Lucius Malfoy clearly didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so their arrival went unnoticed—mostly because they chose the perfect moment to appear, just as every eye in the shop was glued to Lockhart on stage.
As Draco had suspected, their appearance was no coincidence—they were here with a purpose.
And just as they neared Harry Potter, Draco noticed his father giving Goyle and Crabbe a subtle signal...
“Where’s Ron? What’s taking him so—”
“You must be loving this, huh, Potter?”
A sudden voice cut off Harry’s muttering. The speaker was now standing right in front of him—Goyle and Crabbe.
It didn’t take any effort to detect the open malice in their voices. In fact, they made no attempt to hide it.
“The great Harry Potter must love all that applause. You even make the front page of the Daily Prophet just for buying a book—hah!”
“Don’t say that! Harry didn’t want any of this!”
“Oh~?”
Harry hadn’t planned on responding, but to his surprise, Ginny stepped forward to defend him. Harry looked at her with a new expression, as if seeing her properly for the first time.
Was this really the same shy girl he remembered?
“Potter, so you’ve got yourself a girlfriend? I’m shocked.”
Crabbe’s taunting tone instantly took the wind out of Ginny’s sails. Her face turned scarlet, nearly the same vivid red as her hair.
But what no one expected was for Harry—who’d been silent until now—to snap back at once, as though terrified someone might take Crabbe’s words seriously.
“Shut it! Ginny and I aren’t like that at all!”
“Who knows? The great Harry Potter dating his sidekick’s little sister—it’s not exactly surprising, right, Goyle?”
“You...!”
Just then, Ron showed up, holding the books he’d just picked up from Flourish and Blotts. He happened to catch that last jab about being a “sidekick”—and the word hit a nerve.
“Who are you calling a sidekick?!”
“Oh, I should’ve known you’d be here, stupid Weasley.”
Whether it was that insult or the repeated use of “sidekick,” Ron’s eyes burned red with fury. Ginny, who had never seen him like this before, looked startled and a bit frightened.
“What’s even more surprising is that you actually bought something, Weasley.”
“Let me guess—after this shopping trip, your whole family’s going hungry next month, right?”
Goyle and Crabbe’s jabs came one after another, and in his rage, Ron forgot how these two had once pinned him to the ground and beat him senseless. He threw his books aside and stepped forward furiously.
“What did you just say, you damn bastards?! Let me go!”
“Don’t! They’re just trying to provoke you.”
Harry, now calmer, and Ginny, still clearly shaken, quickly grabbed hold of Ron’s robes and tried to hold him back. Without their wands, they knew the other side had the advantage in brute strength.
And just as the struggle began, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, along with Hermione, arrived on the scene...
“Ron, Ginny! What are you doing?”
The arrival of the Weasley family finally brought Ron—who had been like a raging bull—back under control.
But before Arthur Weasley could figure out what was going on, a voice he deeply despised cut through the crowd.
“Well, well... Arthur Weasley.”
“Lucius... and Karnov!”
Lucius Malfoy and Karnov Parkinson stepped out from behind Goyle. At the sight of them, Arthur let out a cold snort—these were the last people he wanted to see right now.
To be honest, the relationship between them was far from friendly.
Lucius, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He merely shrugged, wearing that ever-arrogant aristocratic smirk.
“I heard you’ve been keeping quite busy lately. Must be raking in a fair bit of overtime, huh?”
As he spoke, Lucius reached into Ginny’s cauldron and plucked out a tattered copy of A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. He held it up and gave it a little wave, just to make sure everyone got a good look at how worn it was.
“Though clearly not enough. Honestly, Arthur, what’s the point of being a traitor to pure-bloods if you can’t even afford a new book?”
“.....”
Arthur clenched his fists tightly in response. Standing nearby, Harry and Hermione were only now beginning to understand the depth of Ron’s hostility toward Draco—this was clearly a big part of it.
“Hmph. We’ve always had very different views on pure-bloods and half-bloods.”
“Of course. Which is exactly why you can’t afford even a single new textbook.”
“Lucius!!!”
Clang!
Ginny’s cauldron flew across the floor as Arthur swung a punch at Lucius—but Goyle and Crabbe, anticipating it, jumped in and grabbed him just in time.
No one would have expected them to be strong enough to hold back a furious adult wizard.
“Arthur, don’t—stop this!”
“Let go of my father!”
“Harry, grab Ron!”
“Hit him! Hit him!”
Mrs. Weasley shrieked, trying to stop the chaos, while the red-haired twins, who had just arrived, stood off to the side cheering gleefully. If she hadn’t grabbed them by the arms, they might’ve joined in themselves.
Just as more and more people began to notice the commotion, Draco appeared with Pansy...
“If you don’t put a stop to this, I don’t think tomorrow’s front page will be about the Chosen One. Mr. Charming Lockhart’s been looking your way with very high expectations.”
“....”
“....”
Draco’s words made Arthur freeze for a moment, and he stopped trying to break past Goyle and Crabbe. For a man working at the Ministry of Magic, that reminder hit a nerve.
With the appearance of Draco and Pansy, the confrontation finally came to a halt...