Draco's sudden laugh was not completely inexplicable, but it was definitely abrupt.
After all, they were in the middle of a life-or-death battle. Who could possibly laugh at a tense moment like this?
Aside from some battle maniac, there probably was no one who could laugh out loud at such a critical time.
Yet Draco had really done it...
And he sounded rather relaxed.
At that moment, Hermione could no longer care that Snape was still watching them like a predator from across the room.
She leaned straight toward Draco in exasperation and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with you?"
"Don't forget, our enemy is still right in front of us!"
Perhaps she was too tense, or perhaps Draco's behavior had startled her too much.
At that moment, Hermione did not notice that the wand opposite them, which had originally been pointed their way, had been lowered at some point. It had even disappeared from Snape's hand.
Aside from that, the malicious magic that had filled the air earlier seemed as if it had never existed at all...
Faced with Hermione, whose emotions seemed a little agitated, Draco lightly shook the wand in his hand.
"Calm down and think about it, Hermione. Don't you think there was something slightly wrong with what Snape said just now?"
"What he said? Now that you mention it..."
Hermione froze for a moment.
Only then did she remember the single sentence Snape had spoken during that battle.
And only after Draco's reminder did Hermione belatedly notice that the atmosphere and magic, which had felt ready to explode at any second, had suddenly dissolved into the air.
Simply put, the fight was over...
...
Draco and Hermione's conversation was especially clear in the silent chamber.
Naturally, Snape across from them could hear every word.
Tap, tap, tap!
Perhaps because his robes brushed against the floor, when Snape walked toward them, the sound reaching their ears was like that of a snake slithering.
Paired with Snape's cold face, it became even more terrifying.
In fact, if Hermione had not truly trusted Draco's judgment, she might already have attacked Snape...
When Snape came closer, he first silently glanced at Hermione, who still had her wand gripped tightly. Only then did he speak in a cold voice. "Very good. Although I could smell the stench of Gryffindor foolishness from you even at a distance, Granger, it seems our Miss Know-It-All does possess a little ability."
Perhaps he was simply not very good at praising others.
Those words sounded extremely awkward to Hermione, making her feel wrong all over.
Ignoring Hermione's conflicted expression, as if she wanted to say something but could not decide how, Snape turned his gaze directly to Draco in the next second.
"As for you, Mr. Draco Malfoy, very good. Very good indeed."
Although Draco did not know exactly what was so good, he still bowed slightly and performed a wizard's salute. "Thank you for your guidance, Godfather."
"Hmph. Don't misunderstand. I merely wanted to know what your current strength was. From the looks of it, at the very least, you won't die without value."
"..."
Was this what counted as Slytherin-style concern?
Or was this simply the familiar Snape?
After all, he was a tsundere...