Draco chuckled and shrugged, deliberately going along with her line of thought, "Well, it seems our Hermione is an independent woman."
He changed the subject, moved closer to her, and said...
"How about this then? I'll let you support me. I don't want to work anymore; I want to be a kept man."
Upon hearing this, Hermione's face, which had just begun to flush, suddenly burned again.
But now she was no longer embarrassed; instead, she was amused and stunned, swallowing the biscuit she hadn't finished chewing.
"What nonsense are you spouting! Who wants to support you? You, a Malfoy, think you can live off a woman?"
She took another bite of the biscuit, chewing as she couldn't help but complain, "You're so picky, I can't afford to feed you."
" Hermione will Minister for Magic someday, how could she possibly not be able to support me?" Draco said with great certainty.
As soon as she finished speaking, Hermione paused in her chewing motion, her cheeks flushing red again.
"Who's your family?! And who told you I was going to be Minister for Magic?"
He retorted verbally, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but secretly curve upwards.
Then she wrinkled her nose, feigning seriousness, and muttered, "Even if I did, I wouldn't support a gigolo! You wish."
"Even if you do become a kept man, you won't support one who lives off a woman! You wish."
Draco sighed with feigned regret, resting his hand on his chin as if pondering, "Alright, then I'll have to look for someone else."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hermione's brow furrowed with annoyance. "You dare!"
"What kind of candidate are you looking for? Who should be your candidate!"
As she spoke, she was afraid of appearing too concerned, so she quickly turned her face away, but couldn't help glancing at Draco out of the corner of her eye.
"Anyway... anyway you're not allowed to find anyone else, otherwise I... I'll..."
Before she could finish speaking, Hermione was already blushing with embarrassment. Clutching her notebook, she hurried down the corridor, turning back to glare at Draco after a few steps.
"Hurry up and catch up! If you dawdle any longer, the lounge will be locked!"
Draco smiled and quickly followed, no longer teasing her about the previous topic, but casually probing:
"You overheard Cho Chang and the others talking together in the Great Hall about their feelings for me. Were you feeling nervous?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hermione abruptly stopped in her tracks. She deliberately turned around with a tense expression and said nonchalantly:
"Why should I be nervous? It's their business if they're interested in you, what does it have to do with me?"
But after she finished speaking, Hermione subconsciously raised her hand to tidy up the stray hairs at her temples.
Those were little gestures she made when she was flustered.
After refuting her argument, she quickly turned back and walked on, muttering as she went, "Besides... besides, they have bad taste, what do I have to be nervous about?"
But Hermione couldn't help adding at the end, "Always attracting attention, doesn't he know how to tone it down?"
Draco shrugged, feigning helplessness, but his tone was full of smugness:
"I don't want to either, but your man is just too outstanding, there's no stopping him. So, Hermione, why don't you hurry up and win me over?"
Upon hearing this, Hermione froze on the spot.
The notebook in my hand almost slipped and fell to the ground.
She muttered under her breath, "Who, who admitted you're my man! Draco Malfoy, have you no shame?!"
"Who wants to take you down... Arrogant, haughty, and a shameless scoundrel, I don't want to..."
"Hehe." Draco chuckled. "Alright, I know everything."
Hermione glared at him and snapped, "Hehe, my foot! Stop being so presumptuous!"
He then quickened his pace, muttering under his breath, "A megalomaniac, all he does is make wild guesses..."
After finishing his scallion pancake, Draco crumpled the paper wrapper and threw it into the trash can around the corner of the corridor.
Her consciousness entered the System Exchange Shop, spent eleven exchange points to buy a custom-made item, quickly caught up with Hermione ahead, and held out the item to her. "Ta-da!"
In Draco's palm lay a sea otter satchel the size of a backpack.
Its light brown fur is soft and fluffy, its round black eyes sparkle, and its little paws are hooked onto the miniature leather straps.
Hearing the sound, Hermione turned around abruptly. The moment her gaze fell on the sea otter satchel, she stopped in her tracks, and the embarrassment and annoyance in her eyes were instantly replaced by unexpected amazement.
She subconsciously took half a step forward, her fingertips hovering above the soft downy fur. After hesitating for half a second, she gently touched it, finding it fluffy and soft to the touch.
"This, this is..." Hermione looked at Draco, her voice filled with barely concealed surprise.
Draco chuckled and shoved the otter-shaped handbag into her hand, "This is for you. I always see you carrying around thick notebooks; it'll fit perfectly in here."
Hastily taking it, Hermione gently squeezed the thin leather strap and examined the small handbag from all angles.
The sea otter's little paw playfully hooked around her finger, and the soft touch made the corners of her mouth involuntarily turn up.
But she immediately tensed up, clearing her throat with feigned composure. "Why did you suddenly send me this? It's so childish... Why not just use a proper bag instead of this fluffy one?"
Despite saying that, she gripped her handbag tightly and refused to let go.
His fingers repeatedly stroked the sea otter's round body.
She couldn't help but hold the crossbody bag up to her canvas backpack and compare them, adjusting the length of the straps, her eyes brimming with undisguised joy.
"... But it's quite cute, the fluff feels really nice to the touch."
While playing with her toys, Hermione added quietly, her tone completely devoid of any disdain.
Draco leaned closer to her, lowered his voice to tell her a little secret, and his warm breath brushed against her ear:
"Let me tell you, it's been enchanted with Space Extension Charm. From now on, you can fit your notebooks, textbooks, quills, and other things inside."
Upon hearing this, Hermione's fingers abruptly stopped on the sea otter's soft fur, and the joy in her eyes instantly faded.
She frowned and raised her voice:
" Space Extension Charm? You actually cast a Spatial Extension Charm on a portable item? This is strictly prohibited by the Ministry of Magic! It's an abuse of magic, and you'll be punished if caught!"
Hermione hurriedly shoved the handbag into Draco's hand, her tone urgent, yet she couldn't bear to actually push it away, her fingers still lightly hooking the strap:
"How could you do such a thing? If Filch or the professor finds out, not only will the bag be confiscated, but you'll also be put in solitary confinement! Take it back right now, I can't take it."
Even so, her gaze kept drifting towards the sea otter handbag.
Reaching out and pressing down on her outstretched hand, Draco smiled and shook his head, explaining:
"I know you care about me, don't worry, this isn't a curse I cast."
"I had it custom-made by the Diagon Alley. All the paperwork is in order, and it was approved by the Ministry of Magic long ago. It's perfectly compliant."
Hermione immediately stopped, her hand holding the bag froze in mid-air, and the anxiety in her eyes vanished instantly.
Only a slight, bewildered look remained on her face, before a faint blush crept back onto her cheeks.
My earlier anxiety made me seem overly concerned.
She slowly withdrew her hand from the strap, hugged the otter bag to her chest again, and couldn't help but stroke its soft fur with her fingers.
He touched his mouth and coughed lightly, trying to appear calm. "You should have said so earlier... It's good that it's in accordance with the rules, otherwise, if we were discovered, we'd be in big trouble."
After saying that, she lowered her head and carefully tucked Professor McGonagall's precious notes into her otter bag.
Watching the notebook slide in easily without bulging the bag at all, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he muttered to himself, "It's actually quite practical..."