Standing before the marble statue, Draco and Penelope had become the absolute center of attention the moment they entered the Ravenclaw common room.
It was easy to see that every Ravenclaw in the room had set aside whatever they were doing the instant Draco stepped inside, all eyes turning to this unexpected guest.
It wasn't as though students from other houses had never come in before. But seeing a Slytherin here was a first.
And not just any Slytherin, but one of the most representative figures of Slytherin House.
More importantly, their goddess-like senior seemed unusually concerned with Draco.
Confused by the scene and not daring to approach directly, the Ravenclaw students could only turn to the friends who had come back in after them.
Judging by the strange expressions on those faces, they clearly knew something.
"Why did so many people suddenly come back? Didn't they just leave? Did they forget something?"
"Huh? Tom, didn't you say you were going to send a letter? Why are you back already?"
"That's not important. You lot probably have no idea what just happened at the door."
Before long, everything that had happened at the entrance, including the Grey Lady's true identity, was passed around in a flurry of whispers. The only thing that still remained unclear was why Penelope and Draco were together.
And from the looks of it, Penelope had been the one who took the initiative.
People were trying to keep their voices down, but when everyone was discussing the same thing, there was no hiding anything.
Naturally, the surrounding chatter, impossible not to hear, had already reached Penelope's ears. Not knowing how to explain it, she pressed her lips together helplessly.
To be honest, Penelope herself had no idea how things had turned into this.
It had clearly just been a chance encounter in the corridor.
Clearly, they had no particular connection.
Clearly, it had only started with curiosity…
...
At the same time Draco appeared in Ravenclaw, Pansy and Hermione, who had recently become rather close, were whispering together in the Slytherin common room.
The fire in the hearth cast a warm red glow across their charming faces.
"Granger, aren't you worried?"
"What would I be worried about?"
"Stop pretending. Do you think I can't tell? Your face already gave you away."
"…"
Faced with Pansy's disdainful look, Hermione, thoroughly exposed, glared right back at her in annoyance.
There was no way someone as prideful as Hermione would admit it.
Unlike Hermione's feigned indifference, Pansy admitted her concerns quite frankly.
"I'm not too worried about that Weasley. Those people are pretty hostile toward us anyway. But… what about that Ravenclaw girl?"
"You mean Luna?"
"Exactly. Draco likes weird people, doesn't he? Just like you."
"…That didn't sound like a compliment. And what's supposed to be weird about me?"
Hermione's mouth twitched.
Being told she was Draco's type should have made her happy, but for some reason, hearing it from Pansy made it impossible to enjoy.
Yes.
What Pansy and Hermione were worried about as they waited in the common room wasn't whether the problem could be solved.
They were worried about whether Draco's charm had attracted yet another girl.
What they didn't know, however, was this:
The first girl Draco had run into wasn't Luna Lovegood, nor Ginny Weasley, who had also been dragged into the matter.
It was someone they had never expected.
The Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater.
...
"Achoo!"
Penelope suddenly sneezed, her nose itching for no obvious reason. It made her wonder whether someone was secretly talking about her.
Rubbing her nose, she turned to Draco beside her. There was something she had wanted to ask him all along.
"Come to think of it, the reason you came to Ravenclaw was…"
"Draco Malfoy."
Before she could finish, a voice suddenly called out and cut her off.
Turning around, Penelope saw a pretty girl with fiery red hair waving at them, standing beside an ethereal-looking girl.
Ginny… and Luna, who clearly had no idea why Draco was here.
As Ginny and Luna walked over hand in hand, Draco noticed the confusion on Luna's face.
She had probably never expected to see him here.
Draco turned to look at Ginny, who visibly relaxed when she saw him.
"Looks like you didn't tell her why I came."
"Hermione said you would come, but…"
"But you didn't believe I'd actually help?"
"Mm…"
Ginny's straightforward admission genuinely surprised Draco a little.
She had the same fiery red hair as her brothers, and there was still some wariness in her eyes when she looked at him. But even so, Ginny was clearly different from them.
At the very least, when it came to her attitude toward him, she didn't seem all that affected by outside opinions or by her brothers.
Perhaps that was one reason Hermione was still willing to remain friends with her.
In truth, Ginny's independent streak was certainly part of it. But the biggest reason was still what had happened last time, when Draco had protected both her and Luna in front of Umbridge.
Since then, even if it hadn't completely overturned her view of Slytherin, her impression of Draco himself had changed a great deal.
Though the label "scumbag" was clearly not one she intended to drop.
In any case, even though Draco and Ginny left out the most important details in their conversation, Penelope still picked up on the key point.
"So you arranged this beforehand. In that case, do you need me to prepare an empty room?"
Penelope was very familiar with Ginny, this younger Gryffindor student.
Whenever Luna was bullied by other students, this open and warm-hearted girl would quickly show up in Ravenclaw to stand up for her friend.
It was hard not to be impressed by someone who cared so deeply about her friends.