ตอน 42: 42. I Spy You Spy
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A profound silence enveloped the room entirely, with only the sound of a boiling cauldron breaking it. Snape felt a tingling sensation on his arm where the Dark Mark was concealed, for the Dark Lord had not yet regained his power.
"I believe you understand that I won't treat you like a child if I decide to teach you," Snape said, showing signs he might just agree.
Happy didn't care about anything and simply desired a capable dueling instructor. "Professor, can anything be worse than dying? Or being captured, restrained, with my wrists slit open for a continuous supply of my blood while they administer me replenishing potions?"
That certainly painted a horrifying image in both of their minds as they nodded slightly. Just imagining the scenes wasn't that terrifying, but the knowledge that Voldemort was truly deranged enough to carry them out was.
"Every Sunday, on the seventh floor," Snape responded. "If you delay even a single day, the arrangement will be permanently canceled."
"Thank you, Professor. I will see you tomorrow then," Happy expressed gratitude and departed. It was best to convey as much as possible using the fewest words with the man.
After the successful arrangement, Happy felt considerably refreshed and left the potions lab. Therefore, he decided to proceed with the plan of wooing Ginny Weasley and acquiring the diary from her. Obtaining the diary was of utmost importance; he needed to locate it and destroy it before anything terrible occurred.
His name was already easy to be ruined, so he never thought about infiltrating the girl's dorms. The last thing he wanted was to be called a sexual fiend. At the same time, he never found her using it in the open. Considering Voldemort was talking with her, it was less likely he'd allow her to do that.
Happy chose to observe Ginny's daily routine so he could plan everything better. So he discreetly looked around and trailed her. Sadly, it soon became evident that she spent a significant amount of time following none other than Harry Potter himself.
He knew Ginny was not really the timid dumb girl that most people thought she was. Having learned about her from two sources in his past life, he liked to believe that this Ginny was from the books.
So, he remained careful while following her. Sadly, while he spied on someone, he forgot to watch over his own back.
Unbeknownst to Happy, he himself was being shadowed by Cho Chang, who was growing increasingly irritated by his sudden interest in the first-year girl. Witnessing Happy's attempts to get close to Ginny evoked some strange emotions in her that she herself couldn't come to understand.
As for Happy, after careful consideration, he made a decision. Instead of trying to win Ginny's affection, he decided to bribe her.
So, he approached her one day, talking nonchalantly and implying that he knew she liked Harry. Saying it was obvious to nearly everyone in the house.
Ginny felt flustered but quickly became overjoyed when Happy buttered her up with his sweet words, "Don't worry about it. I think you guys are meant for each other."
"Really??"
"Of course, I know him well, and you guys look good together. So good, I even want to assist."
Happy reckoned there was no harm in saying all that as he knew the end result. So, technically, he didn't lie to her.
At first, Ginny was a bit suspicious, but she didn't mind some help in getting closer to Harry. Happy even offered her rewards, such as Harry's handkerchief, his quill, and finally, he sealed the deal with the offer of Harry's normal, non-controversial photographs.
"I thought you might want something to remember him with during the holidays."
'Ugh…I feel so disgusted doing this to her. But the diary is important. Voldemort must be dealt with before anything unpredictable happens.'
Ginny's eyes widened with surprise and gratitude. "Thank you, Happy! These are amazing!"
"But," Happy added with a mischievous grin, "I'll need something in return."
Curious, Ginny tilted her head. "What do you want?"
Happy took out small diaries from his robes, revealing his collection of vintage diaries and journals, though they were all cleverly fabricated. "I've been collecting these rare pieces, but I need help finding more. Do you think you could help me?"
Ginny's face lit up. "That's it? YES! I will help you!"
Happy widely grinned. "Alright, tell me if you have anything. I will also keep the 'reward' prepared."
"I'll go and look right away!" She chirped and ran away like her tail was on fire.
As they parted, Happy patted himself on the back mentally, pleased with his decision to bribe instead of romance.
"Wait!" But he thought of something disturbing just then. 'Does she even have the diary?'
"Meow meow..."
Just as Happy was contemplating his triumph, Koko, his loyal goose, leaped over onto his shoulder and playfully patted his flappy foot on Happy's head, comforting him.
"Thanks, Koko!"
Meanwhile, Cho Chang couldn't help but try and get closer to Happy to find the truth. She had no idea what was wrong with her, but she could not hold herself anymore.
Flustered, she approached him right away, indirectly hinting at Ginny's involvement. "Hi, Happy! I didn't get the chance to talk to you lately. I see you've found a new company these days."
Happy, oblivious to Cho's hidden intentions, shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, that? We're just friends."
As Happy was going to leave, Cho mustered her courage and stopped him in his tracks. "Can we also be friends?"
Happy, a naive, thick-skulled boy with zero experience in dating or romance, nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Aren't we already friends? Anyway, it's great that we've met today. We need to schedule Quidditch practice for Saturdays from now on. I'll be busy on Sundays."
Cho's heart skipped a beat as she interpreted Happy's words differently. To her, they meant he wanted to spend time with her rival. Her voice dripping with disappointment, she replied, "Okay. I understand."
But, even she could not understand the strange things she felt in her mind and body. She had never experienced something like that before.
'W-What is happening to me? Why do I feel this…feeling?'
...
As the days passed with Happy's efforts to get the diary, the talks of him being the Heir to Slytherin started to die down. After all, seeing his goofy nature for a longer time, nobody in their right mind would think that.
Sadly, the reality is often disappointing, and the petrification of Lockhart was merely the beginning of the dark days ahead in the school. When hearts finally began to ease down, and students began to forget the eerie feeling in the hallways of the school, it happened again.
Bam!
The door to the Gryffindor Common room blasted open, and Fred and George Weasley came running. Their faces seemed terrified, and their breaths were short as they quickly took a seat on the couch.
"What happened?" Happy asked them, being one of the few still in the common room that late at night with some of his friends.
Fred's eyes refused to look anywhere but the floor as he stuttered. "N-Neville—he got petrified. We were..."
George completed his brother's words. "We were setting up a prank on him and hid in a corner. Neville came and stared at the water on the floor. As he glanced, he froze and fell down—we saw it too! The creature's shadow in the water...that monster snake!"
Happy felt his mind going numb. Everything seemed to be going sideways, and nothing made sense.
'Neville wasn't supposed to fall victim! What the hell is going on?'
"Let's go and see him." Dean Thomas, the muggle-born wizard, jumped to his feet. "He must be in the hospital wing."
"No!" Happy stopped him, unsure if they would fall victim too. "It's too dangerous right now. Nor can we do anything to help him."
Happy didn't speak anymore and went to the dorm room, resting on the bed. His mind ran through a thousand scenarios, and in none of them was he able to predict what would happen next.
…
The morning came, and Happy lazily woke up from his bed. His eyes were red as tomatoes, and dark circles rested beneath them. He dressed up, brushed his teeth, and went out absentmindedly, ignoring breakfast altogether.
Pop!
"Happy, sir!" Dobby exclaimed in a panicked tone, his ears trembling as he appeared out of nowhere. "Harry Potter is in grave danger!"
Happy's grogginess instantly vanished as he realized the gravity of the situation. "What happened?"
Dobby wrung his hands anxiously. "Master Malfoy, sir! He's planning something for the summer. Something to capture the boy!"
'The boy? Capture? Why would he need to capture Harry this early? It makes no sense. Then…he could be talking about me!'
Happy pondered for a moment, but before he could ask for more details, Dobby suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving Happy standing there alone outside the Gryffindor common room, his mind swirling with thoughts and questions.
"Mister Lestrange!" Professor McGonagall's voice suddenly came and interrupted his train of thought. "You are summoned to the headmaster's office."
'What now?'
"Understood, Professor." Happy followed the old woman quickly through the long hallways and climbed the round staircase elevator into the headmaster's office. As always, he felt insecure and vulnerable in the room with so many gazes of previous headmasters on him.
However, there were two more figures other than Dumbledore, and he easily recognized both of them—a man with a prosthetic eye and the other looking like a corrupt politician.
"On time, Mr. Lestrange." Dumbledore greeted him. "Meet Auror Alastor Moody and Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Initially, they wanted a private audience with you, but an agreement could not be reached."
Happy saw the always angry eye of Alastor Moody glaring at Dumbledore. That made him wonder about the old man.
'You're too hard to predict, Professor. Are you really on my side?'
"They are here to ask you some questions." Dumbledore finished.
Happy's eyes met the two men from the Ministry.
'What do they want now?'
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