Draco stared at Hermione was clear-headed and logical, with some surprise. "What if I told you that I could do anything you want?"
Upon hearing this, Hermione remained calm and unmoved, only asking indifferently, "On the condition that you first figure out what I truly want?"
Draco pressed further, "So what do you really want?"
Hermione looked up and met his gaze, and said
"What I've always wanted is something I can grasp through my own abilities—solid knowledge, reliable skills, and the ability to control situations independently. These are things that others can't 'do'; they can only be earned by myself."
Her tone remained calm and analytical, but it became more direct.
Draco drew his wand and waved it, saying, "I can help you, for example, by teaching you Transfiguration."
Hermione looked up at his wand and asked, "How will you help me?"
It wasn't that she didn't believe in Draco's abilities; it's just that she was always practical and would never be easily swayed by a promise.
How about I teach you how to turn a matchstick into a needle before class?
Draco raised an eyebrow, his tone full of confidence, clearly certain of his coaching abilities.
Hermione's calm gaze held a clear hint of weighing her options, indicating that she was indeed tempted by the offer.
"What should we bet on?" She didn't answer immediately, but first determined the key point.
Draco laughed, "If you win, you'll have to change how you address me. Stop calling Malfoy Malfoy, just call me Draco. If you lose, I'll be your bodyguard, always at your beck and call."
Hermione frowned slightly upon hearing this. "The stakes don't seem right. If I win, all I get is a change of address, but if you win, you'll have to be my bodyguard. Are you sure you want to gamble this much?"
In her view, she was getting a good deal no matter how you looked at it, which made her more hesitant.
Draco smiled confidently and said, "I have faith in you."
This statement reflects both confidence in her ability to learn and confidence in my own guidance.
Draco suddenly raised his hand and lightly touched his lower lip. He seemed to have thought of something and said, "Wait, I want to add a condition."
Hermione's eyes instantly sharpened with wariness. "You said, let's clarify things first before we decide."
She has never liked changing her mind at the last minute, but she didn't refuse outright either.
"If I manage to do that, besides calling me Draco, I can also call you Hermione," Draco said.
Hermione frowned, quickly weighing her options in her mind.
Draco had occasionally called out before, but she always coldly and firmly interrupted him.
She asked, "Does this count as two sets of chips, corresponding to your two rights if you win?"
"It's just one share, we've simply dropped our surnames, it's not like we have two sets of chips."
"Okay, I agree. But if you shirk your responsibilities or deliberately mislead us, the bet will be automatically void."
"It's a deal." Draco put his wand away and tucked it into his pocket. "I'll guide you when we get to the classroom, don't rush."
Hermione didn't respond, but simply walked ahead beside him.
Draco paused slightly, glancing sideways at Hermione was walking briskly beside him, and casually asked, "Why are you walking so fast? Aren't you waiting for your roommate?"
Hermione slowed her pace upon hearing this. "They usually take forever to get ready. We can't wait. Let's go to the classroom and grab seats first."
Draco suddenly turned to the side, slowed his pace to walk beside her, and deliberately probed, "Were you peeking at me while I was sleeping?"
Hermione suddenly stopped, a faint blush creeping across the tips of her ears.
She quickly composed herself and said casually, "I don't have time for that. I've been flipping through my Transfiguration notes the whole time; I haven't had time to pay attention to anything else."
After she finished speaking, she started walking forward again, leaving Draco behind, as if to hide the slight shock she had felt at that moment.
As she walked, she changed the subject. "Don't think about irrelevant things, let's think about how to turn a match into a needle first."
Draco chuckled as he watched her feigned composure as she walked away, and quickly followed after her.
Why are you in such a hurry to distance yourself? I never said you saw it.
Hermione didn't reply, but quickened her pace by half a step, though the faint redness around her ears didn't fade.
She deliberately kept her gaze fixed on the stone path ahead, never turning her head to look at him.
Draco laughed even harder at this, and deliberately nudged her arm with his elbow as he walked beside her.
"So nervous, could it be that I really guessed right?"
" Malfoy." Hermione finally turned around, her tone slightly colder.
She warned, "If you bring up irrelevant things again, I'll take that as an attempt to back out of the bet."
"No, please," Draco said. "Stop fooling around, stop fooling around. Teach Miss Granger Transfiguration first, okay?"
The two entered the Transfiguration classroom, which was indeed empty with only a few people.
Hermione went straight to an empty seat at the front and sat down. Just as she placed her wand on the corner of the table, Draco pulled a brand new box of matches from his pocket.
The matchbox was shiny, clearly freshly opened. She raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, and asked, "You kept this too?"
Without asking any questions, he simply reached out and took the matches he offered, pinched one between his fingertips, and lightly touched the cane with his fingertips, ready to strike.
Draco sat down next to her, and with the help of the basic Transfiguration knowledge he had obtained from the system, he was already very familiar with the essentials of Transfiguration such as turning a match into a needle.
But instead of immediately casting the spell, he raised his hand and pressed down on Hermione's wrist holding the wand. "Don't grip too tightly. Keep the tip of the wand steady. The force of pulling back your wrist should be half a second before the spell ends. If you deviate even slightly, the wand will become unstable."
His hand was slightly cool, and Hermione stiffened the moment it touched her wrist, but she didn't pull away; she simply relaxed her knuckles as he instructed.
Hermione's talent was indeed exceptional; Draco only gave her a few pointers, and she quickly grasped the essentials.
The incantation flowed smoothly as it left his lips, a pale golden light flashed at the tip of the staff, and the match on his fingertip trembled, showing a faint hint of solidifying into a needle.
But just as it was about to take shape, her wrist suddenly paused slightly, the magical power dissipated somewhat, and the match returned to its original shape, falling onto the table.
Hermione lowered her eyes, gripping her wand tightly, her mind in turmoil.
Once she learns it, she'll have to call him Draco properly and let him call her Hermione, but deliberately not learning it... isn't in her nature.
Hermione frowned, and even her movements slowed down by half a beat.
But that barely concealed hesitation did not escape Draco's notice.
"What? Backing out at the last minute?" Draco rested his chin on his hand, glancing at her sideways with a smile.
"Are you reluctant to call me by my name, or are you afraid I'll call you Hermione?" Draco saw right through her.
Hermione glared at him, a faint blush creeping across her face, then turned her head away and said firmly, "Who backed down? They just hadn't found the right feeling yet."
"Oh? Is that so?" Draco leaned forward and tapped her wand.
"Then I'll see if our Granger's talent is so limited that he can't even conjure a needle."
Draco deliberately provoked her; he knew Hermione's personality all too well—she couldn't stand anyone questioning her abilities.
These words worked. Hermione frowned, but her inner turmoil was suppressed by her unwillingness to admit defeat.