After Draco deliberately touched her arm.
Hermione withdrew her arm almost immediately.
She turned her head slightly, a hint of displeasure and wariness in her eyes, and glared at Draco.
His long eyelashes trembled slightly with anger, and his brown eyes were full of doubt.
She didn't make a sound, but silently questioned with clearly defined mouth shapes, "What are you doing?"
Draco slowly turned his head, meeting Hermione's gaze, which held a mixture of anger and confusion.
There was no trace of panic at being caught red-handed in his eyes; instead, a perfectly timed look of innocence flashed across them.
Then a helpless, amused smile appeared on his lips:
"You know, my father took me back to the manor this morning, and then Professor McGonagall called me to her office for a talk this afternoon. I didn't even have time to go back to my dorm to get my textbooks. So..."
His gaze naturally fell on Hermione's open textbook, and he asked, "Can we look at it together?"
After speaking, he didn't look away, but simply stared at Hermione with a helpless gaze, waiting for her final reaction.
In fact, Draco had already scanned the entire History of Magic textbook with his personal Knowledge Compendium before even entering the classroom.
Every word and every annotation above is now etched into my mind.
There is absolutely no need to learn with physical books.
His statement was merely a pretext to create a legitimate opportunity to further close the physical distance between himself and Hermione.
Then test her limits.
Hermione was completely stunned.
She looked at Draco's calm face.
He looked down at the textbook in front of him, its pages filled with dense writing.
Looking at Draco's empty desk, he was momentarily at a loss for words.
The reality is that Professor Binns is still reciting the content that is most likely to be the focus of the exam in that death-dealing, monotone tone.
And her deskmate, Draco, indeed didn't have a textbook.
This meant he either had to sit there blankly or... share a book with her.
Sharing a book...
These four words exploded in Hermione's mind, causing her heart to skip a beat for no reason, and her cheeks to subtly warm up.
The arm that had just been touched by his elbow seemed to still retain a slightly cool, strange sensation.
Now, the undeniable fact that she didn't bring her books directly and starkly presented the possibility of sharing textbooks to her.
promise?
This means that for at least the next class period, they will have to huddle together, their eyes focused on the same page of a book.
Breaths might accidentally intertwine, and arms might brush against each other again...
This was even more intimate and awkward than sitting side by side just now!
What's more, not long ago, Ron's shout about the Love Potion had pushed their relationship to the forefront.
Under everyone's gaze, share the textbook with him?
This undoubtedly adds fuel to the fire of those whispered rumors!
reject?
That would make her seem too stingy and unapproachable.
After all, the other person simply didn't bring a book.
Professor Binns's lectures were obscure and difficult to understand; without the textbook, it was almost like listening to gibberish.
As a top student who prides herself on loving learning, being helpful, and following the rules, doesn't she seem obligated to help her classmates keep up with the course?
Moreover, he had just defended her in some way.
From both a moral and logical standpoint, she seemed unable to find a compelling reason to refuse.
Just as Hermione was struggling internally and her expression was shifting, Draco spoke again.
" Professor Binns seems to have touched on a key clause in the establishment of Gringotts during the Goblin Rebellion,"
His eyes darted quickly across Hermione's textbook, then swept across the podium, as if checking the progress of the lesson.
" Professor Binns ' notes differ significantly from the original textbook text in this section, but it is usually tested."
He was actually reminding her of the key points of the lesson?
And it sounds like... he's quite familiar with the textbook content?
Hermione glanced instinctively at her textbook.
Sure enough, Professor Binns's dry voice was now reciting fragments about Goblin rights and Gringotts' charter.
Next to her rapidly scribbled notes, the original annotations in the textbook did indeed differ from the professor's oral narration.
If you don't check carefully, it's easy to miss key test points.
Draco didn't suggest watching it together again, nor did he make any urging gestures.
He simply sat there calmly, his gaze returning to the podium.
But he turned his body slightly towards her, his posture relaxed and natural, as if he was ready to watch it together.
This calm, devoid of any oppressive atmosphere, strangely soothed some of Hermione's panic and resistance.
She knew in her heart that Draco was right; this part was indeed the focus of the exam, and she couldn't let her personal emotions interfere with her studies.
Reason told her that she should refuse, draw a clear line, and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
But another voice kept offering advice.
It's just reading a book together, nothing special, it's all for learning...
And he looked... really calm.
There was no scheming, no smugness, just a calm statement of the facts, and even a kind reminder of the key points.
Time waits for no one, and Professor Binns's narration would not stop because of her hesitation.
Those important points of knowledge were slowly slipping away from my ears along with that hypnotic buzzing sound.
Finally, Hermione bit her lower lip, as if she had made up her mind.
She abruptly pushed her History of Magic textbook towards the center of the table.
His movements were somewhat stiff, even carrying a hint of defiance.
But the heavy book stopped right between the two of them.
It's perfectly balanced, allowing both parties to clearly see the contents of the book.
Then, without looking at Draco, she quickly lowered her head, staring at the dense text on the page, and squeezed out a mumbled sentence.
"Hurry up. Don't keep me from taking notes."