After getting some distance from Professor McGonagall's office.
Draco's face immediately fell. He reached out and put his arm around Hermione's shoulder, gently pulling her towards him, and feigned tears, looking pitiful.
"I was just doing a good deed to maintain order in class, so why am I being punished? Does doing good deeds at Hogwarts mean I get locked up in jail...?"
Hermione froze completely, caught off guard by his sudden embrace.
The warm breath landed on my ear, and my body instantly felt a subtle, burning sensation.
Her whole body tensed up, she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, and her heart suddenly started pounding against her chest.
Draco knew his limits and stopped when he had enough.
He gently stroked her soft hair, his nose twitching slightly, and asked, "It smells so good... Honey, what shampoo are you using?"
Hermione suddenly snapped out of her daze and instantly understood.
This guy was just pretending to be wronged from beginning to end, trying to take advantage of the situation!
Her cheeks flushed, and she immediately pushed him away forcefully, taking a half-step back, glaring at him with a mixture of shame and anger.
" Draco Malfoy! You were faking it all just now, weren't you?! You hugged me on purpose, you rubbed against me on purpose... You, have you no shame?!"
Draco poked his index finger pitifully, looking as if he had suffered a great injustice, and muttered softly:
"I wasn't faking it, honey. I genuinely feel wronged. We were just maintaining order, and I ended up with an extra week of confinement. Anyone would be upset in that situation."
He took a small half-step forward and said, "But after my wife hugged me, I felt much better, and I didn't feel so wronged anymore."
He then added righteously, "Besides, it's my own wife, what's wrong with me secretly taking advantage of her? It's not illegal."
Hermione was rendered speechless by his series of fallacies, her chest heaving slightly, feeling both angry and ashamed.
Looking at his pitiful yet shameless appearance, she couldn't utter a single harsh word and could only turn her face away to avoid his burning gaze.
"Who, who's your wife! And you're even taking advantage of me... You're absolutely unreasonable!"
Draco chuckled. He always wanted to laugh whenever he heard his little wife repeating the same few soft, swearing phrases over and over again.
He took a half step forward, reached out and gently tugged at Hermione's sleeve, then lowered his voice and whispered in her ear:
"Honey, keep your voice down. Don't shout so loudly. If any of my classmates hear this, they'll all know I'm taking advantage of you, and my reputation will be ruined. Then you'll be the only one left who would want me."
Hermione's face instantly turned bright red, and she subconsciously glanced at both ends of the corridor, afraid that someone passing by might have overheard.
Her cheeks were still burning, and she didn't dare to argue with Draco any longer. "Come on, don't dawdle here, or we'll miss Astronomy."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and took a step forward, wanting to escape the atmosphere that made her heart race. Her steps were even faster than usual.
Draco watched her slightly flustered retreating figure, his smile deepening, and deliberately lagged half a step behind, saying:
"What's the rush, honey? Wait for me! The Astronomy is so high, I'll climb it with you."
Hermione paused, her face flushing even more. Without turning around, she snapped, "If you yell again, you're going to get out by yourself!"
Draco immediately behaved himself and followed Hermione, walking alongside her.
The two walked side by side for a while, and just as they turned the corner of the stairs leading to the Astronomy Tower, they ran into Lavender and Parvati, who were chatting and laughing.
Seeing this, Hermione spoke first, asking, "Why are there only the two of you? Where are the others?"
Parvati waved the astrology notebook in her hand and said:
"It's too early now. Everyone's dawdling. We're genuinely passionate about astrology and want to get here early to secure a good spot. Maybe we can even find our destined star."
Lavender immediately winked, his gaze shifting back and forth between Hermione and Draco:
"But you two—coming to the Astronomy Tower so early, did you come here specifically for some alone time? Hermione, didn't you already find someone?"
"I... we... no... don't talk nonsense..." Hermione hadn't recovered from what had just happened, and now she couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
Parvati, with a knowing look on his face, said to Lavender, "What do you know? They're just securing a romantic spot early, so they can legitimately enjoy their time together."
"Ugh!" Lavender slapped his forehead. "If only we had come later, we wouldn't have been such an annoying third wheel."
Hermione took a deep breath, the blush on her face fading slightly, and her eyes regained their usual calm and sharpness. She had finally come to her senses.
"Don't make wild guesses. We just came from Professor McGonagall's office and stopped by on the way."
"Besides, there's still some time before class starts, so it's better to come up early and prepare observation notes than to rush at the last minute."
Her tone was natural, as if she hadn't been the one who had just blushed and felt hot.
Draco glanced at the stairwell and casually said, "Since we're already here, let's go up together."
Lavender and Parvati smiled and nodded.
Hermione stepped aside and gestured to Draco, "You go first."
Draco stepped behind her, grinning as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "It'll be safe for me to watch over you from behind."
Hermione glared at him instantly. "What are you looking at?!"
Lavender, standing nearby, couldn't help but remind her, covering her mouth and chuckling, "We're all wearing skirts today."
Draco paused for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.
Parvati winked and joked, "You see, we're fine, but your wife definitely won't be happy."
Hermione remained calm, giving Draco only a fleeting glance. "Don't listen to their nonsense, let's get going, don't waste time."
Draco suddenly retorted, "I don't look at anyone else; I only look at my wife."
Hermione's composure crumbled instantly.
Lavender and Parvati immediately burst into laughter, their voices echoing through the stairwell:
"Oh--~"
"Oh, I see! We understand!"
Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly, and she immediately urged, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry upstairs!"
Draco smiled and agreed, then softly reminded her, "Okay, honey, be careful and walk slowly."
Hermione instantly bristled, lowering her voice but delivering a forceful stern command, "Call me Hermione!!!"
Lavender and Parvati, who were in front, heard everything clearly and immediately covered their mouths and burst into laughter.
Lavender winked and said, "Well, what's done's done. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway."
Parvati nodded in agreement. "Exactly, it's just getting used to the way people address us."
Hermione, both embarrassed and ashamed, glared at the two of them, her voice low but full of threat. "If you laugh or make a fuss again, you won't be able to copy my astrology notes tonight!"
Upon hearing that their notes were going to be gone, Lavender and Parvati immediately raised their hands in surrender, covering their mouths to stop laughing loudly, only secretly winking at each other.
Draco chuckled, ceasing his teasing, and took the lead in ascending the steep spiral staircase. After climbing a few steps, he stopped, turned back, and extended his hand to Hermione:
"Come on up, slowly, I'll help you."
Hermione looked at his outstretched hand, her ears burning slightly, but she still gently placed her hand on it, and he held it firmly in his grasp.