Chapter 40: Draco's Natural Talent for Sarcasm

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Glenn assured Draco there was no need to worry.

"Dumbledore probably knows about this. He's planning something. Voldemort is half-crippled now - there's some danger, but not much." After explaining that the situation was likely under Dumbledore's control, Glenn grabbed his clothes and headed for the shower, leaving Draco lying in bed, neither able to get up nor fall asleep, just staring blankly at the ceiling.

Damn it, Glenn, why did you have to tell me this?!

Oh right, I asked... Never mind then.

No, not never mind!

He frantically ruffled his pale blonde hair and pulled the covers over his head.

To hell with sleep.

...Later that afternoon...

As the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff Quidditch match was about to begin, Glenn, as usual, walked past the Slytherin section straight to the Gryffindor seats.

The Slytherins no longer disliked Glenn. Though Muggle-born, his abilities and character had earned the respect of all Slytherin students. However, while they had accepted him, Glenn showed no interest in associating with them.

The wizards, especially the girls, cast reproachful glances at Marcus and Draco.

"It's all your fault! If it weren't for you two - one planning and one executing - would we have done such terrible things?!"

"Come on, apologize! How could we let such an excellent young wizard go to those stupid lions?!"

At the front of the stands, Draco and Marcus shuddered, particularly Draco, who literally jumped from his seat in a defensive stance, then suddenly realized his surroundings.

Wait, I'm not in the Forbidden Forest, why am I sensing dangerous gazes?

Could Potter or Weasley be planning something?!

He quickly turned toward the Gryffindor section but didn't see either of them.

Little Dragon was confused. Why am I so paranoid today?

He scratched his head and sat back down, only to stand up again. On such a crucial day, if they weren't coming to cause trouble, he might as well go find some himself.

It would at least distract Potter on the field. Haha, I'm so clever!

After Glenn's training, Draco had developed a deeper understanding of achieving goals by any means necessary, and he'd become even more relentless in bothering Harry and Ron.

Though less frequent than before, each instance of trouble-making was more effective, driving those two up the wall.

Little Dragon used Toxic Spray.Taunt - Super Effective!

It wasn't for any particular reason; he just purely disliked them. Bothering them could make Gryffindor lose points - a win-win situation. Their lost smiles would only transfer to Draco's face.

His mindset had matured considerably; Draco no longer saw Harry and Ron as worthy opponents, just daily entertainment.

Draco had discussed this with Glenn and Neville before. Glenn made no comment, but Neville was indignant, and they ended up fighting. Despite having faced life-and-death challenges together and grown closer, Neville wouldn't stand for Draco bullying Harry and the others!

Glenn just watched them duel without intervening. Letting them fight occasionally was a good way to test their training results. As for the rest, it wasn't his concern.

Meanwhile.

Glenn's ignoring of the Slytherins wasn't out of prejudice; he simply wanted to sit with Hermione.

Yes, it was that pure and simple, without any bias.

The girl smiled when Glenn finally arrived, shifting over to make room.

"Glenn, which house do you think will win today?" Once Glenn was settled, Hermione posed her question. She was firmly supporting her lion house but wanted to hear the opinion of the absolutely neutral Glenn.

"Your house," Glenn answered seriously.

"Why?"

"Hufflepuff's Quidditch team hasn't trained as hard as Gryffindor's." Glenn explained his reasoning.

That was true. The badgers became somewhat lazy in winter (though they weren't much different usually). They weren't keen on training in the bitter winter wind.

Staying in the common room by the fireplace eating snacks was much more appealing.

Glenn pointed to the two teams entering the field.

Following his gesture, Hermione's mouth twitched. The Hufflepuff team members had visibly rounded out, laughing and waving to their house.

As expected of you, dear badgers.

As for the Gryffindor team? After enduring Wood's hellish training and mental pressure these past days, everyone was on edge. During Wood's pre-match pep talk, the team members' expressions showed they weren't taking in a word, which was concerning.

"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there," came a teasing voice from the seats in front. Hermione looked over, raising an eyebrow.

Draco? What was this troublemaker doing here? Then she saw Ron turning around in front of him.

Oh, just the usual Malfoy-Weasley feud. Never mind then.

Hermione calmly turned back. She was used to it by now. After Glenn's lesson, even when Draco came to provoke Harry and Ron, he wasn't as excessive as before. He'd even stopped using discriminatory language against non-pure-blood wizards, at most just giving a cold snort.

Why?

Because she didn't like it, Hermione thought sweetly. She was well aware of Draco's previous attitude, his constant use of "Mudblood" had made her very uncomfortable. Though Glenn didn't care about such things himself, after Hermione mentioned it to him, he immediately spoke to Draco about it, forbidding him from discriminating against Muggle-born wizards and especially banning the word "Mudblood."

"When you can beat me in a fight, you can say whatever you want. Until then, watch your mouth."

Draco had given a cold laugh.

He agreed on the spot.

What else could he do?

Fight Glenn?

Sure, here's the arena, go ahead.

Easy to say - you haven't seen Glenn in action in the Forbidden Forest. If he seriously fought you, you'd be lucky not to wet yourself!

Thinking about how he hadn't wet himself when he felt Glenn's killing intent during one of his rampages, and had even managed to stay standing, Little Dragon proudly lifted his head. He was a man who had survived Glenn's killing intent once before - he wouldn't fall easily!

At the front of the Gryffindor section, Draco simply sat down behind Ron to watch the match, though his naturally sarcastic mouth couldn't stay shut for a moment. Only Ron's intense worry about Harry being tricked by Snape on the field kept him from standing up to confront Draco!

"Shut up, Malfoy," he couldn't dare take his eyes off the field.

Oh god, that bastard Snape had just unfairly awarded Hufflepuff another penalty shot. Ron angrily slapped his thigh, cursing Draco as well.

Nearby, Neville was also annoyed by Draco's constant chatter but held back. He advised quietly, "Can't you save some energy for tonight's training, Draco? And they're my friends too, stop making fun of them." Though Neville had shed his cowardice, his kindness and desire to avoid trouble remained, so he only gently admonished Draco.

The latter froze, his expression suddenly turning sour. Right, damn it, they still had to go to the Forbidden Forest tonight.

He instantly lost interest in taunting Ron, leaning back in his seat, his eyes losing their shine.

Ron hadn't heard their conversation because Harry had suddenly made a beautiful dive on the field - he'd spotted the Golden Snitch!

Watching the red blur chasing the golden speck, the crowd gasped. All the little lions in the Gryffindor section stood up, Hermione included, silently praying for Harry.

Our chance at the House Cup depends on you! Come on, Chosen One!

Even though you lose points daily, making up for it now would be great!

Harry proved himself worthy as Gryffindor's most talented Seeker. He pulled out of the dive and triumphantly raised his arm, the Golden Snitch gleaming in his hand.

The stands erupted. This was a new record - too fast! That man was just too fast! No one could remember a Quidditch match where the Snitch had been caught so quickly.

"Yes!" Hermione grabbed Glenn's arm and jumped up, her face red with excitement, wearing an expression like this:

>v<

Glenn, lost in thought, was pulled up with her, completely bewildered. What was happening?

Seeing Harry successfully catch the Snitch, Draco's already sour mood about tonight's training worsened. Great, he'd come here for entertainment, how did his mood get even worse?

He habitually threw out some sarcasm, "Hmph, looks like Potter saw some money on the ground." Then he turned to leave with a flourish.

Sensing danger, he heard something cutting through the air behind him. Draco reacted in time, dodging sideways to avoid the attack.

Ron, who had finally snapped at Draco's provocation, launched himself like an angry dog, but clearly hadn't expected Malfoy to dodge, ending up sprawled in a daze.

What the hell? Does Malfoy have eyes in the back of his head?

The dizzy Ron marveled - this guy had evolved behind his and Harry's backs!

Draco was instantly annoyed at being ambushed. Hey, I've been holding back so much, what's the meaning of this? Either I've gotten too soft or you Weasley are getting too cocky.

"What's your problem, Weasley?" He frowned in displeasure, reaching for his wand before deciding it wasn't necessary, instead rolling up his sleeves to teach Ron a lesson.

Neville panicked when he saw this - Ron wouldn't stand a chance against Draco in a real fight! Glenn had trained them both in combat from the beginning, and they'd learned many techniques. Though not yet mastered, these were potentially lethal moves. Who knew if Draco would hold back? He wasn't Glenn - he had no sense of restraint.

To prevent his friend from getting hurt, Neville quickly jumped up to restrain Draco.