Ron Weasley!
Seeing that Ron still didn't understand, Hermione almost exploded.
She whirled around, glaring at Ron, and said, enunciating each word clearly, "What nonsense are you spouting!"
"I haven't been cursed or drugged! My mind is perfectly clear! A hundred times clearer than your syrup-covered brain!"
She was so angry that she spoke without thinking, her sharp words like a drawn dagger.
" The Love Potion only works when ingested, and it produces noticeable magical fluctuations and physical symptoms! The Confundus Charm is an extremely profound and evil Dark Magic. Do you think a first-year student could cast it Silencio and undetected under the noses of so many senior professors at Hogwarts? Use your Troll brain capacity to think about it carefully!"
Hermione's fierce rebuttal only made the atmosphere in the classroom even more awkward.
Because her reaction was too normal.
She was still the Hermione was always known for her rationality and logic.
She's still that little witch who will always argue her case if she's offended.
But this is normal; given the unusual fact that she is sitting with Malfoy, it seems all the more abrupt and makes people speculate.
Olivia nodded to herself.
See, it really is Hermione. Her logic is clear, and her insults are so sharp. She never suffers a loss.
However, some of the Hufflepuff students had a hint of doubt in their eyes.
Her strong reaction suggests that something she was thinking has hit a nerve, which is why she's so eager to defend herself.
Ron shrank back at her yelling, his cheeks turning even redder, like ripe tomatoes.
But once the Weasley family get stubborn, nothing can stop them.
He retorted, his neck stiff, "Then explain yourself! How did you end up with him? Sitting together? Is that normal, Hermione? He's Malfoy! He's a member of the Malfoy family!"
"What I do and who I sit with is none of your business, Ron!"
Hermione's chest heaved violently with anger.
His anger then transformed into a sharp gaze that pierced directly at Ron.
She warned, "I'll say it again, I haven't been cursed! I haven't been drugged! If you continue to make wild guesses and spread rumors here, I will definitely tell Professor McGonagall and let her judge!"
Just then, a calm voice, like a chilling current, suddenly broke through the tense atmosphere of the argument.
" Mr. Weasley's imagination is far more brilliant than his essays on the History of Magic. If he used that imagination on his studies, he might barely pass in the future."
These words instantly broke the tense standoff between the two.
It was Draco who spoke up, in defense of his little witch.
"However, since Mr. Weasley is so 'concerned' about his classmate's safety, I think it's necessary to completely dispel your unfounded doubts and to protect Miss Granger's reputation."
"How about we go to the Hospital Wing together after class and have Madam Pomfrey give us a full health check-up?"
His gaze slowly swept over all the suspicious eyes in the room, and the crowd slowly looked away.
"No trace of Potions or spell can escape Madam Pomfrey's eyes."
"If the examination results prove that Miss Granger is fully conscious, healthy, and not under any external control—"
At this point, he finally turned his head completely, his cold gaze fixed on the speechless Ron.
"--You need to publicly apologize to Miss Granger and the Hogwarts professors whose professional competence you have unjustly questioned for your defamatory remarks."
"Of course, if you insist that you have discovered a Dark Magic threat that even the professors have failed to detect, we can go and bother the headmaster right now."
"I believe Professor Dumbledore will be very interested in your 'major discovery'."
After he finished speaking, the classroom fell into a deathly silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone was stunned by Draco's extremely authoritative response.
His words blocked all of Ron's escape routes and firmly grasped the initiative in this farce.
Ron's face had turned from red to white, then from white to green, and finally turned into an ugly liver color.
He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
Draco's suggestion was too harsh.
Go to the Hospital Wing? Go see Dumbledore?
Wouldn't that be like walking into a trap, exposing one's foolishness and recklessness to everyone?
He can't possibly go.
That would only make him a laughingstock throughout Hogwarts.
Harry, sitting next to Ron, had already sensed that something was wrong.
He clutched Ron's robe tightly under the table, shaking his head frantically at him.
Signal to him with your eyes to calm down, not to fall for it, and not to be so quick to argue.
Hermione was completely stunned.
She stared blankly at Draco beside her, at his calm profile, and a storm raged within her.
She hadn't expected Draco to speak up at this moment.
What she never expected was that he would use such a cold and rational method to refute Ron's accusations on her behalf.
Every word he uttered was based on facts and rules.
These words perfectly defended her innocence, and even specifically mentioned the need to protect her reputation.
This strangely replaced the raging anger in Hermione's chest with a complex emotion.
She was surprised that Draco knew so much about Potions and spells.
They were also astonished that he could remain so calm in the face of Ron's provocation.
There was also an indescribable feeling of excitement and confusion.
Was he really protecting her?
Or was it simply to retaliate against Ron, and to save face for himself?
Draco did not wait for Ron's response.
He knew Ron too well; he was impulsive and lacked reason.
With him blocking their way, they were already powerless to fight back.
He knew that Ron was checkmated.
Draco slowly withdrew his gaze and sat up straight again.
Then he turned his head and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, whispered to Hermione, who was still in a daze:
"The innocent are innocent; it's not worth getting angry at a clown."
Hermione froze completely.
The flush of anger on her face had not yet completely faded, but it was now rising again because of this comforting whisper, even her ears were tinged with a thin blush.
Her mind went blank again.
Was his calm and sharp rebuttal to Ron in public to protect her reputation?
Was his private remark to her, "The innocent will be proven innocent," meant to soothe her emotions?
Is this... is this really the Malfoy family, who pride themselves on Pure-blood as described in the books?
But she couldn't deny that Draco's public rebuttal effectively shut Ron up.
This also calmed down the whispers and suspicious glances in the classroom.
Ron was trembling with anger, his hands clenched into fists.
But under Harry's relentless pulling and gesturing, and even more so under Draco's irrefutable words, he could only lower his head in resentment.
Annoyed, he picked up the quill and, with a force that nearly snapped the pen, scribbled wildly on the parchment, leaving behind twisted streaks of ink.
The atmosphere in the classroom returned to a superficial calm amidst an eerie silence.
Hermione was still in a state of turmoil, her fingers on the table slightly curled.
The initial rage from the insult had gradually subsided.
At this moment, however, it turned into a more complex confusion, along with an increasingly strong curiosity and desire to explore the boy beside her.
Who exactly is he? What does he want to do? Why... why is he doing this?
Just then, a clear bell rang throughout the classroom.
"Ring ring--"