After Hermione finished speaking, she glanced at Lavender and his group indifferently, and then gently pushed Draco aside, signaling him not to cause trouble.
Draco didn't move away; instead, he moved closer to her and said, "Didn't you hear? We're studying hard. Don't disturb Granger, the genius."
The group burst into laughter. Hermione glared at Draco, but wasn't really angry.
Lavender and his group laughed and joked as they took their seats in the same places they had sat in that morning.
This time, Ron and Harry didn't hide in the back of the classroom; instead, they sat openly in the fourth row.
Ron was secretly plotting something.
If any problems arise later, we might be able to use this connection to get Malfoy to lend a hand.
Olivia and Neville were still sitting directly behind Draco and Hermione.
As soon as she sat down, Olivia rested her chin on her hand and asked in a blatantly teasing tone:
"You're previewing your lessons? Then, Miss Granger, what insightful ideas have you learned? Tell us about them."
Neville didn't catch the joke in her words, and took it seriously, thinking that the two of them had studied the material in advance. He quickly nodded earnestly in agreement.
"Yes, Hermione, if you know how, could you teach us?"
Hermione was prepared.
She had already read through the Defence Against Dark Magic textbook in advance, and knew the basic knowledge points by heart, so dealing with these few teasing remarks and questions was no problem at all.
She glanced back, then spoke calmly and clearly:
"It's nothing complicated. Today, Professor Quirrell is talking about the basic triggering conditions for non-violent Defence Against Dark Magic defense spells."
"The key is to first stabilize your own magical energy fluctuations, and then use clear intention to guide the incantation to take shape."
"It's not just about reciting the spell correctly; you also need to avoid the three common mistakes marked in the textbook. If you avoid those pitfalls, you'll be fine."
Hermione's explanation was concise and clear, both providing a valid reason for previewing the material and effectively answering her questions.
Lavender pursed his lips, muttering with a disappointed look:
"This is boring, this is boring. I thought I could make things difficult for you, but you've memorized it better than the professor's lesson plan."
Hermione slightly raised her chin, a hint of smugness in her eyes, and said:
"If you want to make things difficult for me, you'd better check if you've done your homework first."
Draco glanced around the back row and reminded them, "Since you're all sitting here, don't just join in the fun. Quickly flip through your books and start reading. If you don't understand something, just ask Hermione. She explains things more clearly than Quirrell."
Hermione turned her head and glared at him, asking, "So what are you doing? Are you just making me a free teaching assistant while you slack off?"
Draco chuckled and said to her, "Of course I specifically taught you. They ask you, you ask me, there's nothing wrong with that."
As soon as he said that, a chorus of boos erupted from the crowd behind him.
Hermione reached out and pinched Draco's forearm, Draco pretended to wince in pain.
Lavender laughed even harder at this, " Malfoy, you're so biased! Ron is your little brother, after all. How can you be so partial, only teaching Hermione and not helping us?"
Ron froze in his seat, scratched his head awkwardly, and stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter:
"No, don't talk nonsense! I'm not his lackey! I can understand it myself... No need, no need to bother Hermione!"
Parvati crossed his arms and glanced at Ron, mercilessly exposing his bluff. "It's a wonder you can understand it; you copied our homework."
Ron blushed and was about to retort when Hermione lightly tapped the table, saying firmly, "Alright, stop fooling around and read a book quietly!"
Now that Hermione had spoken, the others stopped making a fuss and started flipping through their textbooks in twos and threes, though very few of them actually focused on their studies.
Neville and Olivia lowered their heads and studied the text word by word, occasionally exchanging questions in hushed tones, and asking Hermione when they still didn't understand.
Lavender and Parvati tossed their textbooks aside after flipping through only a couple of pages, then joined the students who had just entered the classroom to chatter about interesting things, their voices growing louder and louder.
Harry had intended to grit his teeth and read a few lines, but Ron kept tugging at his sleeve and talking about Quidditch, so he simply put down his book and joined in the conversation, and soon they were all chatting away.
Before long, all the students had arrived, but Professor Quirrell, who already lacked authority, had not yet appeared. At this moment, the classroom was in complete chaos.
The sounds of laughter, playful banter, and whispers mingled together, making it impossible to concentrate.
Hermione's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the pen, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper. The noise around her made it difficult for her to concentrate on studying.
Draco, who was standing nearby, had already noticed her troubles. He flicked his wand very quickly and silently chanted a spell.
A faint, almost invisible magical barrier enveloped a one-meter radius around the two of them.
The noisy voices and the clattering of tables and chairs were instantly silenced, leaving only a quiet space where you could hear each other breathing.
Hermione snapped back to reality, looking at him in surprise; the quiet around her was all too obvious.
She reacted instantly, lowering her voice to ask, "You... used that spell again?"
At noon in the Gryffindor Common Room, Draco also secretly cast this spell on her.
At that moment, she was completely absorbed in the secret he was telling her and hadn't noticed anything amiss. Now, as the surroundings suddenly quieted down, her senses were amplified and became exceptionally clear.
"Hmm!" Draco responded softly with a lazy, smug smile.
He then asked Hermione, "Doesn't it feel great to have such a wonderful boyfriend?"
Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly, and she was about to retort to his inappropriate address when Olivia leaned in and chimed in with a smile:
"I don't know if Hermione feels good or not, but I'm quite comfortable. I actually want a boyfriend like that, Hermione. If you don't want him, don't forget to transfer him to me."
Hermione was about to retort when Neville behind her earnestly raised his hand and whispered in agreement, "Me too."
Draco didn't even turn around, shutting him up with a disdainful retort, "Get out of here, I don't like men."
Neville froze, so embarrassed he wanted to bury his head in his book.
Olivia and Hermione couldn't help but burst out laughing at the same time, and their earlier embarrassment and annoyance dissipated considerably.
Draco turned to Hermione, gesturing with his chin towards the still noisy classroom, and said dismissively:
"Look at them, they can't even sit still for two minutes. How can you expect them to learn this Defence Against Dark Magic course properly?"
Hermione stopped laughing and said more calmly, "Whether they learn or not is their business!"
Draco nodded.
In fact, not everyone in the classroom is just wasting time and fooling around.
Hannah and Susan of Hufflepuff were frowning, quietly trying to calm the noisy students nearby:
"It's fine if you don't want to study, but could you please not disturb others? We need to read our books."
The students just rolled their eyes and sneered at them for meddling, their voices growing louder.
Hannah and Susan had no choice but to quietly walk towards Hermione and Draco, along with Gryffindor Hufflepuff students who also wanted to listen attentively but were being disturbed by the noise.