A flash of cruelty flickered in Leonard's eyes.
He needed a way to get Draco permanently expelled. But how?
Just throw him into the Forbidden Forest and let fate handle it?
Impossible. If something like that happened, the Malfoy family would send people swarming into the forest to search. Leonard's botanical garden would be exposed and destroyed.
Ruining his garden for the sake of some brat? Not worth it.
What about crippling Draco Malfoy?
That wouldn't work either. Magic could heal crippling injuries, even drag someone back from the brink of death. If Leonard relied on maiming or nearly killing him to force Malfoy's expulsion, it would only provoke retaliation, while Draco himself would walk away unscathed.
And even if he could push Harry to strike harder, no matter the outcome, Harry Potter's personality as the "hero" made it unlikely he'd ever go through with it.
So, simple wounds were meaningless. What about using dark magic artifacts?
Leonard remembered a certain shady shop in Knockturn Alley that specialized in illegal dark magic items. One of them was an opal necklace cursed with deadly magic. Touch it, and you risked death.
In sixth year, Draco Malfoy would try to use that very necklace to assassinate Dumbledore—though he'd fail.
Would turning it on Draco himself count as poetic justice?
But the same problem remained. The shop might be in Knockturn Alley, outside the Ministry's regular control, but everyone had connections. That particular shop had deep ties with the Malfoy family and would later help them handle banned dark magic items.
If Draco Malfoy was harmed because of something purchased there, the Malfoys could easily follow the trail back. Even if Leonard used werewolf wizards as intermediaries, they'd be traced.
So, this method was still no good.
At that very moment, Draco Malfoy was still glaring at him, trying to kill him with his eyes. He had no idea that while he was thinking about petty revenge for a lost scrap of dignity, Leonard was scheming tirelessly about how to destroy him completely.
Would he still act so arrogant if he knew Leonard's vengeful nature?
He didn't know. He just kept provoking Leonard with that glare.
Leonard, still smiling pleasantly, kept his eyes on Padma, without the slightest shift. But his mind kept spinning.
What about a curse? Voldemort's curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position was terrifying. It didn't distinguish between good or evil, friend or foe, whether you served Dumbledore or Voldemort—no one lasted a year in that post.
Curses were undeniably practical.
The problem was that curse magic wasn't something just anyone could use. It was far older and far darker than ordinary dark magic.
Maybe some clue lay hidden in the ruins of ancient magic?
Too uncertain. That idea had to be abandoned too.
Leonard tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Suddenly, an idea struck.
What about a werewolf curse?
Current magic could heal injuries, but a bite or scratch from a werewolf—if left untreated—turned you into one.
And the werewolf curse had no cure.
Why not just arrange for Draco Malfoy to become a werewolf?
Leonard kept up his sunny smile, exchanging pleasantries with Padma, even as his mind turned over the most vicious of plans.
A plan cruel enough to ruin Draco Malfoy's entire life.
Of course, putting it into action would be difficult. A werewolf turning up near Hogwarts would be suspicious.
But the Forbidden Forest… maybe there were werewolves there?
Leonard remembered reading in his previous life that the forest contained strange creatures born from werewolves mating.
They looked like wolves, but could speak human language and possessed intelligence, at least to a decent degree.
Unlike werewolves, they didn't actively attack humans, though they did carry the werewolf curse.
But the problem remained—how could he get those wolves to come into contact with Draco Malfoy? Leonard's gift was being a Friend of Plants, not a Friend of Animals. He had no way of commanding wolves to do his bidding.
And the werewolf curse wasn't some tangible toxin. He couldn't exactly have Midgard send him a wolf's claw in the mail.
Wait… what if Draco Malfoy went into the Forbidden Forest himself?
Leonard remembered that something like that was supposed to happen this very year. If so, he could sneak into the forest, arrange for Draco to encounter those wolves, then find a way to provoke conflict and get them to bite him.
Afterward, even if Lucius Malfoy came looking for trouble, there'd be no way to pin it on Leonard.
And what would happen to Draco after that?
No need to worry—the Wolfsbane Potion existed. For the sake of "classmate friendship," he'd even sell it to the Malfoys.
The more Leonard plotted this vicious scheme, the lighter he felt, and even the pretty girl in front of him looked more pleasing to the eye.
"By the way, Padma, aren't you afraid of being singled out if you partner with me?" Leonard turned to her, speaking seriously. "You should know what kind of professor Snape is, right?"
"I know. Our upper years told us—he's a really mean professor." Padma stuck out her tongue, showing she really was afraid of him.
"Then why insist on being my partner? You're a smart Ravenclaw. You should realize Snape might go out of his way to retaliate against me," Leonard said, raising a brow.
"I know," Padma said with confidence. "But I have faith in my Potions skills. Even if he tries to give me a hard time, he has to be reasonable. If I answer correctly, he can't deduct points—at worst, he just won't give any. So I don't think Professor Snape is that scary."
Not necessarily. With a Slytherin, cunning was practically a virtue. Who knew what excuse Snape might find to dock points?
Leonard, never one to admit his own cunning, simply smiled at her. "Well then, I'll be counting on you in Potions class."
"We'll help each other." Padma smiled and raised her hand.
Leonard blinked, then let out a short laugh, shaking his head as he gave her a high-five.
Right at that moment, Snape stormed in. His cold, emotionless gaze landed directly on Padma and Leonard.
The chill in his presence made Padma shrink into her seat, carefully sitting down. She instantly regretted her words—Professor Snape was terrifying.
His eyes swept over the room, stopping briefly on an empty long table. He let out a sharp snort and strode toward the lectern, his billowing cloak making him look like a giant bat.
"I didn't expect anyone to have the audacity to be late to my class." Snape's voice cut through the silence as his gaze shifted to the empty table. "Oh? A Hufflepuff, is it?"
Leonard glanced at the vacant desk, then looked around and sighed quietly.
Justin and Ernie still hadn't arrived.
This time, they were truly in for it.
...
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