HP: She married Malfoy after becoming an exchange student.

Ah, this chapter is a personal interpretation, my darlings, for the sake of the plot. Feel free to skip it if you don't like it. Love you all!

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Since that night in the auditorium, Pansy's prediction that she would "fall for Elias" seemed to have come true, as Evan Flint began to appear frequently around Elias.

Due to a shortage of potion materials for third-year students, Professor Sprout, after consulting with Dumbledore, decided to hold a week-long open house in the greenhouse—calling on students from all grades who had free time to help care for the rare plants.

[Third Greenhouse]

The room was filled with the smell of damp earth and fertilizer.

Professor Sprout was busy demonstrating to the young wizards who had come to help: she was wearing thick earmuffs on her head, and carefully pulled a screaming mandrake seedling from a flowerpot, while also taking the time to demonstrate her famous hand gesture to the students.

Most of those who came to help were students from the lower grades. The older wizards, after all, had two major exams to take on, so only a few had the spare energy to help.

Draco and Elias were also there.

Draco had intended to just take a look and leave; Merlin knew he had absolutely no interest in those screaming grasses. But a casual glance caught sight of the Potter trio diligently working in the crowd, so he turned and slipped into the greenhouse.

Surprisingly, Evan Flint was also there. As a first-year student who had never even encountered mandrake before, his reason for being there was self-evident.

All the students wore earmuffs properly, but Evan's always slipped off, the large earmuffs swaying back and forth over his fair face.

When it was the students' turn to work on their own, Evan "happened" to be squeezed in a spot not too far from Elias and Draco. The boy clumsily gripped the shovel, nearly knocking over his tool basket several times, each time earning him a good-natured chuckle from the nearby Hufflepuff students and a helpless shake of the head from his Slytherin classmates.

When another mandrake was pulled out, emitting a piercing scream, he seemed startled, shrinking back as the small shovel filled with dragon manure "accidentally" slipped from his hand and flew away—

The shovel traced an arc in the air, flying precisely towards the workbench where Elias and Draco were.

Elias didn't even look up. His left hand steadily pressed down on the mandrake leaves in his flowerpot, while his right hand casually waved his wand, and the flying shovel deftly changed direction, landing with a "clatter" back in the tool basket at Evan's feet. The whole process was as smooth as if it had been rehearsed.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, senior!" Evan apologized hastily, his voice muffled through the earmuffs, but his panic and coquettishness were clearly discernible. He took off the earmuffs—a move that allowed Mandrake's scream to rush directly into his ears—and his face instantly turned pale.

Then, before anyone could react, he staggered two steps toward Elias.

"I...I feel so dizzy..." His voice suddenly weakened, the focus in his light brown eyes began to waver, and his body slumped forward—right where Elias was standing.

At that moment, time seemed to slow down.

Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff covered her mouth. Terry Boots of Ravenclaw stared wide-eyed. The other young wizards also stopped what they were doing.

Harry and his two companions were frozen in place.

Draco's face instantly darkened. He almost instinctively reached out to stop them, but someone else acted faster—

Elias didn't even move a step. He simply raised his left hand, the tip of his wand tracing a clean arc in the air. An invisible barrier instantly appeared between him and Evan, lifting Evan off the ground.

Evan's "fainted" body was thus steadily suspended in mid-air, a full two feet above Elias. His eyes were closed, and his long eyelashes cast shadows on his pale face, making him look truly frail and pitiful—if one ignored his slightly stiff fingertips and the almost imperceptible twitching of his lips from the disruption of his plans.

"Merlin!" Professor Sprout rushed over, having already put her earmuffs back on, her voice booming, "Mr. Flint! I told you to wear your earmuffs!"

She waved her wand, casting a powerful soundproofing spell on Evan, instantly silencing the mandrake's screams. Evan's eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly awoke, her eyes still misty.

"Professor...am I causing trouble again?" Evan called out to Sprout in a barely audible voice, but his gaze was fixed on Elias.

"I'm so clumsy," Evan said, walking to Elias's workbench and fiddling with the edge of his dragon-skin gloves. His voice was so sweet it could drip honey. "I can't even hold a shovel properly... Senior, that silent spell you just used was amazing! How did you do that? I've practiced for ages, but my wand just won't cooperate..."

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, looking up at Elias at an angle that allowed the other to see the hazy tears glistening on his eyelashes.

Draco let out a clear, undisguised sneer from the side. He shoved his mandrake back into the pot with such force that it was as if he were dealing with some enemy.

Pansy rolled her eyes across two rows of workstations and mouthed "Merlin" to Daphne.

Elias finally looked up. He glanced first at Evan's clasped hands—the gloves, with their delicate silver vine embroidery along the edges, were far more expensive than the ones issued by the school—and then his gaze settled calmly on Evan's face.

"It's a problem with wrist stability." His voice was calm and even. "I suggest you go to St. Mungo for treatment. Also..." Elias glanced at Evan's crookedly worn earmuffs, "If you don't know how to use them properly, you can ask Professor Sprout for help. After all, hearing loss is irreversible."

After saying that, the silver-haired boy put his earmuffs back on and turned his attention back to the mandrake on the worktable, which had now quieted down, completely in a "lesson is over" posture.

Evan's expression went blank for a moment. The next sentence he had prepared, "Can you teach me, senior?" got stuck in his throat, and in the end, it only turned into a more delicate, even somewhat aggrieved, pursed lip—a gesture he had practiced many times and knew how to make himself look pitiful yet stubborn.

"Thank... thank you for reminding me, senior." Evan's voice softened, with a slight nasal tone, and he slowly retreated to his seat, his back looking thin and lonely.

Professor Sprout finally put all the mandrakes back in their places, indicating that everyone could remove their earmuffs. She walked over to Evan's worktable and said gently, "Mr. Flint, would you like me to adjust your earmuffs? They do seem a bit uncomfortable..."

"No need, Professor," Evan quickly looked up, giving a grateful and understanding smile. "It was my own fault for not wearing it properly. I'll be more careful."

The smile was so clean, as if everything that had just happened was truly just an accident and clumsiness.