To say Draco was completely at ease right now, without the slightest hint of fatigue, would have been an exaggeration.
After all, whether it was performing one difficult aerial maneuver after another, or carrying two little tagalongs while weaving through a sea of green Killing Curses, doing all of that without getting hurt had to cost Draco a great deal of stamina and concentration.
And that was indeed the truth.
Although his face remained expressionless, Ginny, pressed close against him, still noticed the heat radiating from Draco's back, so intense it felt like it could melt her, along with the beads of sweat sliding from his chin and slowly disappearing into the hollow of his collarbone.
Especially in the sunlight, they glimmered like jewels.
Only then did Ginny finally realize just how attractive this guy really was...
She had no idea how much time had passed, but when Ginny finally came back to herself, her mouth suddenly felt dry, and she quickly looked away. Just moments ago she had not been able to sit still, yet because of that one scene, she had now gone strangely quiet.
High in the sky.
Only the frantic, racing beat of her heart gave away the turmoil inside the girl...
Noticing something odd about her friend, Luna suddenly craned her head forward curiously.
"Ginny?"
"Wh... what?!" Ginny shrieked as if startled.
Maybe it was just Luna's imagination, but her friend really did seem flustered. When she answered just now, she had even bitten her tongue by accident.
Just as Ginny was getting more and more unable to endure Luna's strange stare, Draco's next words came at exactly the right moment to save her...
"So my instincts were right after all."
"What did you find? Is it a wizard from the Order of the Phoenix?"
Completely unaware that she had already given herself away, Ginny followed Draco's gaze as well.
But the moment she looked in the direction he was staring, thinking she might finally escape Luna's scrutiny, the relief she had just felt vanished and her heart jumped right back into her throat.
"That is... Fred? Why... wait! Is that Harry?!"
As if she had been shocked by an electric current, the instant she saw Harry, Ginny instinctively wanted to pull herself back in guilty panic.
But the Broomstick had only ever been meant for one rider. There was no extra space for Ginny to move away from behind Draco.
Unless she kicked Luna off the back...
The moment she realized that, Ginny panicked and buried her face in Draco's back like an ostrich.
"At that distance, they probably cannot see clearly, right?"
Instinctively looking away from Harry Potter, Ginny's thoughts became a complete mess, and she even said something that self deceiving.
Well... she was deceiving herself in more ways than one.
In any case.
If even Draco and the others had noticed Harry Potter and the others, then there was no reason Barty Crouch Jr., who was even closer, would miss such an unexpected surprise...
...
Down below.
A sudden stab of pain in his forehead made Harry Potter cry out on the spot.
And more than that, because he had just shoved Fred away with so much force, the Invisibility Cloak draped over them slipped off as well.
At that point, there was no way they could keep hiding their whereabouts.
But Fred, worried about Harry Potter's condition, did not notice that. And Harry Potter, caught up in pain, had no spare attention to care about it either...
"Urgh!!"
"Harry, what is wrong? Do not scare me!"
"Ugh... I... I am fine. Just give me a moment..."
Seeing Harry's pale face and cold sweat, something that very obviously did not look fine at all, Fred became visibly flustered and at a loss. Unlike Ron, this was the first time he had ever seen Harry like this.
It was as if something had possessed him.
At that moment, Fred seemed to catch a few broken words from Harry.
"He..."
"Harry?"
"He is right..."
"What did you say?"
"He is right here!"
Before Fred could figure out what Harry Potter was trying to say, a horribly twisted voice rang out by their ears first.
"Well, well, let me see who I have found here!"
"This is bad. Get up, Harry!"
"Isn't this our Savior, Harry Potter?! Hahahaha!"
As if his defeat at Draco's hands had never happened, Barty Crouch Jr. was now staring this way with the delighted look of someone who had stumbled onto an unexpected prize. The way his eyes fixed on Harry Potter was as sticky and repulsive as a venomous snake.
Very clearly, compared to Draco, Harry Potter was the true top priority of this operation...
The moment she realized that, Ginny grabbed Draco's shoulder anxiously.
"Quick. Let me down."
"....Are you sure?"
"Of course I am. Fred is no match for those people."
Although Draco's doubtful look made Ginny both anxious and annoyed, she did not ask him to help. Or rather, deep down, she knew Draco had no obligation to help with this.
So she only asked him to let her down.
Still, some small part of Ginny could not help hoping...
Unfortunately, Ginny never got her answer, nor did she get the chance to reach Fred's side, because the magical interference in the air suddenly seemed to calm.
And Draco was the one who noticed the change.
"The magical interference is gone."
"What do you mean?"
"It means certain key spells can be used again."
"Key spells..."
Before Ginny could work it out, a rapid series of explosive cracks rang through the air.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
If one had to name the most convenient and miraculous spell in the wizarding world, it would undoubtedly be Apparition, the magic that allowed someone to move instantly.
And that explosive sound was its clearest hallmark.
"We made it just in time. Harry, are you all right?"
"Professor... Lupin?"
"I heard from Molly. You lot really are far too reckless."
One wizard after another appeared in front of Harry Potter.
Among them, the most familiar figure was Professor Lupin, the one speaking to Harry Potter and the others.
But Professor Lupin did not step forward to check on Harry Potter. Instead, he stared ahead with a grim expression at the figures before him...
"Fenrir Greyback!"
When Lupin said those words, it was through gritted teeth. It was obvious how deeply he hated the sneering Fenrir Greyback standing across from him.
And Lupin's words also made one thing clear.
It was not just them. Even Fenrir Greyback and the others, who had been in the wizarding village not long ago, had now appeared here as well.
At that moment, they stood beside Barty Crouch Jr.
If the battle until now had been Draco's one man stage, then from this moment on, the main stage belonged to the Death Eaters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix...