"I don't care!" Harry waved his fist. "Let go of me, Hermione. I'm going to punch him today!"
Hermione pretended not to hear, still grabbing onto him.
On the other side, Ron was also being held back by a few other Gryffindor students, preventing him from rushing over.
It's not that they were afraid to cause trouble; it's just that Malfoy wasn't alone right now. He had Crabbe and Goyle with him.
Those two big fellows looked like young trolls, and Ron would definitely come off worse if he went over.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Malfoy coldly snorted as he saw the scene unfold. Since he had Crabbe and Goyle with him, and surrounded by a bunch of Slytherins, he wasn't afraid at all.
However, just as Malfoy was about to utter another round of insults, a liquid-filled balloon suddenly descended from the sky, landing right on his head.
His meticulously groomed hair was instantly soaked, with dark brown liquid dripping down, accompanied by a strong sour smell.
"It's vinegar..."
The people around instinctively covered their noses and stepped away from him, even Crabbe and Goyle took a small step back.
Malfoy stood there, stunned, looking somewhat bewildered.
"Hehehe... do you like the new hairstyle... hehehe..."
At this moment, a sharp laugh echoed from the heights, with Peeves clutching his belly, laughing uproariously.
"Well done, Peeves!" Harry shouted loudly from below.
Yesterday, he thought Peeves had been caught by an angry Slughorn, but it turned out he wasn't.
Not only was he not caught, but he also brought such a big surprise!
Hitting Malfoy's head with a vinegar-filled balloon was even more satisfying than punching him. If Hermione hadn't been holding his arm, he would have applauded.
However, Malfoy clearly didn't think so. Smelling the intense sour odor emanating from himself, he was nearly exploding with anger.
"Peeves, I'm going to kill you!" he roared furiously, but a few drops of vinegar just happened to fall into his mouth from his hair, causing Malfoy's face to pale even more.
He dared not speak again, tightly closing his mouth and pulling out his wand to give Peeves a lesson.
Everyone thought Peeves would flee as usual, but unexpectedly, Peeves not only didn't do so but also took out another even bigger vinegar balloon and threw it down as Malfoy was holding his wand.
Whether by coincidence or not, the balloon just landed on Malfoy's outstretched wand, immediately bursting open.
Another large amount of vinegar gushed out, splattering all around on the ground.
This time almost everyone was affected, with Malfoy, standing closest, bearing the brunt.
Moreover, this time, something else had been added to the vinegar. It wasn't just sour, but stinky!
"Ugh!" Malfoy instinctively covered his stomach and retched.
The next second, he felt a sudden emptiness in his hand as his wand was snatched away.
"Stop right there, Peeves!"
Now, Malfoy couldn't bother with the complex smell on him any longer, quickly chasing after the fleeing Peeves.
Nobody expected things to turn out like this. By the time they reacted, Malfoy was already running far in pursuit of Peeves.
"Draco..." Crabbe and Goyle hurriedly jogged after him.
"Hahaha, did you see that, Harry? Malfoy's face just now was priceless." Ron laughed aloud, "Good one, Peeves!"
Saying that, he gave a provocative glare at the surrounding Slytherins.
Now that Malfoy and company had left, there were more Gryffindors, so he wasn't afraid at all.
"Alright, Ron, let's get out of here quickly." Hermione frowned. "The smell is awful."
Ron instinctively took a sniff and almost threw up.
"Peeves must have put dungbombs in the vinegar..." he stated confidently. "I thought no one would do such a thing after Fred and George graduated."
As they spoke, they quickened their pace out of the corridor. This smell would soon attract Filch, and if they got caught, they'd have a hard time explaining.
The three of them headed to the common room together, intending to change clothes before heading to the auditorium for dinner.
"Do you think Malfoy will get his wand back?" Harry curiously asked as they ascended the stairs.
"I hope not," Ron said, "It'd be best if Peeves could hide it somewhere no one could ever find it, or just break it in half."
"That's impossible," Hermione said. "Don't forget this is a school. The professors won't let Peeves run off with a student's wand. They'll surely help out afterward.
"Peeves is afraid of the professors, and he wouldn't dare go too far."
"That's too bad," Ron whispered.
That was Harry's thought too.
...
Meanwhile, Malfoy had chased Peeves to the second floor.
Though he ran quickly, Peeves could fly, deftly dodging every time he was about to get caught... or rather, Peeves did it on purpose, just to toy with Malfoy.
But extreme anger had clouded Malfoy's judgment, leaving him with nothing in mind but to catch up to Peeves and retrieve his wand.
The two of them had run from the sixth floor all the way to the second, with the distance increasing continuously.
"Can't run anymore? Tsk, how boring." Seeing Malfoy panting for breath, Peeves suddenly lost interest.