are the sidekicks!' Harry, his face flushed with anger, charged towards Crabbe and Goyle. He tried to rescue Ron from their grasp, but Hermione could not stop him in time.
…And then Harry was also encircled by a thick arm around his neck and his legs pinned, joining Ron in humiliating captivity.
'Is this the so-called "saviour"? Nothing more than this!' Malfoy was smug, his chest puffed out with pride. He looked triumphantly at the students at the Gryffindor table, feeling as if he were single-handedly leading Slytherin to dominate Gryffindor, which made him especially happy.
Malfoy's provocative behaviour finally aroused public anger. The Gryffindor students who were eating stood up from the tables one after another, approaching him step by step, their expressions grim.
Seeing a large crowd of people walking over angrily, Malfoy felt a flicker of panic. But thinking that his powerful backer was nearby, he raised his head again and looked condescendingly at the Gryffindor lions in front of him.
Just as the Gryffindor students walked up, ready to grab Malfoy just as Crabbe and Goyle had grabbed Ron and Harry, a gloomy, drawling voice rang out—
'A few minutes apart, and the courage of Gryffindor students seems to have grown quite a bit,' Snape said, a cruel sneer twisting his thin lips. 'Now you dare to bully lower-year students in public?'
'Someone provoked us first, Professor Snape.' Hermione poked her head out from behind the crowd, her head of messy brown hair making her look even more earnest as she argued with reason. 'Malfoy just insulted Ron's and Harry's families.'
'In any case, hitting someone is a violation of Hogwarts rules, Miss Granger. And I saw Mr Weasley make the first move,' Snape said, his tone silky smooth and utterly devoid of fairness. 'Gryffindor loses 10 points. Weasley, Potter, you should feel lucky that you did not lose more. Alright, everyone, disperse!'
Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle roughly threw Ron and Harry back into the Gryffindor ranks. They laughed rudely, their expressions openly mocking Gryffindor's powerlessness and the weakness of the so-called saviour.
'I am going to teach him a lesson,' Ron said through gritted teeth, his eyes fixed on Malfoy's retreating back. 'One day, I will teach them a lesson—'
'I really hate those two,' Harry echoed, his voice filled with a quiet fury. 'Annoying Malfoy and Snape.'
Just then, Malfoy, who was still gloating, seemed to have been slapped hard by an invisible hand. He spun around several times in place, a look of pure shock on his face, and then fell heavily to the ground.
Malfoy lost all face. Coupled with the burning pain on his cheek, he began to cry aggrievedly.
'Who?! Who ambushed me?! Do not let me catch you! My father will make you pay!' he cried and shouted, hot tears of humiliation still flowing down his face.
Snape showed a flicker of suspicion. He cast his sharp gaze towards Dracula, who was standing not far away.
Dracula crossed his arms and moved his gaze over, his wine-red eyes meeting Snape's black ones without a hint of evasion.
'What a coincidence, Professor Snape,' Dracula took the lead in greeting, his voice smooth as velvet.
'Professor Dracula, as far as I know, no one else nearby possesses such superb silent casting ability,' Snape stared at Dracula and said coldly, his voice dripping with insinuation. 'Do not tell me that Draco's… "accident"… has nothing to do with you.'
'No need to doubt it. I did it,' Dracula said to Snape with a completely nonchalant expression. 'Malfoy's behaviour of provoking his classmates deserves to be punished.'
'Oh, by the way, Slytherin loses 10 points,' he glanced at Malfoy, who was still sitting on the ground sobbing, and added, 'Professor Snape, there should not be any problem with me following your own management methods, right?'
Snape's face became very, very ugly.
'Professor Dracula, your practice of physically punishing students does not seem appropriate, does it?' he said stiffly, his voice strained.
'Oh? Then is Professor Snape's practice of deducting points from Gryffindor alone, while ignoring Slytherin's wrongdoing, very appropriate?' Dracula asked back with a light, dangerous chuckle.
Snape stared at Dracula, his lips trembling with repressed fury.
Then he suddenly turned around and left the Great Hall without looking back, his wide black robe swinging behind him like the wings of a furious bat. As he swept past, the hem of his robe hit Malfoy, who was still sitting on the ground, squarely in the face.
Malfoy looked dumbfounded at his Head of House, who had left without saying another word, feeling completely and utterly abandoned.
'Well done, Professor! I knew this favour would not be used in vain!'
The Weasley twins rushed over with happy, triumphant faces, George praising Dracula loudly.
Fred also winked beside him. 'As expected, it is still Professor Dracula! Snape, that old bat, should be taught a lesson!'
Dracula turned to look at the Weasley twins and smiled wryly. 'To actually use the favour I just gave you on such a trivial matter… I have never seen such extravagant wizards as you.'
'It is okay, Professor,' Fred said carelessly, waving a hand. 'No matter what it is, you have to use it when you get it. There is no point in keeping it!'
'Then I hope you will not regret it in the future,' Dracula smiled lightly. He waved to the Weasleys and Harry, and then began to walk towards the entrance of the Great Hall.
Just then, Malfoy, who was still sitting on the ground, could not sit still any longer. He felt that he should say some harsh words at the end—otherwise, he would lose far too much face.
So before Dracula left, he suddenly shouted loudly:
'You… do not be too proud! My father is a Hogwarts governor! I will definitely get him to expel you!'
Dracula paused, then turned back to look at him, an eyebrow raised in mild curiosity.
'What is the matter, are you scared?' Seeing Dracula's movement, Malfoy immediately perked up, a flicker of his old arrogance returning. He raised his head and said, 'As long as you apologise to me now, I can stop my father from expelling you!'
After all, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes over the past few months had left a very deep impression on Malfoy. Even now, with his face burning and his pride in tatters, he only dared to ask Dracula to apologise to him; he did not dare to make any more excessive demands.
However, Dracula had no intention of apologising at all. Instead, a look of genuine interest appeared in his eyes.
'Interesting. Does Hogwarts now have a board of governors?'
He slightly curled the corners of his mouth. He bent down and approached Malfoy, who was still sitting on the ground, and said softly, his voice a conspiratorial whisper: 'Help me with a favour, Mr Malfoy?'
'Tell your father to have him and the other governors come to Hogwarts.'
'Just say… the landlord of Hogwarts wants to meet them.'
***********
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