This year's Christmas seemed a little more normal than last year's.
By normal, this referred to the number of people staying behind.
Anyone could clearly tell that very few wizards were willing to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas break this year. The overwhelming majority had chosen to go home for the holiday.
Of course, there was a reason for that....
"The wizarding world has suddenly calmed down?"
"That's what Dobby said, unless Dobby has betrayed us or lied to us."
"...If Dobby heard you say that, he'd probably apologize while strangling himself to death."
Hermione shot Draco an exasperated look, then nervously glanced around the deserted garden, as if worried Dobby might be hiding in some corner and had overheard every word just now.
Luckily, Dobby did not seem to be there.....
They were currently in the garden with the fountain.
Light snow drifted down, covering the garden before them in a thin layer of silver frost.
Pansy, Hermione, and Astoria, who had all stayed behind for the holiday, were huddled together enjoying this rare moment of peace, while Draco had been forcibly dragged along to admire the snowy view.
The weather might have been cold, but their hearts felt warm....
Adjusting the small bottle of fire she was holding, Hermione said, "Peaceful? That doesn't seem quite right, unless..."
"Unless a major battle is about to begin."
Draco finished the thought she had not fully spoken.
That was the only explanation for why the wizarding world had suddenly become so quiet.
Lucius, who was hoping to profit while others fought each other, obviously would not go out of his way to stir up trouble. As for the Ministry of Magic, it was already struggling just to protect itself, so it neither had the ability nor the courage to be the one to take the lead.
And as for what could make those mad Death Eaters calm down, Draco truly could not think of any reason other than the fact that they were planning something big.
After all, only by pulling back your fist could you throw the hardest punch.
In other words, until Voldemort suffered another defeat, the crisis in the wizarding world could not possibly be resolved.
The current peace was only the stillness before the storm.
It was not as if Voldemort had suddenly decided to wash his hands of everything....
...
The three girls had originally been enjoying this rare moment of peace, but Draco's words left them deeply unsettled.
Just like that, they lost any desire to admire the snowy view in front of them.
Although they did not know whether Draco had done it on purpose, they still exchanged pretty little eye-rolls with him in perfect unison....
Astoria, who had also stayed at Hogwarts, let out a soft sigh. "Hermione already told me, so which relic should we investigate first?"
"Right. Since there are hardly any people at Hogwarts during Christmas break, this is the perfect time to investigate those relics."
"So should we head out right now?"
Seeing that the three girls seemed rather excited, and were even already getting to their feet as if preparing to set off, Draco twitched at the corner of his mouth and quickly stopped them.
"Most people may no longer be at Hogwarts, but don't forget that the professors are still here. If we go in unprepared, we'll definitely arouse suspicion."
What Draco did not say was that searching around aimlessly like this would never lead to any results.
In fact, Draco had reason to suspect that once Voldemort turned those relics into Horcruxes, he had probably already moved them out of the castle.
Put simply, they were no longer in Hogwarts.
After all, for the Voldemort of that time, who still knew how to think things through and understood the principle of not keeping all his eggs in one basket, that was by far the most likely outcome.
Even if one had been left behind, there was no way he would have left more than one.
Of course, Draco did not say any of that aloud and dampen the girls' enthusiasm.
Instead, he reminded them in another way. "Think about it. With absolutely no clues, do you really think you understand where they might be better than Dumbledore does?"
"So what do you suggest, Draco? We can't exactly do nothing, can we?"
Sensing that Draco seemed to have something in mind, Pansy moved back to his side and pressed her small hands against him a few times.
That little gesture looked just like a girl acting spoiled toward her boyfriend.
"Y-yes... at the very least, we should try." Noticing this, Hermione, equally unwilling to lose, also came to Draco's other side and, blushing furiously, awkwardly copied what Pansy had just done.
Watching the scene from behind them, Astoria gave an envious yet helpless smile...
Feeling rather pleased by the benefits brought about by Pansy and Hermione's rivalry, Draco raised a brow and voiced his thoughts. "It's not that we'll do nothing, but before that, I want to get my hands on a magical item first."
"What magical item?"
"How many Galleons do you need? If it's not enough, I can give you some."
Hermione gave Pansy a speechless look.
Compared with the magical item itself, Pansy seemed more concerned about whether Draco had enough Galleons, completely forgetting that the Malfoy family was hardly short on money.
Draco slapped Pansy lightly on the head in annoyance. "Relax. It won't cost many Galleons, because I'm not planning to buy it at all."
"What do you mean?"
"You're not thinking of stealing it, are you?"
"..."
"..."
"Why did you go silent... don't tell me that's really it?!"
Hermione had only been joking, but the moment she saw Draco smiling without saying a word, she instantly realized something and stared at him wide-eyed.
"Wait... is there actually anything you, Draco, can't get?"
Her words were a little exaggerated, but in some ways, they were not wrong.
Compared with Hermione's shock, Pansy, who had shown little interest just now, suddenly became curious. "So what is this magical item? And how are we supposed to steal it?"
"That magical item will be a huge help in what we do next."
"What we do next? You mean investigating those relics?"
"Exactly."
Whenever he was with Pansy and the others, Draco seemed to become a little childish. He did not reveal the answer right away, instead using it to keep the girls hanging.
It had to be said that this did indeed annoy them, especially since they were already growing impatient for the answer.
The little fists thumping against him did not hurt at all. If anything, they felt rather nice, which only made Draco's smile look even more insufferable...
Only after satisfying his own mischievous streak did Draco finally reveal the true nature of the magical item. "That magical item can help us accurately avoid every wizard in Hogwarts."
"Avoid?"
"Accurately?"
"In Hogwarts?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Another long silence fell.
Only after Draco noticed the girls baring their teeth and their gazes growing more and more dangerous did he hurriedly continue.
"Ahem. More precisely, it's a map. A magical map that can show the entire castle, every classroom, every secret passage, and even the location of every wizard in Hogwarts."
To explain it more clearly, Draco even used magic to sketch out a rough version of the map's effects in the air.
"You're sure you're not dreaming?"
"No Headmaster of Hogwarts would ever allow something like that to exist."
"If that magical item fell into the hands of a Dark wizard, it would be a disaster."
Hearing this for the first time, the girls all stared in disbelief, their little mouths slightly open and their faces full of suspicion.
Even Pansy, who usually believed Draco without question, could not help ending up on Hermione's side this time.
After all, no one understood better than they did just how complicated Hogwarts Castle was, let alone its secret passages, which they had never even heard of.
Of course, what shocked them most was that incredible ability to mark the location of every wizard....