With the juicy gossip of the imperial concubine selection over, the noise in the Great Hall gradually subsided.
The rest of the conversation revolved around Draco's Transfiguration that morning, with everyone expressing genuine admiration for Draco.
As they chatted, the conversation drifted to their respective personal anecdotes, but no matter what they talked about, it always ended up circling back to Draco.
They were so inquisitive, as if they wanted to strip him bare.
But Draco remained vague throughout, answering questions haphazardly without revealing any real information. Olivia, finding this amusing, suddenly interjected:
"If you want to know about Draco, ask Hermione. She's always hanging out with Draco."
These words were like a spark falling into a haystack; everyone instantly understood, turning to look at Hermione and letting out a drawn-out "Oh."
Someone shouted first, "Case solved! Draco said he had someone he liked, it was Hermione!"
These words struck like a thunderbolt, instantly shattering half of the Great Hall.
The Gryffindor boys slammed their fists on the table and started jeering, shouting at the top of their lungs:
"You hid it well, Malfoy! Turns out you liked one of your own!"
Hermione, you can't hide it anymore!
They shouted with such enthusiasm, as if they had uncovered a tremendous secret.
The regret of missing out on the conversation earlier vanished, and I was only interested in joining in the latest excitement.
Emock clapped his hands and laughed out loud, "I knew it! No wonder Draco was so indifferent to everyone else, his heart was with Hermione!"
Several Ravenclaw upperclassmen chuckled and whispered amongst themselves, their gazes toward Draco and Hermione filled with amusement.
His expression, as if he had already figured something out, made it seem as if he had truly glimpsed something.
Harry's hand holding the fork suddenly froze, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Then a flicker of realization crossed her mind, and she glanced discreetly at Cho Chang beside her, before looking at Hermione was blushing.
His lips twitched, but in the end he just lowered his head, picking at the food on his plate, and felt a strange sense of relief.
This doesn't mean he still has a chance.
Hermione, who had been calmly eating, suddenly turned bright red. She frantically waved her hands and said anxiously, "No! Don't make wild guesses! It's not like that at all!"
She glared at Olivia, then looked at Draco with a mixture of shame and embarrassment, her eyes filled with a frantic pleading, as if to say, "Explain yourself!"
Seeing Hermione's flustered appearance, Draco's lips curled into a clear smile, and he asked Hermione with a smile:
"Then tell me, do you want me to say it's you, or do you want me to say it's not you?"
There was a brief moment of silence around the table after those words, followed by an even louder burst of laughter.
At this point, Lavender and Parvati also returned to the main battlefield.
Lavender said to Draco, "Wow, Draco, that's an excellent question!"
Emock's mouth dropped open as he exclaimed, "Listen to that! Hermione's speechless now!"
Several Ravenclaw upperclassmen smiled, their gazes towards Hermione filled with mockery.
Hermione froze, her eyes wide, as if she had been stunned by those words.
The blush spread from her cheeks to her forehead, and she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
Draco said yes, he was afraid he wouldn't have the face to stay there any longer; he said no...
Hermione, her mind in turmoil, could only glare fiercely at Draco.
She was both ashamed and angry, and also somewhat flustered.
He didn't look angry at all; he seemed more like he'd been teased into having no other choice.
Finally Hermione could only stomp her foot, grab her schoolbag from the table, sling it over her shoulder, and rush out of the Great Hall without looking back.
He didn't even bother with the unfinished food on his plate; his retreating figure exuded a sense of hasty embarrassment and annoyance.
Hermione's departure caused a brief, half-second silence in the Great Hall.
This was followed by even louder laughter, and the Gryffindor boys banged on the table and shouted even louder:
"She ran away! Hermione ran away because she was shy!"
" Malfoy, you're something else! You made her run away in a panic!"
"Wow, Draco, that was a ruthless move, you managed to taunt him and get rid of him." Parvati winked at Draco.
Emock said with absolute certainty, "She must have run away because her thoughts were exposed! Hermione clearly has feelings for Draco!"
Cho Chang smiled, pursing her lips, and gently tapped Emock's forehead as she watched Hermione run off. "Don't talk nonsense, she's just embarrassed."
Despite saying that, the smile on her lips couldn't be hidden.
Several Ravenclaw alumni were also laughing and discussing it.
At the Slytherin table, Pansy's face was already ashen.
She stared intently in Draco's direction, watching him with a smile as he watched Hermione run away.
That casual tenderness was something she had never seen in his eyes before.
The jealousy surging in her heart almost burned away her reason; her fingernails dug deep wrinkles into the tablecloth.
She was born into Pure-blood family, and her looks and family background were a perfect match for Malfoy; he was all she could think about.
But he was different. He would rather flirt with Hermione, a Muggle-born, with a smile in his eyes, than even glance at her directly.
She just couldn't understand why Draco would fall for a Muggle-born, that Gryffindor Mudblood. What did he have that made him better than her?
Draco, the person involved, slowly finished the last bite of his roasted lamb chop, wiped his lips, and then looked up at the people around the table and said indifferently, "Excuse me, everyone, I need to go to the restroom."
Upon hearing this, everyone at the table instantly understood.
Immediately, a knowing, aunt-like smile spread across his face.
"I get it, I get it! He's not going to the bathroom, he's clearly chasing after someone!" Emock saw right through him.
" Malfoy, come on! Don't keep us waiting too long for this melon!" someone shouted.
Amidst the jeering, no one truly believed Draco had gone to the bathroom.
Hermione ran away in embarrassment and anger just now, but now she's getting up, clearly to chase after her and coax her.
At this moment, the gossip in the Great Hall reached its peak.
Draco didn't respond or argue. He simply picked up his school robe draped over the back of his chair, nodded to the others, and turned to walk towards the entrance of the Great Hall.
Draco walked slowly out of the Great Hall, his hands in his pockets. Hearing the faint cheers still lingering behind him, he couldn't help but twitch his lips, thinking to himself.
These guys have an incredibly vivid imagination and a knack for stirring things up; they can make a mountain out of a molehill with every little thing they hear.
As he turned into the empty corridor, Draco felt a strange sense of anticipation rising within him.
It's easy to guess that the girl, feeling ashamed and angry, must have hidden herself back in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.
Draco walked slowly to the bathroom door and tapped the door three times lightly with his knuckles.
Upon hearing the knock, the sound of water inside stopped abruptly, followed by a very faint, flustered commotion.
Then silence returned, with only Hermione's barely suppressed, pounding heartbeat remaining in the room.
Inside, not only was a blushing Hermione, but also Moaning Myrtle floated beside Hermione.
She was beside Hermione, tilting her head to look at her face, which was so red it looked like it was about to bleed, her glassy eyes darting around.