I plan to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room during the Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match and retrieve my notebook from Draco. This is a really terrible idea. Ever since I started formulating this plan, I've already foreseen that it's full of flaws. However, the terrifying look on Neville's face every time he comes back from my father's office, as if he'd been completely wrapped by a ghost's body for two hours, compels me to take immediate action—the Slytherin vs. Hufflepuff Quidditch match is still some time away. Suggesting to my father that he treat Neville kindly is as absurd as swaggering into the Slytherin boys' dormitory. I need a bit of luck and also hope that the Slytherin boys are just as fanatical about Quidditch as the Gryffindors. Judging from the tense atmosphere between Gryffindor and Slytherin during every House Cup, I don't think the risk is that great. They should be just as focused on this match as the Gryffindors, after all, it's a great opportunity to observe their opponents in advance.

I have a feeling that besides me, Hermione is also planning something, but we haven't mentioned to each other what we're about to do. The weekend is the first holiday after the Christmas break when we can go to Hogsmeade. Hermione's excitement and anxiety are obviously different from those of the girls who have Valentine's Day dates. All kinds of strange magical fragrances and the smell of Glamour Witch cosmetics are filling the dormitory again. Occasionally, we can even hear a few sharp sobs and a chorus of accusations ("How could you break up with a girl just before Valentine's Day! It's simply too much!").

I took advantage of the time when I didn't go to Hogsmeade to quickly sort out the week's worth of homework piled up in my schoolbag, so as to ensure that I would have enough time on Sunday to search for Crabbe or Goyle in various corners of Hogwarts. It seems that the Gryffindor Quidditch training was a complete mess. On Saturday evening, as I nestled in an armchair, nibbling on the white bread I had packed from the Great Hall and racing against time to finish my last History of Magic assignment, Ron, Taurus, and Ginny, all soaking wet, climbed in through the portrait hole. Muddy water dripped from the hems of their robes onto the floor, and the expressions on their faces were gloomier than the weather outside.

"Are you okay?" I looked at Ginny's stray hairs that were messily stuck to her neck and still dripping water into her collar. "Go take a shower and warm up."

"Not at all," Ginny replied dejectedly. "It should be said to be absolutely terrible. Angelina was almost in tears by the end. Without Fred and George, and without Harry either—it was just like a nightmare."

"You were really good," Taurus complimented Ginny fairly. "Of course, you're not as agile as Harry, but after all, you've just officially started to—"

"I've been stealing my brothers' brooms to play with since I was six years old," Ginny shrugged, twisted her hair casually, and coiled it up. "See you later."

"It seems we've solved an unsolved mystery: why my broom and George's broom always have all sorts of strange scratches during the holidays," the Weasley twins obviously heard our conversation just now and came over and said brazenly, "She can fly really well. To be honest, we were quite surprised."

Ron seemed to be in a low mood and went back to the boys' dormitory without saying a word. Just as he left, Hermione, Harry, and Neville came back to the common room together. Neville looked both tired and excited, as if he had just accomplished something important. After the number of people in the common room gradually decreased, Hermione lowered her voice and told me that she had arranged for Neville and Harry to be interviewed by Rita Skeeter during the day.

"Rita Skeeter?" I held back for a long time before I didn't snort from my nose. "Er, will she... write something close to the truth? You know what she wrote before, er..."

"She's been out of work for a long time," Hermione replied calmly. "And I didn't give her any other options. She has to write everything exactly as it happened."

"But where will it be published?" I looked at Hermione, then at Harry. "I don't think the Daily Prophet will allow an article like that to be published."

"Hermione asked Luna for help," Harry shrugged. "Her father is the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler."

"Mr. Lovegood wrote to say that he'd be very happy to publish this article," Hermione said cheerfully. "This thing went a lot more smoothly than I expected."

"I hope my thing will go smoothly too," I mumbled casually, not wanting to point out that most of the content in The Quibbler was just a joke.

"What?" Hermione and Harry didn't hear clearly. I quickly waved my hand and said that I was just annoyed by my homework.

It was even harder to find Goyle or Crabbe alone without being noticed than I had imagined. I had no luck at all for a whole week. They were just like two huge balloons tied to Draco's wrists. I swear that if I could borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak right away, I would follow them to the washroom—I didn't believe they would still share a cubicle then.

It was not until the evening before the Quidditch match that I found Goyle, who was passed out and sleeping against the bookshelf in a corner of the library. He seemed to be having a wonderful dream because the drool flowing from the corner of his mouth had dripped onto Intermediate Transfiguration that was spread out on his chest. I admit that this was a big surprise to me. After all, I had wandered through almost every floor of Hogwarts, but I never thought that Crabbe and Goyle would also try to study. It seemed that he was sleeping soundly, which saved me the small cake with a little sleeping potion in my pocket. I thought that with Goyle's intelligence, he should not be able to distinguish between a dream and the memory flashback brought by Legilimency.

I casually pulled out a book titled A Comprehensive Review of the Application of Transfiguration in Stage Effects from the other side of the bookshelf, took out my wand and aimed it at Goyle's huge head through the gaps between the books. After making sure that Madam Pince was not around, I whispered, "Legilimens!"

It turned out that people's memories were different. I felt as if I had stepped into a sticky quagmire, and the discomfort of sinking slowly in the mud made me feel suffocated. But I still desperately maintained my consciousness and tried my best to focus on searching for the memory I wanted in the chaos.

This wasn't difficult, I encouraged myself with difficulty. He went back to the dormitory every night. I just needed to find the memory of him going back to the dormitory yesterday—yes, it was pouring with rain outside the window, and the torches in the corridor were flickering on and off. I saw the back of Draco's head—Goyle and Crabbe's heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor. I realized that this place wasn't far from the Great Hall. It seemed that they had just finished dinner.

"Eat less," I heard Draco's impatient voice. "Do you think eating one more piece of cake will make McGonagall cancel your detention?"

Goyle could only make a wheezing laugh from his throat because his mouth was stuffed with food. Crabbe said slowly, "You can lend us your homework to copy."

"Then you won't even bother to change a punctuation mark, and you'll copy even the places where I made mistakes and corrected them. This is really the perfect excuse for McGonagall to give me detention too," Draco sneered. "I bet McGonagall is thinking about how to suspend two beaters and a Seeker from Slytherin as well."

Going down the steps on the right, turning left, there was a portrait of a man with a crooked nose. I silently followed behind them and memorized the route to the Slytherin Common Room. The corridor here was like a maze. Even though I couldn't feel the real cold in the memory, the constantly dripping wet walls and the increasingly dim lights around showed that this place was getting farther and farther from the ground of the school. After passing through a long corridor, at the third torch, the fifth torch, and turning right at the seventh torch, they finally stopped in front of an empty and wet stone wall.

"Are you sure that in the Three Broomsticks on Valentine's Day, you only saw Potter, Longbottom, Granger, and that crazy woman?" Draco didn't say the password immediately. I felt extremely anxious, but he turned around and asked slowly, "You really didn't see... her, right?"

"Who?" Goyle asked stupidly. "Pansy?"

Draco made an impatient sound. Both Crabbe and Goyle didn't say a word. He muttered to himself, "She's so noticeable. Even you two shouldn't have missed her if she was there—ha!"

"What's the new password?" He seemed to be in a good mood and asked Goyle casually with his hands in his pockets.

I stared at Goyle's slowly opening lips anxiously, wishing I could kick him to make him speak faster.

"Let me think," Goyle was like a gorilla, slowly stretching out his arm to scratch his head. "It's—"

"Miss Snape?"

I was startled. The surrounding wet stone walls instantly transformed into a bizarre and colorful scene that faded away like a tide. Goyle had clearly uttered the syllables from his lips, but the sound turned into a sharp whistle in the constantly distorted scene. Maybe it passed for a second, or maybe it was ten seconds, or even longer. Only then did I slowly realize that my hands were feebly resting on the bookshelf, as if I had just poked my head out of a sticky swamp.

Astoria Greengrass looked at me uneasily. I realized that I was glaring at her angrily, and she seemed to be frightened by my expression.

"Er, I saw you... crouching here," she looked around. I was glad that she didn't notice Goyle on the other side of the bookshelf. "I thought you weren't feeling well."

"I've been reviewing for too long," I mumbled casually, hoping she would leave quickly. Tonight was my last chance to get the Slytherin password. I already knew where the common room was. I was just a little bit short. I just needed to use Legilimency one more time—

"—I've been looking for you everywhere. Hey!" The voice I least wanted to hear at the moment came from the other side of the bookshelf. Draco's drawling tone clearly reached my ears through the bookshelf. It seemed that he kicked Goyle hard. I heard a grunt like a beast waking up, which was undoubtedly the sound of my plan falling apart.

Astoria, whom I quickly dragged away, obviously didn't know what was going on. I walked quickly because I was worried about being discovered by Draco, and she soon started panting due to shortness of breath. The library was packed with fifth-year and seventh-year students. I didn't stop until we walked out of the library. She immediately asked, "What happened?"

She wasn't wearing that blue hairpin anymore. I noticed this first. Today, she had her hair up in a bun, revealing her pale and bloodless neck. I had two choices: take an even greater risk or wait for the next opportunity. Neville's lifeless eyes after class once again appeared in my mind. I took a deep breath and said to Astoria in a low voice, "Listen, I want to ask you for a favor... Of course, you can refuse. I'm doing something wrong, but I swear there's a reason for it—I have to get into the Slytherin Common Room to retrieve something that belongs to me. It's something very important, and I need your password."

Did Draco take something from you?" She tilted her head.

"Yes, and he won't give it back to me," I said irritably. "I know this is embarrassing—"

"You want to go in and search while the boys are all watching the Quidditch match tomorrow?" Her quick reaction surprised me. I thought I would have to do a lot of persuading, but unexpectedly, she had already guessed what I wanted to do. "But even if you have the password, you'll still stand out. We all know you."

"I have some other preparations," I briefly evaded the question. There was no need to tell her about the Invisibility Cloak. "So, can you help me?"

"We can't reveal the password to others." Astoria pondered for a while and then shook her head. "Sorry, Miss Snape."

I have to say that I felt a pang of disappointment. But I also understood that Astoria had no obligation to break the school rules for me. A Slytherin helping a Gryffindor break into their own common room... it sounded like an absurd story.

"My request was too much," I waved my hand, trying not to let the disappointment in my tone be too obvious. "Then can I ask you not to tell anyone about this?"

"Sure, of course," she nodded and gave me a smile. "This is a private matter between you and Draco."

"Why don't you wear that hairpin anymore?" I wanted to change the subject, so I asked casually. "That hairpin is quite nice."

"Oh," she reached out and stroked her empty temple, lowering her eyelashes. "I think I might have... thought too much, so I don't wear it anymore."

"Thought too much?" I didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Er, Miss Granger," she asked abruptly. "Is she together with Black...?"

"What?" Now it was my turn to stare at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"No, she isn't?" Astoria's face gradually turned red, and she stammered, "In the quill shop... he kept repeating Miss Granger's name. Before... during the Quidditch match, Miss Granger also kissed him, and they often stay together, so I thought..."

"Taurus regards Hermione as another mother," I said from the bottom of my heart. "I think even if the world were to end and only the two of them were left, Taurus wouldn't want to be with Hermione."

"Really!" Astoria seemed even more enthusiastic than before. "He still doesn't have a girl he likes? I mean, although he also came up to you and asked you to kiss him, that's just an encouragement between friends, right?"

"Of course!" I couldn't believe that she actually thought Taurus and Hermione were a couple. If Ron heard such words, he would definitely be angry.

Our conversation became much more relaxed after that. Astoria seemed a bit anxious about the study intensity of the fifth year. Since her body might not be able to handle such a high intensity of homework and review, I comforted her a few words. Just before we said goodbye, she suddenly stopped me and pointed to the Slytherin badge on the front of her robe. A coiled little silver snake was shining on it.

"I just suddenly wanted you to see what's on the badge." She smiled at me, turned around and walked into the entrance to the underground classroom. I stood there for a while, convinced that she had just told me the password to the Slytherin Common Room.

I almost ran all the way back to the common room. The Gryffindor common room was filled with a gloomy atmosphere, and everyone didn't have much hope for the Quidditch match the next day. Harry, who was suspended from the match, was obviously also in a bad mood affected by this atmosphere. I sat beside him and hesitated for a while before asking if I could borrow his Invisibility Cloak the next day, and specifically emphasized that I would use it during the day, so he didn't have to worry about me not being able to find my way alone.

"I want to go to my father's office to get something—I'm short of two medicinal herbs," I lied as I looked into his eyes. "Now Umbridge is keeping a close eye on the students and teachers. I think it's always right to be careful."

He looked into my eyes seriously for a while. At that moment, I thought I might have some talent for lying because I didn't look away out of guilt, nor did I add unnecessary details. My tone was so casual that I almost believed that I was just going to my father's private medicine cabinet to get something that wasn't in the student medicine cabinet the next day.

"Take it and use it," he went back to the dormitory and retrieved a light package. I couldn't tell any other tone in his voice. "But—is it just for this?"

I actually hesitated for a moment whether to tell him the truth, but he would definitely firmly oppose it—so I pursed my lips and nodded.

"I see. Be careful," he sighed and got up to leave the common room.

The next day went incredibly smoothly. After breakfast, I put on the Invisibility Cloak and slipped into the marble staircase. In twos and threes, Slytherin students were coming out of the entrance to the underground classroom. I tried my best to carefully mask my footsteps and walked all the way down close to the wall. The route I saw in Goyle's memory was written down on the parchment. I recited it a few times before going to bed, and now I turned the corners with ease and passed by the portrait of the man with a crooked nose. The only thing I needed to pay attention to was to avoid the puddles formed by the water droplets rolling down the wall. A sudden ripple might expose the presence of an invisible person here.

"Hurry up. I don't want to miss Gryffindor's performance," Draco walked towards me and said with glee, "Getting thrashed by Hufflepuff—I can't wait to see the expressions on those people's faces. Hurry up!"

I dodged into the corner beside me and waited for him and the other Slytherins behind him to pass by. Parkinson was echoing him and letting out a shrill laugh, which was like the laughter of several female ghosts at the same time in the dim corridor. He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he passed by me, and I was so scared that I pressed myself tightly against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Parkinson was still laughing. "Who was the one urging everyone to hurry up just now?"

"I thought I forgot to bring my badge," he took out a green badge from his pocket, on which "Weasley Is Our King" was shining. "Do you all still remember how to sing the song?"

The group burst into laughter. Even after they had completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, the scattered singing of "Weasley Is Our King" was still echoing here.

I didn't continue walking until I was sure they had gone far away, and then I stopped in front of that empty and wet stone wall.

"Silver snake," I said in as calm a voice as possible, and a stone door hidden in the stone wall slowly opened. So they didn't need to climb through the portrait hole.

There were only a few students left in the Slytherin common room. I looked around. It seemed to be a long and low basement. The light from the lamps on the ceiling also had a faint green tint. The carved chairs and the fireplace were more exquisite than those in the Gryffindor common room, but I didn't think they were more comfortable than the soft, creaking armchairs in the Gryffindor common room. It was obviously colder here. A few senior boys came down from a door on the side, and it seemed they were also going to watch the Quidditch match. I stood there and waited for a while before taking a deep breath, going up the stairs, and slowly pushing open the door of the boys' dormitory.

It was empty. Very good, I gave myself an internal high-five. Draco's bed wasn't difficult to recognize. The bed curtain had the same pattern as the one in his bedroom in Malfoy Manor, which was obviously different from the dark green around. It was densely embroidered with complex patterns using silver thread. I tiptoed over, and a low cabinet on the top layer filled with various exquisite snacks came into my sight. So far, the progress of the whole plan was surprisingly smooth, but now wasn't the time to be complacent.

It was difficult to judge the passage of time in this situation. Any sound from anywhere in the room would make me stop my actions immediately and wrap myself tightly in the Invisibility Cloak. I didn't know how long it had passed before I rummaged through half of Draco's low cabinet—Merlin only knew how he could have so many messy things. Fortunately, I cast a Silencing Charm on each cabinet before opening it. Otherwise, there was a thing that kept shaking like a Peeping Tom in there, and it might have shrieked. He did have a whole drawer full of quills, hardbound, unopened handmade sun-dried parchment, neatly stacked new books that looked untouched... I was getting annoyed because I found nothing, and I roughly pulled open the bottom drawer. Since I had been crouching for too long and my calves were numb, I simply sat on the floor and lifted the hood of the Invisibility Cloak to get some air. I was actually sweating from being stuffy.

This drawer seemed to haven't been opened for some time. Fine dust instantly flew up with my movement and floated in the air at an extremely slow speed. This cabinet was also much deeper than the drawers above. At the top was a small photo frame. A blonde man and woman were holding a little blonde baby and looking at me. The man's hand was tightly gripping a magnificent walking stick, and the corner of his mouth was arrogantly raised. The woman lowered her head and used her slender fingers to arrange the soft hair of the baby scattered on the forehead. The baby was looking at me outside the photo frame with a naive and blank gaze. He stretched out a small hand, as if he wanted to grab my long hair scattered on the glass.

I carefully placed it aside. Below was a large black velvet box, and the broken constellation ball was stuffed in the gap beside it. I was just about to move the box to see if there were any notes below when a voice came from behind me.

"Why don't you open it and see what's inside?"

I immediately reached into the pocket of my robe. Draco lazily pointed his wand at me and said, "Expelliarmus."

The wand I had just touched immediately flew aside in a swirl. He bent down, picked it up, and put it in his pocket. Then he sat on his bed and looked down at me, continuing to say in a mocking tone, "Open it and have a look. It was something I intended to give you—of course, that was more than a year ago."