Draco had not expected her to question them so directly, and now he looked at Professor McGonagall in front of him with some curiosity.
Normally, wasn't this the sort of thing where people first exchanged a few words of concern, then talked about the recent difficulties, and only after that finally got to the point?
How had she skipped straight to the final step?
Hermione, who had also noticed something was off, quietly gave Draco a look.
It seemed Professor McGonagall was under considerable pressure as well. She was not even trying to hide her thoughts or intentions anymore...
As for the question, Draco straightened slightly.
The somewhat lazy expression he had worn moments ago turned serious at once under Professor McGonagall's questioning.
If he had just been speaking as a Hogwarts student before, then now he was speaking to her as the leader of an organization.
But first, there was something Draco needed to make clear.
"Respected Professor, before that, I need to know what position you are asking this from."
"..."
"And the answer you give will determine whether we answer, and how we answer."
It could not exactly be called impolite.
But it was certainly far from courteous.
And as the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, the pressure Professor McGonagall gave off when her face turned cold was not something to underestimate, to say nothing of the restrained fluctuations of magic around her.
For a brief moment, Hermione seemed to see Severus Snape from that night in Professor McGonagall.
It was the same coldness, and the same oppressive presence belonging to a powerful wizard...
...
After all, they had already been "baptized" by Snape.
So this time, faced with Professor McGonagall's probing, when she had not even drawn her wand, Hermione barely reacted at all. Draco's expression did not change either. He simply watched Professor McGonagall's performance in silence.
For a moment, a trace of awkwardness rose in Professor McGonagall's heart. Only then did she withdraw her imposing presence and pretend nothing had happened.
"Ahem!"
"..."
"It seems I underestimated you, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger."
Compared with Dumbledore, who no one ever knew was thinking or planning, and Snape, who was ruthless to his enemies and even harsher on himself, Professor McGonagall was indeed much less calculating.
Apart from that.
When facing her own students, Professor McGonagall was truly sincere and treated them all equally.
Even though Draco stood behind a different faction, Professor McGonagall still held the greatest goodwill toward her student.
And what she said next proved exactly that.
"Although I do not know what you are planning, leave Hogwarts. If possible, take the others with you."
"Professor McGonagall?!"
More than confusion, Hermione was shocked because she felt she had heard something similar before.
Although it was not exactly the same, the meaning was close enough.
Noticing Hermione's strange expression, Professor McGonagall seemed to guess something.
"I see. Has someone else said the same thing to you?"
"..."
"Let me guess... it was Severus, wasn't it?"
Although she phrased it as a question, her tone was certain.
And what Draco cared about most was that when Professor McGonagall said this, relief appeared on her face.
It was the expression of someone realizing she had not misjudged a person...