Next came the busy days of revising lessons.
Draco spent most of his time tutoring those two idiots, Goyle and Crabbe.
For them, the course content of an entire academic year is more like previewing than revising.
"Goyle, you still have a rat's tail stuck to your cup," Draco said, half-laughing, half-crying. "Focus, have some conviction, all right?"
Right now, he is in an empty classroom, preparing to help Goyle practise his Transfiguration spell.
Suddenly, Hermione's fluffy little head peeked out from the doorway, and she quietly waved to him.
"What is wrong?" He walked over and glanced at her casually. "Hogwarts heroine, who has messed with you this time?"
Hermione pursed her lips and did not say anything. She pulled him straight up by his sleeve and walked with him until they reached a deserted corridor. Then she stopped, let go of him, and scrutinised him with a critical look.
Draco Malfoy! The boy who tried to stay out of it!
Look at him, looking at her with that relaxed, innocent gaze, as if he had never experienced what happened in the Forbidden Forest. Hermione thought, who would have thought he had done such a terrible thing?
"I want to know, why? I mean, how do you know there is a face on the back of Quirrell's head?" She looked up at him, puzzled.
On the night in the Forbidden Forest, so many strange things happened that she was exhausted and did not react quickly enough to notice anything unusual. A few days later, she gradually recovered from the shock, life returned to normal, and reason and logic returned to her mind. Only then did she realise that something was amiss.
One night, as she stared at the wine-red curtains on the four-poster bed, trying to fall asleep, she kept seeing Draco's platinum blonde hair flashing in her mind.
At first, she was just thinking that he had held her hand in the dark, which made her feel very safe.
His sudden departure later left her feeling somewhat lost and helpless. This feeling was perplexing.
As she thought about him, she suddenly realised something more important: his every move when facing Quirrell was so perfectly timed, and his predictions for certain moments were so accurate that they were almost unbelievable.
Ultimately, her agreement to secretly take Draco to the Forbidden Forest did not mean she completely believed Quirrell would appear; it was merely a tacit agreement based on doubt.
But what he predicted actually happened, exactly as he predicted, which was astonishing and even terrifying upon closer examination.
"And that spell you used, I have never heard of it before. What is it used for?" she asked pointedly.
"I thought that after helping you deal with Quirrell and protecting Harry's safety, you would say 'thank you' to me," Draco interrupted her.
"All right, thank you." Those brown eyes remained fixed on him, as if he were some kind of potion ingredient in dire need of dissection.
This was not an attitude of "gratitude"—she had become suspicious of him.
Draco almost forgot that Hermione Granger was not only intelligent, but also excessively intelligent, to the point that at times, she was so intelligent that she left people with nowhere to turn.
"Can you not just let it go without asking anything?" Draco sighed, looking frustrated.
"I cannot. Draco, you cast a spell I have never heard of before and then took care of Voldemort." Hermione's brown eyes were so inquisitive, like a stirring rod, rummaging through Draco's grey eyes.
"Do not call him by that name!" Draco said irritably.
"That does not matter at all! You defeated him, yet you do not dare call him by his name? That is ridiculous!" Hermione said dismissively. "When did you become a coward? Draco Malfoy has never been a coward in my eyes."
"You do not understand..." Draco frowned. Hermione had probably misunderstood him.
He has always been a coward. He has been a coward for a long time.
Draco Malfoy has never been associated with the word "brave".
He remained patient and evasive. He harboured doubts.
He always dared to manoeuvre cautiously in the shadows, rather than launching a direct attack in the sunlight.
"You left me all alone in the Forbidden Forest! I was terrified! Did you not say you would always be with me? Never to be separated from me?" Hermione felt angry when she thought about it, and her voice became a little sharp.
"Do not be silly! Even though I was invisible, I waited until Hagrid showed up before I left! And I left Dobby with you... If there is any danger, Dobby will take you with him," Draco said expressionlessly.
"Is he that good?" Hermione asked in surprise, forgetting that she was still angry.
"Dobby is no less powerful; he is even better at concealment magic than I am," Draco explained patiently. "Professor Dumbledore can see through the Invisibility Cloak. Am I staying there to wait to be discovered?"
Hermione stared in disbelief. "Professor Dumbledore can see through the Invisibility Cloak? He is that amazing?"
"There is a lot you do not know!" Draco sighed, a hint of impatience in his voice.
This emotion seemed to sting Hermione.
"Then why did you not tell me sooner? Why did I have to force you to tell the truth? Draco, sometimes I feel like you do not trust me at all, which is why you are always so secretive!" She suddenly felt a surge of resentment, followed by a welling up of anger. "Everyone thinks that my Full Body Bind Curse defeated him, but I know in my heart that it is not that simple! I even lied to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall for you! I think I deserve an explanation!"
"All right, I surrender!" Draco looked at her indignant face and could feel her anger.
He lazily raised his hand and said, "I will explain it to you someday, but not now. Not now. I can promise you that if there are any questions I can answer, I will tell you."
Is this not still equivalent to him saying nothing? Hermione pouted, feeling deflated by his blatant rejection.
Her eyes widened as she stared at him, like a kitten crouching in front of a glass tank, ready to pounce on a goldfish. Her expression was wary and sharp, as if she were about to strike him with her claws. "Why did you not tell me beforehand? You did not even tell me that Quirrell had something on the back of his head—"
She glanced at Draco's tense expression and decided to respect his wishes this once. "The Dark Lord is on the back of his head! Why did you not tell me?"
"This is just a reasonable guess on my part. A Malfoy never jumps to conclusions before he is sure of his own guesses," Draco said slowly.
"And Dobby, where did he come from?" Hermione asked another question.
"Oh, that is our house-elf. Did you not memorise the knowledge about goblin rebellions?" Draco's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "If there is a chance, I can let you see his true form. You might like him."
Although he disagreed with her aesthetic sense, he still remembered it vividly—in his past life, there was a time when she seemed to particularly enjoy fighting for the freedom of house-elves.
She always seems willing to spend a lot of time on seemingly pointless things, such as helping vulnerable groups or species that have no status.
"A rather strange quirk," Draco thought.
"Then how did you know Quirrell would be in the Forbidden Forest that day? Was it another reasonable deduction of yours?" Hermione pressed on, determined not to look at the smile on his lips, lest her stern face crumble.
"You could say that," Draco said, noticing Hermione's rosy lips tighten at his words.
"Listen, I have no ill intentions towards you or Potter, and you must remember that," he said seriously, looking directly into her eyes, hoping to convey the sincerity in his gaze.
"I know," she said softly, suddenly captivated by his calm grey eyes, her anger instantly subsiding. "I know you meant no harm."
The boy smiled. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
This rare smile was enough to calm the heart of a girl burning with anger.
It was enough to make Hermione's face flush slightly.
Just then, looking past her fluffy brown hair, Draco saw Goyle and Crabbe whispering in his direction from the other end of the corridor, looking over as if to see what was going on.
The corridor is not a good place to chat.
These secrets are best kept between the two of them; it would be more harmful than helpful for more people to know them.
So he gently nudged Hermione, who was about to continue grumbling, "Come on, come on, enjoy being surrounded and welcomed by your Gryffindor classmates!"
"That does not matter at all," Hermione said, her face flushed. "I would rather be with my loyal friends than with those snobs..."
She always remembered that when she was subjected to malice, only Draco, who seemed indifferent, showed her kindness.
He was not even a Gryffindor, but rather a Slytherin, the legendary house most hostile to Gryffindor.
But this Slytherin boy did not mock or ridicule like the others.
He comforted her, encouraged her, and cheered her up.
When she was isolated, helpless, and feeling utterly desolate, he found her by the Black Lake, just as he had found her countless times by the bookshelf.
She discovered that he was not indifferent at all; his indifference was just a facade.
There is a gentle element in his character. A precious, rare, and genuine gentleness.
He opened up his private study space to her, allowing her to read in peace without worrying about the disdain or sarcasm she had received in the library recently, or the intense, curious stares from the students.
Even though some of his behaviours were very suspicious, she did not think he was a bad boy.
Draco just likes to be mysterious, that is all.
She simply enjoys solving mysteries and wants to see what treasures are hidden behind them—like finding a learning space behind ruins, nothing more.
"I want to know more—" she said urgently, before he pushed her away.
"Well then, go study... keep memorising your little goblin rebellions, though I do not think it will be on the exam... If you get first place in your year, I shall consider answering more of your questions," Draco continued, pushing her along perfunctorily.
"It is a deal!" Hermione finally accepted his proposal.
Like a spirited little lion cub, she walked away with her head held high, proud, confident, and defiant.
She was eager and impatient, determined to excel in the exam and crush the cunning, dishonest, and scheming Draco Malfoy.
Then, she would pry open his cold, hard shell and dig out all his hidden secrets and the good things he did not easily show to others, leaving him with nothing.
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