"Oh! I see!"
The Fat Lady clapped her hands as if suddenly realizing something, a knowing and somewhat amused smile spreading across her round face.
"You're lost! It's easy to get disoriented on the fourth floor, and those armors can be quite scary sometimes. You two little devils, staying up all night and making bets like this!"
"But coming back hand in hand... hehe, that does show a bit of 'mutual assistance spirit'."
The Fat Lady smiled like an aunt when she talked about holding hands.
Looking at the Fat Lady's smiling face and hearing her voice, which already believed her story, Hermione felt a wave of dizziness and her vision blurred.
Mutual assistance spirit?
No! That's not it! Absolutely not!
She screamed frantically in her heart, but she couldn't say it out loud.
Just then, Draco responded to the Fat Lady.
"Yes, it was... a little unexpected incident."
Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, a polite but slightly apologetic smile appeared on his face.
"It's so late, and we're so sorry to trouble you to open the door for us."
As he spoke, his free hand casually reached into the inner pocket of the finely made school robe he was wearing.
Then, under the astonished gazes of Hermione and the Fat Lady, Draco slowly withdrew his hand from his inner pocket.
In his hand, he held neither a magic wand nor any ordinary object.
It was a bouquet of flowers.
A bunch of flowers in full bloom, as if they had just been picked from a rose garden that morning.
The appearance of this bouquet of roses was so abrupt, so... untimely, so... puzzling.
Hermione was completely stunned when she saw the flowers.
Her mind had been shattered by the series of shocks that had exceeded her comprehension tonight.
She stared blankly at the dazzling red roses in Draco's hand, completely unable to comprehend the surreal scene before her.
The Fat Lady was also clearly stunned, her mouth slightly agape, speechless with surprise at the unexpected gift.
Draco ignored the identical astonishment on their faces.
The polite, apologetic smile on his face remained unchanged.
Holding the bouquet of roses, he spoke clearly and awkwardly, to the astonished, Fat Lady in the painting frame:
" The House-elf occasionally tend to the greenhouse flowers, just in case."
He casually explained the origin of the rose, and then continued.
"This bouquet of flowers may add a touch of color and fragrance to your vigil tonight."
"Consider it... an invitation from us late at night, and we hope you like it."
"I also hope that tonight's 'little incident' can become a fun little secret between the three of us, one that we don't need to tell anyone else."
"After all," he said, a smirk playing on his lips, "Young people are always prone to making harmless blunders, wouldn't you agree, madam?"
This bouquet of flowers is an apology and a token of gratitude, as well as an elegantly packaged payment to cover up the debt.
After her initial astonishment, the Fat Lady was clearly thoroughly moved by the beautiful bouquet of roses and Draco's tactful words.
"Oh! What beautiful flowers!" she exclaimed in delight, her round face full of love for the flowers and flattered surprise.
"Deep red! It's my favorite color! And it's still glistening with dew! Darling, you're so thoughtful!"
She carefully took the rose that Draco elegantly handed to the picture frame, sniffed it with delight, and a satisfied and joyful smile spread across her face.
After sniffing it, the Fat Lady nodded repeatedly.
"Of course! Of course! You're absolutely right, Mr. Malfoy! Freshmen are bound to be a little confused and make a few mistakes! It's nothing! It's just a harmless joke!"
At this moment, the Fat Lady looked at Draco with loving eyes, and she patted her chest to assure him.
"Don't worry, I, Fat Lady, am very discreet! What happened tonight is known only to heaven, earth, you, me, and her; I will not let a fourth person know!"
As she spoke, she winked playfully, revealing a kind and understanding expression.
"Alright, alright, it's late, let's go inside, children!"
As the Fat Lady spoke, before Hermione could give the command, the portrait slowly slid aside, revealing the warm, circular entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room behind it.
The warm atmosphere of the Gryffindor Common Room is palpable.
Draco placed the flowers on the ground in front of the Fat Lady.
"The flowers are here, madam. I hope their fragrance will accompany you through a pleasant evening."
The Fat Lady let out a satisfied sigh, her smile spreading across her face like blooming roses on the ground.
"Oh, darling, you're so thoughtful! Just leave them here, just leave them here! I'll definitely take good care of them!"
As she spoke, she even exaggeratedly made a gesture of smelling flowers.
"Come in quickly, come in quickly, don't stand in the wind and get cold at the door!" the Fat Lady urged repeatedly.
Draco then turned his gaze to Hermione was almost frozen in place beside him.
The warm light emanating from the common room made her face appear deathly pale.
She stared intently at the warm, golden-red glow emanating from the opening of the portrait, her body seemingly nailed down by invisible spikes, completely still.
"What are you still standing there for?" Draco's voice urged with an air of matter-of-fact intensification.
"It's time to go in."
The instant he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and made a gesture.
A gesture that sent chills down Hermione's spine even more than interlocking fingers.
He casually reached out and put his arm around Hermione's slender shoulder, as if it were a classmate helping out.
This is a form of physical contact that is far more aggressive than simply holding hands.
The instant Draco's hand approached her shoulder, Hermione's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints!
No! No! Absolutely not!
A piercing scream tore through the chaos in my mind!
Just a moment before Draco's fingers were about to touch the fabric of her shoulder.
Hermione's body felt as if it had been struck by a high-voltage electric current, and she was violently thrown backward!
Draco's hand froze in mid-air.
His hand was only an inch away from Hermione's shoulder.
He was just teasing the girl.
Draco laughed, "There's no one inside, what's there to be afraid of?"
Then he looked away, no longer looking at her, and no longer trying to get closer.
He turned around and stepped into the warm, golden-red light of the Gryffindor Common Room, his figure quickly disappearing into the cave entrance.
Is there really no one inside?
When Draco entered, he didn't seem to hear any noise or greetings.
Only the faint crackling of burning wood in the fireplace could be heard, creating an eerie silence.
After waiting a few more seconds and confirming that there was indeed only a warm, empty space inside, Hermione's extremely tense nerves relaxed by a very slight degree.
A feeling of relief, as if I had survived a disaster, welled up inside me.
Thankfully... thankfully no one was there...