Hogwarts: Even Voldemort Can't Stop Me From Studying-Chapter 559 - 177: Malfoy and Astoria (2)

"No." Harry felt a bit awkward, rubbed his nose, and asked, "Malfoy, since your injury will heal quickly, you won’t tell your father, will you? You know this was completely an accident..."

The first time there was an accident during Care of Magical Creatures Lessons, Harry thought it was all Malfoy’s fault because Hagrid repeatedly emphasized respecting the Hippogriffs, yet Malfoy deliberately provoked and insulted Buckbeak.

But this time... he just happened to stand too close to the Fire Dragon’s nose, and Hagrid’s responsibility was undoubtedly greater.

In detail, whether it was raising a dangerous Norwegian Ridgeback in the Forbidden Forest or bringing a group of students to closely observe and interact with a Fire Dragon, it was certainly against the rules.

Harry later realized how reckless Hagrid was, so when he talked to Malfoy asking him not to pursue the matter, he lacked confidence.

"I don’t need you to tell me what to do, Potter!" Malfoy said coldly, "Stay away from me!"

After driving away some Gryffindors, Malfoy didn’t dare make any big moves. He gently supported his injured shoulder, cautiously keeping his distance from others.

At this moment, Malfoy was thankful that Blaise and others hadn’t come over, and of course, the annoying Weasley twins weren’t here either. Otherwise, those guys would certainly pretend to accidentally bump into his injured spot.

A shadow approached from behind, and Malfoy thought it was Harry again. He turned his head unhappily, only to see the small figure of Astoria.

He frowned and asked, "What? Are you here to plead for that big guy too?"

"No." Astoria shook her head, saying, "I know you won’t pursue it."

"How do you know I won’t?" Malfoy said maliciously, dragging his words, "I’ll have my father strip her hide, and Hagrid, he will be out as a professor and sent to Azkaban!"

If Harry and the others were here, they would have surely started a fight, but Astoria merely shook her head again.

"You won’t. You like Nobeta more than any of us do."

Astoria said confidently, "Moreover, even now, Nobeta from your mouth is ’she,’ rather than ’that beast’—that’s how you always refer to Buckbeak, right? I’ve heard it several times."

Malfoy turned away somewhat awkwardly, then asked after a while, "So why did you come, to laugh at me?"

"I just thought you might not want to be alone now when everyone else is with friends."

Astoria rocked back and forth with her hands behind her back, walking beside him directly and asking:

"Why are you always so harsh to everyone? Potter and Gray had no malice earlier, and neither did I. Also, you might not like Ron Weasley, but his brother helped to heal you a few minutes ago."

Draco Malfoy looked into the blonde girl’s clear water-like eyes, suddenly feeling that all the jealousy, resentment, fear, and suspicion suppressed in his heart seemed as ridiculous as the socks hiding under the bed.

Finally, he just said, "Do you need a reason to hate someone?"

Astoria didn’t refute it. She thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, I can understand that... After all, I also have someone I dislike."

Malfoy paused in his steps and curiously asked, "Who?"

Astoria didn’t answer, merely looking up at him quietly.

Malfoy began to feel confused, and then suddenly realized, "—Pansy?"

"I think she often bullies my sister, but when I advised Daphne to stay away from Parkinson, she, like you earlier, told me not to bother."

Astoria sighed, "Why are you all like this, knowing these are bad friends but unable to break away?"

"It’s not as simple as you say?" Malfoy said sulkily, "These things are complicated; what do you know, you little girl?"

Astoria hit the nail on the head, saying, "Staying away from friends who make us uncomfortable doesn’t require sophisticated wisdom... You’re just lacking some courage."

Malfoy was speechless, suddenly finding himself unable to retort; the sharp tongue he usually had while arguing with Harry seemed to have rusted.

At that moment, Hagrid finally emerged from the cave, his beard toasted to a crisp, and his clothes riddled with holes.

"Alright, kids, is everyone okay?"

Hagrid carefully scanned the area, especially focusing on Malfoy, who seemed to scream earlier. Seeing everyone appeared unharmed (already treated by Vid), he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said:

"Okay, let’s go back to school. Nobeta is now... uh... not in a great mood. Did anyone get hurt? Nothing serious, right?"

Hagrid glanced several times at Malfoy, but Malfoy was too preoccupied to pay him any attention. He was shocked to realize he had forgotten to argue with Astoria earlier; Pansy isn’t a bad friend, she’s the most supportive person for me in Slytherin College.

But as he walked with the crowd for a while, Malfoy began to slowly recall the details of their interactions with each other.

He couldn’t help but think: What Astoria said... didn’t seem wrong.

...

Vid stayed at the back of the group, turning a dry branch into a thin wooden board and writing a message on it, then hanging it on a tree at the spot where he found the wolf pup.

He quickly caught up with the group ahead, with Fang still bouncing around beside him.

"Strange..."

Hagrid walked while curiously glancing around, but the towering trees blocked his view, and Hagrid found nothing unusual.

"What’s strange?" Harry asked.

"The Forbidden Forest seems warmer than before," Hagrid said perplexedly, "And didn’t you smell it? I constantly feel there’s a hint of roasted meat..."

Harry sniffed, his stomach growling twice.

"You’re hungry, Hagrid," Harry concluded, and then said, "I’m hungry too. The dining hall’s dinner shouldn’t have disappeared yet, right?"

"Don’t worry," Theo said, "If we’re late, we’ll head to the kitchen to get some food for everyone."

He winked, and Harry immediately laughed, thinking of the sumptuous meals and the enthusiastic House-Elves there.

He now hoped the dining table would indeed be empty when they returned.

As dinner was mentioned, Hagrid immediately forgot his previous thoughts. Moreover, his primary task now was to ensure all the students returned safely.

The return journey was smooth and quiet, even overly quiet. The forest nights usually have all sorts of sounds, but tonight it was so calm that it felt as if even the insects had fallen asleep, with only the sounds of their footsteps and breathing audible.

Feeling uneasy, Hagrid quickened his pace, urging everyone to walk faster until the castle lights appeared in view, finally allowing him to relax.

Vid paused briefly, a flame suddenly shot out from the dark forest, flickered near him, then disappeared.

Vid tucked his pen pouch into his pocket, looked at Fang beside him with wide eyes, and smiled softly.

The Hound tilted its head in confusion, then shook its head, and ran excitedly to Hagrid’s hut, collapsing onto the steps as if exhausted.

"Alright, time to eat," Hagrid clapped his hands and said, "If anyone was injured earlier, go to the school hospital and find Madam Pomfrey—of course, you all surely understand. Also, write an essay on the Norwegian Ridgeback for next week..."

Among the students’ loud complaints, Hagrid skillfully assigned homework and strode off towards the castle.

...

Half an hour later, a hand took down the wooden board hanging on the tree. A man dressed like a rag display stand stood under the tree, flipped over the board, and took a look.

Beside him, a white wolf and several wolf pups waited. After a while, the white wolf impatiently pawed at his leg.

"Don’t scratch, it’s my only pair of complete trousers," the man said in a hoarse voice, "The wizard took Maurice into the castle, he said once healed, he’d bring the child back."

The white wolf whimpered a few times, its eyes showing a hint of human-like concern.

"We can’t enter that castle, all we can do is choose to trust," the man tucked the board behind his waist, then spoke to a wolf pup with amber-colored eyes beside him, "Karen, tell me the whole story in detail."