[220] What Did He See

"Huh?"

Draco exclaimed in surprise.

Hall was the first to recover. He waved to Draco. "Never mind. Just a Gryffindor..."

Hall's expression looked aggrieved.

Zabini, standing nearby, almost burst out laughing. Unlike Draco, who was still confused, the quick-witted Zabini glanced at the Gryffindor table and immediately understood.

"Looks like your family will soon have another member — the saviour of Gryffindor?"

Hall sighed. "I still think Ginny is too young. She's still a child!"

Zabini chuckled. "It's clearly because you don't want to date. What does age have to do with it? I was dating a Ravenclaw when I was a first-year."

Hall looked shocked. "Wait? Why didn't I know?"

Draco shrugged. "Zabini is a scumbag, but he's not bad looking. If he puts on an act, quite a few people would want to date him."

Pansy looked disgusted. "I remember his last girlfriend was a Gryffindor."

Hall was even more shocked. How did Zabini's charisma overcome the animosity between houses?

"She was cute, but we weren't a good match, so we broke up," Zabini said casually. "Then I started dating a Slytherin."

Shaking his head, Hall said, "I can't keep track of how many girlfriends this guy has had."

Zabini winked. "So, you want to date too? Want me to introduce you? There are more girls in the four houses interested in you than in Harry Potter. If you weren't so unwilling to date..."

Hall waved his hand. "No. No thanks. I'm allergic to dating."

Zabini shrugged. "Still a kid. Not mature enough."

Hall chuckled. Not wanting to date means being immature? He wanted to smash his seven-figure Galleon savings over Zabini's head.

"You can visit me then," Draco said, chin held high. "My family has a Christmas party this year."

"No, thanks." Hall shook his head. "Your party last year was exciting enough."

"This year the Minister of Magic isn't Fudge anymore! That won't happen again!"

"Don't forget what we agreed on," Hall said pointedly.

Draco's face scrunched up. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Just a trip to the Muggle world. Big Ben in London. He looked rather uninterested.

Hall went home and immediately went to his room. He hadn't contacted Lydia for almost a semester. He decided not to see her for now — it would be too suspicious if he was free as soon as holidays started.

Hall received a letter from Russell.

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Fred and George appeared. "Tsk tsk, no wonder you're our most popular little brother. People come looking for you as soon as the holidays start. Unlike us — we haven't had a moment to rest."

They'd been working themselves to the bone on the magical notebooks.

"Actually, you don't have to work so hard, if you're willing to take a smaller share," Hall said calmly.

The twins immediately shut up. They knew they couldn't get anything out of Hall. They'd rather go bully Ron. This year there's Harry too.

Hall spent Christmas quietly at home.

The next morning, Hall was getting ready to leave early.

In the kitchen, Harry sat obediently at the table, occasionally echoing Molly's chatter.

"Hall, you're up early today!" Molly smiled. "What would you like to eat?"

"No, Mum, I have an appointment today. I'll probably be back tonight."

Molly's eyes lit up. "An appointment? With — "

Ginny had gotten up. She smiled at Hall, then walked over to Harry's side.

"Mum, Hall isn't old enough to date yet. He went out with Malfoy."

Molly's smile vanished. "Hall, you can like whoever you want, but Malfoy — "

"Mum!" Hall glared at Ginny, then at Harry. "Don't spread rumours! Draco and I are just classmates. Friends. Understand?"

Ginny laughed even louder.

"You're not getting a new dress this year." Hall waved at Ginny, then disappeared into the fireplace.

He had to escape this home filled with the scent of romance.

Early in the morning, Lucius Malfoy sat under the crystal chandelier in the living room, a magazine in hand, watching his neatly dressed son descend the stairs.

Draco coughed. "I made plans with Hall before Christmas to go to London together..."

His voice trailed off. He was afraid his father would disagree. The Malfoys prided themselves on being a pure-blood family.

But he pursed his lips and stood his ground. He was going. Even if his father scolded him.

Narcissa walked in from the garden carrying a bouquet of fresh roses.

Lucius coughed and shook the magazine. "Then have a good day with Hall. But remember to come back early. Don't worry your mother and me."

Draco's eyes widened in disbelief. Just like that?

Lucius stood and walked to a crystal cabinet. Draco's heart sank again. But Lucius took out a small card and handed it to Draco. "This is a Barclays bank card. Just swipe it if you want to buy anything. This card is yours."

Holding the bank card, Draco arrived at Big Ben from Malfoy Manor, completely dazed. A bank card? For him? And Barclays — he'd never heard of it. But Lucius's practised manner showed his father had definitely dealt with Muggle things before.

When Hall arrived, he found Draco looking dazed.

"What's wrong with you?" Hall patted Draco on the shoulder.

"Ah..." Draco turned. "I just felt — "

Hall noticed the bank card. "Mr Lucius Malfoy gave you this? Makes sense. You're in your third year now. Time to get involved in the family business."

Draco's shock deepened. "My family actually does business with Muggles?!"

Hall chuckled, leading Draco towards the London streets. "The wizarding world only has about a hundred thousand people. That's a generous estimate. London has nine million. A hundredfold difference."

Draco listened intently.

"Doing business with wizards means you can only reach a hundred thousand people, excluding children and the elderly. The remaining group with real purchasing power is small. With Muggles, even dividing in half, you can reach five million."

Draco nodded with difficulty. Five million. He couldn't even imagine that many people. Even if each spent only one pound, that was five million pounds — roughly a million Galleons.

"Doing business with Muggles is incredibly profitable."

Hall smiled. "That's right. But don't treat Muggles like fools. Let me show you a large department store first."

Hall led Draco to a luxury shopping street in London. Only high-end brands could set up shop here. Despite their youth, Hall and Draco carried themselves well, and their clothes were clearly fine fabric.

Draco entered like he owned the place. He flitted between shops, interested in everything. He bought a bunch of things, then dashed into a perfume shop.

"You want to buy perfume?"

Draco was smelling the scents. "No, my mother likes it. I'll buy it for her."

He frowned. "But Mum might not use it. It's okay, I'll find another scent — "

Hall covered Draco's mouth and gave the shop assistant an awkward smile. Openly looking down on someone in their own shop?

Draco mumbled a few words, gave up resisting, and with a wave of his hand packed up all the perfumes he liked.

Hall smiled. "Let's go to Marks & Spencer. We've looked at the high-end stuff. Now it's time to check out the affordable options."

Shopping awaits.