Chapter 78 - 77: Can I Join You?

"Daphne, if you ask me, you're starting to sound like that know-it-all Gryffindor—Granger. Who cares where it comes from? As long as it works, right?" Malfoy drawled, lounging lazily on the sofa. Seeing Daphne about to argue, he perked up. "Come on, Edward, show me again! I didn't even catch how you knocked my wand out last time!" He bolted upright, staring intently at Edward's wand. "No problem. Expelliarmus!" A red flash shot from Edward's wand, hitting Malfoy's arm with a snap. The half-full glass of pumpkin juice in Malfoy's hand flew into the air, only to be deftly caught by Edward. "Hey! I wasn't done with that!" Malfoy protested. At the same time, Daphne noticed her own cup had flown out of her hand. "Oh, forgot to mention," Edward said with a grin. "It might look like it targets one person, but if the targets are close enough, it can disarm multiple people at once. And if the spell's strong enough, it can even knock someone back or stun them." Edward scratched his head sheepishly and handed the cups back. Then he started guiding them through the wand movements for the Disarming Charm: a small circular flick, followed by a forward thrust, like stabbing with a sword. The motion was easy enough, but combining it with the incantation was trickier. A single class wasn't enough to master it, so Malfoy, with a hint of regret, joined the other two in heading back to the dorms before curfew. For days afterward, Malfoy felt like he was practicing Expelliarmus in his dreams, knocking wands out of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Daphne, and Edward's hands. But when he woke up, still lying in bed, the pang of disappointment hit hard. Compared to the holidays that flew by, life at Hogwarts seemed to crawl. Still, for Daphne and Malfoy, every day was precious. They had to juggle increasingly heavy coursework while sneaking in time to practice the Disarming Charm. Honestly, they found the charm practice way more fun than writing essays or memorizing texts. Finally, another Wednesday rolled around, giving them a chance to head to their "secret base" for more spell practice. After finishing his evening breathing exercises, Edward, as agreed, arrived early near the statue of the sycophantic wizard to wait. On his way, he spotted Harry and Ron in the corridor, talking with Professor Snape—probably getting points docked again. Edward could only give them a sympathetic wink. Soon, Daphne and Malfoy appeared. But something was different. Both were carrying boxes. Even with his knack for sensing sincerity and empathy, Edward couldn't see through the boxes to know what was inside. Maybe if my empathy skills level up enough someday, he thought. For now, all he could sense was that whatever was in those boxes, they were meant for him. "What's with the boxes?" he asked, curiosity piqued. "Don't ask yet. You'll see," Malfoy said with a sly grin. Edward's gut told him it might be some prank, but surely Daphne wouldn't go along with Malfoy's antics, right? He glanced at Daphne, but her expression was suspiciously cunning. What are these two up to? Edward decided to let it go for now. He had something else to deal with. "Ahem. I don't know what's in those boxes, but it's clearly distracting you both," he said. Malfoy and Daphne exchanged confused looks, unsure what he meant. "To the friend who's been eavesdropping around the corner—care to come out?" Edward called, turning toward the corridor's bend. Malfoy and Daphne whipped around. A short-haired girl in Slytherin robes popped out. "Oops, caught me!" It was Pansy Parkinson. "Pansy? What are you doing here?" Malfoy blurted, shooting a look at Daphne, as if accusing her of spilling their secret training sessions. After all, Daphne and Pansy shared a dorm and got along decently. "Use that brain of yours, Draco," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "If it was me, would Pansy need to sneak around like this?" Pansy, now exposed, didn't bother hiding. Instead of bolting, she strolled up with a grin. "Fancy meeting you here, Edward, Daphne, Draco. What's up?" Daphne stayed silent, Malfoy stammered, and Edward broke the tension. "I'm guessing you already know what we're up to, don't you?" he said. "Oh, come on. You three have been so sneaky lately. Draco's always muttering to himself in corners, and Daphne's been ignoring everyone in the dorm. So, Edward's been giving you private lessons, huh?" Pansy said with a laugh. "I've been watching where you go at night. Today, I finally got a chance to follow." "So, what's your plan?" Edward asked. "Can I join you?" Pansy asked, her big brown eyes wide with hope. Malfoy looked panicked. He hadn't expected Pansy to tail them and discover their secret meetups. Daphne was one thing—she and Edward were always quietly competing. But Pansy? If she joined, wouldn't that split Edward's focus even more? Plus, they'd taken risks to earn these lessons. Pansy just waltzing in felt unfair. No way! Absolutely not! "You can't—" Malfoy started. "Draco, if you don't let me join, I'll tell your dad you还没 System: about all those school rules you're breaking," Pansy cut him off with a grin. Malfoy's pale face flushed red. As members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Parkinson family had close ties with the Malfoys and Greengrasses. Pansy, Draco, and Daphne had known each other since childhood. And most importantly, Malfoy knew Pansy was exactly the type to follow through on her threat. He'd always thought that, despite her bright smiles, Pansy had a knack for ideas that even made him uneasy. "As for you, Daphne, you've got no reason to keep me out, right? Or are you worried I'll steal Edward away from you?" Pansy teased, turning to her. Unlike Draco, Daphne just gave her a cool, expressionless stare. "I don't know what you're talking about, Pansy, but this啦 System: this isn't up to me or Draco," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow and tossing the decision to Edward. "So, sounds like you both agree. Edward, what do you say?" Pansy batted her eyes at him, her gaze pleading like a kitten's. Despite Pansy's seemingly sincere act, Edward wasn't as rattled as his two friends. "Sure, you can join," he said slowly. "But there are some conditions. You ready for that?" Support me by leaving a comment, voting, and visiting my Patreon at ilham20