Hermione put down her pen, rubbed her sore eyes, and glanced at the sofa beside her.
Draco was fast asleep. His usually arrogant expression softened considerably, and even his breathing was light and even, completely undisturbed by the surrounding noise.
A strange sense of unease welled up inside her.
This guy, on the other hand, just fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, leaving me feeling unsettled.
Unfortunately, he was completely at her mercy.
As if guided by some unseen force, Hermione's gaze fell upon his face, from his straight nose to his slightly pursed lips, and she became somewhat lost in thought...
Just then, footsteps came from the stairwell, someone was coming down to get something. Hermione snapped back to reality and turned around in a panic, as if she had been caught red-handed.
She fumbled through the notes on the table, her ears burning instantly, and she didn't dare glance at the sofa again.
Only after the person took the item and hurriedly left did I secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
She raised her hand to press her burning cheeks, her mind a jumble: What's wrong with me? Why have I been staring at sleeping Draco for so long...?
But then I was distracted again. To be honest, he looked more pleasing to the eye when he was asleep than when he was usually so flamboyant.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She quickly shook her head, inwardly cursing herself for having such wild thoughts.
If I keep thinking about it, I might be so ashamed of my own thoughts that I'll die.
She glanced at the slanting sunlight outside the window. There was still some time before class, but she didn't dare to delay any longer, so she got up and walked to the sofa.
What if my roommates come downstairs and see me like this?
Lavender and Parvati's boundless imaginations about love, who knows how many outrageous things they'll come up with that they'll never be able to clear their names, no matter how hard they try.
Hermione bit her lip, gently nudged Draco's arm, and whispered, "Hey, wake up! It's time to get up, or you'll miss class."
Draco's eyelashes didn't even flutter, yet his hand precisely gripped her wrist.
Her voice, still lingering with the languor of just waking up, drifted out, muffled yet natural. "Stop bothering Hermione, let me sleep a little longer."
These words, though spoken casually, sent a shiver down Hermione's spine.
Her wrist was burned by the heat of his palm, and the sound of Hermione without her surname felt like a fine needle, piercing her heart unexpectedly.
Hermione tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped her wrist even tighter.
Hermione's mind went blank for a moment, her eyes darting between the stairwell and the entrance to the common room.
I was terrified that someone would walk in at any moment and see me like this.
She tiptoed anxiously, using her other hand to pry his fingers open, her voice urgent and soft. " Draco! Wake up! Let go! Stop sleeping!"
Hermione tried to pry his warm knuckles open with her fingertips, but she couldn't.
Draco, however, seemed disturbed from his sleep, unconsciously tightening his grip on his palm and muttering, "Just five minutes..."
Hermione was both angry and anxious, her cheeks flushed red. She bent down, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Stop lazing around! You'll be late if you don't get up now! You dare skip Professor McGonagall's class?"
Perhaps it was the warm breath brushing against his ear, or perhaps it was Professor McGonagall's formidable reputation, but Draco's eyelids finally trembled slightly.
Draco opened his eyes, his gaze still heavy with sleep.
His gaze settled on their clasped hands. After a couple of seconds, he raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked, "Why did you let me hold your hand?"
This was a complete blatant betrayal, instantly infuriating Hermione.
Her cheeks were already burning with anxiety, and these words provoked her, causing her anger to surge up.
Draco struggled to free his wrist, and he said angrily, "You're the one grabbing me! You were the one who grabbed me first and wouldn't let go!"
Draco watched her bristle, a smile slowly spreading across his eyes. He loosened his grip, letting her pull her hand away.
"Oh? Really? I thought you were reluctant to take it away." He deliberately rubbed his palm, as if savoring the slightly cool touch.
Seeing him like this, Hermione clenched her hands tightly behind her back.
She glared at Draco, her chest heaving slightly, words of embarrassment and anger stuck in her throat, but his appearance made her unable to utter a sound.
Finally Hermione could only manage to utter, "You're absolutely shameless!"
He turned his face away sharply as he spoke.
Draco chuckled, propping himself up on his arms as he sat up, casually ruffling his slightly disheveled hair as he stared at her flushed cheeks. "Nobody should have seen."
"Stop talking!" Hermione said, grabbing her schoolbag from the table and throwing it over her shoulder. She then walked towards the door, too lazy to deal with this shameless guy anymore.
Draco watched her flee in disarray and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
He quickly got up and followed, deliberately calling out, "Hey, Granger bodyguard, wait for the employer!"
Hermione stopped abruptly. She had to wait; if she let him keep shouting, the whole school would know about their relationship the next day.
Although she stopped, Hermione didn't turn around. She simply said, "Stop dawdling! I'm not waiting any longer!"
Draco, seeing her insincere expression, smiled even more broadly, quickly caught up, and gently tugged at her backpack strap:
"What's the rush? With your top-notch bodyguard here, how could the employer possibly be late?"
Hermione slapped his hand away hard, glared at him, but didn't say anything more. She just turned her head and walked forward.
As they walked, Hermione cautioned, "Behave yourself in class later, and don't argue with Ron again. If Professor McGonagall punishes someone, I won't be responsible."
Draco leaned closer and said, "What? Afraid I'll embarrass you?"
Hermione shook her head; he was here again.
"Stop being so presumptuous, Malfoy."
The deliberately emphasized surname has just been used.
Draco leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe. "Please call me Draco."
Hermione tilted her head back slightly and said matter-of-factly, "No, that's a respectful term for the employer."
She deliberately emphasized the word "employer," trying to distance herself from that inexplicable ambiguity.
Draco chuckled and said, "Shouldn't that be up to the employer?"
"We're not in a typical employer-employee relationship, you understand? Maintaining proper boundaries is a fundamental principle," Hermione said calmly.
"Then tell me, how special is this employment relationship?" Draco said sarcastically.
Hermione looked up at Draco, her eyes clear, and said:
"First of all, the core of the initial agreement was 'mutual assistance and cooperation,' not 'employment'—I recognize your abilities in certain areas and voluntarily provide assistance. This is based on an exchange of equal value, not a labor relationship measured in money."
She raised her hand to straighten her cuffs, and continued her analysis with clear logic:
"Secondly, amending the agreement requires consensus from both parties, but 'monetary employment' would disrupt this equality."
"The material conditions you can provide are not what I intended to use to get involved in this matter, and naturally they are not enough to be used as leverage to change our relationship."
At this moment, Hermione's gaze towards Draco became more serious:
"Furthermore, coercion is not applicable to any voluntarily entered into cooperative relationship, regardless of whether money is involved."
"If you want to change the nature of a relationship through material things, you are essentially confusing the core difference between 'collaboration' and 'employment.' The former is a two-way recognition of value, while the latter is a one-way payment of labor."
Finally, she nodded slightly, her tone returning to the calmness of normal conversation:
Therefore, there is no need to make changes.
"The current model aligns with the initial agreement and efficiently achieves the goals. Besides, do you really think there's anything I want that I can only obtain through a monetary employment relationship?"
Hermione turned her head to look at Draco.
Without the distracting atmosphere, Hermione became logical again.