Draco rested his elbows on the edge of the table, leaning slightly forward, his eyes devoid of any hint of jest.
He teased Hermione, "How about we make a bet? If I can really conjure these three needles instantly, you lose and you have to tell me your address, okay?"
Hermione's fingers, which were holding the needle, suddenly paused. The smile in her eyes vanished almost instantly, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
When she looked up again, her brow furrowed with wariness, and she asked, slightly flustered, "Why should I tell you my home address?"
After saying that, he forced himself to remain calm and added,
"Besides, you can't possibly succeed instantly, I'm not going to gamble on something so pointless."
Although she verbally refused, her hand, which was gripping the wand, unconsciously moved towards the matches, clearly indicating that she had been lured into caring about the outcome.
Neville, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, instinctively exclaimed in a low voice, "A bet? An address? Draco, what do you need Hermione's address for?"
He scratched his head as he spoke, looking completely innocent and curious, unaware of the subtle atmosphere between them.
Draco ignored Neville's curious gaze and stared at Hermione, raising an eyebrow as he said, "Since you don't believe me, why don't you dare to bet?"
Hermione frowned even more, pressing for an answer, "Why do you insist on having my home address?"
Draco suddenly leaned closer, his voice barely audible to the two of them. "Of course I'm here to see you during the holidays. I can't let you stay home alone; it'd be so boring."
Neville, who was standing nearby, strained his ears but couldn't hear clearly for a while. Frustrated, he scratched his head and complained in a low voice, "What are you saying? You're so close, I can't hear you!"
Olivia, however, was quick-witted and had already leaned over from Neville's side to overhear the gist of what was said.
Her eyes lit up instantly, and she grinned, whispering teasingly, "Yo--I'll be looking for you to hang out during the holidays~ Hermione, you have to make this bet!"
As he spoke, he winked at Draco.
He looked on with an air of schadenfreude, eager to see Draco cast his spell.
Hermione's ears instantly turned bright red at her words. She glared at her and retorted defiantly, "Who wants to play with you... Fine, let's bet! I want to see how you conjure things up in an instant! Don't try to cheat if you lose!"
But she had to emphasize the stakes, so she raised her chin and asked, "What if you lose?"
Draco didn't respond, but instead moved closer to her, almost touching her shoulder.
Hermione instinctively veered to the side, her shoulder trembling slightly, but she didn't actually move away. The redness from the tips of her ears spread to her jawline, and she stiffened her neck, waiting for Draco to speak.
Draco's lips almost brushed against her earlobe, his voice extremely soft, tinged with a warm breath, as it entered her ear:
"If you lose, I'll teach you an even more advanced Transfiguration, one that's even more advanced than what Professor McGonagall taught in class. How about that?"
These words were spoken as lightly as a breeze, while Neville, who was around him, was still clinging to the edge of the table, making wild guesses.
This time, no one heard a single word. They only saw Hermione's shoulders stiffen abruptly, and her cheeks visibly flush.
She remained silent for several seconds, only turning her head to glare at Draco, her eyes no longer showing any anger, but only a hint of flustered shyness.
After a few seconds of silence, Hermione's ears, still red, stiffened and looked up at Draco.
Her eyes held a clear interest in the Advanced Transfiguration, and she said somewhat hesitantly, "It's a bet! It's a deal, no backing out."
After speaking, Hermione deliberately moved aside to create some distance, but her gaze remained fixed on the three matches in front of Draco.
Seeing her relent, the people around her immediately began to whisper and cheer. Olivia happily patted the table and said, "It's finally settled! Draco, get started!"
Lavender and Parvati, who were pretending to practice their needlework, had already noticed them out of the corner of their eye.
Hearing Olivia's teasing, the two of them simply moved closer together, their heads pressed together.
Lavender covered her mouth and whispered excitedly, "Did you hear that? Going to see her during the holidays—those two have been keeping a low profile!"
Parvati nodded with a smile, poked Lavender's arm with her finger, glanced at Hermione's reddened ears, and then at Draco's leaning posture.
The smiles on their faces were impossible to hide.
Seeing Hermione agree to the bet, Lavender stepped forward and spoke to her:
" Hermione, don't go easy on me! The address you give me has to count!"
Parvati nodded in agreement, adding, "Exactly, we're all witnesses, so nobody can go back on their word!"
Draco caught a glimpse of the coldness behind him out of the corner of his eye, immediately turned around and gave Lavender and Parvati a look, slightly raising his chin to indicate that they should look behind them.
The two were still laughing and joining in the fun, but the moment they turned around in that direction, their smiles froze instantly.
Professor McGonagall stood a short distance away, arms crossed, her eyes behind her glasses cold and brooding as she silently stared at the group of people huddled together.
Her brows were furrowed tightly, and the air around her seemed to freeze.
Lavender and Parvati were so startled that they quickly sat up straight and frantically grabbed their wands, placing them next to the matches.
The two of them kept their heads down, not daring to even breathe.
Olivia immediately stopped jeering and pretended to be focused on fiddling with her needles.
Neville froze on the spot, his fingers gripping the edge of the table, terrified that the professor would call on him first.
Hermione also straightened up abruptly, the redness on the tips of her ears still lingering, but she pretended to be calm as she stared at the matches on the table.
Draco slowly sat up straight, looked up to meet Professor McGonagall's gaze, and raised an eyebrow in a feignedly innocent manner.
Then he tapped the three matches on the table lightly with his fingers, indicating that he was about to begin the task she had assigned him.
Professor McGonagall's gaze swept over the group, and she scoffed, "It seems you all have an excellent grasp of the basics of Transfiguration, yet you still have time to chat idly in class."
"In that case, Draco, let everyone see how you complete the task I've assigned you—don't let me down."
After speaking, she turned and slowly walked back to the podium, but still kept a glimpse of Draco in her eyes, clearly intending to watch him as she cast her spell.
Everyone around breathed a sigh of relief, then simultaneously turned their attention to Draco and the matches on the table.
Ron had just put the crooked needle on the table when he heard Professor McGonagall snort coldly.
He looked over in the direction of the voice and saw Draco and his group being called out by the professor. His brows furrowed instantly.
His gaze was fixed on Draco, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and he leaned close to Harry's ear and whispered something:
"Hmph, what tricks is Malfoy up to now? It's definitely nothing good; he's probably showing off something again."
As he spoke, Ron rolled his eyes.
Harry was focused on adjusting the enchanted light on the tip of his wand and only looked up when he heard the professor's voice.
His gaze swept calmly over Draco and the others, finally settling on Draco and the three matches on the table.
His face showed little emotion, only a hint of curious observation.
Seeing that Professor McGonagall had specifically called out Draco's name, he turned to Ron and whispered, "Let's take a look first; the professor asked him to demonstrate."