As expected, Draco fell off the skateboard!

He was so engrossed in the scenery he forgot to control the skateboard. Amidst violent shaking, he screamed and fell from over ten meters high.

"Ah!!!"

However, just as his pupils constricted, his body passed through dense leaves, and the ground covered with dead leaves and weeds grew larger in his vision...

An invisible force suddenly caught him, bringing him to an abrupt halt barely a meter above the ground!

But before Draco could even sigh in relief, the levitating force vanished.

Caught completely off guard, he landed face-first on the grass.

Harry burst out laughing, but before he could laugh twice, he was horrified to discover that his trophy, the flying skateboard, shot away like an arrow, completely out of control!

"Come back! Come back!" He called out nervously, but the skateboard showed no sign of stopping.

Just as Harry was filled with despair, thinking he had lost it for good, Severus waved his wand again, casting an Accio charm.

The skateboard immediately became like an obedient puppy, turning from out of control to docile, wobbling as it flew back.

This finally allowed Harry to relax. At his age, he couldn't have his own broomstick. This skateboard, won by his own hands, was the only thing that could fulfill his dream of flying.

"Goblins probably have their own unique control methods." Severus said, handing the skateboard back to Harry while stroking his chin, "When visiting Mr. Flamel, we should ask him to help improve this skateboard."

Draco remained in his falling pose, with his butt in the air and his face buried in the grass, as if unable to accept such an embarrassing display!

Harry carefully put the skateboard back into his satchel, then walked around Draco with interest, eyeing his butt and miming a kicking motion as if choosing the right shooting stance.

Of course, he didn't actually do anything that would make Draco fight him to the death.

He just drawled, pretending to ask Draco how the view was from up high?

How did it feel to fall from the sky?

Was the grass soft enough?

Was the taste of grass bitter?

Severus and Lupin, however, ignored the two children. They pulled a wizard's travel tent from a pack.

It had been prepared in advance at Diagon Alley, legally enchanted by the Ministry with an Undetectable Extension Charm.

After being set up, it looked like an ordinary tent, but inside was a full four-bedroom, one-living-room space!

It even had a dedicated kitchen.

This kind of tent had to be stored separately and couldn't be placed inside a trunk already enchanted with the Extension Charm, so Lupin had been carrying it separately.

With simple setup, they had the tent pitched. By then, Draco had gotten up from the ground, his face flushed red from Harry's teasing, wanting to fight him.

But before he could react, Harry had already climbed up a fir tree.

If nothing else, escaping and climbing trees were essential survival skills Harry had honed since childhood.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how many times he'd have been beaten up by his cousin, the real Dudley.

Draco, naturally, couldn't climb trees. He could only stare helplessly at Harry from below. The two bickered for a while, with Draco calling Harry a coward in frustration, while Harry mocked him for not even knowing how to climb a tree.

It wasn't until Lupin, wearing an apron, emerged from the pitched tent and called them in for dinner, simultaneously sending away Draco to gather some firewood, that Harry finally climbed down from the tree.

By the time they were actually sitting around the dinner table, Draco no longer had the intention to continue picking a fight with Harry.

He still felt embarrassed and just ate with his head down, not saying a word. Even after dinner, when Severus and the others invited him to play cards, he refused. He just sat hugging his knees at the tent entrance, watching the moon.

Truthfully, the moon in the forest wasn't much to look at. Most of the night sky was blocked by dense leaves, and only through narrow gaps could one see a sliver of moonlight.

"Three Jacks!"

"Fake. I doubt it."

"Ah! Lupin must be cheating! He always guesses my cards!"

"I don't need to cheat because when you lie, your eyes shift. Besides, I have four Jacks in my hand. The chance of you having three is too low."

"Ha! Lying is an art, Dudley. Today, the teacher will give you another lesson. Quick, stick another one on his face!"

Listening to the noisy card game behind him, Draco, resting his chin in his hands and staring blankly at the moon, felt a sense of being in a different world.

A week ago, he was still the young master of a wealthy family, enjoying a noble life, looking down on everyone but himself.

Yet, after just one week, he was sitting on ground covered with fallen leaves and dead insects in the wild woods, watching the moon.

Behind him were no longer his parents, no pure-blood playmates currying favor. Instead, there was his father's half-blood friend, a wandering werewolf, and a child of unknown origins who understood everything about Muggles.

In the past, he didn't even think much of Snape. But now, he actually felt...

Felt that this moment wasn't so bad after all?

Draco was somewhat bewildered.

He didn't know if he was going crazy or had been brainwashed by Severus and the others. He wondered why would he have such an absurd thought?

According to the education he had received, there couldn't be a worse environment or companions than the present!

Just then, Harry let out a loud groan, clearly, he had lost another round.

"Dudley has lost seven rounds in a row. It's your turn to replace him, Draco!"

From behind, Draco heard Severus's call.

He replied somewhat reluctantly, "I don't want to play!"

But his butt had already involuntarily started shifting towards the tent.

"Hurry up! If Dudley loses again, there won't be any space left on his face for more paper slips!"

"Sigh, what can I do with you guys."

Draco muttered, patting his butt as he stood up.

As he walked towards the three, whose faces were already covered in white paper slips from the card game, he couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curve up slightly.

'It actually wasn't as bad as I had imagined.'

'Right?'