Chapter 335: Wade's Threat
“What… what are you talking about?” Malfoy stammered, visibly uneasy around Wade.
Wade pointed at the bloodstain on Malfoy’s sleeve. “This injury was just an ordinary teaching accident—Hogwarts sees them every day. You shouldn’t use it to make a mess of everything, should you?”
If anyone else had said this, Malfoy would’ve exaggerated his wounds into something tragic and unbearable. But he knew Wade was aware of what he’d done to Crabbe—something that had nearly killed the boy. And even then, Malfoy hadn’t faced severe punishment. He still served detention daily.
Compared to that, this scratch on his arm was nothing.
Yet Malfoy wasn’t ready to let it go. He clenched his jaw, his pale blue eyes darkening with resentment.
“If I say no… are you going to expose that thing?” Malfoy lowered his voice, almost a whisper.
On the nearby hospital bed, Harry glanced over curiously, though he didn’t catch a word of their conversation.
Further away, Liam turned his head to listen.
“Of course not,” Wade said with a faint smile. “After all, Mr. Malfoy spent a fortune on your behalf. But I don’t mind if someone else finds out—perhaps the entire school learns that the heir of the Malfoy family is a waste of space. A coward who can’t do anything but cry ‘Daddy’ when he’s hurt. A little wound, and he’s bawling like a three-year-old girl.”
“You—!” Malfoy turned ashen, fury flaring in his face.
“Why not? Isn’t that the truth?” Wade pressed Malfoy’s wand gently onto the blanket. “You can pull strings through your father on the board, force the school to fire Hagrid. You can even get the Ministry of Magic to kill the beast that attacked you. That’s your power.”
“But I can also make the whole world know—Draco Malfoy is a coward. Not a real man at all.” Wade leaned in slightly. “I could brand you with that forever. Want to test it?”
Malfoy froze. His lips moved silently, as if trying to form a retort or a scream, but no sound came out. His face drained of color.
“Don’t worry,” Wade patted his shoulder lightly. “Just a hypothetical. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else—what if you were willing to forgive Hagrid? Maybe he could take you to meet the Fire Dragon.”
He paused, watching Malfoy’s reaction. “You remember that one, right? The one we kept in the Quidditch pitch for a while. It’s still in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid visits it often.”
“Of course, if you’re not interested, that’s fine too.” Wade shrugged. “But think about it—your name’s Draco. Dragon. Maybe you’d be drawn to a real Fire Dragon. And Hagrid gets along well with the Centaurs and Unicorns in the forest too. He’s a good caretaker.”
“As the professor of Care of Magical Creatures, his skill level is actually quite solid. So when he makes a mistake—like this one—we should give him a second chance, don’t you think?”
Malfoy remained silent. His hand on the blanket trembled slightly, but he said nothing.
Wade didn’t push. He turned to Harry. “How are you feeling?”
“It’s not painful anymore,” Harry groaned. “But I feel awful. My stomach’s churning. I think I might throw up.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Wade warned. “If you vomit, Madam Pomfrey’ll make you drink the potion all over again.”
“No way!” Harry’s face paled. He instinctively tried to push down the bitter liquid still clinging to his throat.
“Where are Hermione and the others?” Wade asked.
“Madam Pomfrey kicked everyone out just before class started,” Harry explained.
The door creaked open again, and a red-haired head peeked in.
Ginny Weasley glanced shyly at Harry, then quickly looked down at the floor. “Professor Hagrid! Professor McGonagall wants you in the Headmaster’s Office—right now!”
“W-what? Me? Now?” Hagrid, still mid-conversation with the children about future lesson plans, snapped back to reality, his voice trembling.
“Yes,” Ginny replied quickly, then stole another glance at Harry—eager to ask something, but too afraid.
Hagrid stood up, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. “If I get fired,” he said solemnly, looking at the children, “I’ll make sure to pass on all your ideas to the next professor.”
Michael and the others didn’t know how to comfort him.
Just as Hagrid was about to leave, Draco Malfoy suddenly spoke from the hospital bed.
“Wait!”
Everyone turned. Malfoy paused, then, as if making a decision, said firmly: “I’m going with you.”
Ginny frowned. “Professor McGonagall only asked for Professor Hagrid.”
“She’s doing this because of our injury. I’m the one involved—I have the right to go!” Malfoy lifted his chin, glancing at her with cold arrogance.
Then he turned to glare at Wade. “And I’m coming too!”
Harry scowled, struggling to sit up. “I’m going with you!”
“No!” Madam Pomfrey burst into the room as if she’d been waiting for just this moment, and swiftly pushed Harry back down. “Your wound isn’t healed yet. You’re not running around.”
“But I have to tell Dumbledore the truth! If I don’t, Hagrid might get fired!” Harry shouted.
“No… no, your health matters more…” Hagrid said, touched. “I… I should take responsibility as a professor…”
“But—”
“You stay put!” Madam Pomfrey snapped. “Dumbledore knows everything already. Whatever you have to say, wait until you’re better. Now, don’t even think about sneaking out under my watch!”
Harry struggled, but Madam Pomfrey wasn’t budging.
Malfoy smirked, casting a Restoration Spell on his school robes, then slipped on his boots and climbed down from the bed. He walked over to Hagrid, eyeing the professor—rough, wild, like a beast himself—with undisguised contempt.
But he said, “I heard you’re still keeping that Fire Dragon?”
Hagrid blinked. “Nobeta? Oh, she’s a wonderful girl—truly. I’ve never met such a sweet little creature. If her mother’s gone… who’ll take care of her?”
Malfoy stared. “Her mother’s also in the Forbidden Forest? Another Fire Dragon?”
Hagrid wiped his nose with a filthy bedsheet. “No… I’m her mother.”
Malfoy’s expression turned utterly unreadable.
Wade watched them leave, a quiet smile playing on his lips.
He said goodbye to Harry and prepared to head to his next class.
As he stepped out, Liam fell into step beside him. “Wade… I didn’t know you liked Professor Hagrid so much.”
Wade glanced back. He guessed Liam had overheard his threat to Malfoy.
He sighed. “Dumbledore can’t fire Hagrid. Not even the Ministry of Magic has the authority to dictate who Hogwarts hires.”
“But if this incident isn’t handled properly, Hagrid might swing too far the other way. Can you imagine the third years stuck with endless Flobberworm care? Forever?”
Liam widened his eyes. “No way! Flobberworms aren’t on the OWLs syllabus, and they’re not even in the textbook’s key points.”
“I know you think it’s ridiculous,” Wade said, resigned. “But he will do it. I’d rather face a Fire Dragon or a Sphinx in Care of Magical Creatures than watch our professor walk in with a bucket of harmless, squirming worms, trying to teach us how to feed them lettuce leaves.”
(End of Chapter)
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